The RIGHT way to upgrade your 97-01 Headlight Harness w/Fog Lights

After searching for a couple hours for the correct way to install a headlight harness and still keep the factory correct fog light function, I had to figure it out on my own. I just found too many "I pulled the fuses" responses.

It's really easy. Pull your driver side headlight. There are 2 red wires. Cut the red wires like this:



Hook up a multimeter to determine what wire is the hi beam headlights. Turn on your headlights + highbeams. Only one red wire will have about 11volts. When you find that wire, tape it off and put if away - you wont use it. You want the OTHER red wire. This is the red wire that goes to the fog light relay.

Take that red wire and tap it right into your new highbeam wire on the new harness like this:


Obviously you want to tape off or heat shrink the connections. And that's it! Now you can have a better headlight harness and still keep your fog lights that will function as the factory intended.

:clap:
Thanks.

I am told you can also just ground that red fog light wire and your fog lights will work with the high beams on.

However, this might make the fog lights hot, which you run the risk of leaving them on after you shut the car off.

Tony, good job on figuring it out. What Upgrade Harness did you install?

The red wire you hooked up actuates a 'fog light inhibitor' relay. When that relay recieves power on the coil (High Beams ON), it switches power away from the fog lights. Leaving the wire hang will have the same affect as Grounding it.

I love the title, Crimp connectors and Scotch Locks are the RIGHT way :laugh3:
I'm sure you'll clean it up when it gets warmer

-Ron

Ron, I used the harness Speedway Motors sells. Its basically a Putco clone.

I know I know. Sorry you don't like my crimps and scotch lock. I'm not breaking out the soldering gun on this one.. it'll do! My description of "right" was in terms of showing where the wires should go, not the methods. I got tired of reading about people just pulling fuses as a solution. LOL. Or better yet, running a wire back to the 87 relay on the high beam fuse on the output wire... because that is much easier? Ha.

I have read about both low and high beams being on with adding a harness.. I was not about to just let the wire hang as a solution.