How best to add foglights and other Leds to Headlights and auto high beams

[BDF]

Is there a way to do this with fuse taps/add a fuse, or do I have to tap into the actual wires?

I want my fog lights to turn on with my headlights, sick of hitting the upfitter switches all the time.

On my other LEDs, id like them to come on with the auto-Highbeams.

thanks

 

[4x4TruckLEDs.com]

Yes there is a way.

1) You'd have to install a relay harness and use your upfitter to trigger the relay AND have a feed from the high-beams to the relay as well. Both act as triggerrs

2) Use the LVJ Motorsports kit, which does the same thing, but is a bit easier for installation/options: https://www.lvjmotorsports.com/product-page/copy-of-gen-2-hi-beam-modified-relay-panel

 

[smurfslayer]

I was considering this mod to trigger one of my front facing sqd. pro combo’s but... Recently, I’ve been having some kind of odd behavior from auto-high beams. About 98% of the time, high beams drop quickly at the first hint of light, but a few times lately I’ve had the truck turn high beams on in the face of oncoming traffic.

Some of the oncoming traffic has been older cars with obviously pathetic headlights, but others not so much. This is one of those nagging, no way the dealer is ever going to be able to repeat the behavior, issues.

If not using ‘auto-high beams’ I might think about this.

If you’re wanting to turn on SAE fogs with the low beams, that’s probably much easier, unless you want to be -completely- legal, in which case you probably need to have them 1) on with low beams AND 2) off with high beams.

 

[4x4TruckLEDs.com]

I don't bother with auto high beam anymore. It got annoying, for reasons you explained. Where I'm from (Long Island) high beams are not really needed often. Not a lot of back roads here. My SAE fogs are always on, but I plan to use the LVJ system (already installed on my truck) to either trigger the low beam mode on my 4x LP9 OR just turn on my Squadron Pro Driving/Combos. I wired my LP9 up for this purpose so i have it already connected to the LVJ system, just have to tap in the high beam is all.

But technically speaking if your high beams are on, you LEGALLY (at least in the states) turn on any additional lights. DOT mandates 4x forward facing lights maximum. Our high beams keep the lows on when triggered (which is why regular F150s have their fogs turn OFF).

BUT i doubt any of us really care about that when we have our highs on Just food for thought.

 

[BDF]

Crap really wanted to be able to drop in a fuse tap and call it good. I am afraid to tap into headlight wire

 

[4x4TruckLEDs.com]

Crap really wanted to be able to drop in a fuse tap and call it good. I am afraid to tap into headlight wire

Well don't forget the headlights are fused, BUT using that method will activate your lights whenever lows or highs come on. There is a wire under the passenger kick panel that you tap into for the high beam trigger. You need to use one of those "splice" type connections (which yeah suck but they work if you strip part of the wire back first).

 

[BDF]

I'm fine with the dogs being on if the headlights are on, and all my lights being on with the auto highs

So you feel like I should just tap into the wires directly and trigger a relay off the headlights and highs with power from the upfitters?

 

[4x4TruckLEDs.com]

If you want to control your lights from your upfitters AND have them come on with your highs (if the upfitter is OFF for example) then you need to use a relay. You never want to power lights from a circuit you are tapping into, as that circuit is already fused and now you'd be trying to power the lights from that existing circuit. Not a good idea.

Install a relay to your fogs (or the 1 pair). You'll use the upfitter wire as a TRIGGER into your relay. You'll also use the high-beam tap as a TRIGGER as well.

Now you'll also need to install a DIODE, because if you power on your upfitters, that will send positive voltage to that relay TRIGGER point... which also has a wire going from that same point to the high beam area. So you'll now be "back feeding" that high beam tap with power, turning your highs on any time the upfitter is on.

Diodes are cheap. You can get a dozen of them for like $2. They allow power to travel one way. Here are the diodes you can use. You'd install this between your high-beam tap and the relay so that it only lets power go ONE way (towards the relay).

This is why the LVJ setup is nice. It's all done for you already. You just wire the lights to your LVJ panel, and they give you control wires to turn the lights on and off that you wire to your upfitters. SO your lights plug into the LVJ instead of your upfitter... and your upfitter connects to the LVJ panel.

you then run the high beam trigger to the LVJ panel. he has the diodes built in already to prevent back feeding. What's nice is you can do multiple circuits with the high beam trigger. And you can pick which lights come on.


Here are the diodes if you want to make a system yourself with a relay:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07X7VJ7ZC/?tag=fordraptorforum-20

This is a 30 pack, but you can find cheaper ones online if you only need a few. I tend to keep a lot of these on hand because we make custom harnesses for folks sometimes (our reverse harnesses also feature built-in diodes for the same reason, to prevent back feeding)

 

[BDF]

Thanks for all that!

 

[smurfslayer]

Thanks Adam, I’m glad I’m not the only one having the sometimes erratic behavior from auto-high beams.

I can’t take credit for this but am keeping an open tab for it:
https://www.f150forum.com/f118/make-led-headlight-harness-if-you-dont-want-t-tap-factory-406090/

This allow you to create a plug in ‘harness’ that you make to facilitate triggering with either high, or low beam etc.