Ooooh me so dumb, me fix you long time

[davepl]

So I added a clever little switch that allows me to drive around with the cab and park/marker lights on but no headlights, and turns off with the key, so I don't forget and kill the battery. My dad thought it was wrong to drive with park lights on, and it sounds wrong, but it's really just to run the cab lights without the headlights in the daytime.

I didn't use a diode, so it also means that if you have the switch on you can turn the truck off, throw the key out the window, but it'll still be running because IGN gets power from the park lights! Duh.

Anyhow, there are two easy ways to solve it: a diode or a relay. Anyone a "hardware guy" that cares to comment on which solution I should do (or offer up a third?)

The diode is easy, but because we have such low voltage, you wind up with a lot of amps to run all of the park lights and cab lights. So it's sometimes hard to find a diode rated that high.

The relay is slightly more complicated (IGN powers relay that provides power to switch, but switch can't backfeed power to ignition) and adds complexity, but you don't have to worry about the amperage issue.

Thoughts?

This all started because the PO has a "Park Brake" light in the dash and I forgot to weld up that hole (got the 11 other ones!). So I had a hole to fill and a switch on hand...