Baja Designs S8's & Backlight with DRL

Was looking on your website and got a little confused on what I needed. Here is the scenario.

22 Tacoma OR

Installing a new bumper with Baja Designs S8's on either side and they have the backlight feature. I would like the backlights to come on with the DRL's and when the headlights are on. I also have a switch-pro installed but I was not sure of the advantage of the t-harness that would just capture DRL vs the one made for use with the switch-pro. Can you help and explain? Also, I assume I need two harnesses, one for each side.

 

The backlight PnP harness I do is for diode dynamics. The BD's I've seen use weatherpack, which I have, but I am not certain which connector the S8 uses for backlight. Perhaps you can provide a photo and I can make a BD specific backlight harness.

For the DD backlight harness I have two options, 2x12" and also a "dual output" with 1 lead at 12" (same side) and one at 60" (opposite side) so you can get by with just one halogen or LED T.

For a 22 you need to clarify if your truck came with OEM LED or Halogen headlights b/c that's how the T's work. If halogen, DD makes a cheaper harness for backlight, I'm not aware of anyone else making an LED T harness like I do.

The switch-pros variation is to capture/send Parking Lights and High Beams to the switch-pros power module, high beam typically for aux trigger and parking lights for trigger2/illumination. A non-switch-pros LED T does not have the high beam feed.

I use a diode module to combine parking lights and drl such that the backlight/grille light feed is on whenever the stalk is anything other than off (aka stealth mode).

 

So the plan was (as per Baja) to use their harness, basically cut it back to get rid of some stuff I do not need (since I have switch pro). Black = Power / White = Ground / Green = Back Light. Black and White will go to my power tray and will manually control main light off of switch pro. I could also attach the Backlight to the switch pro and manually control it or if I had the pink wire attached to a trigger then I could program the backlight to come on when it is triggered only.

So what I think I really need is a harness that breaks out Lights and DRL into a single trigger for the pink on the switch pro. Then I can have my S8 backlights attached to the switch-pro and just program it to come on when it is triggered by either DRL or Lights being on. In this scenario I don't think you would need any connectors to the S8 either as it would be tied into the SP 9100. I think I just need the triggering part.

Hope that makes sense and I have it right.

 

Yeah, if that's your plan you're effectively just looking for a standard grille light feed.

I don't love it though, I think aux trigger should be a bit more useful and I like the parking light clean. But I don't have to love it, it's your truck

I can do a 3 pos weatherpack M to F T with a breakout to 1 pos AMP female for backlight input, matching the DD spec. But what does the female side look like, assuming male is the S8 side?

 

Couple of things:

1. In this scenario you would just build a harness off of the driver side Headlight that breaks out Lights and DRL into a single feed that I could use to feed the pink trigger wire on the Switch Pro. Then I would program the Switch Pro to turn on the backlight any time it senses the trigger. So there is no direct connection to the S8's at all. The S8's main light and backlight will be tied into different circuits on the SP with the Backlight circuit programmed to turn on when it senses the trigger. The main light will remain a manual switch.

2. I didn't quite understand the "parking light clean" comment above and I feel like I am missing something that may be important. Can you explain a little more?

Also, I have the LED lights...

 

1. Yes if you burn either the pink (aux trigger) or white (parking lights / trigger 2) for DRL + Park via diode module. Yes it works. It's not something I love or even like but it works. In this scenario it's just a grille light feed, assuming you have OEM LED it's just the standard LED T + diode module and you ignore the ground.

2. I like the white switchpros wire to be fed from parking lights so that it dims with parking lights like the rest of the dash. But you can just dim it down manually too and it's your truck, you can do whatever you want really.

From what I've been told, the backlight isn't very bright so hardly noticeable during the day, hence going parking light only isn't such a big deal really. If it were me, I might be tempted to just feed from the sidemarker but if you have a switchpros and a spare circuit I see the appeal. I just think with only 2 external inputs plus ignition, burning one for "stalk is not off" is a bit of a waste vs "it's dark outside, turn on the parking lights" which has more value.

I wish these things came with 8 or more external triggers, they'd be so awesome.

 

I believe that I have the white tied into the fuse box via add a fuse so that it dims when the lights come on anyway. So that part is taken care of. I am just trying to figure out how to trigger the backlights on the S8's right now....

So two questions:

1. From what I have read it seems that the backlight should be on when the headlights are on or when the DRL lights on on. Is that correct? I know I can do whatever I want but this seems what most popular...
2. Which product of yours does this translate into? I do not see one labeled LED T + Diode? Or is this still a custom thing?

Sorry for all the Q's. Even though I understand wiring pretty well this is still a complicated pain in the A$$ and I want to get it right.

 

Simplest plan is just on with parking lights and your add-a-fuse covers the white wire so you're good to go.

But, yeah, this: https://fbchs.square.site/product/t...le-lights/8?cp=true&sa=false&sbp=false&q=true

 

Hey Dave,

I got the Driver side harness and there are two possible connectors off the split, one harness has both Black and Red and other is just a single red. I am assuming that I want to use the harness with the single red as the trigger for my Switch Pro? Is that correct?

Appreciate the help...

 

Yeah, if you're the special one, I gave you both options, pick whichever you prefer. The black + red is pre-made whereas the red only is a custom one I tossed in for free.

 

Thank you, appreciate it.