Finally mounted some better Aux. lighting...

[Avery4jc]

I've been working on this little project for about a week on and off... I actually custom built a light bar out of aluminum and had the lights up on top of the cab all wired up and working.... BUT they were soooo high up I was having trouble getting them aimed exactly where I wanted and one of my main goals right now is to un-clutter the truck (I've yanked TONS of un-needed stuff lately... subs, amp and box... CB that never got used, heck I even started on my big project of tearing out the HVAC system...)
Sooo that being said I tore it all out tonight and went with a much cleaner (and simpler) look...

They're 100w Halogen lights and put out some serious light... it should help quite a bit for our trip coming up the first week in August...

They're wired up with a relay and illuminated push button switch that only works if the key is in the ignition (a little fail-safe so I can't leave them on)... red light when they're off and green light when they're on...

 

[bot0611]

Its a pain in the a.. having a bunch of cables running around inside and outside the cab, thats why im getting to be carefull and doing thins right the first time..

I got 2 amps, stereo, spark box, 2 headlighst and 5 extra lights that ive wired on my truck, plus most of my friends trucks as well.

 

[Avery4jc]

Yeah I know what you're talking about... like I said in the first post one of my main goals right now is to clean everything up...
Over the past two months I've basically re-wired the whole setup...

A couple weeks ago I added this junction bar with it's own relay... the relay is wired directly to the batt (positive and ground) and is fired by a single wire coming from the ignition switched prong on the factory fuse pannel... so when you turn the key it powers up the bar... so now when I need switched 12v sources I have a bunch ready to go...
This was before the wires were cleaned up but you get the idea...

and to clean up the rats nest around the battery I cut all the wires off and soldered on spades then clamped them down with a couple of those post block thingy's...
Nothin' is coming loose now

 

[bot0611]

Looks good, i have one fuse block like that one and a couple of relays but never put them in, i basically use a relay for every pair of lights...still that will draw a lot of power from the batt, what alternator are you running.


You know what would look cool.
Well im planning it, i took off the AC dont need it, you could do it under the dash or in front of the transfer lever...do a pannel for all the relays and circuits you put in, i saw it on a truck on the sand dunes and wow looked nice

 

[Avery4jc]

I run relay's for stuff that draws a lot of power (like lights) but some stuff (like the CB, fire switch to tell the Amp when to turn on, small back-up lights, etc.) I just run off of the pannel...
As of now I'm just running the stock alternator with an Optima Red top battery... like I said above I pulled out the subs/amp and the CB yesterday so that cut down on my power needs...
I'll upgrade to a higher output alt. once this one gives out but as of now it's running strong.

 

[bot0611]

Thats my next step, but still cant decide, well i dont know wich to go for....


Anyways, good luck man.

 

[mnstrburbon]

nice light's and nice clean install are they pro comps if so get extra bulbs they seem to go out alot.

 

[badmix]

Looks good. Here is my "electrical" setup. It works well esp. if you move up to more lights, winches, etc.

MeanGreen Hi Output Alt
Redtop main batt
Yellowtop Aux batt
Hellroaring Isolator (for dual batts)
Painless wiring aux fuse panel (mounted on wheel well)

This isnt a cheap system by any means and there are other alternatives, but I dont have any problem running what I need. The Painless wiring fuse panel is a nice piece for sure and makes connecting aux stuff pretty easy.

 

[Avery4jc]

nice light's and nice clean install are they pro comps if so get extra bulbs they seem to go out alot.

Nope just some "cheap" ones from Auto Zone... I've always been reluctant to spend a lot on a piece of equipment that just hangs out on the front of the truck.... if something happens to these I'll just toss another one on

Looks good. Here is my "electrical" setup. It works well esp. if you move up to more lights, winches, etc.

MeanGreen Hi Output Alt
Redtop main batt
Yellowtop Aux batt
Hellroaring Isolator (for dual batts)
Painless wiring aux fuse panel (mounted on wheel well)

This isnt a cheap system by any means and there are other alternatives, but I dont have any problem running what I need. The Painless wiring fuse panel is a nice piece for sure and makes connecting aux stuff pretty easy.

Sounds like a nice setup... so you fire the truck on the red top but all your auxillary stuff pulls from the yellow top?

 

[badmix]

No, my yellowtop is a BACKUP battery.

I run everything off the red top. With the hellroaring setup, I have 3 modes to choose from

1) everything runs off primary battery, but both get charged

2) everything runs off primary battery, but the aux battery is taken out of the charging loop

3) I combine both batts for extra juice for winching.

All this done with a switch in the glovebox.

The way I figured it, I always want one battery in reserves incase I kill my primary battery. If you run both batteries together, you run a risk of killing both of them. LIke parasitic draws, it only effects my primary battery. If I had them combined all the time, it would kill both batts, but over a longer period of time possibly

 

[dremu]

nice light's and nice clean install are they pro comps if so get extra bulbs they seem to go out alot.

Coupla observations on this point:

One, vibration is bad for light bulbs -- whether at home or on your car. (The bulbs in my ceiling fans half half the life of a regular one, for instance.)

Two, a piece from Blade Runner applies (this is just before Rutger Hauer pops the old man's eyes out with his thumbs):

The light that burns twice as bright burns half as long. And you have burned so very brightly my son.

Even if your lights run 55W H3's, they don't have the expected lifespan of, say, the 193 in your dash. And if you run the higher-output halogens (like an 85 or 100W) their use lives are even shorter!

I was gonna replace all my 55's with 100's until I saw how long they (don't) last ... lessee, pay more money, for less use time. Doesn't make sense

Anyway, just to point out that it's a balance between brightness and usable life, and even rubber feet or something to dampen the vibration could help them live longer.

-- A

 

[mnstrburbon]

All i know is with the pro camps he went through about 4 bulbs in 2 years and then went hella 4000 halogens and 2 years no bulb changes pro comps where rubber maonted hellas where not as that is there design.
I put hella 400 compacts on my banshee and they are 2 years old 100 watt bulbs no og light bulbs also.
the pro comps where good light ansd th elight output was good also just the bulb issue just trying to help ya out, no extra bulbs carried prepare for a dark night.

 

[badmix]

I havent had any issues with my 100w KC spots, I wonder if there is a diff. in life with SPOTs vs FLood.