Godlykepower Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 Fitted a rear work light this weekend.....but unsure how I go about wiring it up. Do I splice the wires for the reverse light so that it comes on when I reverse and also when I need to have extra light when cooking back there....I can just leave it in reverse gear?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 Just connect it to a seperate switch[minimum of 10amp capacity] that MUST have a warning light visible to the driver when it's switched on, then you can have the best of both, extra light for reversing & rear worklight for camping/cooking/working at the back of the truck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotian Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 Just connect it to a seperate switch[minimum of 10amp capacity] that MUST have a warning light visible to the driver when it's switched on, then you can have the best of both, extra light for reversing & rear worklight for camping/cooking/working at the back of the truck. when you say "MUST" is that just so you dont forget or becuase there is some kind of MOT thing about it? I dont have a warning light as I have a panel of switches in clear view with up as on and down as off. To me its as clear as having a warning light.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 I say Must because it's a legal requirement to have a warning light within the drivers sight range, it doesn't have to be on the dash, a light within the switch body is sufficent to satisfy the leagal needs, & it's also a reminder to turn it off after use, last thing you need is being pulled over by the law & get a ticket for driving with a rear worklight illuminated. same goes for manual switched reverse lights & front/rear fog lights, gearbox switched reverse lights are exempt from the warning light rule as they automatically go out when reverse is deselected. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 The reverse light is only 20W so the wire to it won't take kindly to being asked to provide another 50W of power, if you're going to connect it to the reverse light use a relay and some new 1mmsq or thicker wire (thinwall 0.5mmsq will work). If you're putting it on a switch I can recommend these from VWP: They have an LED in the tip (red, green, blue, amber available) which lights when the switch is on. Saves wiring and installing a separate light and looks quite smart too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madcowz Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 I say Must because it's a legal requirement to have a warning light within the drivers sight range, it doesn't have to be on the dash, a light within the switch body is sufficent to satisfy the leagal needs I didn't know that, will have to change the switch over. Thanks for the heads up. /mad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LandyManLuke Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 dead easy to wire it up so it's on/off/reverse. use a relay, and indicator, as mentioned already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 Attached is a circuit that shows one possible way of wiring up work lights. This enables the lights to be automatically switched by the reversing lights and independantly switched from the dashboard. Note that this is just a diagram to show the switching and doesn't include niceties such as fuses. You should always protect a circuit with a fuse, the size of which will depend on the load. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alantd Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 Attached is a circuit that shows one possible way of wiring up work lights. This enables the lights to be automatically switched by the reversing lights and independantly switched from the dashboard. Where? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 Right there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alantd Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 Right there Good point. Well made Didn't show up in my browser. But does now. My bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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