Date:         Fri, 1 Aug 2008 08:17:21 -0700
Reply-To:     Don Hanson <dhanson@GORGE.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Don Hanson <dhanson@GORGE.NET>
Subject:      Aux light install..sort of  (long attempt)
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="Windows-1252"

Thanks for helping, everyone.

  I have all the hardware installed.  The lights work if you go to the
battery direct.  The problem now is that the switch, as I am trying to use
it,  causes my #5 fuse to blow when I activate the driving lights.

  I'm sure I done something really elemental wrong, but I know so little
about wiring that I'm not seeing my error.

  I'll try to recount how I've done this so far, and maybe someone will be
able to point me to my error.

  First: The in-dash auxiliary light switch.  It has three positions...it
also has three large spades and two smaller ones.  Ok, so the three big
spades are load, current and ground, right?  and the two smaller terminals
share that ground and power a little bulb that lights up the switch
rocker..probably. If you use another power source to the small terminals.  I
left those off, for now.  So, what's with the three positions for the
switch?

  Now to 'power' that switch, I've taken a wire from the #5 terminal on the
main fuse panel. (I took it 'after' the fuse).  My owners manual says this
is the fuse for "left high beam, high beam indicator".  In theory, this
should put current to the switch only when the high beams are on.. I ran
this wire to the terminal on the aux light switch, grounded that switch to
the common ground points behind the fuse panel, and taken another (3rd) wire
off,  from the switch to the 30amp lighting relay (four terminals relay)
This is supposed to activate the power to the driving lights by tripping the
relay.

 ((Here is where I made my first mistake, the one that caused to continuous
lighting of the High Beam indicator light...I took the switch feed wire from
the wrong terminal..After about a hundred re-traces of the circuits, I found
that, and I no longer have that problem))

  So that should take care of the switching..but no, it doesn't.

  To power the aux. lights, I ran a big wire (fused at the battery terminal)
from the aux battery under the carpet and up to a relay (four connections,
30 amp)  near the fuse panel.  Pushed that onto the "30" spade terminal and
ran another wire out to the lights from the One marked "load" on the relay.
I connected the smaller wire from the aux light switch to the relay switch
circuit and grounded the remaining  relay terminal, again to the common
ground point behind the fuse panel..

  Now as far as I can tell, this is how Joel, Walter and Marc said it should
work.  Scott has something more complex..(thanks, everyone, BTW)

  But when I throw the auxiliary light switch...to either of it's two
positions, it snaps the #5 8amp fuse (for left high beam and indicator
light, where I got the power for the switch)  So somewhere, it ain't right.
I tried a 16 amp fuse and that blows, too.  When the fuse blows, the high
beam no longer works.  Replace the fuse and all works right again, until you
flip the aux light switch..
Me thinks maybe somehow the full current to all the lights is going through
that fuse circuit somehow, causing a big momentary load as the lights all
power up..but what do I know..Total guess on my part..

  Anyone care to try to figure where I went wrong?  If worse comes to it, I
have the KC auxiliary switch that I can work into it but that will not allow
me to control the Aux lights  to work in conjunction with the dimmer switch,
which I'd like to do..It's dangerous and rude to be 'slow' to shut down very
bright lights when you suddenly are faced with oncoming traffic.  I'd like
that to happen with a flick of the dimmer..

  Don Hanson