[DDGETHS]

Good afternoon all, I have frequented this board for about a year now and have finally signed up to be a member.. I have a question for you guys..

I have a CB, Off road lights and Backup lights to wire up.. How do I wire them up so that they only come on when I turn the key on.. Can anyone give me a color code of one of the million wires under the dash or any suggestions on what I should do? thanks for your help..

 

[BKAST]

Find a fuse that only comes on when the key is turned the splice into it. Too many wires might be too many amps for one fuse...
there is map of every fuse and what its controls....on the panel or in the book....


Brett

 

[jprtroy]

Back-up lights: Should only come when tranny is in rev. I wired mine through a relay. The relay coil, (pins 85 & 86 on all 12volt relays meausring about 1" square) I allways use pin 85 for gnd,(my preference) the other pin (86)is wired to a aftermarket fuse block, with a 2a fuse, (coil doesn't use much current)the other side of the fuse is then connected to a wire that I ran to the rear of the truck and spliced into the backup light wire (driverside, had to remove the lame assembly to do it) So, now when I shift into reverse, the relay coil get's energized. My back up lights are then wired to the NO pin and the common pin. The common pin is #30, the NO (normally open) is #87. Power for the lamps is taken from (in my case a terminal block & fuse panel) from my fuse panel (+12dc) is fed to pin #30(common)pin #30 is wired to the lamps. Had to run that wire as well. When in rev. the coil closes the contact between Pin 30 and pin 87, sending juice to the lamps. Totally separate from truck circuit.
Same thing can be done for driving lights, but instead of using the back up lights to supply power (duh) you can tap into the driving lights.
CB can be wired directly to the battery, with an inline fuse added.
As far as which colored wires to use, I can't help ya there. I had to take some s#$%
apart to locate the proper wires. I do have the tech manual, and yes I have schematis available, but most of the wires I neede to find were/are buried in wire looms. It was easier for me to just remove the lamp assemblies.

My 3cents worth.
Good luck
Troy

 

[DDGETHS]

Troy, are you talking about running wires from the fuse box that is on the left side of the dash.. Anyway could you take a pic for me.. I think a visual would help me understand all of that pin number 30 and so on stuff. Yes, I'm clueless. I'm really have no experience when it comes to wiring things up... thanks

 

[KS2A]

go get yourself a set of "foglights" from walmart or where ever, but make sure their good enough that they come with a relay and an illuminated switch. run some stereo speaker line (cheap, but good enough to hold the amperage) from the cab back to one of your taillights and use one line for your input signal from the factory reverse lights to power the switch and use the other line to carry current from the relay back to provide power to your aux lights. use the schematic that comes with the new lights, but replace the power source for the switch with the lead from the taillights. remember to get FUSED power for the relay. check under the hood for a master power point in or near the main engine compartments power/relay box.

also, if your truck has the factory tow pkg, check to see if you have an extra green wire with the trailer lamp harness. my wifes 99 yukon has one, its the factory connection to the reverse lamps for pulling campers and such. if your truck has this (i don't know if dodges do) use it to directly power the lights. on my wifes yuke it has held up against to a pair of 50 watts just fine, til i busted one of them off in the mud.

 

[KS2A]

oops...
as for the cb, just find the radio fuse and tap off of it. it should hold up to an extra 2 amp load coming off it.

 

[JasonB]

For my backup lights I wired in a double pole double throw center off switch in my dash and used the relay that came with the lights.

The up position on the switch takes power from the a constant 12V source so I engerize the relay any time I want (camping, hooking up a trailer, etc) and the down position is enegerized from the reverse light source wire so it only energizes when in reverse. The relay gets its main power directly from the battery.

The second set of pins on the switch (double pole) trigger a pair of red and green LEDs so I know what mode the lights are in when the switch is engaged.

 

[DieselHrs]

I just popped the lights off my truck and spliced into the power wire for the reverse lights, and attached the other end to the KC flood lights. Then I ran another wire from my reverse light to a switch in my cab, which is powered from my battery. I use this switch when hooking up trailers, camping or for the occasional jerk who thinks flashing there high beams at me for no reason is a good idea.

 

[jprtroy]

DDGETHS, I have 2 aftermarket fuse panels mounted under my hood. I ran the wires from them. I didn't splice or run any wires from the trucks fuse panel on the left side.