driving lights, how hard can it be?

Discussion in 'Technical' started by justin has a 74, Dec 17, 2009.

  1. justin has a 74

    justin has a 74 Maverick bandit official

    Joined:
    Sep 18, 2008
    Messages:
    3,758
    Likes Received:
    9
    Trophy Points:
    112
    Location:
    kentucky
    Vehicle:
    74 maverick /71 grabber /72 maverick
    :hmmm:Went to put driving lights on, i know they work because i took them to a battery.:rolleyes:

    Their not working with a switch to it. All the guages light up (attached to switch) but no driving lights... I even tried it without the guages.

    Not enough power?
     
  2. justin has a 74

    justin has a 74 Maverick bandit official

    Joined:
    Sep 18, 2008
    Messages:
    3,758
    Likes Received:
    9
    Trophy Points:
    112
    Location:
    kentucky
    Vehicle:
    74 maverick /71 grabber /72 maverick
    No ideas????
     
  3. rthomas771

    rthomas771 Member

    Joined:
    Jan 22, 2008
    Messages:
    8,064
    Likes Received:
    958
    Trophy Points:
    498
    Garage:
    1
    Location:
    GA
    Vehicle:
    '74 Maverick 302 5-Speed.'60 Falcon V8. '63.5 Falcon HT
    Do you have them on relays? You could be over loading your switch if your using it to pull your regular head lights too
     
  4. mercgt73

    mercgt73 Member

    Joined:
    Sep 6, 2003
    Messages:
    3,829
    Likes Received:
    354
    Trophy Points:
    223
    Location:
    Eastern Shore, Maryland
    Vehicle:
    1973 Comet GT (clone), 1974 Mustang II, 1980 Bobcat Wagon
    How exactly did you wire them?

    By gauges do you mean the factory instruments or aftermarket gauges?
     
  5. justin has a 74

    justin has a 74 Maverick bandit official

    Joined:
    Sep 18, 2008
    Messages:
    3,758
    Likes Received:
    9
    Trophy Points:
    112
    Location:
    kentucky
    Vehicle:
    74 maverick /71 grabber /72 maverick

    To the aftermarket guages. A hot wire is wired to the switch and then the switch is wired to the guages. Like i said previously, i took the guage wires off and tried it with just the lights.
     
  6. justin has a 74

    justin has a 74 Maverick bandit official

    Joined:
    Sep 18, 2008
    Messages:
    3,758
    Likes Received:
    9
    Trophy Points:
    112
    Location:
    kentucky
    Vehicle:
    74 maverick /71 grabber /72 maverick
    I donot have it wired to my head lights, just a hot wire and a autozone switch. I will try to wire it to just a hot wire and not a switch tomorrow.
     
  7. Joe Dirt

    Joe Dirt BBF life

    Joined:
    Dec 16, 2008
    Messages:
    4,375
    Likes Received:
    7
    Trophy Points:
    172
    Location:
    Cleveland, TN
    Vehicle:
    1970 ford torino #1
    got them grounded good?
     
  8. Bryant

    Bryant forgot more than learned

    Joined:
    Aug 7, 2007
    Messages:
    6,538
    Likes Received:
    153
    Trophy Points:
    203
    Garage:
    1
    Location:
    San Diego
    Vehicle:
    71 Maverick
    most likely its a bad ground.
     
  9. facelessnumber

    facelessnumber Drew Pittman

    Joined:
    Oct 4, 2007
    Messages:
    3,710
    Likes Received:
    31
    Trophy Points:
    157
    Location:
    Memphis, TN
    Vehicle:
    '71 Grabber
    There's a "how many Maverickers does it take to install a lightbulb" type joke here somewhere...

    I'm with Joe and Bryant, first. Ground is probably why they won't come on.

    But rthomas771 said the most important thing. Don't just tap an existing circuit somewhere to power those lights, put them on a relay. It's one thing to tap the cluster lighting for instance, to light up some gauges. An extra bulb here and there won't hurt anything, but driving/fog/headlight type bulbs, which are likely halogens, will pull a lot of juice and ruin your day. At best they'll pop a fuse, at worst they will burn a wire somewhere deep inside some impossible to reach wire loom that's adjacent to some other circuits, melting the insulation and causing numerous little gremlins the likes of which one can scarcely imagine, or it might just skip all that and burn your car down.

    Use a relay. A fuse would be good too. If you bought these driving lights retail as a kit, they probably came with both.

    If you have nothing else on that circuit and it's going straight to the battery, then make sure your switch is rated for the current the lights will draw, else use a relay or you'll burn that too.
     
    Last edited: Dec 18, 2009
  10. flynbrd

    flynbrd Member

    Joined:
    Mar 1, 2009
    Messages:
    244
    Likes Received:
    12
    Trophy Points:
    48
    fuse block

    I think the headlights run off the fuse block without connections to the ignition switch. Make sure your seeing 12volts at both sides of the terminal posts in the fuse box. Then check the switch for power, the yellow wire is constant hot. You can bypass the switch by jumpering power from constant hot to the headlight wire at the plug side. (just consult your wiring chart)
     

Share This Page