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hella type light install trouble

alek21

alek21

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Yorba Linda
well i got 2 off brand lights(look somewhat like hellas) and am having some trouble with the install. i am using the stock fog light wiring, so i just took the fog lights off and used the connections and whatnot from there, and am mounting them on the thick plastic rectangular boxes(idk what they are called lol) that are on the front bumper. i made sure that both lights work before i mounted them and everything as i got them used from a friend. well after all was mounted and hooked up i went to turn them on and nothing happened, so i checked everything all over again and it is all hooked up correctly, so then i hooked up one of the fog lights to see if both the lights happened to break, and the fog light didnt work either. so then i checked the fuse layout in the manual and there is only one fuse for all the lights(fogs and beams), and the beams are working so i know its not the fuse. i have taken it apart and put it together three times, and i dont know where to go from here.. any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated! thanks, alek
 
Are your headlights on when you try and turn your new lights on? If your headlights are off, the aux lights won't come on.

I learned this the hard way when I used the factory aux/fog switch/wiring for my rock lights. They won't work unless your headlights are on.
 
alek21 said:
well i got 2 off brand lights(look somewhat like hellas) and am having some trouble with the install. i am using the stock fog light wiring, so i just took the fog lights off and used the connections and whatnot from there, and am mounting them on the thick plastic rectangular boxes(idk what they are called lol) that are on the front bumper. i made sure that both lights work before i mounted them and everything as i got them used from a friend. well after all was mounted and hooked up i went to turn them on and nothing happened, so i checked everything all over again and it is all hooked up correctly, so then i hooked up one of the fog lights to see if both the lights happened to break, and the fog light didnt work either. so then i checked the fuse layout in the manual and there is only one fuse for all the lights(fogs and beams), and the beams are working so i know its not the fuse. i have taken it apart and put it together three times, and i dont know where to go from here.. any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated! thanks, alek
Click to expand...

Bring it over either tomorrow afternoon or sunday.
 
Are your stock fog lights dual wire or single wire? if they only had one wire they are grounded through the mounts and need to be mounted to something metal. also, the factory wiring is not made to handle bigger lights. you should wire them yourself or you are never going to get the full amount of light out of them. check to make sure you didnt pop a fuse when you tried to turn them on.
 
mikedashg said:
Are your headlights on when you try and turn your new lights on? If your headlights are off, the aux lights won't come on.

I learned this the hard way when I used the factory aux/fog switch/wiring for my rock lights. They won't work unless your headlights are on.
Click to expand...

haha yes they are, i learned that the other day :D
 
i dont know if stock fog lights are ground...im sure they are, i would check the grounds. i had a ground wire fall out and it melted a cheap switch....literally
 
Swamprat said:
i dont know if stock fog lights are ground...im sure they are, i would check the grounds. i had a ground wire fall out and it melted a cheap switch....literally
Click to expand...

oo thats not good, there is no place for a ground, unless the bracket itself is the ground that mounts to the bumper.

besthaticouldo said:
i blew the aux light fuse in mine but my headlights still worked. might be worth it to just check the fuses and see whats up...

good luck man
Click to expand...

ya i think that is prolly what it is. i didnt check that, only the fuses under the hood.
 
Did the lights come with a relay? You can always use the stock foglight wiring to trip a relay, which will then power the foglights directly from the battery. This way you can get maximum power to your lights. Works the same way as some add on headlight harnesses.
 
ok well we diagnosed the problem today, we found out that there is power from the switch to the relay which is on the drivers side mounted to the front clip in front of the air filter box. there is power from the switch to the relay, but no main power to the relay. the main power comes into the relay from a red/pink wire with green stripes on it. is there a fuse or something that this wire comes from? from where does this wire get power? if nobody has any suggestions we are just going to wire it ourselves. thank you, alek
 
wire it yourself now. it's a hell of a lot easier than trying to figure out all that. get a switch from wal mart and mount it where you want then run one wire from the fuse box to the switch another to a ground on the firewall and one out to the lights (use the rubber grommet already there, much easier). then ground the lights to something easy. i used one of the bolts where the bumper mounts to the frame and it hasn't failed yet. trust me i know. my jeep lights up like a xmas tree
 
I agree...it's much easier to throw in some new wire that you know exactly where everything is, then it is to try and figure out/find all of the old wiring.

~Scott
 
ok thanks guys.. looks like that is the solution
 
i wired up a set of off road lights to my front bumper. i like the look of the stock fog light switch but i did not want to only be able to use them on low beams. my xj did not have the stock foglamps on it.

i went to the junkyard and snagged a switch pannel and switch off of an xj that had the factory fogs. i mounted that pannel and switch to the dash in the stock location. from there i wired it up as i would if i was using an aftermarket switch and relay. the install came out super clean (i didnt want the look of the after market switches) and i am able to run the off road lights regardless of the headlight switch possition. even the small led indicator on the switch functions (switch has to be grounded).

hth
stewie
 
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