Roof rack lights :D

[Brandons]

Ive been thinking about this for a while and decided to do it today, i had 3 hours of sleep last night and ive never been better lol. So i took the front roof rack off the parts truck and with some wires and a couple lights, came up with this.

I have yet to get it hooked up to the truck, gotta get off my lazy butt and find my switch, and put this roof rack on. I'll update when i get it done, might do it tonight but i doubt it.

So heres a pic(s), damn camera doesnt have small enough picture sizes for explorerforum upload (bout 15kb off) so i resort to photobucket lol.

 

[SkanlaxJMO]

i like them keep us updated.

 

[Brandons]

Alright i got it done, just need to get a proper fuse for it though, for now i just skipped it, i shall find a 20 amp fuse that should do the trick tomorrow.

Heres a pic, i also got a couple vids but im too tired now to compress them, etc.

 

[sn0border88]

looks good, but i want pics and details of the wiring and switches. Also... is that a 20 amp fuse per individual light or pair or all? I would consider going to 25 or 30. I run a pair of 100w's at 30.

 

[jimbo74]

i think they would look better spread out evenly across the top.... and from experience, the stock bar isnt strong enough to support them, watch out for the bar snapping if you drive your truck on the freeway due to extreme wind force..... jefe did something liek that to his explorer, but he reinforced the bar to support the stress

 

[Brandons]

Im not too sure about any specs on the lights, since they were just bought from princess auto, they were cheapy ones so nothin fancy. I'll get some pics of the wiring and switch today, just got up about 30 min ago so i havent quite woken up.

I was going to use a 20amp for all 4, but ill take your advice and go about 30. These lights dont really have much distance to them, same as the running lights, but i wanted them to light up more of an area around the truck so i could see better on the trails. They lite up the entire side of my barn so im happy lol.

Jim that is a problem i was worried about, I kept the original roof rack in case i do decide to hit any highways, and use this one for trails. For the next couple weeks the truck isnt going anything over 90kph, took it for a test drive last night and it was ok for 100kph.

 

[sn0border88]

woah now, im realizing that it seems your running one wire for all 4 lights, I would strongly reccommend that you drop it down to one power wire per two lights. Unless the wire is 8+ga. your probably going to overheat the wire and cause a short/fire. A 30 amp fuse for all 4 probably isnt big enough, but as far as inline fuses you cant really go bigger, for that reason. What ga wire is used, and are you using a relay?

 

[Brandons]

Im using what looks to be 14guage wire. It runs across the 4 lights yes, and i also wired in a ground to each light (though i warn you it isnt pretty).

Heres some pictures i just took a couple minutes ago.
Behind the lights, you can see how crappy i hooked up a ground to em.

I hid the wiring along the weather seal thing for the doors, i also have them on a connector so i can take off the roof rack.

The switch i use for them, just found it laying around, said something like 125 volts on the side of it lol.

And the wires going directly to the battery.... Have to head over to carquest or somethin today and pickup some relays and connectors so i can hook them up properly to the battery..

I dont think these lights are very powerfull, since i got em for $8 canadian each... As for weight they use rubber casing so there not very heavy. Looks like ill probably be taking them off and running two sets of wires, one set for 2 lights as you said there. Hopefully i can find a proper relay for it, and fuse.


I had them setup 2 per side and not spread across since i want two facing forward and two angled to the sides. I didnt care for anymore distance for lights i just wanted to be able to see around the truck better.

So far I figure this is one of the bigger hack jobs ive done lol

 

[LBarr2002]

If they are 55 Watt lights -> 18.33 amps for all 4, 14 ga. wire is good to 32 amps, you're fine, but I'd use a 30 amp fuse and switch to be safe.

If they are 100 Watt lights -> 33.33 amps for all 4, you need 12 or 10 ga wire, much bigger switches, a 50 amp fuse to be safe, or split to 2 circuits.

 

[sn0border88]

14 ga wire? Definatly not. Get atleast 10ga a pair, 14 ga would work if it were per light. And a switch rated for 125 volts???? Thats not a car electrical switch then, cars run at 12 or 24 volts, homes run around 110-120 VAC maybe 125 amps... but thats a little overkill. It may sound like im being critical but wiring is the most important thing you can do in your vehicle, always make sure its done well and safe. There nothing worse than watching a vehicle go up in flames because of some sketchy or improper wiring. IMO always solder and heatshrink your connections, for strength and durability.

 

[LBarr2002]

Like I just said, if the lights are 55 Watt then 14 gauge is fine as long as the switch and fuse are right. I'm running 3 55 Watt spots on a 14 ga wire (which is only 13.75 amps, 14 ga is good to 32 amps like i said) and it is fine.

 

[Brandons]

haha at least i did one thing right, i soldered

I ran it for about 15 min with the lights on, wiring didnt get warm.

 

[sn0border88]

sorry, i missed your post lebarr, your right, i was going off that they were the typical 100w's usually advertised in auto stores for cheap. for 55w's 14 ga is definatly ok, however im running 4 100w's and 14 ga is definatly a strech for them, so i went to 10

 

[Brandons]

i think im going to use two sets of 14ga, have the outer lights on a seperate switch too.

 

[Bill Kemp]

Check out the FAQs. There are a couple of links dealing with wire size and the harness with relays. Should answer all your needs.

 

[Brandons]

Just bought a couple things, got a 25 amp fuse, hooked it up, no problems yet.

 

[LBarr2002]

Random question...how much wattage in extra lights do ya'll think the battery/alternator can handle? Right now I've got 9 55 Watt lights, thinking about adding 2 more. I guess if I don't run them all at the same time it'd be ok.

 

[sn0border88]

holy ****, im running 4 100w daylighters and im afraid to leave them all on at the same time for to long along with my brights. I just looked at their website and couldnt find the draw for each light, if you could find the draw you could figure it out.

 

[LBarr2002]

that's easy, its just P = IV, power = current X voltage, rearrange to get I = P/V. So for 9, 55Watt lights its (9 X 55) / 12 = 41.25 Amps

For yours its (4 x 100) / 12 = 33.33 Amps.

That's neglecting resistance in the wires...but its a good rough value.

 

[kert0307]

i've got 4 130watt lights and at idle i can watch my volt gauge go down when i turn them on... when the engine's running at a higher rpm it's fine though. No dimming unless i turn up my stereo (400watt for mids and 600watt for my 12") then i get some slight dimming from the bass hitting, but i only tried it once just to see how it would handle it. That test was done with my headlights and factory fogs on too.