Wiring in Aux lights
 

I am trying to wire in a led bar that is wired with a relay that is triggered by the high beams coming on. i have done it a few times on ford and chevy pick up trucks. but my 97 4runner limited has a different system then what i am used to. the high beams always have power and are only grounded when turned on ( i think is how it works not really sure). How do i wire in a circuit that will trip a relay only when the high beams are on?

The positive side of your relay coil needs to be attached to the high beam circuit between the switch and ground.

Without looking at the schematic that is about as close a guess I can make

You are correct these are switched ground circuits.

would you happen to know there the high beam circuit is located?

I don`t think that will work . As there is only one ground wire coming out of the switch.:think:

Perhaps you might be able to tie into the high beam indicator

This is one of those things to break out the meter and look at the schematics

Maybe someone else has done this and can tell you just what they did.

Bust out a test light and pull the plug off your right or left head light.

Run a positive ( hot ) fused wire to the relay and from there to the light bar and tie the ground for the relay to the ground going to the high beams. I would put the hot wire on the positive battery post with an inline fuse and run it to the relay. That way the relay grounds with the high beams and sends the power through the relay to the bar.

I keep forgetting the varied skill levels of people on this forum and I should have been more detailed in my response yesterday.
Most common relays have 4 pins, 1: Fused power in, 2: power out to whatever it is you are trying to turn on, 3: switched power to energize the relay and close the connection between pin 1 & pin 2, 4: ground.
In order to make the relay work off the ground side, run fused power in to the relay, put a jumper wire from power in to the switch pin, run a power out wire to the light bar, run a wire from the ground to the high beams to the ground pin on the relay. This will complete the circuit in the relay closing the contacts and powering the light bar when the high beams are on.