JeepOfTheseus
Well-Known Member
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- #1
I've had 4 amber LED pods on my front bumper and 4 on my roof rack as fog lights and chase lights for some time now. A few months back I got the genius (/s) idea of tapping into them as turn signals. My goal was clear: all 4 front or rear should turn on via the existing switch, or the 2 front and rear on the appropriate side should activate via turn signal (with/without switch), and the turn signal should override the switch.
After searching around without realizing the proper keyword (I was looking for switchback modules), I finally found what I needed to achieve this from Morimoto/Diode Dynamics (more on this later). I also found a lovely 6 pod relay block with integrated fuses, which gave me the 1 relay per corner I needed. I also had 2 existing relays for my light bar and air compressor, so those got moved to the block for a nice clean setup.
After multiple sketches (which led to realizing I needed a switchback module per corner), I finally had a schematic in place. The existing switch lead that powered the pods directly would go to the constant input of the switchback modules, and I tapped into the turn signal wire off the factory harness to power the turn signal input of the modules. Both outputs of a given module would then go to a single relay, which then powers 2 pods (again, 4 corners).
As complicated as that all sounds...it actually worked on the first attempt. I made sure to use tape to keep track of all the wires...it was a miracle. Even the light bar and air compressor were rewired correctly. For the relay block, I used 2 8ga wires...one fused at 60A for the light bar and air compressor, the other fused at 20A for the pods. At the relay block, everything is fused appropriately.
Well, it was short lived...the front passenger switchback module crapped out immediately after I finished wrapping up the install. Go figure. Now that I knew what I was looking for, I found that @Diode Dynamics offered the same thing. I bought a set, swapped them in (which required careful testing of which wire was which), and luckily it worked on the first try.
The point of all of this? Mostly just fun. I liked the idea of consolidating the existing 2 relays into a clean box, so that was a bonus. It's also nice to leverage the lights - the front has plenty of turn signal visibility, but enabling the rears is a big improvement.
After searching around without realizing the proper keyword (I was looking for switchback modules), I finally found what I needed to achieve this from Morimoto/Diode Dynamics (more on this later). I also found a lovely 6 pod relay block with integrated fuses, which gave me the 1 relay per corner I needed. I also had 2 existing relays for my light bar and air compressor, so those got moved to the block for a nice clean setup.
After multiple sketches (which led to realizing I needed a switchback module per corner), I finally had a schematic in place. The existing switch lead that powered the pods directly would go to the constant input of the switchback modules, and I tapped into the turn signal wire off the factory harness to power the turn signal input of the modules. Both outputs of a given module would then go to a single relay, which then powers 2 pods (again, 4 corners).
As complicated as that all sounds...it actually worked on the first attempt. I made sure to use tape to keep track of all the wires...it was a miracle. Even the light bar and air compressor were rewired correctly. For the relay block, I used 2 8ga wires...one fused at 60A for the light bar and air compressor, the other fused at 20A for the pods. At the relay block, everything is fused appropriately.
Well, it was short lived...the front passenger switchback module crapped out immediately after I finished wrapping up the install. Go figure. Now that I knew what I was looking for, I found that @Diode Dynamics offered the same thing. I bought a set, swapped them in (which required careful testing of which wire was which), and luckily it worked on the first try.
The point of all of this? Mostly just fun. I liked the idea of consolidating the existing 2 relays into a clean box, so that was a bonus. It's also nice to leverage the lights - the front has plenty of turn signal visibility, but enabling the rears is a big improvement.
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