How do I wire up fog lights

Coveman

Coveman

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Jan 29, 2017
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Lyme, CT, United States
Have a 2001, fog lights not original equipment, bought aftermarket switch to install in blank next to existing rear wiper and defroster switches, found extra wires labeled "switched auxiliary power" and "unswitched auxiliary power" behind dash and see there is an empty space int e underhood fuse box labeled fog lamp relay, that's all I got, what do I do?
 
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I did this on an 02 TJ Wrangler X. In my case, even thought my TJ did not come with fog lights from the factory, the wiring is the same regardless of if it comes with fog lights or not. The difference is that Jeeps with fog lights have a different multifunction switch (which you can get from Mopar or from a parts store) and has a relay for the lights. I pasted a link below from a write-up on this forum. It is not the same year as yours, but sounds very much like what I did a few years ago. In my case, after adding the relay and multifunction switch, I was able to find the wiring under the hood near the front and tapped it to power the fog lights. Now they work just like factory lights.

https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/installing-factory-fog-lights-on-a-pre-wired-tj.3501/
 
Checked under the fenders and no plugs, the area where I was looking was where the lighting wires come from under the hoof through the wheel well wall into the wheel wheels and then run to the to directional light and side lightest mounted on the side of the fender flares. I am wondering why some TJ's would come pre-wired and some not - I have a 2001 TJ Sport. Now what?
 
I will check again, the switch you suggested is the one I bought, can you send a photo of where the plug would be that shows some context so i can be sure I am looking in the right place. Thanks
 
RedTJ said:
When I installed mine, I couldn't find the plugs either, but I was able to find the wire. I don't remember what color it was.
Click to expand...

@RedTJ, is the wire you refer to located in the wiring harness that goes up to the front lights, did you have to open up the harness tonfund the wire, do you have a pic of where you found it, thx, Coveman
 
I looked at it briefly when I got home. It's cold and dark so I couldn't see too much, but from what I can remember, I found the wire on the driver's side and either near or in the wheel well. I ran the wires through the bumper to power the passenger side light. When I get a chance, I'll look at it closer and let you know what color the wire is.
 
Coveman said:
Have a 2001, fog lights not original equipment, bought aftermarket switch to install in blank next to existing rear wiper and defroster switches, found extra wires labeled "switched auxiliary power" and "unswitched auxiliary power" behind dash and see there is an empty space int e underhood fuse box labeled fog lamp relay, that's all I got, what do I do?
Click to expand...

So I'm looking at this install and have an 03 X which presumably has the wiring but unless I'm missing something, the price for a multi-function switch is either $150 for OEM or ca. $50 for ones of inferior quality, which according the reviews I've seen on Amazon, don't last—or are a crap shoot at best. (I can't imagine that getting a takeoff part is going to be much cheaper or more reliable) Assuming that I paid $11 for a set of LED fogs out of the Amazon Warehouse, I have extra rocker switches from the "hiding-in-plain-sight" kill switch I installed last year, and THHN laying around, spending 13X the price of the fogs seems somewhat excessive. Is there some reason I can't pull hot from the low-beams out of the headlight-rewire mod and run ground through the firewall back to one of the rocker switches from the kill switch mod? I won't be able to leave the fogs on w/o leaving the headlights on so my battery is protected as far as that goes and I prefer to have the fogs on when I have my high beams on anyway...in fact, I prefer to have the fogs on all the time. Given that the headlights and the fog lights are both LED and that they're being powered through a relay off a solid power supply, the combo can't be pulling more than stock headlights... <10 A based on the specs...actually <5 A based on (27 W+30 W)/12 V.

Other than the difference from a stock install, does anyone see a problem with this setup? Inspection is in PA.

Edit: Having just tested it, hot only goes to one of the two leads in the H4 at one time so I end up w/only fogs w/the low beams anyway...unless I put diodes in or come up with an alternate solution.
 
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Coveman said:
Have a 2001, fog lights not original equipment, bought aftermarket switch to install in blank next to existing rear wiper and defroster switches, found extra wires labeled "switched auxiliary power" and "unswitched auxiliary power" behind dash and see there is an empty space int e underhood fuse box labeled fog lamp relay, that's all I got, what do I do?
Click to expand...

I am interested in the "switched auxiliary power" wire that you found behind the dash. Could you send me a picture of this wire and a description of where you found it? I am looking to wire in a Bluetooth FM transmitter.
 
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