lol im from the woods..closest city is 90 miles away..our shack is about the size of my kitchen...they where on a peg board...do you know what amp they are?? you might be able to use a smaller fuse..maybe try a 3 amp fuse...if your stock lights comes on then the fuse for the stock back up lights should be ok..if it does blow..the fuse is under the hood...it is on my truck anyway's...

 

Oh dang. You are in the sticks. Right on. Ok, well i will get a 5 amp fuse and a 6 amp diode just to be safe. Do you happen to know which fuse under the hood runs the stock reverse lights ? would not having a diode cause the stock back up lights not come on in reverse but still come on with the switch?

 

if the switch is off and the diode is in the right way the back up lights should still come on with the shifter going into reverse... dont rememer the fuse off the top of my head...ill see if i can find my owners book

 

ok thanks a lot for the help

 

me bad..under the dash..fuse 28...trailer tow back up is under the hood..

 

Hey Bryce,

it only takes a very small amount of current to trigger the relay. Once the relay triggers it is the power running from your fused + feed to relay pin 30 which powers your aux reversing lights.
So the diode only needs to be small, just enough to run the relay triggering action, no more than 250milliamp. The diode shouldn't effect the operation of your stock lights. It sounds like you may have blown the fuse to your stock reversing lights.

The way it should work:
1) ign on, in reverse, toggle off = stock + aux lights on (current through the diode triggers aux light relay).
2) ign on, NOT in reverse, toggle on = aux lights on - stock light off (diode will not feed the stock lights).

If you get really stuck, cut the diode off and get your stock rev lights working first. Then get your aux lights working through the switch without connecting the reversing light feed. Once both circuits are working correctly and independently, then add the reverse light feed to the relay and check operation.

 

Spool&Go - Thanks for starting this thread. Stock backup lights on all my vehicles have always seemed to be too weak to be of any use. I'll soon be installing my own.

Knoxentucky - I'll try to explain the reason for using a relay... You could directly connect the new lights to your stock wires that feed the stock backup lights but since the new backup lights require more electricity, there is a very good chance that you would blow the fuse or that the backup switch's life would be shortened by the extra electrical load.
A relay installed per the diagrams already posted here uses just a small amount of current from the stock backup wire (thus not overloading it) to connect the new lights to a wire connected to the battery or other high amperage source. The relay acts like a switch that gets the signal to turn on the new lights from the stock backup wire and connects the new lights to a wire strong enough to handle the new electrical load.

 

the diode is too keep the power from the switch flowing back though the trigger wire and blowing a fuse for the stock back up lights..the diode does not trigger the relay...it simply protects the trigger wire..there for the diode needs to have a bigger AMP then the fuse that is used on the toggle switch...also..do not power the switch and put it in reverse at the same time or you will blow the fuse for the switch..you cant have 2 source of power going into the trigger on 1 relay...

 

Nice job, reps to you!

 

When you put the tranny in reverse gear you want the aux reverse lights to also come on without flipping the toggle switch right? In this situation a small amount of current runs through the diode from the stock reverse light circuit and triggers the relay which turns the aux reverse lights on.

 

Hey no prob bpdad. And thanks for the help everyone.

So just to be safe I got a 6 amp diode incorporated into the switch wire that runs from my stock reverse wire to my relay switch post. I also put a 3 amp fuse on the aux power wire. I'm sure these were both overkill but I wanted to make sure.

This did make it to where only my aux back up lights come on when i flip the switch. So that part is working properly. But my still neither come on when I put my truck into reverse. I must have blown a fuse. But I looked in the fuse box on the drivers side and pulled all of the smaller fuses to check. None were blown. I figured it wasn't those huge 30+ amp fuses. Maybe i should pull my tail light again and make sure i have good reverse switch connection.

 

1.) So this fuse 28 is the one that runs the stock reverse light power?

2.) This fuse is under the hood huh?

3.) Which one is it?
I checked the only fuse box that I know of and I didn't find any burnt ones.

4.) How big will this fuse be?


I checked to see if my issue was a bad connection where I spliced in my relay switch wire. Not the case. I re-connected them just to make sure. Still no worky. Aux lights are working on the toggle switch flip but neither come on when I kick it into reverse..........

 

yes..#28 10 AMP under the dash..the one under the hood is for the trailer...

 

Thanks, bpdad.

 

Hey thanks Ron. Found the fuse. It was a 10 amp. Replaced it and the back up lights automatically come on in reverse now!

Only problem is, now they dont come on with the switch!! WTF !!

Its like one or the other. When the fuse was blown the switch worked great. Now that I replaced the fuse, the switch doesnt work and the auto on reverse works great. I suppose it is more important for them to automatically come on in reverse but thats not the point. I installed the switch for a reason!

Any ideas?