Where is a good 12v tap?

Looking for a constant 12v behind the dash to hook my offroad lights switch to. All I can seem to find are 7v sources? Even the running lights are 7v.

You would be better off to grab 12V from the battery side of the starter solenoid. If you have stock wiring, It's better not to run a heavy load through it. Make sure to use an inline fuse. Also you may want to consider using a relay for the light power, if your lights have a big power draw, which the switch may not handle to well. What kind of lights are you installing?

Offroad lights should be wired straight to the battery using a good sized wire for the duty rating of the lights.

garberz said:

You would be better off to grab 12V from the battery side of the starter solenoid. If you have stock wiring, It's better not to run a heavy load through it. Make sure to use an inline fuse. Also you may want to consider using a relay for the light power, if your lights have a big power draw, which the switch may not handle to well. What kind of lights are you installing?

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The Hella Offroad Lights recommend hooking the switch to a 12V. The lights themselves run through a relay and into the battery. The switch also runs through the relay. Thats why I'm looking for a source inside the cab because that is where my switch will be.

The power for the lights should be hooked to the battery or the starter solenoid, (same thing). The power to turn the relay on and off can be from the battery or any hot source from the dash. If you have a stock wiring harness, it's simplest to connect the switch for the relay up to the battery as well. Make sure you use inline fuses with any wiring connected to the battery. Nice pic with the sunset and lighting.

Okay I just ran a volt meter to the battery and APPARENTLY it is a 12V source! Who woulda thought...? For whatever reason I was under the impression that it was way higher than that. Foolish me. I guess I'll be running an extra wire to there for the switch.

I ran mine to a relay powered from the battery, then the 12v coming off the headlight switch. That way, I can't accidentally leave them on as long as I remember to switch the headlights off.

Stroppe-Envy-77 said:

I ran mine to a relay powered from the battery, then the 12v coming off the headlight switch. That way, I can't accidentally leave them on as long as I remember to switch the headlights off.

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Well I don't know about you but its pretty hard to tell when mine aren't on, lol! I got the lights working without a hitch, so very pleased with the Hella's they look sick!

Hmm, sounds a bit funny, you finding only 7 volt sources hollowch. Since this is a 12 volt system, almost every circuit you check should have almost exactly what your battery has.
You've got a wiring issue somewhere important. The only 7 volt circuit you should be able to find under the dash is the ignition resistor wire. The instrument cluster IVR runs on less, but it's a pulsing voltage signal, so you couldn't use it for anything normal anyway.

You have what's known as a "voltage drop" somewhere. That's resistance to flow, such as you'd get with rusty or loose connections, old corroded wires, bad battery cables, bad grounds due to rusty metal and stuff like that.
To keep from having to always be chasing electrical gremlins, I would trace back along your main power feeds first, to see what's up.

What year is yours again? Can't remember if that was you, but in the last couple of days someone was trying to clean up a super rusty fuse block in a '68. Something like that could cause low voltage readings in multiple circuits. Might check there too.

Paul

hollowch said:

Well I don't know about you but its pretty hard to tell when mine aren't on, lol!

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Even if you accidentally bump the switch on a sunny day, and walk away from the vehicle? That could get you a pretty dead battery in about the time it takes to have a nice lunch.