First off, I would like to apologize for my lack of electrical knowledge. I have looked at Mike M's diagram, but my situation is a little different than most. I would rather ask here now, then blow a fuse or my foglights. So here goes the situation.

When I first got the jdm front, my friend that installed the front wired my jdm foglights to my usdm foglight harness (the one that sits on the armrest area).

I didn't like how the usdm fog switch stuck out like a sore thumb, so I purchased the jdm foglight switch to take the place of the dead spot opposite the dimmer switch.

My question is how do you wire the jdm fog switch, to the usdm harness???

The usdm switch has three wires. One is black (ground), one is Red w/ a fat white stripe, and one is red with a thin yellow stripe.

I am unsure which red wire is for power, and which one is for the illumination of the little green light.

The jdm switch has five wires. Two are red w/ black stripe, two are solid black, and one is red with a green stripe.

Can anyone help this particular situation. And please....if you are going to tell me to look at MikeM's diagram, then don't post. I have been looking at that damn thing for a couple of weeks and I still don't know what the hell is going on.

I'm so frustrated at this point, if anyone can wire it up for me, I'll give you 20 bucks. Nor Cal people.

 

mike's diagram should actually solve it for you... since there are more on the jdm switch..you will need to split some of the usdm cables into 2 and connect it right... if u can dig up mike's diagram again.. it's easier to point out...

 

its actually prolly the same thing. one is ground, one is for the illumination, and other is the switch. To test which one is which, cut one wire(other than ground) and push your switch on. if it doesnt turn on, thats your switch wire. the other is prolly jsut illumination. not 100% sure but like 80%. hope this helps

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The jdm switch has five wires. Two are red w/ black stripe, two are solid black, and one is red with a green stripe.</TD></TR></TABLE>
red/black=illumination
black=ground
red/green=swith

 

That would be so easy if all I had to do was split the black wire and the other one. I think the red with white stripe is the other one I need to split. But what about the relay and all the fuses????

Does my usdm harness already have all of those things taken care of, or do I have to buy the amp relays and stuff???

This is what is confusing me. The foglights worked before and the switch illuminated, so wouldn't that mean that I just connect those three wires to the jdm switch??? I understand having to split the wires, but where do they go?

Sorry for being an idiot..... but for some reason mechanical stuff is a lot easier to understand than this.

 

if the switch already works you dont need relay. its prolly already in there. give me a minute and ill make a ghetto diagram that might help


Modified by Denny at 4:31 PM 8/27/2003

 

The US switch worked perfectly with my jdm fogs, that's why all these diagrams don't make a lick of sense to me.

 

hopefully you understand this diagram. sort of ghetto but should work.

 

I hope this works. Thanks Denny for all of your help. This diagram I actually understand. I'll let you know if it works!

 

Another question......if I'm going to extend some of the wires to the switch, what kind of wire should I be using? Like what guage?? and where would I be able to fnd the wires and connector plugs?? Home Depot?

 

i think i used 16 gauge wires. dont remeber exactly...or was it 18 gauge.

 

ygpm about your USDM foglight switch harness

 

Can someone tell me where the USDM wire is? I know it's under the driver side steering wheel, and the only wire I see is a black wire.

 

Alright. I tried what Denny posted in the above diagram and the foglights lit up for about five seconds and then they died. So now I'm wondering what to do.

My old switch worked fine with only three wires. Now the jdm switch doesn't work using the diagram above.

I am seriously confused. Is there something different internally between the usdm switch and the jdm switch? Why would the jdm require two more wires to do the same thing?

I know that now I am probably going to have to buy the amp relay and hook it up MIke M style, but does anyone have any suggestions for me?

 

after the foglights died, did you check your fuses?

 

Foglight fuse blew. I still don't understand it. If it didn't blow with the old switch, what about the new switch would cause it to blow?

 

From your description of both switches, it sounds to me like they are different "types" of switches, and perhaps not directly interchangable. It would be helpful if you had a multi-tester to test just what each wire is doing and what is going on inside the switch. Without being able to figure that out, your best bet is probably to rewire the lights yourself with a new relay and fuse.

 

hmmm....well the thing is I had the stock usdm factory foglights and switch. I have been fiddling around a bit and there has to be a stock relay for the stock switch.

Now the jdm switch should work with the usdm harness, but for some reason the fuse blew. So now I'm still trying to figure things out. There has got to be another way besides creating a whole new wiring harness.

 

Have you been able to determine what each of the three wires carries? A simple way to do it would be to use a 12v bulb with two wire leads, and touch them to each of the wires and a ground with the headlights both on and off. For some reason it sounds to me like the USDM switch either breaks the ground (as it does on my QX4), or uses the switched 12v lead to also power the illumination.

 

Where is the relay for the stock fogs??? Anyone know??

 

This is the info that ITR #132 gave me. Thanks bro!!

USDM SWITCH-3 wires
1. 12v
2. Ground
3. Signal to relay
(12V and the Ground also used for the green indicator light)

JDM SWITCH- 5 wires
1. 12 Volts
2. Ground
(Used for the orange light when you turn on your light switch-if hooked up to dimmer circuit you can dim it)

3. 12Volts
4. Ground
5. Signal to relay
(12volts and Ground used for green indicator light)

This is the reason you can tie together 1. and 3. ; 2. and 4. for the JDM switch.

What they are trying to tell you in the post is that you connect both JDM 12volts to the USDM 12 volt (both JDM ground to the USDM ground)

Signal wire should only go to the relay.


After I get a new fuse tomorrow I'm going to try it again. If all else fails, I'm going to drive to wherever Tim is and have him do it

 

is it a 30 amp fuse?

 

ok. I tried what I posted above. I just tried the first three wires to make the foglights work. This time they worked for about 20 seconds and then they went out again. My switch has the green light, but no amber illumination.

The first time it went out it was because I blew the 15 amp fuse under the dash. So I replaced it. This time I thought it popped again, but it wasn't. So the fuse is good and the switch has power, so what could be wrong? bad ground?

 

open the switch up. look at the circuit board on the switch. make sure everything is connected. my switch blew on the JDM fog light switch and i had to solder wire to make the connection again. dont know if this makes sense but thats what went wrong with mine. and for the illumination make sure the bulb is working properly.

 

how do I open it?