tapping power

[1990LTD]

I'm planning on rigging up some auxiliary lighting in the car and under the hood - Do you simply find something that has power when you want it (key on, car running, etc) and bare some of its 12v source wire and attach the new light there? Grounding it in any old spot in the car will work as I understand it...if this is incorrect feel free to let me know.


I am just adding one or two 194 sockets for the passengers feet (like the drivers side has) and maybe some underhood lights, so I don't think any of it will be a huge drain on power.

[91grandmarquis]

You can do that but that is not a good idea, Had to use the power off the cig lighter in my moms olds to power the stereo head because the wiring is fucked, anyway you want to if a at all possible run from the fuse box, or better setup a power source from the battery with an inline fuse etc, however that depends on what you are planning to run.

[87gtVIC]

IT will be fine that way. Just put a fuse in line to cover yourself. One thing to be aware of is to be sure that the power you are tapping into is only powered when you want it to be powered. Nothing like draining your battery from having lights staying on constantly. Just use your test light to see if it is powered when you want it and not powered when you dont want it and you should be fine. I normally just grab power out of the fuse box but sometimes it is just easier to grab power from something nearby.