Lighting - What I am thinking

[liquidx9]

they are h3's... when i get mine im gonna try and run 100 in them

 

[mattadams]

Zensius, I used to put light locks on em, but I haven't put locks on em (got em sitting in my glovebox actually heh heh) in about a year and no troubel yet...

 

[Ryan1]

Forget all this 100 watt buisness. Some dude over at the ranger station is selling 900 watt aircraft landing lights for 50 bux a pair.

Go for it

 

[Ryan1]

Matt, you should also run a hot wire to each of your lights that you can turn on and off when you leave your truck. So when some thieving ******* touches one he gets a nice little jolt.

Ryan

 

[mattadams]

Ryan, 900/12=75 amps. Your stock alternator is probably around 85 amps, so you turn on one of those lights and your draining your battery. Thanks though.
And hte last thing I need is a lawsuit on my hands when some 6 year old falls int he parking lot and touches one of the lights, LOL.

 

[Ryan1]

Oh im not intersted in the 900watt light I was just looking around there last night and saw that and just wanted to post that

As for the lawsuit, the way around that Is, lift the F150 high enought that no 6 year old could reach it.

I hope you realize that im joking around about all this

Ryan

 

[taxx]

100 W lamps on 4 lights is gonna be pushing it for me with the stereo on. One day I need a bigger alternator ,

Just be sure you gauge your power wires accordingly. They will melt and cause fires!

 

[liquidx9]

oh yea... any recommendations? they arent gonna be on for hours or anything, but yea, trying to avoid any fires here

 

[taxx]

Originally posted by liquidx9
oh yea... any recommendations? they arent gonna be on for hours or anything, but yea, trying to avoid any fires here

The best thing when buying lights is to use the supplied wiring/relay/switch, but if you don't have that or if you want to hook more together just add up the power and figure out the amperage:

Power/Voltage = Amperage

Then go to somewhere you trust to buy the wire, relay and switches and thell them what the amperage is and they can hook you up with the proper gauge, I am sure there are tables to find on the web. The other thing to think about is that the resistance of the wire causes the current to drop off at long distances but for a car you should be ok just don't leave a lot of excess wire.

I know this is too much information, but something to think about for safety and the life/performance of anything electric on your ride.

 

[liquidx9]

i got the heavy duty explorer pro comp four light switch/relay and wires, so im going to see how i like the supplied bulbs, if i make the decision to go up in wattage, ill just go down a guage or so in wiring. does that make sense?

 

[taxx]

yep or get another wiring harnes and do them 2 and 2! Did you order them with the free shipping? That is still on till Friday!

I only could find the spot beams in my local store so for $9 I ordered 2 fluted lenses! I will put those on and keep my others as spares or if I ever need the spot lenses! I'm gonna have to get these bad boys mounted this weekend!

 

[GR899V8]

Also, be careful installing higher wattage bulbs than the housings were designed for, it will have to dissipate about twice the amount of heat with 100 watts.

I did some testing with my roof rack lites, and since I can easily remove the rack, a ground cable AND power cables was needed. I tried another #8 wire for ground, but voltage drop was excessive so I ended up grounding the lights with one of the screws designed to hold the roof rack on. Remember to give extra consideration for the LENGTH of the wires, especially if you are controlling several lights. Weakest wire will bring the whole system down. Lotsa luck!

 

[liquidx9]

i ordered 2 fluted and 2 spot beams, im going to do what matt suggested and mount the fluted ones in the middle, and the spot beams on the outside, hopefully this will give me the upclose and distance lighting i want, time will tell.

yes, i got free shipping and 10% off. saved about $40 from 4wheelparts because of that, serious good deal, if anyone wants anything from there, id suggest hurrying up and buying... i was tempted to through the superlift in there, but then id really be broke.... well, much broker (is that a word)

 

[taxx]

You can get 10% off anytime you deal with Kyle in Tennesee. just tell him you are from this board.

I think you want to put the spon in the middle and the fluted outside. Thsi will cover a broader area.

 

[liquidx9]

ill mix and match, see what looks better, not much to do in wisconsin besides drink and mess around with my truck... seeing as im not 21, i should be doing much more of the latter, or find something else to do (as if varsity soccer, 16 credit hours, and dealing with women wasnt enough.....)

 

[mattadams]

Originally posted by liquidx9
i ordered 2 fluted and 2 spot beams, im going to do what matt suggested and mount the fluted ones in the middle, and the spot beams on the outside, hopefully this will give me the upclose and distance lighting i want, time will tell.

Go back and re-read what I wrote, its exactly opposite of that .

 

[liquidx9]

i am a dumb*ss.... see what i mean about that drinking thing... jk... thank for clearing that up matt, i had 3 tests today, im kinda fried

 

[aldive]

Matt, do any of the lights loosen on the mounts from use? How often do you have to retighten?

Thanks.....

 

[taxx]

I would think some locktight would keep them from moving!

As for power I am gonna pic up some better bulbs, I'll put them in and hook it up on the work-bench and see exactely how much current these bad boys pull!

 

[mattadams]

al, I have never applied loctite and I have never had to re-tighten... PIAA's are pretty good at staying tight... although I reconfigure my lights about every 4 months so maybe that contributes to it, LOL.