My lighting Fog light question part 2 | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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My lighting Fog light question part 2

My Fog light question part 2

Ok, according to a description on how to wire up fog lights that I read, the factory switch in the truck is controlling the ground for the relay. So, In order for me to use the aftermarket piaa relay with my factory switch, all I should have to do is cut the ground coming from the factory switch and splice the ground for the PIAA relay to it...right or wrong?...I would then run the + to the battery and the switched wire from the relay to the parking lights

Will that work or am I doing this wrong

Thanks,
Jon
 



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if u do that.. do u still need ur switch? i like the piaa switches.. wonderin if i could buy it off u.. i wana wire some interior lights to a little switch..
 






yeah, I have no problem with that..I'd be glad to sell it to you...only problem is I need to someone to explain to me how to wire these things to the factory switch and we'll be set to go.

Jon
 






You dont use the ground on the factory wiring. Only the hot wire.
There is a white/red and black/red wire comming out of the relay and going to the switch.
The black/red wire is to be grounded.
The white/red wire is hooked to the hot lead of the oem fog light wire.
The switch and plug, now unused, is sold to jssong for big bucks...
 






hey Bill, thanks so much for yuor help but I'm a little slow sometimes..lol

anyway, to show my point...In Taxxmans post regarding the factory relay, it states that the switch inside the truck actually is controlling the ground on the relay. When the switch is in the on position, the relay is grounded and powered..when the switch is off, the relay loses its ground and doesn't work.

Now, doing it the way you state, I don't see how that would work when the positive power has nothing to do with the switch, I'm assuming that when you say to splice the factory hot lead, you are saying a hot lead to the factory relay...but aren't we trying to bypass this relay and use the PIAA relay?
 






Originally posted by zzimzimma
hey Bill, thanks so much for yuor help but I'm a little slow sometimes..lol

anyway, to show my point...In Taxxmans post regarding the factory relay, it states that the switch inside the truck actually is controlling the ground on the relay. When the switch is in the on position, the relay is grounded and powered..when the switch is off, the relay loses its ground and doesn't work.

Now, doing it the way you state, I don't see how that would work when the positive power has nothing to do with the switch, I'm assuming that when you say to splice the factory hot lead, you are saying a hot lead to the factory relay...but aren't we trying to bypass this relay and use the PIAA relay?

You use the factory switch and relay to control the aftermarket relay.
 






Ok, this is making some sense now but if I'm still using the factory relay to power the new relay, then what I'm I gaining if I'm still pulling from the stock?

I think I can kinda answer this myself though. The only thing I'm really using from the stock relay is the turn on hot lead correct? The actual power for the lights will be coming from the hot lead from the battery off the new relay.


So, to finalize..this is what I'll be doing.

The new PIAA relay...

1. ground goes to battery ground
2. Constant hot goes to positive battery
3. relay feed goes to lights
4. and hot lead turn on goes to the factory relay output which is currently feeding my stock fogs.

Ok, Is this right? :rolleyes:

Thanks Everyone,
Jon
 






Ya I think so. I was not aware of the relay truning off the ground. Get a test light and hook it to the hot lead for the factory fogs and ground it to the body. If it turns on & off by the oem light button your OK.
If not, well I gotta think about this...
Let us know.
 






Ok, I hooked up my meter and test light when I got home today and the switch is in fact controlling the relays ground..I find that kinda strange so tomorrow I'm going to check my friends haynes manual at work and trace the schematic for this circuit.

now, if this infact is how this works which im almost 99% sure it is, all I should have to do is find the wire returning to the factory relay from the interior switch (which will be a ground wire) and splice the aftermarket ground wire from the PIAA relay to this. Then hook the main positive from the new relay to the battery, the light feed to the aftermarket lights and the turn on lead to a +12 source of power like the parking lights.

I believe that should work then..any comments or problems that anyone might see?

Thanks
Jon
 






Sounds good to me.
Let us know how it works...
 






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