off road light wiring question
 

I searched and found a million diagrams of how to wire it but, my question is where do you get the power from ? I have 2 off-road lights on a light bar on the roof, and the wiring harness but I am unsure where to get the power from.

the battery. or you could tap into the power teminal on the starter relay....

how would I run the wire from the battery to inside the cab ? Where is the starter relay ?

give me about 20 min and i will go outside and take some pics for you

17 minutes...

cool Zach you'd the man

i will smack you lol...

Hey, remember the t-bar crank timer??

11 minutes

Just in case Zach can't get to the photos, this is what I did:

I've got the constant power coming from the battery. I cut a small hole in the gromet holding the wires coming into the cab from the engine, and snuck a wire through there to my relay. This gromet comes in above the clutch. In order to get to this gromet through your engine compartment, you're going to have to push the fuse box (in the engine compartment) out of the way. To do that you just have to remove the 2 or 3 bolts that hold it in place on your fender. Running that wire will be the hardest part. I attached my remote wire to one of my accessory fuses so that the lights can only be used while the truck is on. My ground wire is attached to the bolt on the back of the drivers side seat.

I came through the same hole. But left the fuse box. dont need to move it. Just simply take a metal hander and unfold it till it's strait. then tape the end of the wires on the end of the hanger and simply feed it through the hole. just like butter

I got the pics i am resizing them now

uhh... I kinda forgot about the timer...lol.

Here is another way that some people do it. On 2001+, there is a small cover on the front of the underhood Battery Junction Box. Underneath the cover, there are 2 lugs that connect the positive battery cable to power the various circuits that branch out from the BJB. It is possible to use eye termainals to connect extra wires under the nuts. It is important disconnect the battery before starting and to replace the small cover over the lugs before reconnecting the battery.

Whichever way you decide to do it, be sure to use large enough conductors and fuse the positive wire close to the source.

http://home.comcast.net/~rwenzing/ba...onnections.jpg

Ok here is the starter relay you can get 12+ from it. its located on the drivers fender. i cant remeber which teminal is 12+ i beleave its the one with the boot on it. just take a test light and find out.
http://12.40.149.46/zach/wiringandba...ture%20002.jpg

OK the gromit you want to use to go inside the cab is right below the main wiring harness you will see a hole in this pic the boot is removed
http://12.40.149.46/zach/wiringandba...ture%20004.jpg

ok the first pic was from my splash here is a pic of my XLT with wirings coming out of it
http://12.40.149.46/zach/wiringandba...ture%20007.jpg

another general pic so you can see where it is located
http://12.40.149.46/zach/wiringandba...ture%20009.jpg


ok now for the light bar i dont understand why you want to run it in the cab this is how christian and I ran our wires for the KC light bar. christians being the black truck mine being silver
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a80...02/wiring1.jpg
Attachment 213657
Attachment 213658
Attachment 213659
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a80...02/wiring5.jpg
with mine on this one I put the wires through a armored shielding and ran it down in the fender and poped up in the engine bay and snake the wires along the cowl inside the engine bay to the battery

now christians
Attachment 213660
Attachment 213661
Attachment 213662
he ran the wires in the top rubber seal. more hidden i didnt take this route because i have higher wattage lights and used larger gauge wire so mine was fatter...

ah yes i forgot your starter relay is hidden i think on the newer one's so on the 12+ this is a better way that bob shows. good catch bob

I too (or is it three at this point) ran my wire in via the gromet near the clutch. However mine is just a low-current trigger for the relay. All my high-current stuff is under the hood.

For power I have a collection of accessory runs terminated on one of the two posts on the front of the under-hood power distribution box. Just remember to use inline fuses as close to the junction box as possible. Fortunately for me my lights are on my brush guard, meaning all the high-current stuff is forward of the firewall.

To trigger the relay I tapped the high-beam trigger in the pigtail going to the steering column. That trigger also has an override switch under my dash.

Edit: Dayum.. Bob's on the scene, disregard me..

thats a good idea running it around the door,

Hey Zach where did you guys get those white plastic things that hold the wires and keep them neat ?

you can call up KC and they will send you some the guy charged me like $.75 each or something. be like I am re installing my KC light bar and i need more of the stick on wire clips the white plastic one's i think i can find them online somewhere if you give me a little bit

FOUND EM....better price too!!!
http://www.buycableties.com/catalog/?pid=86

those have adhisive backs and you slip a standard zip tie in the hole and clamp the wire too it

sweet,

How did you guys wire power to the switch ? i was thinking about making it idiot proof so the lights can only be on if the truck is on.

Hey Bob if you don't mind me asking what all are you running off there ?

well you have to use a RELAY...and run the lights just like this diagram. also dont wire so the truck has to be on. you will find youself might needing them if your truck is off. and my bet is there no brighter then 100w so you want have a huge problem draining the battery.

Amplifier, bed crane and electric fan.

yeah that is exactly how i am wiring it, my question is where in the truck is a good easy place to get 12 volts to put on the switch to activate the relay ?(either way weather the truck to be on or not)

Yes they are 100 watts each x 2 and soon to be x 4