Wiring LED bumper lights

[Cottontail]

Installed a set of flush mount LEDs on the XJ. The wiring kit was pretty much plug and play and very easy to install.

The kit came with the switch - 3 wires: white, black, and blue. However, my XJ came with factory fog lights and has the factory switch in the dash. I'd like to use that switch. It is has 4 wires: orange, blue, black, and purple.

I'm really not sure how to splice that pigtail onto the new wires so that I can use the factory switch.

I'm assuming black to black, and blue to blue, but not sure what needs to happen with the orange and purple on the factory switch and the white one on the kit switch.

Any advice?

[Unclewolverine]

Wire to wire is probably not going to be the right colors. What are the 3 wires on the kit for? Is the 3rd wire because the switch is lighted or does it have a relay?

[Ralph77]

I don't know that the 3 wires for the kit do.
But here is what the wires for your factory fog lights do.

Black is ground
Purple is for the 12V run source for the switch
Blue will be the 12 volt out to the relay
Orange is the illumination for the switch.
Not the on light but the symbol when you turn on the headlights.

[Cottontail]

The kit didn't come with any instructions at all. The switch is lighted, so I can probably just disconnect the wires one at a time to see which of them is for the illumination.

With Ralph's information, that should splice to the orange, and the black needs to be left alone.

[Cottontail]

UPDATE:

On the aftermarket switch:

Black is the illumination
Blue goes to the relay
White goes to the battery

So, to that end, I need to splice:

Factory orange to aftermarket black
Factory blue to aftermarket blue
Factory purple to aftermarket white
Factory black doesn't get spliced.

[Ralph77]

You sure about that?
Cause you make sound like this:
White is the 12 volt run source for the switch.
Blue is the 12 volt to the relay
And Black is illumination?
That last one I question.
I have to assume that the switch would be grounded.
The aftermarket one that is.
And you don't mention a ground for the aftermarket switch.
Kind of find it hard to believe that the aftermarket switch lights up when you turn on the headlights.
Thinking if that were true there would be 4 wires.
Also they made black to do that.
Just saying that traditionally black wires are grounds.

[XJI6191]

Let's just make sure I've got this right, OP wants to use the factory foglight switch to operate his new LED's, presumably instead of the original fogs.

If that's right, put new switch to one side, it's irrelevant & seems to be confusing the issue.

Ralph is, of course, right about the connections to the factory switch - but there's no need to go there.

What we're interested in is the connection under/behind the bumper - & the wires going into the LED's, not likely to be 3, so you just connect (howsoever you chose) the blue wire (iirc) to the supply to the LED and the black (ground) either to the ground wire for the LED's (which I'd expect to be black) or if there isn't one to the case/shell/whatever - if you don't want to rely on the LED mounting for the ground.

[Cottontail]

The aftermarket switch has 3 wires, as mentioned. When I unplug the black one, the LEDs stay on, but the little red light in the switch goes dark. That led me to believe that was the illumination. I traced the other two switch wires to determine which went to the battery and which went to the relay.

Regarding the connection at the lights themselves, there are simply 2 wires - a red and a black that go into the relay. Then two more (a red and black) come out of the relay and go to the battery with the red one running through a fuse.

On the switch, again, when I disconnect the blue or the white wires, the LEDs go dark. Again, I traced the white one to the battery and the blue one to the relay

[Ralph77]

I see think I see part of what is happening.
When I say illumination I mean the symbol on a switch, lets say the fog light switch, lighting up when you turn on the headlights.
When you say illumination it is what I call the indicator light.
And that is powered by the 12 volt run source to the switch.

[XJI6191]

Originally Posted by Ralph77

I see think I see part of what is happening.
When I say illumination I mean the symbol on a switch, lets say the fog light switch, lighting up when you turn on the headlights.
When you say illumination it is what I call the indicator light.
And that is powered by the 12 volt run source to the switch.

Well I'm glad you do, because I'm even more confused now.

Right at the beginning OP said "my XJ came with factory fog lights and has the factory switch in the dash. I'd like to use that switch . . . " So what possible relevance (or use) does the aftermarket switch have?

These black & red wires going to from the relay, is that the OE relay or are you adding one that, maybe, came with the LED's?

As a side issue, Ralph, do your symbols really only light up with the headlights? 'Cos mine come on with the parking/position lights, in fact, more properly, the panel lights, as I'm pretty sure they dim with them. Perhaps export models are different.

[Ralph77]

Originally Posted by XJI6191

Well I'm glad you do, because I'm even more confused now.

Right at the beginning OP said "my XJ came with factory fog lights and has the factory switch in the dash. I'd like to use that switch . . . " So what possible relevance (or use) does the aftermarket switch have?

These black & red wires going to from the relay, is that the OE relay or are you adding one that, maybe, came with the LED's?

As a side issue, Ralph, do your symbols really only light up with the headlights? 'Cos mine come on with the parking/position lights, in fact, more properly, the panel lights, as I'm pretty sure they dim with them. Perhaps export models are different.

Well I am guessing that the harness that came with the lights is all one piece and he want to cut the switch of the aftermarket harness and connect it to the fog light switch in his Jeep. Again just a guess.

So first you have to understand that I added factory fogs to my Jeep that did not come with them. Behind the blank in my non factory fog light Jeep is the fog light switch connector. So some but not all the wiring in my Jeep was there. Now the cool thing is that out of the 4 wires two of them are hooked up. Black for ground and orange for the illumination of the symbol when you turn on the headlights. So I wired the other 2 wires just like aftermarket one would be. I used a fuse tap to the Junction box for the purple wire for a 12v run source for the switch. That makes the green indicator light on the switch light up when turned on. The blue wire I cut and connected to a relay. So that powers the relay.

But to answer your question. Since the orange wire for the illumination of the symbol on the switch is hooked up already they go on with the parking light only and with the headlights too. And dim. All because even though my Jeep did not come with fog lights that wire is hooked up.

[Cottontail]

Originally Posted by XJI6191

These black & red wires going to from the relay, is that the OE relay or are you adding one that, maybe, came with the LED's?

As a side issue, Ralph, do your symbols really only light up with the headlights? 'Cos mine come on with the parking/position lights, in fact, more properly, the panel lights, as I'm pretty sure they dim with them. Perhaps export models are different.

The first point - the relay is one that came with the LED wiring kit
The second point - on the OEM light switch, there is a little blue light that comes on when the switch is on and goes off when the switch goes off. Those switches are also illuminated when the headlights switch is in any "on" position - parking lights or headlights.

Originally Posted by Ralph77

Well I am guessing that the harness that came with the lights is all one piece and he want to cut the switch of the aftermarket harness and connect it to the fog light switch in his Jeep. Again just a guess.

You are correct. I want to cut the wires to the OEM fog light switch, and then cut the wires to the aftermarket switch and then splice them together so the OEM switch runs the aftermarket lights.

That's why I'm trying to determine which aftermarket wire goes to which OEM wire.

[XJI6191]

OK, so it is just as I thought in the first place &, imho, you are over-thinking this.

You say the wiring kit was easy to install - that's where you went wrong: you don't need any of it, all you want is the LED's with, say 6" of wire (the rest can go in the trash - unless, like me, you're a hoarder & you'll save the switch, wire & relay for another project!), now, remove the wires from the OE foglights, splice them to the wires from the LED's [probably black to black, red to blue (colours may vary)] if they don't work, swap the wires round. Bingo, job done!

[Cottontail]

Originally Posted by XJI6191

OK, so it is just as I thought in the first place &, imho, you are over-thinking this.

You say the wiring kit was easy to install - that's where you went wrong: you don't need any of it, all you want is the LED's with, say 6" of wire (the rest can go in the trash - unless, like me, you're a hoarder & you'll save the switch, wire & relay for another project!), now, remove the wires from the OE foglights, splice them to the wires from the LED's [probably black to black, red to blue (colours may vary)] if they don't work, swap the wires round. Bingo, job done!

I can give that a try. I kept the pigtails to the OEM fog lights when I removed then to put on the aftermarket bumper. I did try to wire the LEDs into those pig tails and plug them in and I got no light. Perhaps I did have the wires backwards. I'll see what happens.

[Ralph77]

I don't know if I would do this.
Cause I am thinking that they will turn off with the high beams.