School me on Auxiliary Lighting

[1978Blazerk5]

Well, there is different patters for lights. So what does it all mean. I was looking for some lights for the front of my truck. and for the time being i just wanted some chepo one cause I am gonna be buildin a front bumper hopefully this summer.

Thanks

 

[badmix]

SPot = long narrow beam

Flood = short wide beam

Fog = yellow short wide beam

Those are the 3 basic lights. You jus need to see what kind of driving you do and what kind of lights you need. I know the high dollar lights may be a bit better but for an off road rig that may get damaged I stick with KCs, they arent dirt cheap, but not high dollar either.

no matter what lights you get, jus make sure to wire/hook them up properly with the correct relays and switches and good clean connections.

 

[Dabba]

im thinking 2 floods behind the grill for me and if i really need it i can rig up a spotlight somewhere. Either like the cops have or ill just buy a portable one. I do like the ones we have in our trucks/ambulances, spotlight with a handle.

 

[badmix]

im thinking 2 floods behind the grill for me and if i really need it i can rig up a spotlight somewhere. Either like the cops have or ill just buy a portable one. I do like the ones we have in our trucks/ambulances, spotlight with a handle.

Check www.galls.com, they specialize in cop/firefighter gear and have stuff for trucks.

Ive got 2 55watt flood lights behind grill and 2 8" spot lights on front bumper.

 

[Dabba]

floods work good behind the grill? How did you mount them? Got the space? Galls is pretty good but a bit pricey when it comes to responding lights in my experience, ill have to look at the again for lights.

 

[noJeepshere]

the $25 100w off road lights from NAPA are a great deal. they are what i put on the front of my 99 yukon, and im happy as can be with them. i wired them up with a relay so they only come on with the high beams and a switch for legal issues (theyre not street legal) makes the stock high beams look puny. where i live there is lots of "inbetween" on lonely roads, and i dont feel safe without them. oh, and im not trying to sell them to ya.

 

[mr250twostroke]

the $25 100w off road lights from NAPA are a great deal. they are what i put on the front of my 99 yukon, and im happy as can be with them. i wired them up with a relay so they only come on with the high beams and a switch for legal issues (theyre not street legal) makes the stock high beams look puny. where i live there is lots of "inbetween" on lonely roads, and i dont feel safe without them. oh, and im not trying to sell them to ya.

Little hijack... I just started to put some Hella lights on my burb yesterday that I had laying around. Still have to do the wiring/relays but am now wondering about these Napa bulbs you refer to. Will they take the place of the current 55w halogens? Beefier wiring/relay involved? Thanks in advance.
Dustin

hijack twice. Is your avatar that guy whos neighbor made him lower his roofline by some ridiculous amount for their view. He rebuilt with a little xtra view for them. I always wondered if he had to change the good morning
bird sign, or if he won that battle? Sorry, I had to ask.
Hijack off

 

[Copasetic]

Did someone say auxiliary lighting?

Sorry, I couldn't resist! But like said above, make sure they are wired correctly!

 

[badmix]

I have my aux lights mounted behind the grill in the spot that the factory air intake thingys are mounted. Basically its mounted on the rad. supports up front, not the grill itself. I jus put an L bracket on the backside, so the lights are actually mounted on the engine side of the rad. support, but pertrude thru the hole somewhat. It keeps it off the grill, incase it gets hot.

current config. 8" KCs 100-120watts and 5" Cheapo auto store 55watts

 

[Dabba]

nice

 

[1978Blazerk5]

Well Speakin of lighting.

I got these 55watt lights

What I cant figure out is with my headlights running my gauge in the truck say 13, I turn on the lights and it drops down to 10. now i dont have em hooked up with a relay would that help any?

Also I was probaly gonna do a 100 watt lights but I gotta figure out if they will work so, how much power would they need.

Sorry I dont know much about electronics

 

[noJeepshere]

the bulbs i refer to are the 6" round ones with a chrome body with a little pig tail to wire them. they consume about 25 amps together, so you'd need wiring to handle such a load. Brett at NAPA said 14ga wire was good, but i played it safe with 12ga. i wired in a cancel switch that came off the high beam lead that is flimsy 18ga, since there is little load on it. also, a 30 amp inline fuse next to the battery and a 4 plug relay did the job.

for the second question, yes its that guy, and i dont know what happened, ill have to follow up on that.

 

[Drey]

I run the $20 6 inch round chrome lights from walmart with good luck. They are one hell of a driving light.

I have them on my K10 and C10, my blazer will get an upgrade as soon as I get some sort of mounting bracket fabed up or say to hell with it and mount them on the roof rack. The 55 watters i have on it Im pretty dissappointed with. The lights themselves are nice and bright but they constantly vibrate downward.

 

[kablooie]

with adding 2 to 4 lights at 55w or 100w... does the altnernator need to be upgraded? I read somewhere (here i think), that after they upgraded their alt to the 120amp GM minivan (pont transport, chev lumina, old silohuette, etc) model the wiring going to the junction block on the firewall started smoking/melting.

 

[1978Blazerk5]

well I got a 93 AMP. Brand new has been on the truck for only about 2 months.

 

[badmix]

with adding 2 to 4 lights at 55w or 100w... does the altnernator need to be upgraded? I read somewhere (here i think), that after they upgraded their alt to the 120amp GM minivan (pont transport, chev lumina, old silohuette, etc) model the wiring going to the junction block on the firewall started smoking/melting.

Not sure and I dont wanna point fingers but im guess it was user error. I have a mean green 190amp alt. I have all my aux lighting going thru an Aux painless wiring fuse panel (well worth the money). I didnt want any aftermarket accessories going thru the trucks wiring. I use relays where they are needed and making sure that each set of lights get their own switches as well. So far im good to go. With both sets of lights burning I can see a drop on the volt meter, but alt. is keeping up pretty well. Anytime you go into high watt lights your going to draw some power. When I upgraded my alt. I also ran an extra line from alt straight to pos. side of batt.

 

[noJeepshere]

my lights are on a 99 yukon and the stock alternator is holding up fine. the only time ive noticed a drop in volts is when the battery is still charging from startup. my old 81 k5 has similar lights and i fried the alternator on that (prolly had something to do with the 1000w stereo in it, high school) bought an alternator off a newer (89) chevy and its been fine.

 

[Dabba]

drey how did you get the lowbeams to stay on with the highbeams?

 

[lectric80]

Well Speakin of lighting.

I got these 55watt lights

What I cant figure out is with my headlights running my gauge in the truck say 13, I turn on the lights and it drops down to 10. now i dont have em hooked up with a relay would that help any?

Also I was probaly gonna do a 100 watt lights but I gotta figure out if they will work so, how much power would they need.

Sorry I dont know much about electronics

You are seeing the early stages of alternator failure. Mine did this when I first installed my 55w Wally world cheapy driving lights. I rebuilt the alternator and now I maintain 13 - 14 volts at all times with the lights on.

 

[1978Blazerk5]

REALLY? Its a brand new alternator. The only time it drops is with those lights. There halogen, so i think that has alot to do with it