Spotlight Wiring (again...)

Forum: 

I've searched and searched but have been unable to find a definitive answer to this.
I fitted my new spots and wired them up. Checked the Dim Dip resistor and disconnected it to try and stop the spots coming on with sidelights...doing this removed the dim dip feature. All well and good thaught I, until I tested the new spots out...and they still come on with the sidelights until I switch to dip beam and back again, and as with others, when you flash main beam on dip, they turn back on again.

So, I plugged the dim dip resistor back in as there's no point in not having it working and I'm muddling along with them as they are, however come MOT time I need them working properly.

Can anyone advise why there seems to be a jolt sent along the main beam wire when the ignition and sidelight switches are first engaged or main is flashed. It is definitely a combination of having the ignition and side lights switched, but I'm at a loss as to why a small jolt which will flip a relay is sent to main beam, even though the dim-dip set-up is disconnected.

Am I missing something? I couldn't figure out why people said to cut a wire on the dim dip resistor when unplugging the standard connector worked at stopping the dim-dip feature, but maybe I am wrong and one of the 3 wires going into it needs chopping. If so which one? there is a white and 2 black wires...we tested the connections on the dim dip connector (car loom side obviously) and were unable to pick up a feed at all on the multi-meter when side-lights and ignition were switched.

Talk about a head scratcher!

Any help most appreciated. Or at least a pointer to a wiring diagram!

Cheers!

Martin

I wired my spots straight

I wired my spots straight into the loom behind the head lights, so they come on with main beam. While fitting them I tried to work out which wires I needed to splice with using a multimeter, but no on main and dip I got current through all 3 wires! I'm really at a loss as to how the standard lights work. I managed to get the spots working by poking the wires into the end of the headlamp plug and looking as to when they came on.

Doesn't really help you I 'spose though, sorry I couldn't be of use :S

we found the right main beam

we found the right main beam wire using a multimeter, and wired in the same way as just about every other car I've come across. Never met wiring like this before! Considering speaking to my local (ish) daihatsu dealer and asking how they do it with the factory option spots that you can still have retro-fitted.
Thanks anyway though!

Try a look at this page:

Try a look at this page: http://www.daihatsu-drivers.co.uk/node/10522

Any veiws expresed in this thread by me are purely from my own experience, and (sometimes) falible memory. Hope my comments help, but please don't take them as gospel.

Any veiws expresed in this thread by me are purely from my own experience, and (sometimes) falible memory. Hope my comments help, but please don't take them as gospel.

been a while replaying, but

been a while replaying, but here I am!

You say this in your linked post:
"I have overcome this by cutting the wire that tells the dim/dip relay (found up behind the dash in one of the front footwells (I have found them on either side depending of age of car)) that the ignition is on. This means the relay only swithes on the side light circuit when you turn the lights on one click. This is legal, as the law says you must have front side lights or dim/dip headlights, not both."

However I disconnected the dim-dip relay, which should have had the same effect, but the spot lights still came on with sidelights (obviously dim-dip didn't). I am tempted to wire into the main been light in the dash, but that could be a pain in the backside for the cable run.
To be honest I'm tempted to take the fuse out of the spotlight circuit and stick it through the MOT like that. Unfortunately my MOT man is stupidly thorough and it would fail by law(if I'm correct??) to have driving lamps on with sidelights.

Got my spotlights sorted

Hi all, after reading all the posts from as far back as 2004, about spots coming on with sidelights, i've finally sorted mine ! i was going to connect to the main beam warning light on the dash but too much hassle i thought, so bit the bullet and did as someone suggested on the forum, and cut the wire going into the dim/dip relay, took less than five mins . . . . job done ! if you look at the plug that goes into the dim/dip relay, you have 9 pins, 2 banks of 4 and 1 on its own in the middle (white with a thin red line) cut it tape it up, sorted, no more spots with side lights.
Happt days
Chopper

complicated

the reason the wiring seems so ofdd is because to comply with Jap wiring regs they have to run switched lives, so when the main beam is activeted its polarilty reverses, as do the other front lights. The reason for this is so that is the car has a head on crash all the lights are switched negative, not positive, and this reduces the possibility of a fire caused by a shorting front light.
Hope that make sense!
BTW, my spots are relay fed from the offside headlight, the red wire with the white stripe. I didnt have to cut any wires, nor did they come on with sidelights or anything else - only main beam and headlight flash

cheers

Rob

just a little...

complicated!

I've currently got mine patched into the same main headlight cable as you Rob, but 95% of the time I will get spot lights with side lights, the other 5% I won't...must just be the jolt sent differing slightly each time.

Thanks Chopper as well for pointing out which wire to cut...may well do that when my 'trak comes back from having a new clutch fitted.

Dont worry about mot too much

I have this issue but doesnt really bother me, i correctly fitted a relay to my driving spots and used the main headlight wire as the 'switch' but i couldnt quite work out why it activated the spots when you put it on sidelights, it only happens when the ignition is on/engine running,sidelights opearte normally when ign off, been like this for years and never fails an mot on it so, probably just got the wrong wire but wasnt too fussed,depends on what your mot place is like.

Full of ideas but no time to do them!!

www.bloodredoffroad.com
www.milneroffroad.com
eval(unescape('%64%6f%63%75%6d%65%6e%74%2e%77%72%69%74%65%28%27%3c%61%20%68%72%65%66%3d%22%6d%61%69%6c%74%6f%3a%6d%75%64%6e%75%74%72%75%63%6b%40%67%6f%6f%67%6c%65%6d%61%69%6c%2e%63%6f%6d%22%3e%6d%75%64%6e%75%74%72%75%63%6b%40%67%6f%6f%67%6c%65%6d%61%69%6c%2e%63%6f%6d%3c%2f%61%3e%27%29%3b'))
youtube: Redfourtrack