Beat up Aftermarket Car Lighting Connection Problem

In the installation of aftermarket parts, what heavily bothers me is how to accurately connect the wiring.

Just recently, installation of new car lighting took some of my time. As expected, the wirings connecting it to the battery brought me much confusion. This task would not be ideal to be taken for granted, since it is essential to make the lighting automatically turned off when the ignition is off – a very important way to prevent the car battery from being drained caused when there’s neglect in keeping the aftermarket lights on.

Since, I urgently needed the job done, I seeked the help of online searching the easiest and fastest way to gather reliable information nowadays. Knowing that ehow.com is offering several HOWs on numerous repairs, I took it as my major reference. The steps I found in their site have greatly helped me in completing the job. Being concerned that somebody might be having the same problem with what I had, I thought of featuring those procedures here. And so, these are the following:

1. Strip the ends of the positive and negative wires on the lighting, so you have about 1/2 inch of exposed copper wire.
2. Attach the negative wire from the lighting to the negative terminal of the car battery.
3. Open the fuse panel inside the car. Notice that there are two very small spots on each fuse where the plastic is peeled away and you can see the metal of the fuse.
4. Begin methodically touching the wire to the tops of each fuse and checking to see if your device turns on. The car should not be turned on for this step.
5. Identify a fuse that does not allow your device to come on with the car off. Hold the wire against it and start the car to verify that your device does come on when the car is started.
6. Connect the lighting device to the fuse. Pull the fuse out and place the wire in the side of the fuse socket before the fuse, then put the fuse back in place.

In addition, a number of practical and helpful tips have been given:

• When connecting a device, it must be placed before the fuse – not after – or you will blow the fuse. If you blow the fuse, pull the fuse out and move the wire to the other side of the fuse socket and replace with a new fuse.
• You may need to splice extra wire onto your device so you can reach the fuse box inside the car with the positive wire while still connecting the negative to the battery terminal.
• Be sure the car is in park with the parking brake set and the wires near the battery are clear of any moving parts before starting.
• Never use fuses related to important vehicle functions like airbags, ABS or other necessary functions. Try to find fuses for things like windshield wipers or dash lights.
• Be cautious when working with vehicle electronics because you can be shocked or damage the electronics in your car.
• Check with your local police department to verify the legality of the lights you are installing. Certain lighting locations, colors or types may be illegal in your area.

Dedication and patience helps us in the accomplishment our goals.