11 replies to this topic

[tamastar]

Right, so the car is a Gen 3 Outback and I've installed my driving lights and wired them ALMOST correctly... But not quite.
What happens is whenever the headlights are turned on, the driving lights will also come on even with the switch in the off position.. As soon as I turn the driving light switch on they turn off and function as normal e.g. On with high beams and off with low beams.
Also, when the car is switched off the driving lights will stay on if their switch is on, but I realise that this is because they get power straight from the battery rather than from a headlight wire.
So what have I done wrong?

[WillC]

check out my thread for diy jdm lights I have the schematic for the lights uploaded there. By driving lights do you mean parkers?

[WillC]

if you really get stuck maybe Dylan or one of the guys in the blue mountains can help on the weekend. I'm at Edensor park so its probably a bit far for you.

[allpaw4]

By driving lights he means spotlights. I have the same issue on both of my liberties (well, one now) and also the missus honda. Its all to do with the negative switching. I never got round to actually fixing the issue though.

 

You have two problems there. One is what wire the spotlight control switch (the one in the cabin) is actually switching on and off. That switch needs to be between the high beam pickup (the back of your headlight) and the relay coil positive (pin 85). With it wired this way, it doesnt matter if your high beams are on or off, there will be no power to the actual spotties without that switch on.

 

The second problem is the one I have never bothered fixing or investigating. With the spotlight switch on, the lights will come on once the headlights are turned off. With the headlights on, the spotlights work as they should - off under low beam, on under high beam. Has everything to do with the negative switching, and where you connect the relay coil negative (pin 86) to.

This never worried me, as I only wanted to use them on long trips. You shorten the bulb life if you flash them, so this way I can happily flash other cars without having to worry about un-necessarily blowing a spotlight globe.

 

But yes, if someone can shed some life here because I am slack and cant be bothered pulling out wiring schematics from the liberty manual, whats the correct way to hook up the relay coil in our cars for spotlight use?

[allpaw4]

Also, completely off topic, but since when did the name 'driving lights' replace the name 'spotlights'. Driving lights are the lights near the bottom of your bumper (otherwise known as fog lights, due to their legal requirement to only be used during inclement weather) AFAIK. They must be wired so that they can come on with parkers, low beams and high beams. Spotlights are extra lights wired to come on only when high beams are on.

[CodeBurn3r]

Driving lights have been known as spot lights for ages. . Day Time running lights.. whole other story..

[WillC]

I was thinking he was talking about the parkers. I have no idea of the drl's as well. But tell me hoe you want it wired and I'd be able to get it to work that way lol.

[tamastar]

Okay, sorry for confusion about the lights name - I definitely mean spotlights (or auxiliary lights whatever you want to call them). Anywho, I would like them to be wired as they should be legally as far as I know - to only come on with high beams (and still have a kill switch). It's been so long since I installed them that I can't remember exactly how they are wired. I'll try and get out this weekend and check what I've got plugged into what and post that. But if someone has done a similar install on a Gen 3 and has a wiring schematic they could send me that would be awesome!

 

Cheers

And I researched the whole negative switching thing heaps at the time, and still couldn't manage to get mine working correctly. Even after butchering my Narva "works with either polarity switching systems" kit that didn't work

[allpaw4]

Yea, I couldn't get mine working either, have a lightforce loom in mine. Pain in the bum.

[tamastar]

I call them Fog lights.

Not the fog lights though. I'll use this photo to clarify I'm talking about the Cibie lights haha