What auxiliary lights to go with? PIAA? Hella? Etc?

[gaterose]

Hahaha thanks a lot.. I wish I could make it up there! Hopefully someday I'll have time to drive the 48 or so hours..

 

[UARandy3]

I've decided to go with the PIAA 520 ATPs and probably going to order them tonight. Is there anything else I'll need? Or is everything that comes with the kit sufficient for a good install? Also, how is the switch that comes with the kit?

Thanks

 

[Supra725]

Nice choice, I don't think you need anything else. The kit comes with everything, wiring and the switch.

The switch is pretty good, it lasted me for the past decade. Or maybe switch it out for an oem fog light switch?

 

[UARandy3]

Nice choice, I don't think you need anything else. The kit comes with everything, wiring and the switch.

The switch is pretty good, it lasted me for the past decade. Or maybe switch it out for an oem fog light switch?

I'll probably try out the PIAA switch first, I guess. I thought about trying to round up an OEM switch, but may just see how this goes.

Another question(s)....I'm assuming they come with instructions (never installed aux lighting but hear the PIAA kit is pretty easy), but how do they have you wire them up to come on? Will they only come on with my brights engaged and the switch to on? I will be using them on deer dense back roads and want them to come on when my brights do, but if I wire them like that, I'm guessing I can't just turn them on anytime, right? Would like to be able to turn them on whenever I want but not have to worry about flipping the switch to supplement my brights.

Sorry for the n00b questions :sadwave:

 

[Supra725]

My question is, do you prefer the oem switch/look?

With mine, I have it wired up to come on manually. No need of turning the headlights on for the Piaa's to light up. On my old set of Hella's, those need the headlights to turn on for it to light up. Hopefully this Christmas, I can buy an new one because my dog decides to chew on the wiring one day.

Shoot me an pm if you have other questions.

 

[ameining]

I run the PIAA'a as well and am very happy with them.

A ton of people do run Hellas. They are good and cheaper then the PIAAs. I have had both and now run PIAA 520 Fog Lights. I would go with the PIAA even though they are more cash. PIAA is a very good product.

Even if a bulb burns out, all you have to do is email in your receipt and they will send you a set of new bulbs for free.

I have burned two bulbs though....brian, do you have the email address where we can email a receipt for some new bulbs?

 

[bak3rme]

i'm happy with my hella 700's..but if i could..i'd get met a real solid bumper and then throw some HUGE lightforces on em. i like that look

 

[bluecollarjock]

the old "black magic" kit I had on an SUV blew away the PIAAs I have now on my Jeep...but I forget which PIAAs i have....the new black magic are just the old kinda Hella you get at Walmart or any parts store, but seriously for as cheap as they are they are darn good....

Check your Craigslist or local stores for deals see what you can grab....if you want serious light the PIAAs probably much better than the cheap Hella, but whatever the old Black Magics are called now, those things rocked....

I have PIAA on my Jeep and they dont match the old school BM, and I have (6) rectangular 100w KCs on my 4runner (on there when I bought it, 4 driving, 2 fog), and they dont touch the old school BM...

Friends of mine are buying certain kinds of Hella and Pro Comp lights and throwing in HID bulbs and say its insane how bright they are...

 

[UARandy3]

Just ordered a set. Should be here Thursday. Now to figure out how I want to wire them. Either have them wired to the battery for full, anytime control regardless of headlight status. Or tap into the brights (the way I'm leaning currently) and doing the mod for all time fogs too so I can have all lights on at once if I want....just unsure which wire to tap into. Any tips?

i'm happy with my hella 700's..but if i could..i'd get met a real solid bumper and then throw some HUGE lightforces on em. i like that look

Yeah I would like to go that route too, but am trying to keep from doing much more to this truck as I don't know how long I'll have it before I get into a 4x4 truck. Plus, my wife is starting to get real pissed every time I mention buying something else haha. Having to come up with justification now

Friends of mine are buying certain kinds of Hella and Pro Comp lights and throwing in HID bulbs and say its insane how bright they are...

Yeah HID retro's in aux lighting can be crazy bright. I'm going to try these PIAAs out and hope they'll be plenty of light for what I need. If all else fails, I could always retro my headlights and these PIAAs later.

 

[the great him]

I'll probably try out the PIAA switch first, I guess. I thought about trying to round up an OEM switch, but may just see how this goes.

Another question(s)....I'm assuming they come with instructions (never installed aux lighting but hear the PIAA kit is pretty easy), but how do they have you wire them up to come on? Will they only come on with my brights engaged and the switch to on? I will be using them on deer dense back roads and want them to come on when my brights do, but if I wire them like that, I'm guessing I can't just turn them on anytime, right? Would like to be able to turn them on whenever I want but not have to worry about flipping the switch to supplement my brights.

Sorry for the n00b questions :sadwave:

well your gonna have to use the switch to supplement the brights, unless you are into doing some creative wiring, but from the fact that you like the idea of the simplicity of the PIAA kit, you probably wont have fun making that happen. besides this way you can use them with the low beams and or as running lights.

My question is, do you prefer the oem switch/look?

With mine, I have it wired up to come on manually. No need of turning the headlights on for the Piaa's to light up. On my old set of Hella's, those need the headlights to turn on for it to light up. Hopefully this Christmas, I can buy an new one because my dog decides to chew on the wiring one day.
id also say stick with the stock PIAA switch, its just fine and good quality as well.

Shoot me an pm if you have other questions.

thats why i hate the way Hella and KC and other manufactures tell you to wire their lights into the head lights, so the head lights have to be on and the the high beams activated for them to work. i cant stand that, i wanta use them when i want, like for some jerk who just likes to drive around with his high beams on all the time or who is running HIDs in standard halogen housings ect.

 

[gaterose]

Just ordered a set. Should be here Thursday. Now to figure out how I want to wire them. Either have them wired to the battery for full, anytime control regardless of headlight status. Or tap into the brights (the way I'm leaning currently) and doing the mod for all time fogs too so I can have all lights on at once if I want....just unsure which wire to tap into. Any tips?

You can wire it to be switched or come on with highs. I have my backup lights set up that way so they come on in reverse or when I hit the switch.

I can't remember how to do it with the PIAA relay but I doubt it would be hard. I have mine wired with a regular 30A relay, the switch (+) is connected to pin 87A, the reverse lights (+) are connected to 85, ground (-) to 86 and battery (+) to 30, and KCs to 87.

If you wanna keep the PIAA relay box, I'd just do that with the PIAA switch (+) going to 87A, bright lights to 85, and 87 to the switch input on the PIAA box. Then add a 35A or 40A fuse from the battery to 30 & ground 86. It may sound like a lot but it would be easy. The diagram is here: KC Back Up Light Instructions

Can't do this on the 4th gens because the (-) circuit is completed instead of (+) to turn on the brights

edit: you can buy a fog light wiring kit from Advanced, O'reilly, Autozone, etc. for $7 that includes everything you need to do this.

 

[the great him]

You can wire it to be switched or come on with highs. I have my backup lights set up that way so they come on in reverse or when I hit the switch.

I can't remember how to do it with the PIAA relay but I doubt it would be hard. I have mine wired with a regular 30A relay, the switch (+) is connected to pin 87A, the reverse lights (+) are connected to 85, ground (-) to 86 and battery (+) to 30, and KCs to 87.

If you wanna keep the PIAA relay box, I'd just do that with the PIAA switch (+) going to 87A, bright lights to 85, and 87 to the switch input on the PIAA box. Then add a 35A or 40A fuse from the battery to 30 & ground 86. It may sound like a lot but it would be easy. The diagram is here: KC Back Up Light Instructions

Can't do this on the 4th gens because the (-) circuit is completed instead of (+) to turn on the brights

edit: you can buy a fog light wiring kit from Advanced, O'reilly, Autozone, etc. for $7 that includes everything you need to do this.

see i figured someone would know how to do this, i know how but sometimes i cant wright it it, i get confused myself, but i can do it no problem

 

[TheDurk]

Guys--headlight bright/dim are switched grounds (-) on pre-'00 without DRL's. They are switched positives on the '00 and later with DRL's. So make sure you know which set up you are talking about.

I wire one side (85 or 86 on any Bosch style relay) of my aux. lights relay coils to the parking light hot and the other to the switch and then ground. This doesn't change with year, and lets me use the lights with or without headlights (bright or dim), but makes sure they go off if no lights are on at all or I leave the car. Then 30 to a fused 12V+ and 87 to the lights.

 

[UARandy3]

Guys--headlight bright/dim are switched grounds (-) on pre-'00 without DRL's. They are switched positives on the '00 and later with DRL's. So make sure you know which set up you are talking about.

I wire one side (85 or 86 on any Bosch style relay) of my aux. lights relay coils to the parking light hot and the other to the switch and then ground. This doesn't change with year, and lets me use the lights with or without headlights (bright or dim), but makes sure they go off if no lights are on at all or I leave the car. Then 30 to a fused 12V+ and 87 to the lights.

This PIAA kit comes with a relay and preassembled harness with fuse and a switch. As best as I can figure (I'm no electrician), the "source" wire is powered by something, the high beam in my case. Then this source wire goes through the switch and to the relay, which then is triggered to send power from the battery to the lights. If the switch is in the off position, then nothing happens as the power doesn't get to the relay and then to the lights. Is this correct? Here is the instructions so you can see what I'm working with: Instructions

Mine being a 2000, from what I've read and you posted, is switched +. Since I am trying to get the PIAAs to switch on (w/ switch also on) with the highs, I need to tap my high beam hot, correct? Which one is the correct wire? I looked and there are 3 wires at the headlamp (looks to be easiest place to tap).....they are red/blue, green/white, and white/green. Anyone know which one I need to tap into?

These instructions and this assembled harness look straight forward if I can find out which wire to tap to supply the source power to the switch. Thanks for all the help so far

 

[TheDurk]

This PIAA kit comes with a relay and preassembled harness with fuse and a switch. As best as I can figure (I'm no electrician), the "source" wire is powered by something, the high beam in my case. Then this source wire goes through the switch and to the relay, which then is triggered to send power from the battery to the lights. If the switch is in the off position, then nothing happens as the power doesn't get to the relay and then to the lights.The power does not get to the coil so the relay remains open so power does not get to the lights--power for the lights is ALWAYS present at the relay. Is this correct? Here is the instructions so you can see what I'm working with: Instructions

Mine being a 2000, from what I've read and you posted, is switched +. Since I am trying to get the PIAAs to switch on (w/ switch also on) with the highs, I need to tap my high beam hot, correct? Which one is the correct wire? I looked and there are 3 wires at the headlamp (looks to be easiest place to tap).....they are red/blue, green/white, and white/green. Anyone know which one I need to tap into?

These instructions and this assembled harness look straight forward if I can find out which wire to tap to supply the source power to the switch. Thanks for all the help so far

Red/Blue.

DRL Wiring diagram

Note that R-L on the diagram means red/blue. B stands for Black and L stands for Blue.
Your description is pretty close. See my comment in bold.

 

[UARandy3]

Red/Blue.

DRL Wiring diagram

Awesome. Thanks! I'll try that.

 

[UARandy3]

Awesome. Thanks! I'll try that.

UPDATE:
Got the lights all hooked up and working! I tapped the red/blue wire at the headlamp like was recommended. The results are that whenever I turn the truck on, the switch gets power and the LED lights up on the switch. I can turn the switch ON and have the PIAAs on in the following situations: with no lights on, the corner lights on, or with high beams on. They do NOT turn on when the lows are on, which is perfect. But if I have the switch to ON, they automatically turn on when I go to highs. I just have to remember to turn the switch off if I'm switching down to parking lights or no lights. They do turn off when I turn the truck off though.
I wasn't really expecting them to be able to turn on anytime except with lows. So it's actually the best of both worlds in my opinion bc I can have them on whenever I want, except lows (which I wouldn't want anyways).

Just have to go back and zip tie wires to make it look cleaner, aim them, and figure out how to make the switch look better mounted. And I still have to do the fog light anytime mod.

Thanks for all the opinions and help with this.....everything went very smooth thanks to yall!
:thumb3:

 

[TheDurk]

UPDATE:
Got the lights all hooked up and working! I tapped the red/blue wire at the headlamp like was recommended. The results are that whenever I turn the truck on, the switch gets power and the LED lights up on the switch. I can turn the switch ON and have the PIAAs on in the following situations: with no lights on, the corner lights on, or with high beams on. They do NOT turn on when the lows are on, which is perfect. But if I have the switch to ON, they automatically turn on when I go to highs. I just have to remember to turn the switch off if I'm switching down to parking lights or no lights. They do turn off when I turn the truck off though.
I wasn't really expecting them to be able to turn on anytime except with lows. So it's actually the best of both worlds in my opinion bc I can have them on whenever I want, except lows (which I wouldn't want anyways).

Just have to go back and zip tie wires to make it look cleaner, aim them, and figure out how to make the switch look better mounted. And I still have to do the fog light anytime mod.

Thanks for all the opinions and help with this.....everything went very smooth thanks to yall!
:thumb3:

I guess the DRL circuits feed back voltage through the high filament so that the relay coil becomes energized enough to trip on whenever the DRL's are on. On low beam, DRL's are cut off, so that doesn't happen. There may be a way around that, but I don't have DRL's so I haven't researched it. A big old diode in the high beam circuit between the tap and the bulb would do it, but I'm not smart enough to spec it for you. It would have to carry the whole high beam current when the high beams were on. It would also reduce brightness somewhat.

Maybe someone else has a more elegant approach.

 

[UARandy3]

I guess the DRL circuits feed back voltage through the high filament so that the relay coil becomes energized enough to trip on whenever the DRL's are on. On low beam, DRL's are cut off, so that doesn't happen. There may be a way around that, but I don't have DRL's so I haven't researched it. A big old diode in the high beam circuit between the tap and the bulb would do it, but I'm not smart enough to spec it for you. It would have to carry the whole high beam current when the high beams were on. It would also reduce brightness somewhat.

Maybe someone else has a more elegant approach.

I believe that is correct about the DRLs feeding from the highs. I have my DRLs unplugged though. I will likely just leaving everything as is bc the way it is wired now doesn't differ much from what I was expecting. I just have to remember to flip my switch on once I turn my headlights actually on. I kind of like the ability to turn the PIAAs on when I want, besides with the lows.

 

[Scramble]

Another great thread for PIAA's!