12V Black Metal Switch Latching Push Button White Led | eBay

something like this is kinda what i was thinking and then mounting it in the open area above the wipers/headlights.

 

you know, what I was thinking, since you seem to grasp the basic concepts of electricity, is that you could just run a standard metal on/off toggle switch right next to your headlight switch or anywhere within easy reach.
Run a standard automotive 5 pin 30 amp bosch style relay (non latching).

I like to use these 5 pin relay plugs to keep everything neat (and not shorting out).

As you can see from the diagram below, the 5 pin relays operate really simply: Run power from the headlight switch through the toggle switch. Run the other side of the toggle switch to pin 86 on the relay. When the headlight switch is on, power is flowing to the toggle switch. When the toggle switch is ON and power is flowing from the switch to pin 86 and through pin 85 to ground, the relay will direct the headlight power coming in on pin 30 to pin 87. Lets wire that to your high beams. When the toggle switch is switched OFF, power ceases to flow to pin 86, de-energizing the relay and switching the power from the headlight switch coming in on pin 30 to go out on pin 87q. Wire this to your low beams, and viola, you have your solution for about $8 in parts available at any local hardware store. This is also a great way to keep all the current out of your switch and switching wires, simply by running a short heavy gauge (10 or 12 gauge) wire from your battery to pin 30 on the relay straight from your battery.

 

and we're almost back to post #11.....

the factory foot switch works in a similar manner, it takes one 12v wire and directs it in one of two ways, high or low beam.

hook the wire going into the switch to post #30.
hook the low beams to post #87a
hook high beams to post #87.

take wire from running lights and run it through your switch (toggle or latching, whatever you prefer, so long as it can be run in a single pole-single throw configuration) to #86 and ground #85.

doing it this way saves the trouble of having to locate another 20a circut with whitch to run your high beams. i would mout the relay where the foot switch is located, as all the wires you need are already there.

turn the headlamps on, the low beams come on, throw the switch, low goes out highs come on. turn on parking lamps, and the headights are off.

if you hook them up as described in post #17, when you throw the switch your high beams AND low beams will be on at the same time, which could overheat the bulbs and burn them out (or worse)

 

No, it wouldn't. Check out the diagram of the relay and read through the steps and it will all make sense. The relay can only energize pin 87 or 87q, depending on whether or not pin 86 has power or now (assuming 85 is grounded). It can NEVER energize 87 and 87q at the same time, so the high and low beams would NEVER be on at the same time. Its impossible. Trust me, I've been using these bosch relays in car stereos and other applications for about 16 years now, and I've wired them in to control everything from fog horns to up and down car windows.

 

i re read your post.

i did not see the last sentence where you were wiring 87a to the low beams. so in that regard we are talking about the exact same thing.

the only place where we depart is how to power the relay. you are saying to power that straight from the battery. if you do that, the low beams will always be on. pin #30 and #87a are always connected, unless the coil is energized, then 87 and 30 are connected.

you NEED to power pin 30 from a 12v souce that is on only when the headlights is on. this is why i suggested to wire it to the original wire going down to the foot switch. this wire will only be on when the headlight switch is pulled to the ON position.

to the OP: this may sound slightly confusing if you are not used to using relays, but it really is a pretty straight forward affair. just solder and heat shrink all the connections so that you don't have to revisit it again in a few years. The nice thing about relays also is that they are easy to diagnose and replace if needed.

 

How about an air switch, a little tubing running to some nice inflatable breasts mounted above the head light switch labeled "High Beams"
I didn't think so

 

thats true, you would have to run it from a switched power source, or run two relays. Now that you mention it, its not a bad idea to run 2 relays. The 30 amp bosch style ones are usually good up to 40 amps or so, but if you run upgraded headlights like the H4 style with higher wattage bulbs, I usually recommend 2 30 amps anyway. I'm hoping to do 2 relays on mine wired to h4 conversions with some better bulbs in them. honestly with the factory sealed beams on mine I can drive around at night with high beams on and they are dimmer than my excursion's low beams.