Additional Driving Lights - DIY - Page 2

**BroncoHauler** · 07-18-2008, 08:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sdwindansea

...

Herb, I like the look of the Camburg bumper a lot. However, at the price you are approaching aluminess / road armor prices and they offer a lot more (winch box, recovery points) which I do not believe the Camburg setup does.

The Aluminess is more "capable" with storage and/or winch accomodation, but there's a bit of a difference in price: $1295 (Camburg) vs. $2158 (Aluminess).

Herb

Greg In Austin · 07-21-2008, 08:13 AM

Sdwind,

I agree, when we first looked at light bars we were surprised at the prices being as high as they were. We found that with Yakima gutter mounts and a Yakima bar we could get it done pretty darn cheap. (pics in gallery and on the SMB site)

I also agree with Bronco,... doing it yourself will leave you confident that you understand the wiring if an issue ever comes up. SMB TX did ours and I have only a general idea of how things are wired up (but I am local to Austin so I can get help when/if I need it).

.

sdwindansea · 07-21-2008, 09:40 AM

Good point about the price difference Herb. Well, I'm definitely going to install them myself. I'm going to just mount on top of the stock Ford steel bumper. Now I have to decide what I actually want/need as far as the lights go. I'm going to head to a couple local shops at lunch to see what they offer. I think one of the main deterrents will be the depth of the lights. There isn't a ton of room on top of the bumper, especially if you plan on rotating the lights or moving them up/down. I'll actually take some pictures and do a write up when I get around to installing them. Thanks again everyone for the help. Oh yea, don't forget that if I mess this up, it's all your faults!

sdwindansea · 07-21-2008, 03:48 PM

Well - I bit the bullet and picked up a set of PIAA 580's. It includes the complete kit (wiring harness, relay, switch, etc).

I have some questions on the actual wiring spots now. I was planning on hooking up the main power (positive) to the same power line that goes into the power distribution center under the hood. Any problems with this?

There are two grounds on my harness, one for the lights and one for the relay. Can these both be connected to the frame of the van (or something connected to the frame)?

Any advice for the placement of the relay under the hood? Same with getting the wires from the relay to the firewall? Yes, space is tight and running the wires is going to be a chore. I will definitely need to extend the wires running from the relay to the switch as they are not nearly long enough. I may also have to extended the wires from the relay to the ground.

Finally, if I'm going to connect this to the parking lights or high beam lights, should I do this at one of the headlights themselves or would it better to do it at the switch by the dashboard?

Sorry for all of the questions. I'm trying to get this right the first time, although I wouldn't bet on it.

jage · 07-21-2008, 04:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sdwindansea

I was planning on hooking up the main power (positive) to the same power line that goes into the power distribution center under the hood. Any problems with this?

I would not tap the power going IN to the distribution box. Mess that line up and you mess up a lot. You should be able to find something inside- look for no fuse, power on one side and make a tab that is the size of a fuse tab. There are probably other/better/clearer solutions, but I'd leave the main wire alone.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sdwindansea

There are two grounds on my harness, one for the lights and one for the relay. Can these both be connected to the frame of the van (or something connected to the frame)?

Ground is a ground is a ground. Pretty much whereever is convenient, usually a handy screw can be found- although check it actually is a ground. Some screws don't go into metal and others are backed by paint.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sdwindansea

Any advice for the placement of the relay under the hood?
Same with getting the wires from the relay to the firewall?

The relay can go anywhere the wires reach. You can run the wires into the firewall and put the relay under the dash or 1/2 way to the firewall. As long as it's somewhat protected from the elements (they're not sealed, but I've dunked and covered with water and mud and not had problems) you should be fine. Again a handy screw works as there is usually a little tab with a hole.

And personally I'd skip the light tie in, save it for the advanced class.

sdwindansea · 07-21-2008, 04:30 PM

Thanks Jage - I greatly appreciate your help. Just to make sure you understood what I meant by the "tapping" into the power going into the distribution box. The power line going into the box terminates on a post, just like a battery post. I was thinking I could just drop the power line for the lights on top of this and just put the nut back on to keep it in place. Where you saying it is a bad idea if I were going to splice into this line, or is what I just described also a bad idea?

jage · 07-21-2008, 04:38 PM

Right the splice is a bad idea. Actually I think I nutted on a power line right there too (I was trying to remember where I got power for my light project). Use a round or fork terminal (bare copper is fine for temporary if you don't have one, it's just a chance for corrosion).

deminimis · 07-22-2008, 04:29 PM

If still considering a bumper, you can buy this one for only $300. Would take some fabbing to make it fit your SMB, but for $300, thought I'd mention it.

Disclaimer: Don't kow the person, not my ride and I gave at the office.

sdwindansea · 07-22-2008, 06:19 PM

Thanks Dennis. I think for now we're going to stick with the stock Ford bumper. I'm still not sure what we're ultimately going to do as far as bumpers go. Right now, the answer is nothing since I sunk my budget into the lighting and the new tires/wheels that will be installed in a couple weeks.