Wiring and Electrical - Fog Lights, Winch, On board Air, etc.

[FirstTimer]

In the very near future I will be looking to install some fog lights on my 02 TJ. I will have to install a switch as there does not appear to be a stock switch in the vehicle.  In the not so near future I will also be looking to install a winch, on board air, and a few other electrical bells and whistles.  My questions is how do I go about wiring up the fog lights the first time so that down the road when I install the winch, air, etc I will not have to redo the whole auxiliary set up? 

I found a link to this wiring diagram for fog lights on jeepforum.com, but is there something more substantial I can start out with in order to incorporate the winch and air?
http://www.classictruckshop.com/clubs/earlyburbs/projects/bosch/foglites.htm

I have done my best to research this question on my own, but several things I have found got way to technical way to quickly. 

Thanks!

[apeman]

I think that link just answered your question. Maybe read the wiring instructions on your winch and use your head on how to install both. Last I checked they make battery terminals with wing nuts so you can add accessories. Aisle 7 at cdn tire, beside the batteries, $7.99.  + tax. Use the cdn tire money for a hand holder. Aisle 4.

[murray195]

The link you gave for the fog light diagram is pretty well as basic and effective as you can get for wiring something like that. All your switch is doing in this case is sending a 12v signal to the relay causing the relay to activate and complete the fog light circuit. It's a nice and simple harness to troubleshoot should you have problems down the road. and one huge benefit is that there's no real power draw from you dash harness, ignition, etc.  As for winch wiring, there's probably as many ways to do it as there are people with winches. A lot of your layout will depend on whether you're running dual batteries, an ignition controlled circuit, or just basic quick connects/disconnects like I use as shown here:  

For high draw accessories, I prefer to avoid aftermarket fuse boxes, etc. A firewall mounted distribution box or multi-connect battery terminal are great. And of course circuit breakers never hurt  

[vantagetes]

You can also go search the junkyards for a factory harness and add the relay. The simplicity of this will depend on which version of under dash harness you have but I think the plug for the dash switch should be there (haven't looked yet). If that's the case then on the driver side (kinda where the battery would be if it was on that side) there's a big plug. Unplug that and pull the old harness out. The new one should plug in there.

In theory that should work but I still have to confirm which harnesses are generic on all the jeeps.

[FirstTimer]

Thanks for the info guys!

Does any one have a link to a winch wiring set up so I can visualize what it looks like.  At this point I am just learning how all this works and want to make sure I have a good idea of how it all works when I (or someone else) installs this stuff so when I do have problems I am not left in the dark shelling out huge cash to have it fixed.

Thanks

[hps4evr]

winch cables are simple. 2 cables. one goes to the positive and one goes to negative on the battery. the diagram you had a link to will work fine. JP magazine did an even simpler design and had the negative
wire from the relay going to the switch inside the cab. the bonus of this design is there is no power going inside. the downside is that doing up a light on the switch wont work. you can check out the SPOD, another dude on here is using it. seems to be the cats meow.
http://www.4x4spod.com/category_s/42.htm

[vantagetes]

Winches come with all the wiring needed. Basically two big wires go to the battery from the winch, and a little wire goes to your frame for ground. You'd have a hard time spending more than an hour installing the whole thing, and that would include the bolting to the bumper part.

The only reason there's a bunch of wires is that from the solenoid box there has to be two positive wires (one for forward and one for reverse) in addition to your ground.

[FirstTimer]

So to recap, I can use the wiring from the diagram I provide to wire up a winch and air?  Does this mean you have to have one relay for each additional electrical accessary you have, or are there bigger relays that you can patch multiple accessories and switchs too?

Sorry if this are elementrary type questions, but as mentioned in several of my other posts I am trying to learn what I can here so I am not completely at the mercy of some mechanic. 

Thanks

[vantagetes]

One relay per item function. Basically the relay is a way around sending all the current from your (for example) fog lights through your switch. Switches normally aren't built for that kind of power draw and you'd melt it down. What happens is you use the relay as a "high current switch" and the actual switch to trip the relay.

[murray195]

Your standard 5-pin relay won't work for the winch. I strongly suggest quick connects/disconnects as pictured in my previous post in combination with a circuit breaker. That diagram you provided is ideal for lower draw accessories. When you buy your onboard air kit, it should come with the wiring along with a diagram.

[FirstTimer]

thanks for the info gu :)ys. it all makes sense now.

[Domengus]

Hey i own a Cherokee and i was told to go get lots of alternators from pick ad pull and just replace the brushes and what not due to my alternator being on the bottom. is there any way to protect it more so that i dont need to worry so much about it.

[TL-Iguana]

Hey i own a Cherokee and i was told to go get lots of alternators from pick ad pull and just replace the brushes and what not due to my alternator being on the bottom. is there any way to protect it more so that i dont need to worry so much about it.

First off, it would be polite to start a new thread, as opposed to hijacking FirstTimer's. You may find people respond to you then.

I will then offer my opinion once you do that

[silverfox]

First off, it would be polite to start a new thread, as opposed to hijacking FirstTimer's. You may find people respond to you then.

I will then offer my opinion once you do that

I fully agree.

I however will not respond or offer my opinion................................mostly cuz I don't know crap about Cherokee's .................................other than most of em are red

[vantagetes]

And should all get body lifts 

Kyle give me a shout when you're starting to get more into wiring stuff. I have three winches sitting in my garage you can look at the wiring on and I'll show you how the lights are done.