I know there are a lot of other threads about windshield mounted lights, Hella 500FF's, and Daystar switches. Unfortunately, the search function isn't exactly helping and I haven't managed to find a thread that seems to target the issue I'm having.

I mounted some Hella 500FF's to windshield mounts on my 2013 JK. I've done some automotive wiring in the past so I'm not completely clueless about it. I've got all my wires ran nice and neat (the loom will go on once I'm sure I'm done and everything works). I'm using the relay that came with the lights as well as the wiring harness. I've got the red wire with an 20amp inline fuse running off the positive side of the battery to the relay. the blue wire is ran along the fender to the factory ground. both lights are ran to factory grounds under the hood as well. I've got the yellow wire from the relay and the green wire w/inline fuse from an "ignition on" 20amp fuse in the fuse box ran to the switch via the foam filled hole in the driverside firewall. The Daystar KU80012 switch is grounded to the factory ground in the driver's footwell. I'm not great with soldering so I went with crimped connectors (used them countless times before so lots of practice) that I double checked then double checked again.

the problem: When I turn the ignition on and turn on the lights, the switch and lights light up for about a second then go out. I know the wires are ran right for the relay since it is a directional plug to the wire harness and I'm positive the switch is wired up right. Top post is ground for switch ran to the factory ground, middle post is the green wire running to the "ignition on" fuse in the fuse box, and the bottom post has the yellow wire from the relay. On the first try the inline fuse on red wire from the battery blew so I replaced the fuse holder with a blade type holder with a good 20amp fuse. The lights do the same thing but the fuse hasn't blown since. The switch still lights up but the lights won't work unless I undo the relay from the battery then hook it up again. But they only stay on for a second. Could it be possible that I have the switch wired wrong or the relay is bad? I'm 99.9% confident the wiring is correct. Just thought I'd see if anyone else has experienced this and/or has some good advice to troubleshoot.

 

You are feeding the lights directly from the battery, from what I understood.

However, where are you feeding the relay coil from? I did not understand that part.

Are you connecting the correct posts of the relay?

 

It's been so long, I think is what is giving you your problem. "....the green wire w/inline fuse from an "ignition on" 20amp fuse in the fuse box...." Thought I spliced it to a (hot running light wire) lavender/yellow stripped for my hot.

Wish I could remember more

 

Sorry, didn't reference the wires to the lights in the OP. the black wire off the relay is running to the black wire on the lights. The relay is a directional plug for the wire harness so the wires can only hook up one way.

 

The switch is getting power and lights up when in the on position when the ignition is on. It's independent of the harness and bypasses the relay.

 

Im a visual guy, and even though I read and re-read your wiring schema, I wanted to ensure everything is wired properly. Ref. the diagram below and double check your connections. If you have a ohm meter, verify all your grounds..ensure you have good metal to metal contact. One thing to mention, is the relay that you are using a 4-pole or 5-pole? On a 4-pole relay, contact 87 in normally open, and closes once 12v energizes the coil; on a 5-pole relay, 87 is normally closed, while 87A is normally open. I would assume if you have 5-pole relay, you are configured with your "ignition on" voltage on contact 87 (N.C.) you would briefly illuminate the lights before the coil energizes and opens the contacts..turning your lights off. You need to connect to 87A (N.O.) for the lights to properly function.

good luck

 

I used this exact same schematic and it work perfect for my Hella FF's.

 

Figured it out. Had a bad connection for the hot wire to the lights and was running off the wrong fuse for the switch. Thanks everyone for the advice.