Try eBay again. I got relays, connectors..... just got a bit carried away when I got 200 inline fuse holders after I'd bought 10 each relays and wiring connectors. I'm still trying to peddle 'em!

 

Ditto. Just remember WWID? I bought a dozen new relays for $2 and paid $6 to ship them. I can't find any deals quite that good but check these out:

10 Pack of relays (there's a ton of identical listings)
http://cgi.ebay.com/12-Volt-30-40-Am...QQcmdZViewItem

And then the harnesses/plugs. Shipping on these is what gets you but still not a bad deal: http://cgi.ebay.com/5-Wire-RELAY-SOC...QQcmdZViewItem

EDIT For the REAL do it yourselfer: http://cgi.ebay.com/50-RELAYS-12V-40...QQcmdZViewItem

 

The first one is the one I got, or did I get the 20 pack? I don't remember...

They look pretty decent, havent put them in anything yet to tell you how good a quality they are.

The offer stands for any of you guys if you want me to make aux fuse/relay panels. I get the aluminum and ss from work for free, The only cost would be the relays and the fuse box (and shipping). I can go from mild to wild, as far as your magination will take you. I would rather see everyone safe and happy than have a crispy truck.

 

Switches? Switches? We don'tt need no stinkin switches .......or perhaps we do. Try:

http://dkc3.digikey.com/PDF/T053/SectH.pdf

 

If this is a hobby you enjoy you should start making them and selling. I think Jared posted a link to Seabass' site www.12voltguy.com. Look at the panels and stuff he puts together, there's some money to be made there for someone who has a talent with this stuff. I can make them funcitonal, just not really pretty.

 

Seen his stuff, can't be quite that fancy since I don't have the engraver, but I can come in at about half his prices and still be money ahead. My panels are fuse/relay panels, a little more elaborate than his to make, but handle bunches more power and accessories.

Just looking, he is calculating materials and at least doubling the price, sometimes 3 to 4 times the cost of the components. His 1 wire 6 way fuse block is identical to the one I put in my pathfider that I paid $6 for, he wants $21 plus shipping...

Just shoot me a pm, you would have to use a label maker to label it, but at better than half his price, I think I could live...

I don't really want to go into business doing this yet, I don't have the time to devote to do it right, but I defintely have the ability...

 

For driving and fog lights, I usually go with a double throw switch with center off, so I can can have an "auto" position (fogs operate with low beams, driving with high beams) and an "on" position (manually switched on by themselves, so I can aim them or use them for work lights (put the driving, fog and rear floods on the '77 on my second battery so I can't run down the starting battery).

After having rear floodlights on more than one rig, I think I'm going to start doing the "on-off-auto" thing on them, too. Even with a good indicator, it's possible to briefly forget they're on when you start moving forward. And letting them work automatically with your backup lights will help you at night and make you more visible in daytime.

My one-ton International has a whole bunch of switches. The only one with a red safety cover is the double throw with center off switch on the brake lights. I can change the four red brake lights on the truck to flashers (at a different rate than the four yellow signal flashers), but the center off is a no-no, one of those "clandestine ops" things you don't want do do by accident -- thus the safety cover.

While the row of toggle in my Cornbinder are all similar switches, each has a different indicator light. Helps you find 'em by feel in the dark, and each one looks distinctive when it's on.

Oh, I should mention, RELAYS. Yeah, use 'em, so you can use little switches and small wiring in the cab, and it lasts a long time.

 

Lane I was looking at your IH cab in your gallery.......WOW! Thats alot of switches. I'd have a field day in that truck. I still think you should post up a picture of that truck

 

Does anybody have a wiring diagram so I can see how to wire my switches with a relay? I also have some LED indicator lights and I dont know how to wire those in either. My dad can get 40amp relays from his work, the kind with no wiring harnesses on them. Can I use those, or should I get some with the harnesses from ebay?

 

Trey, check this gallery:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gal...&albumid=19613

I just grabbed some drawings off the internet. Two will show typical driving light hookups, made so the driving lights operate with high beams. The one that's a photograph is of a guy making a warning buzzer for his driving lights. I included it so you could see a guy using ordinary slip-on connectors from the parts store.

I'll put the one relay sketch here, so it's easy to discuss. It's a pretty small file. Most of the relays you buy now will have those numbered terminals, be they Hella, Bosch or whatever. The little coil that operates the relay is connected to the 85 and 86 terminals. Put ground on one, and when you make the other one hot, a fraction of an amp will flow and your relay will "pull in." You just need small wire for this part. 18 gauge is more than enough, and it's a handy size to work with. Fusing 1 or 2 amps is plenty on this circuit.

The high current terminals are 30 and 87/87a. Not all relays have the 87a. That's the NC (Normally Closed) terminal that's made up when the relay is not energized. Typically, if you were wiring a driving light, you'd supply battery power to the 30 terminal, and then run from the 87 terminal to the light. Make that wire nice and heavy, and fuse it the same way.

If your switch that feeds power to the 85 or 86 terminal is hot from your high beam circuit, the driving light goes out when you dim your lights.

I typically use double throw switches with center off. I make one side hot all the time, and one side hot from high beam (for a driving light). Then I run from the center of the switch to the relay. Driving lights should work with the dimmer when on the road, so you only hit one switch to dim everything. But I like to be able to turn them on separately when I'm aiming them.

Is all of this clear as mud???

 

Thanks Lane I appreciate it. I was'nt planning on having my offroad lights come on at the same time as my highbeams though.... Is'nt that illegal? They're 100watt Daylighter ripoffs. They are going to be separate from my headlights on their own switch, same as my backup lights, they will be operated by a switch to be turned on whenever, instead of when I put it in reverse. The backup lights are 100watt halogen driving lights, but they are the very small (3") circles and will go under my rear bumper on each side of my hitch.

 

Legality on the highway would depend on the particular lights (DOT approved, Commission on Equipment approved, etc.) and the mounting location (bumper OK, not rollbar). If you do have a pair of driving lights, you ARE supposed to be able to dim everything with one switch.

Assuming you ARE using highway legal lights (and most cops aren't experts on this, they just don't like being blinded), you are allowed two driving lights and two fog lights. But never more than six white lights turned on at the same time. The key is to aim your lights properly, and ALWAYS dim when you see another car.
If you are offroad, you can run whatever you want. But you'll probably still use the driving lights along with your high beams, so the switch powered off the high beam circuit is still handy.

One upon a time, about 30 years ago, I mounted a set of Per-lux lights on my pickup. I just used the switch that came with the lights. I sort of "burned out" the Deputy Sheriff. I decided it's important not to forget what lights are turned on.

I have rear flood lights on my '77 F250, and they have a blinking red LED indicator. But it's still possible to forget them for a bit. If I controlled them with the backup lights most of the time, I'd be less likely to forget them. But I'd still want the manual capability, for when I'm using them for work lights.

BTW, Trey, if you're still using those small rectangular clear lights on the back of your truck, I might have a spare -- should you need one. It's the survivor left over from a pair I used to have on my car trailer.

 

I'll be using something similar to these for my backup lights.

 

"these" look identical to the ones I put on my wife's minivan as driving lights. Work beautifully.......... They came from - you guessed it - walmart!

 

I happened into that section of Title 46 of the RCW (Revised Code of Washington) as I was looking for the answer to my bumper question. The headlights (those you use to drive with) can only be between 18" and 54" off the ground. So, it's not just the DOT/WSP compliant lights, it's the height off the ground as to whether you can use them as driving lights. I've seen it mentioned somewhere (don't recall if it was the WAC/RCW or what) you couldn't have a bulb brighter than 80W in a headlight... no lumens rating, just 80W.

-Kerry