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Which headlight can I tap into for DLR's?

2K views 4 replies 2 participants last post by  sERKZ 
#1 ·
Asked in another thread about 3 days ago and no one answered. I guess this section of the forum is dying? But I just ordered LED strips and I would like to mount it on top of my headlights like a "brow" DLR's and I was wondering if there is a headlight wire I can tap into for a easy/clean install. I was originally going to tap into my turn signal wires but my buddy told me that they won't power the LED strips unless I use my turn lights. Then I saw a few people tapping into the parking lights but he told me that they wont power my LED unless I have them on (I drive with my lights on auto).

So I come to you guys and ask is it possible to tap into any of my headlight wires to power my DLR's? Thanks in advance!
 
#2 ·
sERKZ, you could tap into any power line that goes hot with the ignition on... there should be a host of 'em in the engine compartment, and I can't believe current draw would be an issue.

Most of the electricals under the hood are "always on", but the wipers are on a switched circuit and might be a good choice (I would recommend putting a very low-value fuse inline with your lights, so there's no chance they'll blow the wiper fuse).

Here's a diagram that might help...

http://www.habcycles.com/mdxwipers.jpg
 
#3 ·
sERKZ, you could tap into any power line that goes hot with the ignition on... there should be a host of 'em in the engine compartment, and I can't believe current draw would be an issue.

Most of the electricals under the hood are "always on", but the wipers are on a switched circuit and might be a good choice (I would recommend putting a very low-value fuse inline with your lights, so there's no chance they'll blow the wiper fuse).

Here's a diagram that might help...

http://www.habcycles.com/mdxwipers.jpg
Habby thanks for always replying to my threads, you seem to be one of the only active ones on here. I am not very hands on when working on my car. Recently I did my LED turn signals on my taillights and installed the resistors, so I'm learning as I go. I was hoping to tap into the parking lights or turn signal lights with T-tap connectors for a easy clean install, but I am not sure if those are hot or not or only on when activated.
 
#4 ·
The parking and turn signal leads are only hot when they're activated - so the parking light connection could be OK (unless you want your DLRs on all the time, which I suppose is likely).

Another interesting option would be to wire them into your "driving lights", which I've personally found to be utterly worthless (can't even tell when I turn 'em on). Then you'd have the option of turning the DLRs on or off with a dash-mounted switch, though of course the driving lights would come on with the DLRs. If you want to get really pedantic about it, you could swap out the "bright" (hah!) driving light bulbs for something lower-wattage or different temperature and think of the driving lights as just more visual bling, or maybe just unplug the driving lights altogether (if you're like me, you never, ever use 'em anyway).
 
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