03 pathfinder off road light install

[swiftjustice]

i installed my 4 hella lights and now need to run the wires.

1.where is the best place to go through the fire wall and the roof to run the wires that go to the switches?

2. the switches came with relays so that when you turn on the main headlights you can also turn on the hellas. I want to have that option on the brush guard lights so what color wire on the pathfinder is the high beam?

3. i want to switch independantly my 2 hellas on the roof basket can i bypass the relay and just run a hot, switch leg and ground to the switch?

your help is appratated and i will post a pic when i am done. thanks

[fueler]

the high beam on mine is a brown wire. Not very helpful since the low beam is ALSO a brown wire.

But if you look at the headlight plug, the low beam is always in the middle, and the high beam will be on the far opposite side of the ground (black). So it should be black / low / high or vice versa, depending on how youre looking at the plug.

The only reason I know this is because i just re-wired my headlights this past saturday.

[fueler]

Good luck on running the wires... i cant help you much but I can tell you that for my sound system, I drilled a hole in the firewall to run cable through.

For the roof, i'd probably just run the wires up the A pillar... maybe tuck them under the interior plastic?>

[alexf20c]

run the wires through the firewall alongside the main engine harness. there's a large hole with a grommet going through the firewall already; no need to drill any holes.

never run your accessories straight to battery with a switched power or ground. use the relays that came with the lights. on your 2 main Hellas, they are wired to the headlamp circuit. the relay is powered by that headlamp circuit. on your roof lights, you can use battery voltage to power the relay, but do not use battery voltage to directly power the lights.

[swiftjustice]

alex: i would be running a fused wire from the battery to the switch. aren't the relays for only when you want to use the aftermarket lights with the main headlights? also I found the grommet in the firewall which is something every car should have.thanks

[alexf20c]

every car DOES have that grommet.

if you want to replace the fuse every time you turn on your auxiliary lights, then do it that way. relays are used so that the high current of high-power devices (like auxiliary lighting) are not run through the switch. most switches can not handle that kind of load. with a relay, your switch is only opening/closing the relay, so only nominal current is passing through the switch. basically, a relay is a switch that's controlled by your switch; the difference is that the relay can handle high current.

if you run your lights directly to battery and use a manual switch to open/close the hot side, you're likely to literally melt the switch and/or the wires.

a SPST relay is $10 at your local parts store. wire it similar to your other lights, but instead of using supply power from the headlamps, use battery power. better yet, use Ignition ON power (any circuit that is only hot when the key is in the ON position).

[swiftjustice]

makes since. my relay has 4 wires.

1.ground
2.battery
3.hella lamps
4.goes to switch.

switch has 3 terminals

1.ground
2.to relay
3.to high beams

if i dont want to hook in to the high beams can i just leave that terminal blank or do i need to go buy a 2 termoinal switch? thanks

[fueler]

every car DOES have that grommet.

LOL tell that to a car audio installer.

I just put a sound system in an 06 altima that definitely had NO grommets in the firewall - not even for the clutch master cylinder (in an auto) !!

[alexf20c]

so the gauge cluster and ECU communicate wirelessly with the engine? the wires have to get from the engine bay to the cockpit somehow.

[lemansz20]

If he just said it didnt have it, that means its setup differently lol.