Posted: 4/25/2011 12:37:54 AM EDT
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I've got a 2001 Dodge Ram 2500. The factory foglights are crap and one is burnt out. I was thinking of buying some aftermarket foglights that fit in the same mount in the factory from bumper. If I do so, can I just cut the wires to the old foglights and splice the new wiring in, so I don't have to rewire? That would make is super easy, and I could do it myself.
2nd question: I've got an aftermarket bull bar on on the front, a Westin, with 2 pre-drilled holes for foglights. If I add an additional pair of foglights, can I splice those in as well, or will I need to wire them separately and add a 2nd switch. 3rd question: If I need to rewire either of the new sets of foglights, or add a new switch (basically, anything other than splice right into the old wiring), anyone here know what the crap they're doing and care to give me a hand? I live in Dallas (Paulding Co) but am willing to meet at your place to get it done. Semper Fi! |
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You can splice in to to existing wiring as well as run a second circuit off the original. You might however need to increase the amp rating on the fuse some to cover the second set of lights. If you want some help give me a call when you get back. I've been chasing wires for the last 28 years on both aircraft and heavy equipment. I can do cars but I don't really like to since it's a real PIA.
Here is what I had to do to find the short I had in my key less entry/horn circuit this past weekend. one look at this pic will show you why I say it's a pain. 
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Quoted:
All that for a keyless entry/horn circuit 
On any electrical issue, a multimeter and a wiring diagram are your best friends  No shit,  I had to down load the jeep shop manual since the haynes book I had didn't have squat for schematics. Actually the ground wire for the key less entry was pinched with a couple other wires between the heater/AC blower motor box and the fire wall. the short caused the horn relay to stay energized and thus draining the battery overnight. Now the fun part begains, putting all that shit back together. At least I can drink a beer or three while doing so.
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Quoted:
I've got a 2001 Dodge Ram 2500. The factory foglights are crap and one is burnt out. I was thinking of buying some aftermarket foglights that fit in the same mount in the factory from bumper. If I do so, can I just cut the wires to the old foglights and splice the new wiring in, so I don't have to rewire? That would make is super easy, and I could do it myself. 2nd question: I've got an aftermarket bull bar on on the front, a Westin, with 2 pre-drilled holes for foglights. If I add an additional pair of foglights, can I splice those in as well, or will I need to wire them separately and add a 2nd switch. 3rd question: If I need to rewire either of the new sets of foglights, or add a new switch (basically, anything other than splice right into the old wiring), anyone here know what the crap they're doing and care to give me a hand? I live in Dallas (Paulding Co) but am willing to meet at your place to get it done. Semper Fi! Here's my take on it: 1. If the fog lights you put in are the same wattage as the OEM ones, you don't need to re-wire. If they are much brighter, you probably should re-wire. (as an aside, it's often a good idea to rewire anyway, since the OEM wiring is probably the absolute minimum size, and causing enough resistance to reduce the output. At least I had that problems with my Grand Cherokee's headlights....) 2. If you add an additional set of lights, you need to run a new set of wires. In either case, if you run new wiring, I wouldn't add a new switch, but use a relay off your existing wiring to switch them on, and run a new circuit (fuse plus positive & negative wires) from the battery. 3. Since I'm currently in the 'stan, I'm a little far too help. Wish I could, though, it's probably an easy job. |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
All that for a keyless entry/horn circuit
On any electrical issue, a multimeter and a wiring diagram are your best friends No shit, I had to down load the jeep shop manual since the haynes book I had didn't have squat for schematics. Actually the ground wire for the key less entry was pinched with a couple other wires between the heater/AC blower motor box and the fire wall. the short caused the horn relay to stay energized and thus draining the battery overnight. Now the fun part begains, putting all that shit back together. At least I can drink a beer or three while doing so. I can get schmatics for you just shoot me a pm with your vin when you need something... |
I've not used them since most of the projects I do are custom and the wire runs are cut to length...I hate to see wire that's too long coiled up and tied off to something 
Anyway I usually just buy components such as fuse blocks, terminal blocks, breakers, connectors, etc, etc and do my own 
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