[Jim_Dandy]

Project: to install roof rack mounted LED Light Bar for off road use.
Interested in opinions on attached wiring diagram to control the LED Light Bar when the engine is on.
1. Turn LED Light Bar ON regardless of vehicle lights being on or off
2. LED Light Bar comes on ONLY when High Beams are ON.
Two Switch solution – Use Upfitter Switch to energize LED Light Bar. Use Mini Rocker (SPDT) to control the LED Light Bar.

Will wiring diagram accomplish my goals ? Any suggestions or opinions ? Do you see problems with this ?

Attachment PDF contains information in screen shots
FYI - All three Customer Connections Points are hooked up and protected with 60 amp fuse.
Thanks
Jim

 

[NealCarney]

In your documentation you mentioned a couple of times that you only want the lights to be enabled when engine is on. If so, I think you would have to make a slight modification. You would connection pin 85 of your relay to pin 29 of the high specification connector; the LED negative would stay on pin 4 of C33H as you have shown.

 

[memck]

Agree with @NealCarney - if you specifically want this to only work when the engine is running you need to use the engine-run ground from pin 29 on your relay.

That said, note that the engine run ground will disconnect if you have auto start-stop enabled and the engine stops (not sure what model year you're dealing with.)

I have mine setup similarly, with an upfitter switch feeding power to a relay that is controlled by the high-beam signal, so if the upfitter switch is flipped the driving lights come on with high beams. The relay board I'm using has two relays on it, so I've considered hooking up the second one to allow me to turn them on at any time, but thus far have never actually found a need to turn them on when I haven't also wanted to use high beams for max wattage.

 

[Jim_Dandy]

@NealCarney - I totally overlooked Engine Run, pin 29 of the high specification connector. The reason I mentioned the engine on is because of the LED Lights high power requirement.
If wired as initially diagramed, the lights could be turned on when the key in in the accessory position without the engine being on.
The slight modification seen in the next screen shot shows the addition of Engine Run, pin 29 to Relay 85.
Other than this change ... Do you see any problems, or do you think this Two Switch solution looks good ?

Thanks
Jim

 

[Jim_Dandy]

@memck - The van is a 2018 model. I have never seen any documentation regarding auto start-stop enabled if the engine stops.
You mentioned "thus far have never actually found a need to turn them on when I haven't also wanted to use high beams" I spent a lot of time asking myself that same question and just because I can design the system to turn the LED Light Bar ON without the lights ... does not mean I should.
Using two switches certainly does add complexity to the project.
Removing the first requirement, "Turn LED Light Bar ON regardless of vehicle lights being on or off" certainly reduces the complexity AND allows for a One Switch solution.
The screen shot below shows the use of the Upfitter switch and a relay.
Do you have any other insights or suggestions ?
Other than this change (Engine Running ground to relay pin 85)... Do you see any problems, or do you think this Two Switch OR One Switch solution looks good ?

Thanks
Jim

 

[NealCarney]

@NealCarney - Do you see any problems, or do you think this Two Switch solution looks good ?

Looks good to me

 

[Jim_Dandy]

@NealCarney - Thank you for sharing your insights and observations !

 

[memck]

@memck - The van is a 2018 model. I have never seen any documentation regarding auto start-stop enabled if the engine stops.
You mentioned "thus far have never actually found a need to turn them on when I haven't also wanted to use high beams" I spent a lot of time asking myself that same question and just because I can design the system to turn the LED Light Bar ON without the lights ... does not mean I should.
Using two switches certainly does add complexity to the project.
Removing the first requirement, "Turn LED Light Bar ON regardless of vehicle lights being on or off" certainly reduces the complexity AND allows for a One Switch solution.
The screen shot below shows the use of the Upfitter switch and a relay.
Do you have any other insights or suggestions ?
Other than this change (Engine Running ground to relay pin 85)... Do you see any problems, or do you think this Two Switch OR One Switch solution looks good ?

View attachment 172361

Thanks
Jim

Happy to help. I literally went through the exact same self-questioning process and at the end of the day decided that it was easiest to just start out with the one upfitter switch making it trigger on high-beams (exactly as you have diagrammed) and if I later want to add an additional switch to toggle between high-beam signal and on-demand that part could easily be added later.

 

[SavageDoombass]

Wow, such an interesting idea. I hope you don't mind if I steal it because it looks impressive, lol. I've been thinking about doing something similar with my boyfriend lately too. Speaking of suggestions (what I was actually writing for), you could just use led interior lights. I have these, and they completely satisfy me in all functions. Not only are these LED strips colorful, but they are waterproof, damage and heat resistant. And I accidentally tested all of these features, lol (spilled coffee and dropped heavy objects on the car floor). So I think this might be the best solution in your case. Let me know if this was helpful!