Anyone ever tapped the spare fuse slot in the cab fuse panel for powering accessories?

And, the fog lamp relay in the engine bay panel.....Anyone know if it has normally open/normally closed terminals? Thinking about adding driving lights and switching them with the fog light switch. Fog lights with low beam, driving light with high beams. And best of all I don't have to add extra holes/switches

Just a thought

David

 

Not to say that it can't be done or you should not do it at all but it is not a very good idea and is not a very reliable connection to tap empty fuse locations in the fuse box for power. Fog lights and driving lights can draw a good bit of current depending on their wattage output. Personally I believe any auxilliary lights should be wired to receive their power input from the battery positive terminal or from the positive power connection at the PDC.

It would be very simple to wire it like you want, you can do it with two plain old Bosch 30amp SPDT relays. Dakota's are wired from the factory to have the factory fog lights on only when the low beams and parking lights are on; when you use the high beams the fog lights turn off. So you could splice into the positive wire on one of the factory fog lights, and wire it like this:

At the first relay:

Terminal 86 to the wire from the factory fog light positive wire
Terminal 85 to clean bare metal chassis ground
Terminal 87a to clean bare metal chassis ground
Terminal 30 connects to terminal 85 on the other relay

At the other relay:

Terminal 86 and 87 to 12 volts positive from the battery or PDC positive terminal
Terminal 30 connects to the positive wires on both of your new driving lights

Then connect the new driving lights' ground wires to a good ground. Be sure to put in an inline fuse holder within 6 inches of your connection to power at the battery or PDC. Use a fuse of the same amperage rating as the one included with your new driving lights. This is so that in the event of a short circuit, the fuse will blow and keep the positive side of the new lighting circuit from being a direct short to ground and possibly causing a fire.

Jimmy

 

Thanks Jimmy, that kinda what I had in mind, using relays as a 'logic' switch to turn on driving lights with the high beams/only when the fog light switch is on. Guess I should have been more clear though (been a long bad day), or at least posted twice for different things.....

The "Adding accessories to the fuse box" part of that should have been something like "Add a multiple 12v power bar for phone, ipod, handie talkie chargers etc and run power from a spare fuse in the fuse box"......I'm becoming quite the gadget freak in my old age and I've run out of 12v sockets for all the 'stuff' I drag around with me.

As for the extra lights (Hella 500ffs), just like my ham radios and a/d/s amps (when those and the subs go in), I'll run the power wires either straight from the battery or from the input on the pdc. Just thinking about installing the relays in the factory box for a 'factory' look, and cause there are empty slots.....I hate empty slots lol (the fact that I can't figure out how to get the friggin thing out so I can look at the bottom of it has NOTHING to do with it either).....but the lights have to wait on a brush guard so more time to plot and plan.

Too many toys...too little money........