I finished wiring in my off road lights (finally). I was being somewhat OCD on getting the routing and looming of the wiring harness quite right. I am happy with the results. I wish I had started out with bulk components and wire instead of a pre made harness I had to mod to get to work. Would have been easier. Anyway, here goes the photos!

The lights mounted on the brush guard.


Having to add bullet connectors to the pigtails on the lights to graft them to the KC harness.


The spot the relay and ground are mounted on. The ground wire is extended to route with the ground for the switch.


The cleanest way I could figure out how to tie in to battery power. I opted to NOT power the lights with the headlight circuit as I did NOT want to hack into O.E. wiring at all.


CONTINUED...

 

The way the lights are mounted on the brush guard. I drilled a hole just outside, and behind the originals as the original holes were too far forward for my lights. I then used the original holes for routing the wiring under the cross bar and concealing them.


The 25A fuse holder that came from KC fell apart on install. I went to my local electronic parts shop and got this 30A ATC Buss fuses model and grafted it into the harness. There are those folks on the boards that are telling me 14awg is only good for up to 15 amps. But for some reason the electrical engineers in the industry all say 32. I trust the engineers a bit more with their knowledge base...


For some reason this photo ended up upside down. Here is the detail shot of how I broke out the grounds and tied them into a factory ground point.


The switch from the KC harness kit neatly mounted in the panel with the cigarett lighter (cell phone charger) socket.


CONTINUED...

 

And the finished product. Tested, and working well. I am happy with the results. I have everything neatly tied up and out of the way, and contained in split loom. I went through a LOT of effort to get this set up right, I am sure happy with how it worked.



You can see how much brighter the off road lights are compared to the headlights and driving lights, COMBINED. These should make those late night returns from the fishing hole to the road a LOT easier and safer.

Sorry it took three posts to get it all. Goofy restriction on the forum. I am sure there is a reason. But it is awfully limiting..

Anyway, let me know what you folks think of the mod. I put a LOT of time and effort into getting it right. I know I didn't use the best off road lights, but they are decent enough for my purposes. And the price was that of a SINGLE Pro Comp 100 watt 6" chrome light...

 

Nice, clean install.

 

Yea looks good. I wish i had some better way to hide my wires. I'll just order some more wire loom and redo it. So what lights did you get? They look like chrome daylighters. I got the 150w and they make one hell of a difference on the dark back roads.

One thing I suggest is installing a foot switch. I did that and it's alot easier to use my lights.

 

Looks good. All u guys keep makin me want to spend my money..lol

 

They are Pilot Baja 100w 6" Chrome.

 

I would agree that your lights won't pull enough power to melt down the wiring shown, but I have two concerns to share:

1. That is not a water/weatherproof fuse holder. Moisture will wick into the wire and start to corrode the wiring on either side of the fuse holder.
2. I am just old school enough that I don't like to use bullet connectors. A soldered joint is three times stronger than the wires themselves. I'm even **** enough that I won't allow a crimping wire connector in my shop. If two wires need to be joined, they are soldered, taped, then wrapped with heat shrink if exposed to the elements.

Maybe I believe in overkill, but I also don't have to go back and rewire anything six months, three years, or ever again.

I did like your wire routing, and it's obvious you tried hard to do it right-good job!

 

Looks good!

Now just take them off and paint them black, lol.

 

Black will come when the chrome flakes off these cheapies.

As to the solder joint vs. crimp on / bullet connector issue. I actually thought about soldering the crimps in place. Just to make double and triple sure. The bullets are there to allow me to disconnect the lights if need be for say replacement. The only other crimp connectors I used were the temporary butt splices used for the fuse holder.

The fuse holder is a temporary deal. I am trying to source one of these http://www.go2marine.com/product.do?no=16208F locally. So far no joy. Once new fuse holders are sourced, they will be soldered inline, then liquid electrical tape, and shrink tubing used to seal them up. And I am going to replace BOTH fuse holders, not just the 25A one.

I know guys that have run the type of fuse holder I am using in saltwater boats for years with no problems, but I do agree, a watertight fuse holder underhood is the CORRECT way to do it.

And I do agree that it is MUCH better to wire it right, than say have to redo it. However when fabbing something up, we tend to have a lot of hit or miss... The bullets may disappear if I can find waterproof trailer connector type 2 wire couplers...