Wiring Aux Lights and Accessories

[dakotajeep]

Alright, when my pickup gets back from the shop (if it ever does, which is a whole different can of worms) I plan on installing two Hella 500's to aid in night driving on the dark Kansas roads.



My question is this: What is the best place to route wires into the cab. Currently all the wiring from under the hood is routed through the fender and into the cab by the door hinge. Its works but I would rather have things tucked away nicely for a less redneck/ghetto feel.



What have you guys done to keep things CLEAN looking in the cab?



What is a good power source for the backlights for my EGT and Pyro guages? I have it from the fuse box without a fuse which I know is bad. Any suggestions?



Thad

 

[t-roymoose]

I put the Hella 550 lights (the rectangle ones) on my brush guard on my truck. What I did was run the lights through a relay and ran the switch to the cab. I went through an existing gromet in my frewall on the driver side. I think I had to pull the carpet back a bit to see and get to the wire but it goes right under the dash all clean and easy. I hooked the relay to my high beams so the lights will come on and off when I switch from high to low. I have the switch so I can turn them off when I just want the High beams on.


I do have to say that they do make a huge difference. I also run the Silvania ultra headlights that help out quite a bit. I hope I awnsered your question. If there are any other questions I will be more than happy to try to help.

 

[t-roymoose]

I forgot to awnser your other question. I found the wire (forgot wich color) and jumped them with the rest of my dash lights. That way they dim with all the other ones. I will try to dig out my book and find out which wire.

 

[dakotajeep]

Thanks man! I'll look around the firewall a little to see if I can find something. I plan on just running them to a switch to have total control over them......

I am also running SilverStars....love'em.

Thad

 

[LCAM-01XA]

All my add-on wiring (aux front lights, backup flood lights, TC lockup control, PCM "fake TC" feed, manual high idle, 110V inverter, and trailer brakes controller) goes through the grommet for the speedo cable, you have to pull the carpet a bit to see it. Additionally, since your truck has a slushbox, you can utilize the hole cut in the firewall for the clutch master cylinder, the access cover for it is right next to the brake booster on the inboard side.

 

[typ4]

Light blue with a red tracer should be dash lights. I use a cube relay and just run a ground wire to it from the in cab switch, for my accessories. Less wires and it is never hot thru the firewall in case there is a chafe problem.

 

[dakotajeep]

Light blue with a red tracer should be dash lights. I use a cube relay and just run a ground wire to it from the in cab switch, for my accessories. Less wires and it is never hot thru the firewall in case there is a chafe problem.

Dude, I have little experience with wiring. What is a cube relay? How many amp relay for all your access. Sorry for being ignorant but I just have no idea.

thad

 

[t-roymoose]

If you bought the kit new then it should come with a cube relay. I is what it sounds, a cube with a mounting tab. It takes the power from the power source and allows it to go to the lights without going through the swich. All the swich does is closes the circuit to turn the lights on (uses a low amount of power to do this). It should have four spots to hook wires to. One is the power in, one is ground, one is power to accesory, and the other goes to the switch. It is the proper way to install anything that pulls amps. The kit should have all that you need to wire it in. Sometimes they don't give you enough wire to reach where you want to. It shouldn't require more than a 15 amp fuse.

 

[dakotajeep]

Yeah, the kit has all the stuff with it. I was curious since he mentioned running all of his stuff through cube relays. I thought maybe all could go through one.....maybe I am just not getting it...

Thad

 

[t-roymoose]

The little black cube thing that came with the kit is what he was talking about. Just remember the lights are only as good as the conections.

 

[dakotajeep]

Does anyone have suggestions about where to place them on the bumper? I am thinking about a foot or foot and a half apart on top of the bumper.

Does anyone have suggestions or pics based on experience?

Thanks
Thad

 

[t-roymoose]

I have a brush bar on the front of mine so that made things easy. I had some small driving lights that I was able to hide in the grill. They do make some nice grills that those should fit nice. But other than that I don't know.

 

[dakotajeep]

Gotem in and they are HELLA good. Just gotta tidy everything up tomorrow. And then take some pics......

Thad

 

[Agnem]

Just to clarify, the term cube relay is really slang. There is no actual relay in any electronics catalog with that name, unless they use the slang term. It's a single or double pole single throw relay with usually a average capacity of about 15-50 amps. Usually very popular because its very cheap (and cheaply made). They were frequently called Bosch relays. A better choice is something like the Standard LR-32 which has a built in fuse holder with screw terminals and is made of metal, but they are harder to find, and much more expensive.

 

[dakotajeep]

Thanks Mel.....I need to get Wiring and Electronics for Dummies.....it would help me out!

Thad