How to Connect Aftermarket Car Lighting

You just installed aftermarket lighting to your car or truck and now you need to connect it to the battery. You will need to set up the lights to turn off automatically when the ignition is off. This method of hook up prevents you from accidentally leaving on the aftermarket lights and draining the car battery.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Aftermarket lighting
• Wire strippers
• Electrical tape
• Fuse remover

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.

Tips & Warnings

• 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.