TRUBLU
04-03-2007, 03:01 PM
So I got tired of trying to figure out what to do with the lights on my car about 12 months ago. I was absolutely appaled at the quality of light from it's highbeams (1999)
I looked at mounting them on the front bar like everyone else. But then I ...nah. Lets do it differently! BUt I gotta do it cheaply or the wife will kill me. So I se tmyself a budget of about $50. If couldn't do it for $50 I wasn't going to do it.
So off to walmart I went :)
2x Rectangular off road lights $17.95 per pair
Stopped by Radio Shack
1x SPDT toggle switch $1.95
1x diode .12c
Finally swing into an auto parts store (I choose Advanced Auto) and pick yourself up
2x SPST relays $3.95 each
1x of butt connectors $1.95
Total including WI sales Tax $50.32 although I'm sure if I batted my eyelids nicely enough at the poor girl at Walmart something might have gone through cheaper....I love having my Australian accent :D
The Mounting
Remove the front roof rack and mark out the four equally spaced lines. I could tell you what the spaces were but honestly? I don't remember. One thing I will tell you is don't buy huge lights otherwise they will NOT fit. I suggest measuring out the bar and then diving it by four to work out the max width of the lights possible :)
Also, running along the of the roof rack is a strip, you need to drill behind the strip. Otherwise you will a solid steel 3/4" bar thats the main strut. Drill behind and you will punch the holes through in a matter minutes :)
Now mount the four lights in there holes. Don't worry too much about trying to get them straight at the moment. Alignment will come later. Mount the roof rack bar back on the car and slide it as far forward as it will go.
You will notice in the parts list I didn't mention buying wiring. Look inside thee spotlight package! There is a ton of it and it will work just fine for this application.
The Battery wiring
This relatively simple once you've done it a handful of times. Since being an auto installer, getting wiring through the firewall of a car no matter how thick of a cable it is has never taken me longer then 5minutes. Now that my bragging is over it may take you a little longer.
In the packages you will find some wire with a fuse holder in both packages. We are going to use both. First off, remove both fuses from their holders. Now, on the other end of the wiring is some ring terminals. Connect those to the (+) battery terminal. Don't be too concerend with your wiring flopping around. We removed the fuse remember. It's fine to touch what it wants.
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2007/04/enginebay1-1.jpg
Now clicky on Marks DIY for how to get through the firewall, once you have figured it you'll wonder what the hell you were crying about. https://sl-i.net/FORUM/viewtopic.php?t=465
Wiring the lights
Ok, so we have four lights which means eight wires. This is where you may cry.
First off get a six ft run of cable out of the packaging. Now, using the inside pair of lights, join their red cables to your six foot length of wire. Now wire the outsides pairs togetther. A little trickier because of their length. You will need to add length ONE of the wires. Now do the exact same procedure using the black wires of both pairs.
Great, we are now down to four wires!
Ok, running down your rook are the three black roof bearers. Remove the outside pair. It's three screws. Now, the middle screw hole you will need to enlarge two fit the two wires down. Don't put them in just yet ;)
At the front of the strips drill a hole on the side big enough for the wires to fit through. This this for both strips. Now slowly feed positives into the first rail as far all the way upto the lights. Now, pop inside the car and remove the interior light. Just let it hang around. Now go back up top and start to feed the wiring in through the hole you in the roof you just enlarged. Once again get it all in there so the load trip is sitting flush against the roof again. Now if you did it right you could proably slip your hand into the roof lining and start to pull your cable through. If not, it doesn't matter, just a grab a wire hanger and untwist it and use it to grab onto the wires and pull through interior light hole. Now get back out and do the exact same for the negative cable on the other side of the roof.
So, now you should have all four wires hanging down from interior light hole. Use the last two screws to hold down the front and the end of the load strips. Now get your sealant push it's nose thhrough middle screw hole and squeeze! Fill that hole in the roof so water can't get in. Now, drop a heavy book or something similar on top as it will also act like a screw keeping it all into place.
The small hole that you drilled up front for the wires to enter inside the strip, fill that with silicone too! Your work on the roof is now done. Step back and admire the beauty of your OB with four spotlights on it's roof. Scratch your nuts, pick your nose and get back to work!
Now, remove the trim around your drivers side door. The kick plate and the rubber seal. Right around to the top and the remove the plastic from the A Pillar.
Pull down a little on the roof lining around the interior light and start feeding all your cable across so that it pokes out (may need to pull it out yourself) the drivers side roof ling. Pull it all through and replace the interior light. Run the wiring down the A Pillar into the area underneath the dash. Now remove the lower dash panel and replace the trim around the door.
The Switch
My toggle switch was a miniature. If you got a larger one then you can use spade connectors to attach the wires to the back of it. Mine was miniature so I needed to solder my wires on.
Now, once again revert to a thread from Mark on removing the gague cluster bezel
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/viewtopic.php?t=1123
See the first pic in that thread, where Mark has a Blue toggle switch? Thats exactly where we are going to mount our toggle switch. Pop that empty plate out and drill a hole through that for the switch to fit through. Now, prewire the switch like such (pic below) and drop the wire down into the footwell with th rest of mess of wiring! Put your gauge bezel back into place and look at your funky switch! Slap yourself across the face and get back to work...
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2007/04/SPDT-1.gif
Wiring the Relay
I'm not going to lie to you, this can get messy and confusing but if you take it one step at a time then your gonna be just fine!
I Always like to start with getting the ground wires out of the way. Call me crazt but if they are not around to worry about then I'm sweet!
A ground point is any metal part of the car. Find a screw under the dash that is somehow screwed to a metal part of the car. I personally used one of the screw holes for where the underdash screws back in.
Grab your two relays, see how all the pins underneath are numbered?
Pin 85
Pin 86
Pin 30
Pin 87
Right, well first using your spade connectors found in the packages make two short lengths wire and connect one wire to pin 86 of relay 1 and then the other wire goes to pin 86 on relay 2. Connect both of these wires INCLUDING the two ground wires from the spotlights up top to your ground point. Make sure it's stiff and tight. Now your completly grounded!
You have two power wires coming from the battery. Well, they need to get connected to Pin 30 on the relays. It doesn't matter which relay gets which wire. So long as they can go to pin 30.
Almost there! Your on the home stretch now!
Next we need to find a +12 Volt high beam source. See all those wires coming down from the steering column? Well, there is one there! Your going to need either a test light a multimeter for this. I'm going to assume you know how to use a test light. If you don't then you probably shouldn't be attempting this setup! Find the wire that has power on it when the high beams ONLY are on. If the high beams are off and there is power still on that wire, its not the right one. Once you have found that wire, splice into and attach the middle wire from the switch. (See toggle switch picture above)
Now, you still have four wires left. Lets fix up two more of them. Grab the positive wires coming down from lights. They need to get attached to pin 87. Once again, which relay gets which wire doesn't really matter but they do need to be at pin 87.
Ok, we are nearly there!
Get that little diode out you picked up from radioshack. For a quick rundown, a diode will allow power to flow one way, but not the other way.
You have two pins left on the relays, Pin 85 on both. See the little holes on the pins? Feed one leg of the diode through those pins. Now, put a spade connector on those two wires left from the switch and push them over the top of the pin. It won'tbe easy, but they will go.
Clean up your wiring and make every thing neat. Put your dash back together.
Now, go back under the engine bay and replace those two fuses. If everything is good so far then they should spark or anything like that, just pop straight in.
Now, switch the car to.
Put the toggle switch in the middle position.
Switch your highbeams on.
Get out and verify that your highbeams are on and the spotlights are off.
Now, push the toggle switch down and verify how many of your spotlights are on.
If there is only two on. Don't fret. Thats diode working. Move the switch all the way to other side and you should now have all four lights on.
Like wise, if you throw the switch for the first time and you have all four lights on then switch your switch down and you should only have two lights on.
To makes things simpler for some people, here is a circuit diagram for everything
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2007/04/spotties-1.jpg
You should now look something like this....
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2007/04/modifiedcar-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2007/04/moneyshot-1.jpg
Any questions or if you need something verified just ask :)
I looked at mounting them on the front bar like everyone else. But then I ...nah. Lets do it differently! BUt I gotta do it cheaply or the wife will kill me. So I se tmyself a budget of about $50. If couldn't do it for $50 I wasn't going to do it.
So off to walmart I went :)
2x Rectangular off road lights $17.95 per pair
Stopped by Radio Shack
1x SPDT toggle switch $1.95
1x diode .12c
Finally swing into an auto parts store (I choose Advanced Auto) and pick yourself up
2x SPST relays $3.95 each
1x of butt connectors $1.95
Total including WI sales Tax $50.32 although I'm sure if I batted my eyelids nicely enough at the poor girl at Walmart something might have gone through cheaper....I love having my Australian accent :D
The Mounting
Remove the front roof rack and mark out the four equally spaced lines. I could tell you what the spaces were but honestly? I don't remember. One thing I will tell you is don't buy huge lights otherwise they will NOT fit. I suggest measuring out the bar and then diving it by four to work out the max width of the lights possible :)
Also, running along the of the roof rack is a strip, you need to drill behind the strip. Otherwise you will a solid steel 3/4" bar thats the main strut. Drill behind and you will punch the holes through in a matter minutes :)
Now mount the four lights in there holes. Don't worry too much about trying to get them straight at the moment. Alignment will come later. Mount the roof rack bar back on the car and slide it as far forward as it will go.
You will notice in the parts list I didn't mention buying wiring. Look inside thee spotlight package! There is a ton of it and it will work just fine for this application.
The Battery wiring
This relatively simple once you've done it a handful of times. Since being an auto installer, getting wiring through the firewall of a car no matter how thick of a cable it is has never taken me longer then 5minutes. Now that my bragging is over it may take you a little longer.
In the packages you will find some wire with a fuse holder in both packages. We are going to use both. First off, remove both fuses from their holders. Now, on the other end of the wiring is some ring terminals. Connect those to the (+) battery terminal. Don't be too concerend with your wiring flopping around. We removed the fuse remember. It's fine to touch what it wants.
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2007/04/enginebay1-1.jpg
Now clicky on Marks DIY for how to get through the firewall, once you have figured it you'll wonder what the hell you were crying about. https://sl-i.net/FORUM/viewtopic.php?t=465
Wiring the lights
Ok, so we have four lights which means eight wires. This is where you may cry.
First off get a six ft run of cable out of the packaging. Now, using the inside pair of lights, join their red cables to your six foot length of wire. Now wire the outsides pairs togetther. A little trickier because of their length. You will need to add length ONE of the wires. Now do the exact same procedure using the black wires of both pairs.
Great, we are now down to four wires!
Ok, running down your rook are the three black roof bearers. Remove the outside pair. It's three screws. Now, the middle screw hole you will need to enlarge two fit the two wires down. Don't put them in just yet ;)
At the front of the strips drill a hole on the side big enough for the wires to fit through. This this for both strips. Now slowly feed positives into the first rail as far all the way upto the lights. Now, pop inside the car and remove the interior light. Just let it hang around. Now go back up top and start to feed the wiring in through the hole you in the roof you just enlarged. Once again get it all in there so the load trip is sitting flush against the roof again. Now if you did it right you could proably slip your hand into the roof lining and start to pull your cable through. If not, it doesn't matter, just a grab a wire hanger and untwist it and use it to grab onto the wires and pull through interior light hole. Now get back out and do the exact same for the negative cable on the other side of the roof.
So, now you should have all four wires hanging down from interior light hole. Use the last two screws to hold down the front and the end of the load strips. Now get your sealant push it's nose thhrough middle screw hole and squeeze! Fill that hole in the roof so water can't get in. Now, drop a heavy book or something similar on top as it will also act like a screw keeping it all into place.
The small hole that you drilled up front for the wires to enter inside the strip, fill that with silicone too! Your work on the roof is now done. Step back and admire the beauty of your OB with four spotlights on it's roof. Scratch your nuts, pick your nose and get back to work!
Now, remove the trim around your drivers side door. The kick plate and the rubber seal. Right around to the top and the remove the plastic from the A Pillar.
Pull down a little on the roof lining around the interior light and start feeding all your cable across so that it pokes out (may need to pull it out yourself) the drivers side roof ling. Pull it all through and replace the interior light. Run the wiring down the A Pillar into the area underneath the dash. Now remove the lower dash panel and replace the trim around the door.
The Switch
My toggle switch was a miniature. If you got a larger one then you can use spade connectors to attach the wires to the back of it. Mine was miniature so I needed to solder my wires on.
Now, once again revert to a thread from Mark on removing the gague cluster bezel
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/viewtopic.php?t=1123
See the first pic in that thread, where Mark has a Blue toggle switch? Thats exactly where we are going to mount our toggle switch. Pop that empty plate out and drill a hole through that for the switch to fit through. Now, prewire the switch like such (pic below) and drop the wire down into the footwell with th rest of mess of wiring! Put your gauge bezel back into place and look at your funky switch! Slap yourself across the face and get back to work...
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2007/04/SPDT-1.gif
Wiring the Relay
I'm not going to lie to you, this can get messy and confusing but if you take it one step at a time then your gonna be just fine!
I Always like to start with getting the ground wires out of the way. Call me crazt but if they are not around to worry about then I'm sweet!
A ground point is any metal part of the car. Find a screw under the dash that is somehow screwed to a metal part of the car. I personally used one of the screw holes for where the underdash screws back in.
Grab your two relays, see how all the pins underneath are numbered?
Pin 85
Pin 86
Pin 30
Pin 87
Right, well first using your spade connectors found in the packages make two short lengths wire and connect one wire to pin 86 of relay 1 and then the other wire goes to pin 86 on relay 2. Connect both of these wires INCLUDING the two ground wires from the spotlights up top to your ground point. Make sure it's stiff and tight. Now your completly grounded!
You have two power wires coming from the battery. Well, they need to get connected to Pin 30 on the relays. It doesn't matter which relay gets which wire. So long as they can go to pin 30.
Almost there! Your on the home stretch now!
Next we need to find a +12 Volt high beam source. See all those wires coming down from the steering column? Well, there is one there! Your going to need either a test light a multimeter for this. I'm going to assume you know how to use a test light. If you don't then you probably shouldn't be attempting this setup! Find the wire that has power on it when the high beams ONLY are on. If the high beams are off and there is power still on that wire, its not the right one. Once you have found that wire, splice into and attach the middle wire from the switch. (See toggle switch picture above)
Now, you still have four wires left. Lets fix up two more of them. Grab the positive wires coming down from lights. They need to get attached to pin 87. Once again, which relay gets which wire doesn't really matter but they do need to be at pin 87.
Ok, we are nearly there!
Get that little diode out you picked up from radioshack. For a quick rundown, a diode will allow power to flow one way, but not the other way.
You have two pins left on the relays, Pin 85 on both. See the little holes on the pins? Feed one leg of the diode through those pins. Now, put a spade connector on those two wires left from the switch and push them over the top of the pin. It won'tbe easy, but they will go.
Clean up your wiring and make every thing neat. Put your dash back together.
Now, go back under the engine bay and replace those two fuses. If everything is good so far then they should spark or anything like that, just pop straight in.
Now, switch the car to.
Put the toggle switch in the middle position.
Switch your highbeams on.
Get out and verify that your highbeams are on and the spotlights are off.
Now, push the toggle switch down and verify how many of your spotlights are on.
If there is only two on. Don't fret. Thats diode working. Move the switch all the way to other side and you should now have all four lights on.
Like wise, if you throw the switch for the first time and you have all four lights on then switch your switch down and you should only have two lights on.
To makes things simpler for some people, here is a circuit diagram for everything
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2007/04/spotties-1.jpg
You should now look something like this....
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2007/04/modifiedcar-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2007/04/moneyshot-1.jpg
Any questions or if you need something verified just ask :)