97 X OEM roof rack driving light install

So I went into the bush and found out I'd like to see better. Seeing how I had a connection at Princess Auto I went ahead and got some decent glass 55W driving lights.



They came with everything... lights, rock guards, wiring harnesses with soldered connections and weatherproofing, relay, and rocker switch with mounting sticky pad.




They are 5" lights.


Decided I was going to put them, along with another set that I'm eyeballing on the factory roof rack bar. So I went ahead and removed the bar.


Removed the ends.




Removed the rubber center to get a look inside to see what I was dealing with.



Ended up putting the rubber back in and marking off spots where I wanted the lights.



Didn't get a pic of drilling the actual hole but, what I did was grabbed a bit that was just barely bigger then the bolt for the light so there wouldn't be much play and it wouldn't bounce around.

Test fitting the lamp.


Second one put in.


The wiring harness ended up being too long so I measured it up and hacked off a section.


The inside of the bar has 3 channels. Middle one for the rubber, outside 2 are sealed except at the ends where the mounts go in.
I drilled a hole in the back one for my wiring harness.


THEN I ran spare wire down the hole out the end (easier to fish a single wire thru) then taped it to the harness and pulled it back thru the hole.




Got it pulled out enough to make the connections with the lamp and taped off the quick connectors for insulation and looks. Put a wad of tap around the wire where it goes into the hole so I could push it in and seal it.


Drilled a hole for the other light and fished the 2 wires out for it with the precision screw driver and really small needle nose pliers.


Hooked up the second lamp then drilled a hole for the wires to exit. Pulled them down underneath as they couldn't run out the end due to the fingers for the mounts. Pulled them thru with the driver and pliers as well.


Almost finished up with the wiring.


Went outside and re-mounted the bar. Ran my length of wiring to get from the roof to the dash then from the dash to the engine bay. Didn't wire anything up to work yet. I also want to point the lights better and get a bigger washer for underneath to spread the load on the bar more evenly. Either way they turned out how I wanted them to. CLEAN and in the positions I wanted with space to add the larger ones (7") I plan on getting later on.

Those look pretty nice. Have you had a Chance to see them at night? I'm thinking about putting some on my roof rack. I might go This Route With the light bar instead though. Not sure. Very nice install though. How'd you go through the roof?

I haven't gone thru the roof yet. I just ran the wire over the side and into the window trim round the door then down in. I don't know if it's going to stay that way or not. It was getting cold and dark with rain so I came inside.
I did make sure to light them up quick though ahha and they work really well

I fixed your link. http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=201833

I have a different roof rack and mine was metal so I worked with it

LC that link didnt work.. not for me anyway. NM fixed.

Rob.. do you wear that pink belt out much? j/j clean install, i always worried about the rack being so far back though

I like it. Nice job dude.

Heh, not the pink belt but I do have pink shirts.

I guess I will find out when I finish up the install. Hoping to do it tomorrow during the day then try them out tomorrow night. I will get some pics for sure maybe video. I figure, if they don't work out, I have a couple holes in my roof rack bar, big deal. If it really irritates me I can go and get a new one from the j/y.

oh man youre a pink shirt guy!?!? are you from NJ? lol no offense to the NJ members

Hahahaha no.
Ontario, Canada I just like my bright colors.

My biggest concern is long term affects.

And lemme get this straight:
Fogs: Wide spread beam
Driving: spot lights
Off-Road: spot lights that are long range?


I was thinking about adding some Off-Road lights since I already have two Hella 500FF driving lamps, and two navigator fogs [which I just use for the light, not for fog.. we don't even have much fog]

My main goal was to light up more area right in front of me. I won't be using them on road so long range wasn't an issue for me. I just wanted to be able to see a liiiiiiittle bit more of what I was getting into.

I've actually been trying to get soe Hella 700FF's but, the ones I was going to bid on (ebay lol) went up higher then my liking.

i have a set of hella 500 fog pattern lights and they are amazing. i have them mounted pretty low and they do a great job of illuminating a wide area right in front of the truck.. heck you can see where i mounted them in my avatar.

Did you grommet the drilled holes with wire going through them...?

Ya, I noticed that also. That metal will cut thru elect. tape just as easy as it will the wire coating if it does much rubbing.
Nice looking install though and the lights look really good.

Gawd no. This was just a simple git 'r' dun install. It was an experiment, I will improve on it now that I actually like it and they function much better then expected. I know what you mean though the sharp edges could cut the wire and short out so I wrapped a bunch of electrical tape around the wire in that spot and jammed the tape down into the hole so it wouldn't cut the wires.... for now.

i had a set of those lights ,they are cheap , but light up a good area,, with the install you did and the price,, you could even put 2 sets of them on that wiring harness,
the wire is thick enough,,

Yea that's what I was thinking, grab either the hella's I want or just grab 2 more of these. They were on sale for $29 + 20% discount thru my sweetie girl haha. They work suprisingly well. I flooded the bush yesterday and seen a deer from good 1/4mi away.

put another set up there, and hook them to the same harness, it will be even more impressive,, cause than you can fan them out a bit,,
the price is right,,,