extra lights
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Posting Guru
Joined: Mar 2010
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From: northern va
extra lights
i have an 84 f150 and want some lights on it i have 4 off road lights and want 2 wired so when lights are on they are on but i also want to tap the other two into the highbeam so when im on highbeam i have 6 lights burning. ? is, can the factory wiring handle the lights. i dont drive much at night but when i do the factory lights leave something to be desired.
Post Fiend
Joined: Dec 2007
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From: Lost
I wouldn't tie them directly into the factory light wiring. That would overload the wires and switch.
It's always best to use a relay with these types of lights, so the switch isn't carrying the entire load. You can have the high or low beam wiring activate the relay, though.
It's always best to use a relay with these types of lights, so the switch isn't carrying the entire load. You can have the high or low beam wiring activate the relay, though.
Junior User
Joined: Aug 2009
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From: Pacific NW (Washington)
sounds like for your purposes you wont have a problem, but iirc, I THINK some states have laws on how many lights you are allowed to have on while on a public road ... might be something to double check if you like to follow the rules =)
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From: northern va
i live in a rural area with lots of deer, to be honest i dont care if the lawman likes it or not, as long as i have a fighting chance not to slam a deer and bang my truck up!
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From: Virginia
Oh he lives in the state I live in, and I can guarantee there are laws governing lights. What little I do know, is if you have any lights besides snowplow lights, mounted higher than the vehicle headlights, they are required to have covers on them if you are on a state road. And there are wattage laws also. And we do have vehicle inspections where they check all this stuff, but he might have a place where they will turn the other way and pass it.
Basically these laws are not in place so they can "get" all the good ole boys who want to put lights on their trucks. They are there in consideration of the other driver's approaching you, and trying to see where they are going. You can certainly add lighting to help you see, but there are guidelines and limitations. I wouldn't want you to get a ticket for improper equipment.
Basically these laws are not in place so they can "get" all the good ole boys who want to put lights on their trucks. They are there in consideration of the other driver's approaching you, and trying to see where they are going. You can certainly add lighting to help you see, but there are guidelines and limitations. I wouldn't want you to get a ticket for improper equipment.
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From: northern va
if i have to cover them than thats not a big deal or i will put all of them on the brush guard and light it up w/o covers. if you want to get down to it all lighting and drive train mods (lifts, lowers, exhaust, ect) are reasons to fail an inspections but who really cares. if we only do what the state says than we would not enjoy all the bad *** rides people build! the trick is to push it as far as you can w/o having blue lights behind you. and of course not to run high beams at cars on the other side of the road w/ or w/o fog lights.
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Joined: Aug 2009
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From: Pacific NW (Washington)
this is why I said "if you like to follow the rules" ... you know really, theres so many laws out there that noone knows about, you could buy a brand new 2010 car, drive it off the lot to the first traffic light and theres probably something the police COULD pull you over and write you for if they wanted to (and I mean something not related to how you were driving the car 
)
just thought I would mention it might be good to at least be aware of the laws ... of course, then you cant say "oh I'm sorry, I didnt know. I will get that fixed right away"
)just thought I would mention it might be good to at least be aware of the laws ... of course, then you cant say "oh I'm sorry, I didnt know. I will get that fixed right away"
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Take a minute to read the "brighter brights" tech thread for converting your main headlights to relay-operated, with heavier wires. They even have a schematic.
I verified that my stock wiring harness lost almost 2 volts when measured at the headlight terminal. In addition, I was getting the dreaded intermittent loss of lights due to overheating headlight switch. Very dangerous.
This time, I switched to silverstar headlights with relays. Very noticable difference! I have driving lights in the brush guard, too.
I had another truck converted to the Hella H4 headlights. These are even brighter, and have sharper focus than the silverstars. But they cost big bucks nowadays.
I verified that my stock wiring harness lost almost 2 volts when measured at the headlight terminal. In addition, I was getting the dreaded intermittent loss of lights due to overheating headlight switch. Very dangerous.
This time, I switched to silverstar headlights with relays. Very noticable difference! I have driving lights in the brush guard, too.
I had another truck converted to the Hella H4 headlights. These are even brighter, and have sharper focus than the silverstars. But they cost big bucks nowadays.
Post Fiend
Joined: Dec 2007
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From: Lost
On the relay powered headlights front, LMC offers a pre-made wiring kit for doing this. I'm not a huge fan of LMC's pricing and shipping rates, but this item is ~$30. Be darned hard to buy all the stuff to build this type of harness, and not spend more than $30.
I haven't done this (yet) but I have several vehicles that I'd like to convert to a relay driven headlight circuit.
I haven't done this (yet) but I have several vehicles that I'd like to convert to a relay driven headlight circuit.
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