Been thinking about adding some lights to the front of my truck to help light up the road and ditches a little more once i have the funds. what are your guys opinion on how to hook them up and some does and don'ts.

im wanting to put two sets on. two lights behind the grill and two square ones by the license plats. and i was thinking hook them up to be on when ever i have to lights on. i want them to be on even when with the high beams if possible. but just let me know what you guys think


this is what im looking at does. tell me what you guys think
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When you put any lights on the front of a vehicle please make sure they are not blinding other oncoming drivers by taking the time to select and mount for light spread and focus.
Also check on your states law on aux lighting.
DRL was a design control that limited the lighting brightness for daytime running so was not normally an issue.

If you realize, when you go high beam the driving lights go off by design.
You will be defeating this with permanent lighting while operating if you wire direct without control other than manual on and off or ignition control on.
I bring these things up because there are so many just throwing lights on without any though or consideration.
I see red, green, blue and eyeball light, high intensity bulbs etc all illegal in most states unless it's a legal Emg. vehicle.
The factory HID is at least designed with focus control in mind without blinding oncoming drivers.
Sounds like a lot of gripping but I would like to take a hammer to everyone that comes at me at night with blinding lights from these additions other than not going low beam.
Even daytime motor cycles are blinding now and then with their high beam on.
Thanks for reading and considering.

 

You made some good points there never thought about those problems. I'll just stay away from that idea. I have other places to spend that money. I just like the look.

 

Like blue says, check your laws. I am with him though, like to take a sledgehammer to some lights, esp HID add on that aren't done right. They blind you, even on a divided highway. With that point made, IMO the square lights on a front end dedicated to round edges won't look good. I grew up in the country, lighting up the ditches was the difference between avoiding critters at night or having a wreck. Like said they are made to go off with highs, personally I would think it should go the other way, but it don't. At any rate you can do that with a relay hooked into only the low beam switch wire.

 

Ya I want to light the ditches up note to try to avoid the deer. I have about hit 2 in the last week. And ya the HID lights are stupid I hate them I was just wanting to use some led lights. But I'll spend the money else where. I have some rust spots that needs some attention

 

Some wider angle short distance lighting can be done if you take care to limit the distance and height.
Do a little less to your left side.
When on coming vehicles flash their lights often it would tell you need to do more limiting or use them only with low beams.
In this model 97 to 03 the head lights are focused by the outer plastic lens shell and are not so blinding even on high beams unless grossly mis adjusted.
Lights on a bar above the cab are tough on oncoming traffic.
In my state even though some SUVs come stock with them at that location, state law says they must have covers on them while operating on state highways.
I can never remember a time when I saw them operating on another vehicle while on the roads. They come with covers and sometimes see the covers are off.
I travel in the Pa. Poconos mtns very often and can relate to the deer situation.
The coming deer season will see them all over the sides of the roads as vehicle kills.
Good luck.

 

I might do the two in the grill and face them down toward the ditches. I'll just have to play around and see what I can do