ProjectMcFly

Hi all,

So I have got a few wiring issues that are driving me nuts. I have my truck currently completely ripped apart, so the sooner I can figure these out, the better.

So I will first list out what I've got for a setup.

I have a Blue Sea Auxiliary Fuse panel that I am planned on mounting in the cab of my truck. I've got 4 gauge wire running from the positive side of the battery through where the hood latch runs into the positive hookup on the panel. I have an in-line 60 amp fuse to protect the panel. The panel does not have a negative bus on it.

I'm running a set of cheapie 55w yellow rectangular fogs you can find at Auto Zone / Pep Boys / Advanced for one set of lights.

I'm also running a set of 130w KC HiLiTES Daylighters. I am controlling everything through Daystar 20amp switches.

Now onto the problems I'm having. I wired up the cheapie fogs per the kit that comes with them. I've got a single wire running from the switch to the first light and then a jumper to the second light. The second wire with the kit was the fused power wire that runs from the power supply to the switch.

So the first problem is that no matter which way I hook up the power in/power out wiring on the switch it works incorrectly (ie when it's switched off the lights are on). Turning the switch on shuts the light off. I wasn't sure if I had just mixed up the polarity of the switch, but when I reversed it, it didn't solve my problem. This is super confusing to me. I did test a 2nd switch to see if it was just the switch or if it was my wiring and the 2nd switch did the same thing. I didn't hook up the 3rd wire for the LED, but I doubt that would cause any issues.

Am I just incorrect in how those switches work? Is down off and up on? When I see the pictures of them online, the top of the switch is pushed, which for me would be off...right? (I've been discussing this with my friend and we're just guessing...)
The main problem I am having is with the KC lights.

I have the relay mounted in my truck. With the KC wiring harness everything is already hooked up to a plug that runs to the relay. The positive and negative wire for each light is shrouded in plastic and runs out to the lamps. The relay has a ground wire. There is also a green/white bundle in which the green wire comes from the relay and goes to the switch and the white wire has one end connected to a +12v source and the other end to the switch.

I had to extend the wires to each lamp, and I'm not 100% sure I have matched the polarity, but I'm 95% sure. However, to the best of my knowledge the polarity shouldn't matter on an H3.

So for the install I ran the yellow power wire with 20 amp fuse holder to the fuse panel set up with a 20 amp fuse. The white wire went right to the fuse panel and everything else was hooked up directly per the instructions.

Now, the problem is that the second I turn on the switch the fuse pops. I disconnected each light to see if I had the polarity reversed and it kept popping the fuse. I even went as far as disconnecting both lamps and it still popped so I don't think it's in the wiring out to the lamp.

I can hear the relay click w/o the main power wire (20A) hooked up, so I am assuming the relay is working as it should. I even went as far as testing the setup with another relay I had laying around from a Hella kit. The only other thing that I did was solder in a smaller ring terminal so that it would fit within the Blue Sea panel.

So I'm stumped why I keep blowing fuses. The wiring from the relay to the holder is unimpeded as far as I can tell. I have the relay ground grounded to the metal bars under the radio.

There is a line in the KC instructions that say the power wire must go to an unfused source. I have the power wire going to the fuse panel which is protected with a 60A fuse upstream of the panel and a 20A fuse at the panel.

I also went as touching the power wire directly to the power terminal on the fuse panel, which sparked like you couldn't believe and popped the 20A fuse again.

Any help will be appreciated.

weaselman

the reason the fuse keeps popping is because you have a short. your power wire is probably hooked to a ground or frayed somewhere contacting ground..

its hard to tell with out a diagram

you should draw up a diagram (that usually helps me anyways)

ProjectMcFly

So I talked it out with my friend. The answer...I'm a dumb@ss.

I soldered the extended pieces and then heatshrunk over them. Stupid me forgot to heatshrink each wire individually.

D'oh. They work now though

weaselman

like i said, direct short.. lol

glad you got it figured out.!