I've got Hella questions... (1 Viewer)

[pjskinner]

Norcal jokes, I've got them for days.

I purchased some Hella's a few months back and followed their directions for the wiring. The supplied instructions are about 1,457,234,087 times more vague than Ikea's instructions. So, this is where I am getting tripped up. I want to run the lights when the brights are on. I have yet to have enough additional accessories to warrant a bunch of AUX switches on the inside of the vehicle. I have spliced into almost EVERY wire I can find that has anything to do with the headlights, and I either get the lamps to be on continuously, or they are on when the driving are on, and off when the brights go on. Yuck. Help. Please.

Thanks.

 

[Golgo13]

Are you sure it is OK to have the aux lights kick on when the high-beams are on?
This guy might have an issue(Even though he has awesome sunglasses)...

I believe there is a safety regulation about having too much light with the brights...

 

[pjskinner]

I'm ok with it. They will really only be used in situations where I really need them. Despite living in LA, I rarely use my brights or horn to let others know how crappy they drive.

 

[Arya Ebrahimi]

Are you saying you don't want a switch for them at all? I have always put my aux lights on a switch that is fed by the highs or lows so that they switch back and forth automatically with the headlight stalk, but I retain the ability to turn off the aux lights.

Regardless, you want to tap the trigger wire for your relay into the high beam circuit. Since the relay is typically under the hood, I have always tapped into the high beam circuit near the headlight itself. I would highly advise against using scotchlocks, particularly in an underhood environment. You will want to properly splice the wire with a butt connector and heat shrink.

If you want to have a switch to kill the lights, then you will want to run the trigger wire from the relay to a switch in the cab. Then run a wire from the headlight circuit to the other side of the switch. This will not allow you to turn the lights on regardless of headlight function, but will allow you to kill them regardless of headlight function.

 

[Stevesnj]

You should use a separate relay. The relay for the highs may not hold up to the amperage demand. Unless they are LED's

 

[Arya Ebrahimi]

You should use a separate relay. The relay for the highs may not hold up to the amperage demand. Unless they are LED's

Yes, I assumed that was a given.

It is safe to trigger the aux light relay off of the high beams though. There is very minimal current draw to actuate the relay.

 

[pjskinner]

So, right now I have the relay mounted in the engine bay. I have the wires running to the lights themselves, to the battery, and to the headlights (all through the relay). I used a scotchlock in my search for the correct wire, and will splice it in correctly once I locate it. I would really like to not run a wire to the cab (I am kind of a neat freak, and wires all over creep me out). I am kind of looking for advice along the lines of "Hey, doofus, splice into the yellow wire the red stripe!" I have exhausted (or so I think) all possibilities...

 

[Stevesnj]

do you know the amp draw of the LEDs? The brights circuit is a separate circuit. You could use the brights wire pos but id ground the negative to the chassis. Id get another opinion though, just my thoughts

 

[Arya Ebrahimi]

What year is your 80? I don't know if they have different color headlight wires by year, but I will go check if you have one that matches one of mine, and tell you what wire to tap into.

 

[pjskinner]

It is a 92. I greatly appreciate it!!!

 

[Arya Ebrahimi]

Alright, I don't have a 92, but I checked my 93 and 94 and they are the same. I also looked at the EWD for my '94.

If you look at the plug that connects to the high beam bulb on either side, there should be 2 red wires, one with a yellow stripe and one with a blue stripe. You want to hook into the one with the yellow stripe(you were close above, it's red w/ yellow instead of yellow w/ red lol). Theoretically you could probably hook into either, but the yellow stripe is between the bulb and switch which I think makes the most sense.

If the colors are different, then I don't know what to tell you other than hooking into either of those wires should give you what you need to trigger the relay.

 

[pjskinner]

Awesome! I'll try this out this weekend. If it works, I'll buy you an internet beer. Thanks!!

 

[NLXTACY]

I'm ok with it. They will really only be used in situations where I really need them. Despite living in LA, I rarely use my brights or horn to let others know how crappy they drive.

Turning on your aux lights, in LA County anyway, is a quick ticket. LAPD use to enforce having aux lights be covered up to prevent accidentally turning them on while driving. With the proliferation of LED manufacturers and now installations it seems, to me anyway, that the police aren't enforcing it as much. That being said I didnt have aux lights mounted during my last few tickets for the issue to come up.

 

[Arya Ebrahimi]

Turning on your aux lights, in LA County anyway, is a quick ticket. LAPD use to enforce having aux lights be covered up to prevent accidentally turning them on while driving. With the proliferation of LED manufacturers and now installations it seems, to me anyway, that the police aren't enforcing it as much. That being said I didnt have aux lights mounted during my last few tickets for the issue to come up.

ANY aux lights are illegal??

I've never heard of that. Around here you are only allowed to have 4 forward facing lights on at a time. Which means no legal aux lights on an 80 since the low beams stay on with the high beams. On my GMC though, it's no problem because the lows turn off when you turn on the highs.

With that said, I've never been pulled for it. Got a warning about them once when a cop pulled me for speeding(got a warning for that too ) but that's it.

 

[Arya Ebrahimi]

Awesome! I'll try this out this weekend. If it works, I'll buy you an internet beer. Thanks!!

No problem. Happy to help.

 

[Stevesnj]

ANY aux lights are illegal??

I've never heard of that. Around here you are only allowed to have 4 forward facing lights on at a time. Which means no legal aux lights on an 80 since the low beams stay on with the high beams. On my GMC though, it's no problem because the lows turn off when you turn on the highs.

With that said, I've never been pulled for it. Got a warning about them once when a cop pulled me for speeding(got a warning for that too ) but that's it.

Illegal here in Jersey also. But they don't usually care.

 

[jakesiar]

I have mine wired w/ a separate relay so I can utilize them w/ high beams on and/or without. I did not want to wire them similarly to newer model vehicles that turn your fogs/auxillary off when the high beams are used. I only use mine when it is absolutely necessary and always turn off when vehicles approach.

 

[Arya Ebrahimi]

Mine are personally wired through their own relay so that they can only be on with the high beams, but I can also turn them off completely so that only the high beams come on when I push the stalk forward.

I originally had the aux lights 100% independently switched of any other lights, but that got to be a hassle. I predominantly drive windy 2-lane country roads where there are a lot of deer and a lot of sporadic oncoming cars. Having to switch the aux lights and high beams separately and having to kill them quickly and simultaneously whenever I passed another vehicle going the other way got to be too much work and ended up taking too long for the sake of the other drivers.

I have never regretted tying them to the high beams, and I can always leave them off if I desire. There has never been a time when I thought, "man, I wish I could just have the Hellas on without my highs."