I bought a pair of aux. driving lights for my truck, and I mounted them up. Now my problem is I don't know how to hook them up so they only work with the high beams. This may seem like a dumb question, but I'm not to keen on electrics.

Weezman

 

Couple of ways to wire up lights. If you want the aux lights to be on any time the brights are on, then wire them up with a relay. Mount the relay near the battery and wire it up like this. #86 terminal to ground (usually the screw holding the relay, but there is a ground screw on the radiator support that can be used). Hook terminal #87 to the lights, #30 to positive battery (either the battery terminal or the battery side of the starter solenoid on the fenderwell). Put an inline fuse on this wire to protect it from shorts. #85 to the high beam side of the headlight plug using a wire tap. Uplug the headlight and check for the wire with power while the lights are on bright. A relay socket available from about any parts store will make the wiring easier. Also, cover the wiring with split loom wire cover to protect. This will make the lights operate anytime the highbeams are on and allow you to wire the lights without running a wire through the firewall or needing a switch. If you want to be able to turn them off independently and just have high beams, then run a wire from terminal #86 to a switch under the dash and ground the other side of the switch. This interupts the ground circut for the relay and when the switch is off, the lights will not come on.

 

That's essentially what I did on Clyde. To control the lights to my choosing I used a SPDT center off switch with the center wire going to the solenoid, one post coming from the high beam headlight and the other post coming from a 12V source. With the switch in the center postition the driving lights are off all the time, Up they go on only with the high beams, down is the manual on position. I also have an indicator light (hooked to the center post) on the panel that tells me when they're on.

This has worked out really well. I usually run with the low beams on with the switch set to the high beams when I'm towing. If I have to get someone's attention ... like they're thinking of pulling out in front of me ... I hit the high beam halogens and those 55 watt driving beams come on also and THEN they see me.

It's great at night too, everything comes on at once, but when you meet an oncoming car and shut them down it gets very, very dark!

 

This wiring was for foglights, so it's tied into the lowbeams. You could just as easily tie it into the highbeam wire whether you have an older truck with the dimmer switch in the floor, or a newer truck with the dimmer in the column. I think Walmart has a kit that has everything you need in it to wire it up.