Aux Lighting on an 02 WRX

Okay lights are on and the electical harness is all installed except one thing.

The Hella harness I am using uses a 12V trigger voltage from the high beams to turn on the circuit if the switch is on. This enables you to kill the Aux lighting by kicking off the High beams.

Problem is that Subarus do ground switching. So the high beam circuit has 12V on at all times. It only activates when the relay closes the ground circuit.

I fixed this on my old Outback by triggering off the low beam. When the high beam went on, the low beam went off. So I pulled out the FSM, got the wiring diagram, pulled out my multimeter and got to work. Well it appears that an 02 WRX runs both the low beam and high beam filaments when on high beam! Crap.

Any insight on how to make this work? One option that I guess I can look into would be to get a Normally Closed relay instead of Normally Open. I didn't want to have to buy anything else but that might be the solution. Anyone else come up with a solution?

Can you use the relay or use a new relay to work the same way essentially. When your ground to the high beams disconnects, it can also kill the relay you are using for the aux lights?

Maybe I'm just confused.

I just like to have a big fat toggle switch, but that doesn't look a mess on a big ole F150.

Can you use the existing fog light circuit to trigger your relay?

I am trying to remember what I did on my hyundai. I pretty much followed the instructions, and I did fiddle with a test light before I spliced into any of the headlight wiring to make sure I hit the right wire.

thats all well and great, the hellas are off with the low beams, they kick on with the high beams, but the hellas also turn back on when the headlights are off.

It seems like the way I have it wired (or the car itself is wired), it is a ground circuit being completed to turn on my oem lights. The high beams are only ungrounded when the low beams are on, otherwise they are grounded but with no power running to them.....the completed ground on the oem circuit triggers my auxilary lights on.

at least thats what I think is happening.

N Sperlo wrote: Can you use the relay or use a new relay to work the same way essentially. When your ground to the high beams disconnects, it can also kill the relay you are using for the aux lights? Maybe I'm just confused. I just like to have a big fat toggle switch, but that doesn't look a mess on a big ole F150.

There is a toggle, but it also uses the high beam trigger. So for Aux lights to be on you have the toggle on, and the high beams. When you want them off, you simply hit the high beams off.

This is set-up for TSD rallys, where meeting another car is a possibility and getting the high beams off, plus fumbling for a toggle switch could be distracting.

I could simply put the trigger to +12V and use the toggle, but I am trying to do this right.

sachilles wrote: Can you use the existing fog light circuit to trigger your relay?

Yes that is a possibility since the fog lights go off when you hit the high beams. I will have to look at that.

I added AUX lighting to my '05 RS, a friend of mine did the wiring so I really can't help you there. We did have it set up though so that all the lights, including the brights could be on at the same time. We used one of the switch blanks on the left side of the steering wheel for the aux light toggles.

Well if you ever run into this follow instructions on this link. Explanation of what to do on bottom of page:

http://www.rallylights.com/auxiliary-lamp-wiring