TJM T13 Fog Lights

[kcjaz]

I finally got the TJM fog and turn signal light kit for my T13 on my 2013 200 series. The fog lights keep blowing the 7.5 amp OEM fuse. The TJM fog lights came with a wiring harness but they plugged right into the OEM connectors used on the old OEM lights. I just plugged them in and didn't use the harness assuming the harness, relay and switch was meant for a generic installation without the OEM fog light circuit. They work for about a day then the fuse goes. Looking at the provided harness, it has a 30 amp repaly and a 20 amp fuse. I should have looked at that closer but it seemed it was made to plug and play with the OEM connectors at the bumper so that is what I did.

Do I really have to install the TJM fog lights on their own new circuit and use an aux switch rather than the the OEM switch on steering column light lever? If so, why wouldn't TJM just provide lights that integrate into the OEM circuit?

 

[Markuson]

I finally got the TJM fog and turn signal light kit for my T13 on my 2013 200 series. The fog lights keep blowing the 7.5 amp OEM fuse. The TJM fog lights came with a wiring harness but they plugged right into the OEM connectors used on the old OEM lights. I just plugged them in and didn't use the harness assuming the harness, relay and switch was meant for a generic installation without the OEM fog light circuit. They work for about a day then the fuse goes. Looking at the provided harness, it has a 30 amp repaly and a 20 amp fuse. I should have looked at that closer but it seemed it was made to plug and play with the OEM connectors at the bumper so that is what I did.

Do I really have to install the TJM fog lights on their own new circuit and use an aux switch rather than the the OEM switch on steering column light lever? If so, why wouldn't TJM just provide lights that integrate into the OEM circuit?

Something weird going on there, because you should definitely NOT have to use a dedicated switch. My T13 fogs have not only been fantastically effective lights....but always activated via the normal means...-simply rotating them on using the stock, steering column headlight stick.

No electrical/fuse issues whatsoever.

 

[kcjaz]

Thats good to know. Makes me wonder though why the included harness has a 20 amp fuse and the OEM fog light circuit has a 7.5 amp fuse. So did yours just plug into the OEM connectors behind the bumper and you never used the TJM supplied harness?

 

[Markuson]

Thats good to know. Makes me wonder though why the included harness has a 20 amp fuse and the OEM fog light circuit has a 7.5 amp fuse. So did yours just plug into the OEM connectors behind the bumper and you never used the TJM supplied harness?

Who did you order your bumper through?
If it was Slee...call them and ask.
They installed my T13 with included hardware.

I did not mean to imply you can skip their included harness. There’s a reason they include it. Just saying that you should not need to bypass the stock steering column switch. Their hardware is intended to give you seamless operation. I assume also wired in their included LED indicator lights, right?

Their inclusion of the higher amp fuse/harness so far above 7.5 tells me they expect you need it...no not surprised it’s blowing a fuse just barely 1/3rd the 20A.

 

[kcjaz]

Yes it was Slee. And yes, looking at this all closer (as I should have done in the first place) it seems pretty clear that the 20 amp fuse and harness is needed. The wiring instructions though use a seperate switch rather than the OEM steering column stick. I'll call Slee tomorrow and ask how they do it. Need to harass them anyway about my back ordered sliders...

Thanks for you help.

 

[ckkone]

I wired mine with the provided harness and a switch. I wanted to be able to turn them on and off at anytime not just when the headlights were on.

 

[Markuson]

I wired mine with the provided harness and a switch. I wanted to be able to turn them on and off at anytime not just when the headlights were on.

I see the appeal of that for sure.

Hmmm...

The T13s really are good at spreading low, even, wide light that cuts off before hitting folks at eye level. Would be nice when pulling into camp if I could turn off my headlights that blind distant campers, but still see low and wide pulling in.

Would be nice if there was a way the stock rotating switch could be made active at all times.

Any wiring gurus here know how to pull that off or if that’s even possible without a separate switch?

 

[bwell]

I did not use the provided harness. They function perfectly on my lx570 factory wiring.

@Markuson I have wondered about using a jumper like on my 100 series to accomplish the on all the time with factory highs also. But I'm not savvy enough with electrical stuff and dont want to mess something else up myself and haven't attempted it yet.

 

[kcjaz]

I called Slee and Christo helped me. Basically, depending on model year you may or may not need the TJM harness. I need to wire the new harnes to the OEM switch circuit. An OEM wiring diagram would be handy so I tried a 2 day subscription to TIS which was $20 but for some reason, it won't let me log in and get to the repair manuals. It says my account is locked and there is no tech support on weekends. Awesome. Anyone got a wiring diagram for 2013 200?

 

[kcjaz]

Pretty frustrating weekend with my inability to find a wiring diagram for my 2013 200. Hopefully I'll get that tomorrow. At any rate, I think it comes down to simply finding what I expect to be a single wire coming from the steering column switch to the coil side of the OEM FOG relay. Essentially, I need to connect that wire to the TJM supplied relay and harness. Seems simple in concept but practically I think it means getting in underneath the fuse box by the battery to access the wires going into the fuses/relays as finding the single small wire coming through the fire wall with the other 10,000 wires all neatly wrapped in tape, will be pretty hard.

What I am assuming is that the OEM fog light switch switches the positive side and not the negative. That is what the TJM harness is wired for. If it is the other way (switching the negative side) the TJM harness will will require surgery. I've attached a pick of the TJM harness diagram. "G" is the switched positive to the relay coil that connects to A-1 in the engine compartment at the TJM relay.

If anyone can confirm that the OEM fog light switch is on the positive, that would be great and any tips on how to find and access it would be even better.

 

[kcjaz]

Update: Got the fog lights working. Christo at Slee helped me. Bottom line is that the OEM 7 amp fuse is not enough for the TJM lights. The easiest solution was to wire the positive power out from the OEM relay to the TJM relay on the coil side. This makes it so whenever the OEM circuits turn on the power to the OEM wire that went to the OEM lights, it energizes the TJM relay coil which in turn activated the power to the new TMJ lights.

The engineer in me doesn’t really like a circuit with twice the components (two relays and two fuses) as there are more failure points but it is just the fog lights and this was certainly the easiest thing to do.

After it’s all done, I look at it and say “duh, not really that complicated”. Not the first time I’ve made something harder that it really is...