Alright, since my friend with an e46 scares me with all this talk about wires getting too hot (fire), messing up your "LCM", etc etc.

I need to do this right. I got fogs, and hid kit the 35w not the 55w like if that matters.



Now I'd like to have a button for on/off, how do i wire this? mainly do i need a fuse? relay? and most important, where do i tap for power

 

you'll need a relay and a fuse. you can take power right from the battery. if you can, get a bosch relay.

86 & 87 - 12 volt with a fuse
87a - blank
85- negative trigger (from switch)
30 - 12 volts to fog light.

 

^assuming those are bosch part numbers.

any diagram? where should the relay be, the fuse, etc.

where should i take power from? i want it so i can switch it on/off whenever i want, but it should remain off when i turn off the car... (like the radio)

 

if you wan them to turn off when the car is off then for 86 use an ignition wire instead of the 12 volts.


it's prob. easiest to tap into these wires under driver dash. there is a group of wires that are thick and runs up to the steering column. i foget which is which so you'll have to test them. i believe the solid white is 12volts and blk/yel is ign.
the fuse should be 6-8" from the relay. off of 87.

 

so all of these i can run with a tl switch?


man u should just come over and help me

 

you can use a tl switch but the wiring is a little different because it has its own light and it dims with the interior. i have the tl switch too. there are five wires off that switch. 4 of them you can tap into the cruise control button right next to it and the 5th is a neg output when activated. that one goes to 30 on the bosch relay. i'll double check mine and send you a pic and diagram as soon as i get a chance.

 

thanks appreciate it. u shuld come out to the meets, i'd like to check out ur car... since u're so and post no photos

 

i saw it the other day. it's clean. and as far as those hids go...i'd be interested to see how it turns out.

 

sorry no pics, but i did pull out the switch and took a look. basically the cruise and fog light switch is the same and has a 5pin plug. lets say the red wire on both plug is pin1 so tap pin 1 of the fog switch to pin1 of the cruise switch. then pin 2 to pin 2. pin 3 to pin3. pin 5 to pin 5. as for pin 4 on the fog switch it should be a blue/red wire and that goes to 30 on the bosch relay.


sorry the blue/red wire goes to 85 on relay not 30.

 

i dont get the 85, 30 part where can i get this relay?

 

you can try a radio shack. if not, you're gonna have to look for a local electronic shop.

 

thanks for everything, what fuse should I use?

 

depend on your lights, but i'd say 10 or 15 amp fuse should be fine. better to use a smaller fuse and have that blow than a high fuse causing your lights to go out.

 

well since i'm only using one relay for 2 hid ballast each drawing 35w, shouldn't i use a 30 amp fuse (got this information from hidplanet forum)

 

RELAY PART:

use 2 relays. Use BOSCH relay.
when u look at the relay at the bottom, u'll see all these numbers (written right next to prongs):

if ur using one way relay:
85,86,87,and 30

if ur using 2 way, then:
85, 86, 87, 87a, and 30.

either way, u'll ignore the 87a prong.


__________________________________________________ __________________________

HID KIT PART:

use the fuses that came w/ the HID kit.



This is what you will do exactly:

Hook up the HID kit w/o relay w/ the power coming from the battery (as if they were to stay on permenantly)
for right now, just ignore the OEM bulb socket for the fog lights

once its all hooked up and the kit is working fine, disconnect the 12 volt wire coming from both ballasts.

after the fuses cut the positive wires,

now connect one end of the wire to #87 and the other to #30 on the relay (doesnt matter what side goes where)

get both the ballasts set up this way.



now go back to the OEM bulb socket for the fog light.

it should have two wires. tap one wire to #85 prong and the other to #86 (again doesnt matter what side goes where)



and thats all you need to do.
These HIDs will come on when ever ur fog lights originally came on (not sure if they come on w/ parking lights or the headlights)

 

fuses are to protect wiring. i would use 12awg wiring and 30a fuses. if you're using smaller wiring, you can still use 30a fuses but the smallest i would go with hid wiring is to 16awg.

don't waste your time with 2 relays either.