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black out switch?

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Old 02-05-2007, 08:22 PM
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Default black out switch?

hey guys i know this sounds nuts but i am looking for a way to wire in a switch to turn off ALL my lights and i mean ALL. dash lights are fine but breaks plate lights headlights marker lights every thing aside from dash how hard do you think this would be? plz dont flame just give me some ideas thanks guys!
Old 02-05-2007, 08:24 PM
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I've disabled my auto-on headlights so at night I could run with everything off minus brake lights when I hit them. I suppose it could come in handy at times
Old 02-05-2007, 08:59 PM
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You'd want to redirect the grounds from the lights to a switch. Find all the wires bolted to the body near the lights, those will probably be for the lights. Unground each one as you watch to make sure everything else works. Put them all to a 15A or more switch that connects them back to ground. Switch on, Lights work. Switch off, Lights out. I've heard it'* better to use a 30A relay so you can use a smaller switch in the dash.


Note: This is illegal, I've never done it and I saw it on a show once. Don't do it.
Old 02-05-2007, 10:03 PM
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I think I'll pass on this one.



Better to do that than flame you.
Old 02-05-2007, 10:30 PM
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Its not illegal if you dont drive on public roads with it.

My best suggestion would be to do a search, as different methods have been discussed and tried before.

IMO, go for it, I find it REALLY annoying that there is no OEM manual override for any of the lights.
Old 02-05-2007, 11:30 PM
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Buy a factory service manual. All the schematics are there.
Old 02-06-2007, 06:04 AM
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You could trace the wires out of the back of the fuse box if you don't have the schamatics, I would think that would be easier then trying to follow them out of the steering colom
Old 02-06-2007, 07:11 AM
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DB, there are a lot of wires coming from the fuse box. Our wiring harnesses stretch non stop from the tail lights to the headlights and are buried in many places. Access can only be gained in some cases by totally disassembling the car.

I've been on two. He'd have a better chance to remove grounds, although for safety reasons I can not suggest or condone this project. Not having lights because of a failed connection is too risky.
Old 02-06-2007, 08:33 AM
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Or having a switch fail while driving on a dark freeway in traffic.
Old 02-06-2007, 08:55 AM
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For safety reasons I think it would be better to overide the the automatic headlight feature so you can shut of your headlights with your headlight switch, then do the DRL disable so that when you shut off your headlights the DRLs won't kick in.
And as far as your dash lights are concerned you already can turn those off with the dimmer switch.


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