Im planning on installing some auxiliary driving lamps on the D2 soon. It appears that I can 1) wire them independently or 2) tie them in so they can only be on when the high beams are on or 3) wire them so they turn on and off automatically with the high beams . It’s also my understanding that legally they can only be on when the high beams are on anyway, so can someone make a case for which way I should wire them. I’m leaning towards just having them turn on and off automatically.

 

check what is legal in your state/ locality. this may not be a decision that you need to make.

 

I’ve been looking in to the laws over the evening and while legally it appears that (at least in Washington) the control method is not prescribed. The only exception is that auxiliary lights can not be used in lieu of headlights, which is more than reasonable! I’m now leaning towards having them switched, but only be able to be turned on when the high beams are on. I won’t need all that light all the time and I guess it will save the life of the bulbs somewhat. Just trying to think it through and get the perspectives of others.

 

If you're going to make them switched, there's really no point in wiring what I'm assuming would be a relay into the headlight system. You'll know if they're on.

 

As another method of doing this, the 2007 LR3 that I have been working on had a set of driving lights that had a relay operated by the high beam lead, which then ran fused (30 Amp) power to the driving lights (2 KC Daylighters), but through a kneepad mounted toggle switch so he could turn them off for normal highway driving. I took lights/relay out but used the wiring (modified) to operate my Moroso pre-oiler (accumulator) and its associated timer.

 

Hella 500 Wiring Diagram is a good one to follow.

 

Why wouldn’t you put them on there own switch ?
Use a relay & salvage a factory switch or use toggle switch of your liking

 

Thanks for your time and ideas everyone. I think I’ve landed on switching the lights so that they can only
be on with the high beams but still switched.

 

I can tell you from experience about what it's like to live with a mismatch in switching and light type. Years ago we owned a 1989 Range Rover that came with factory fog lights. That year Rover sent Range Rovers to America with driving light switches and relays, but with fog lights. It was very disappointing to find that the "fog lights" turned on only with the high beams, which didn't work at all in fog because of the glare from the high light pattern from the headlights. And, yeah, Oregon has a lot of fog in the winter, especially out in the countryside where we lived. However, when used with high beams the fog lights did light up the sides of the road nicely on non-foggy nights. I eventually swapped in some Cibié driving lights to get a great view down our long country road at night.

Scott