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Before I butcher Baja Designs Harness - Aux Wiring

Bumble-Ski

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Hey all - I see plenty of posts that say cut any harness down to red power and black ground if you are going to use aux lighting in cab. I have a quick question for those with Baja designs S8 Lighting... S8 has a backlighting feature (assuming switch 1) and spot/driving lights (assuming switch 2). You’ll see on the harness there are two switches.

Do I cut harness back and use 2 AUX switches? Seems a little silly for one light bar, but if that’s what it takes, that’s my route.

Thank you and appreciate this community! Can’t wait to see this integrated into skid plate!

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You don't have to cut it back, unless you want to. I would not be in a hurry to chop up a $75 harness.
Just remove the correct wire from the back of each switch and connect it to an AUX wire near the battery. Is the harness built with relays? I can't tell for sure from the pictures. That would affect how I dealt with it.
 

LostWoods

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I'm not sure if the S8 can have the lights and the backlight on at the same time but I know it's not advised on my LP6 lights because it can cause weird electrical interference. In any case, if you want to control both, yes, you will need to run each to an aux switch. Alternatively, you can tap the DRLs for the backlight if you want that to be on any time your DRLs are on and only use one switch.

Looking at that harness, I'm guessing you have one of the larger bars and I'd be wiring that to one of the two 40A with the backlight on a 15A. Personally, I don't find the backlight all that essential and haven't connected mine though I did include a wire in the harness when I built mine in case I felt like adding it later. Worst case you can always pull it later if you find you need the circuit for something more useful.

You'll want to chop it just after the relay so there's just plain wire past the bar's connector and you should have three wires... Main power is white, ground is black, and backlight should be green.

Totally agree with @Mr. Bill though... I built my harness so I didn't chop up the included one and that way if I sell, I have it ready to go for the next guy. Harnesses are huge for resale value.
 
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Bumble-Ski

Bumble-Ski

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You don't have to cut it back, unless you want to. I would not be in a hurry to chop up a $75 harness.
Just remove the correct wire from the back of each switch and connect it to an AUX wire near the battery. Is the harness built with relays? I can't tell for sure from the pictures. That would affect how I dealt with it.
You are correct, there are relays in the $75 harness. On switch A, I have power, load, ground. On switch B just red/green.
I'm not sure if the S8 can have the lights and the backlight on at the same time but I know it's not advised on my LP6 lights because it can cause weird electrical interference. In any case, if you want to control both, yes, you will need to run each to an aux switch. Alternatively, you can tap the DRLs for the backlight if you want that to be on any time your DRLs are on and only use one switch.

Looking at that harness, I'm guessing you have one of the larger bars and I'd be wiring that to one of the two 40A with the backlight on a 15A. Personally, I don't find the backlight all that essential and haven't connected mine though I did include a wire in the harness when I built mine in case I felt like adding it later. Worst case you can always pull it later if you find you need the circuit for something more useful.

You'll want to chop it just after the relay so there's just plain wire past the bar's connector and you should have three wires... Main power is white, ground is black, and backlight should be green.

Totally agree with @Mr. Bill though... I built my harness so I didn't chop up the included one and that way if I sell, I have it ready to go for the next guy. Harnesses are huge for resale value.
Thank you, I hate to chop it up, clean install was the goal... You mentioned cutting after the relay, am I keeping the relay? Thanks again -
 

LostWoods

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Thank you, I hate to chop it up, clean install was the goal... You mentioned cutting after the relay, am I keeping the relay? Thanks again -
No, the relay in the aux switch system does all your switching.

If you have any sort of wiring experience, Weatherpak connectors (the one attached to the bar) are very easy to work and even the real tools aren't prohibitively expensive. I would just make sure you're getting actual Weatherpak or a well-reviewed copy. They used to be the standard on older US vehicles so there is a very wide range of quality out there.
 

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Bumble-Ski

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No, the relay in the aux switch system does all your switching.

If you have any sort of wiring experience, Weatherpak connectors (the one attached to the bar) are very easy to work and even the real tools aren't prohibitively expensive. I would just make sure you're getting actual Weatherpak or a well-reviewed copy. They used to be the standard on older US vehicles so there is a very wide range of quality out there.
Got it, thank you lostwoods! I’ll check into weather pak. I have lighting project #2 up next.
 

LostWoods

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Got it, thank you lostwoods! I’ll check into weather pak. I have lighting project #2 up next.
No problem. To be honest I hate them because they're effing huge but you can't beat them for being cost effective. It's good to have connector parts and tools on hand so when you do wire up projects, you can add connectors at important points where you might need a disconnect.
 

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Are there tutorials for this install somewhere for an electrical ignoramus such as myself?
 

Mav4x4Chris

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Are there tutorials for this install somewhere for an electrical ignoramus such as myself?
What specific light / harness are you looking to install? Do you have the factory auxiliary switch pack in the dash?
 

Minty JL

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I'm at the point now where I build all of my own harnesses, I'm too picky/OCD
 

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Mav4x4Chris

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I'm at the point now where I build all of my own harnesses, I'm too picky/OCD
I built (still do when my desk job allows) emergency vehicles for a number of years. Electrical specifically. Love building my own harnesses and systems. Often considered doing it as an official side gig for off road and service vehicles. It's really annoying trying to make universal products work neatly.
 

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What specific light / harness are you looking to install? Do you have the factory auxiliary switch pack in the dash?
Baja Designs 40" light bar mounted into their roof rack. They sell a harness for it, although I don't know if it's worth using.
 

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Baja Designs 40" light bar mounted into their roof rack. They sell a harness for it, although I don't know if it's worth using.
If you have the factory auxiliary switch pack then you don't need most of the wiring included in the harness (like the relays, switches, etc), but you would need a two or three conductor cable to connect the light to your truck., along with a few butt connectors, eye terminals, and a fuse holder.

By the time you rounded up the odd and ends - you'd probably be close to buying a harness and removing what you don't need. Unfortunate thing about electrical projects is starting them isn't cheap, but its worth it if you plan on doing more down the road.
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