What I would really like to do is have the high-beam switch on my factory selector activate an external set of driving lights, and NOT deactivate the factory fogs or turn on the factory high-beams.

Probably not completely legal, but I like the light I currently get from the low-beams/factory fogs combination. But I actually get LESS light visibility when I go to high beams.

Has anyone that has messed around with the lighting know if this is a relatively easy possiblilty?

Grant

 

Triggering another set of lights - Easy.
Maintaining the fogs with high beams - Impossible.
Unless you interested in some rewiring of the OEM systems.

 

I haven't looked into the factory fog light wiring but I know on a previous vehicle I clipped a wire on the fog light relay to keep then on with high beams. I'll look into it though

 

There is no mechanical relay in the JK headlight and fog light systems.

 

Can't you tap into the power feed to the headlights and use that for a relay switch?

Matthew

 

Yes, but you may get relay chatter due to the pulse-width modulation of the 12 volts in the headlight circuit.
There are threads on how to avoid that.
Tapping into the headlight circuit won't make the fogs stay on when the high beams are selected, as the OP was also asking about.

 

You can. But the newer Jeeps make this a little more difficult. The engineers use a modulated current to prolong the life of the headlamps. A standard relay doesn't like the modulated current. So you have to add a capacitor in the circuit to smooth out the modulation. I'm not sure what size capacitor is required to flatten the madulation.

Ron you beat me by just 1 minute

 

You could. But either the control scheme, or the function would be ackward.

 

Can you elaborate on that?

 

1st - Cut the circuit to the fogs. Refeed the fogs through a relay using battery power and the fog circuit as a trigger.
2nd - Arrange a new relay circuit using the highbeam as a trigger. Tye together the switched side of the highbeam relay to the switched side of the fog relay.

The akward part is ( logicaly ) - Now your fog lights will be on any time your high beams are on.
For mechanical akwardness - Brake the dasy chain through a switch.