Wiring 3-position switch to separate switches?

[MAG00]

My son has a light bar from rough country that has both white LED and amber DRL LED and it came with a pre-wired 3 position switch to operate it. He'd like to separate out the single 3 position switch into 2 separate switches on a control bank (spod, auxbeam, or other brand of switch controller). What is the best way to do that? Thanks.

Sponsored

 

[ChrisNLA]

My son has a light bar from rough country that has both white LED and amber DRL LED and it came with a pre-wired 3 position switch to operate it. He'd like to separate out the single 3 position switch into 2 separate switches on a control bank (spod, auxbeam, or other brand of switch controller). What is the best way to do that? Thanks.

Should be off in the center, and a light on top and bottom, right?

The center is typically power - bring that to each individual switch.

Take the top wire to one switch, the bottom wire to the other switch.

May not be exactly like that depending on how that product is wired, but you probably have one power in, and then a power out to each function.

 

[ChrisNLA]

https://s3.amazonaws.com/roughcountry/install/lights-drl.pdf

Yea the wiring diagram isn't detailed enough, but the switch probably has a power, a ground, a wire out to the amber DRL and a wire out to the white lights.

If you are using an SPOD or similar controller, you can throw away the Rough Country harness entirely (the switch and the relays) and connect the wires from the bar directly to the SPOD. The bar would have likely three wires coming from it. Amber DRL, white light, and ground. Amber to one switch output, white to one switch output, ground to ground.

 

[MAG00]

Should be off in the center, and a light on top and bottom, right?

The center is typically power - bring that to each individual switch.

Take the top wire to one switch, the bottom wire to the other switch.

May not be exactly like that depending on how that product is wired, but you probably have one power in, and then a power out to each function.

Yes, that sounds correct. Switch off in the center, and main light bar led on one side and DRL led row on other side.
For the center wire ('common'), can I run it to one switch terminal and then take a wire and connect it over to the other switch terminal (like a jumper wire). This would be in lieu of splicing two wires onto the single "common" wire.

 

[ChrisNLA]

Yes, that sounds correct. Switch off in the center, and main light bar led on one side and DRL led row on other side.
For the center wire ('common'), can I run it to one switch terminal and then take a wire and connect it over to the other switch terminal (like a jumper wire). This would be in lieu of splicing two wires onto the single "common" wire.

Yes, if you were simply adding an additional rocker switch, that would work since the switches are not carrying the load - the relays are. This is how we would do the 'old school' wiring on the trucks we build.

But again if you were going to any other controller with a switch pad, etc - you would be getting rid of nearly everything.

 

[MAG00]

https://s3.amazonaws.com/roughcountry/install/lights-drl.pdf

Yea the wiring diagram isn't detailed enough, but the switch probably has a power, a ground, a wire out to the amber DRL and a wire out to the white lights.

If you are using an SPOD or similar controller, you can throw away the Rough Country harness entirely (the switch and the relays) and connect the wires from the bar directly to the SPOD. The bar would have likely three wires coming from it. Amber DRL, white light, and ground. Amber to one switch output, white to one switch output, ground to ground.

That sounds correct. I believe there are 3 wires coming from the light. Can I run the common ground to one switch terminal and then take a wire and connect it over to the other switch terminal (like a jumper wire)? This would be in lieu of splicing two wires onto the single "common" wire. OR would I even need to?

 

[MAG00]

Yes, if you were simply adding an additional rocker switch, that would work since the switches are not carrying the load - the relays are. This is how we would do the 'old school' wiring on the trucks we build.

But again if you were going to any other controller with a switch pad, etc - you would be getting rid of nearly everything.

Yes, he would be getting rid of the factory supplied switch and replay and wiring into a switch pad like a spod or similar product. That being the case, I think I would be able to take the main light bar wire to one positive terminal for a switch, take the DRL row to a positive terminal for the other switch, and then run the common wire (ground) to both switches negative terminals. Does that sound correct?

 

[ChrisNLA]

Yes, he would be getting rid of the factory supplied switch and replay and wiring into a switch pad like a spod or similar product. That being the case, I think I would be able to take the main light bar wire to one positive terminal for a switch, take the DRL row to a positive terminal for the other switch, and then run the common wire (ground) to both switches negative terminals. Does that sound correct?

Yep, that would be fine. Many of those pod systems have fuses rated for different loads - like two will be for 30A, two for 20A, and two for 10A (or some similar arrangement) so just make sure whatever ones are used meet the requirement for the light.

You can bring your ground to the ground terminal at each switch output, or to the main ground within the relay / control box. Each manufacturer and model is a little different. Higher amp draw items I like to go to the main ground in the box, lower draw I just use the ground provided with the switch output.

 

[Alpine Warthog]

I did the same thing with my KC Titans. ended up just going back to a 3 way switch since the whites overrode the amber.
test it out on the bench first, he may decide its not worth the hassle. You can also find controllers that have 3 way switches built in

 

[ORACLElights]

As Alpine said, some dual-color bars don’t love being split and will let white override amber no matter what. Easy to bench test before committing!

If you do want to simplify it, controllers like Trigger make this kind of setup pretty painless, but the concept stays the same either way.

 

[ChrisNLA]

Good point by those fellas as well. I've never owned such fancy lighting, so any overrides in the light are worth checking.

Sponsored