TOTM: Lighting

[Screwfly]

i did get some inspiration for lights a few months ago... i was driving down the road, and i saw i beam of light in the sky above me, i was able to look back, all i saw was a small white dot....about a miniute later, an air plane flys over me, and thats when i realized....air craft landing lights.... they must survive very harsh conditions, are probably some what light...and are bright as fuck.

however, im still trying to find an airplane junk yard...

Maybe this will help?
They have some nice LED options on that site too.

Now you got me thinking about that..

[Colorado 5.9]

For rock lights I actually have 2 LED Varad kits I'm going to chain one of these days.

However after getting into RC flying again LED stuff for night flying has come along way. I have a quad coter that I have RED strip light LEDs on & they are suoer brite.
I did have one of the arms with white led's but I didn't like how it looked.

The have now come out with water/weather proof stip LEDs. I bought 3 meters worth & intend on installing them befor GSW. For now to save some time I'm only going to wire them to run on a big 11.1v Lipo battery I use in a few of my planes. Then later I'll use the controler you can get for them. The strip leds are cheap at $7.25 a meter & the controler is only $6.88. I'll post photos & let you guys know how brite they really are comepared to the non weather proof ones.

http://www.himodel.com/electric/10mm...0CM_White.html

http://www.himodel.com/electric/12V_...hts_Strip.html

[hvac man]

'98 ZJ:

IPF 960 Super Ralley- exelent
IPF ZE-1 Fog- gold lens- best light I have ever owned! (one broke and can't find a replacement, do you have one for sale?)
PIAA Xtream white plus 9004/HB1- good light output from factory housing.
Mopar (canadian?) lenses w/ H4 bulbs- haven't tried them yet. I'm not sure if the H4 is worth going to.

'06 Ford E-250:
IPF rectangle conversion lens with the PIAA H4 Xtream white- WAY better than stock!

[BigClay]

Ignorance alert...

I am no good, I mean awful at wiring, so... I want to wire up my Hella 500s on my ARB before GSSE. Can someone walk me through step by step of how to wire these lights and how to install the switch. The instructions Hella included are next to useless for me.

[19onebadzj96]

Ignorance alert...

I am no good, I mean awful at wiring, so... I want to wire up my Hella 500s on my ARB before GSSE. Can someone walk me through step by step of how to wire these lights and how to install the switch. The instructions Hella included are next to useless for me.

Below is a diagram I drew on Paint. It is what I use without using a relay and using a fuse from the power source.

[SirFuego]

Below is a diagram I drew on Paint. It is what I use without using a relay and using a fuse from the power source.

If you run it that way, you need to make sure that the current rating for the fuse is greater than the output of the lights -- and the current rating of the wiring and switch are greater than the fuse. IIRC, Hella 500s are 55W running on 12V. So since P = IV, I = P/V = 55 / 12 = 4.58. Since the lights are connected in parallel, the total amperage is additive. Meaning that you multiply the current by the number of lights (which I assume is 2). So 2*4.58 = 9.16A. So basically, you need the fuse to be at least 10A and the switch to be at least 15A (5A greater than the fuse).

That wiring should work, but I would prefer to wire it up using a relay instead. A relay is really nothing more than a high amperage switch. With a relay, the switch itself sees a very minimal load, so it's (in theory) less likely to fail (when a switch is overloaded, it can heat up and melt -- or possibly cause a fire). The fuse in the above diagram should prevent that from happening, but short circuits can happen and I'd rather blow up a relay than a switch. Not to mention that you can run shorter wires for the high-load stuff (only wiring going through the firewall/dash isn't carrying the load since it's for the switch) so it will have less of a voltage drop seen at the lights. This would be my preferred method:


Clay -- did your rig have factory fog lights? If so, your best bet may just be to wire that directly into the fog light wiring -- it's already setup for that load (fused and relay'd) and you can just use the factory fog light switch. Most fog lights are 55W, so it should be able to handle the lights (assuming you are only using two). The limitation with this, though, is that on a 93ZJ, the fog lights can't be turned on independently of the headlights.

[BigClay]

Thanks guys, that does help so I can see the big picture.

Jared, my 93 was bare bones (didn't even have tinted windows or a cassett player) so no fog lights.

[19onebadzj96]

If you run it that way, you need to make sure that the current rating for the fuse is greater than the output of the lights -- and the current rating of the wiring and switch are greater than the fuse. IIRC, Hella 500s are 55W running on 12V. So since P = IV, I = P/V = 55 / 12 = 4.58. Since the lights are connected in parallel, the total amperage is additive. Meaning that you multiply the current by the number of lights (which I assume is 2). So 2*4.58 = 9.16A. So basically, you need the fuse to be at least 10A and the switch to be at least 15A (5A greater than the fuse).

That wiring should work, but I would prefer to wire it up using a relay instead. A relay is really nothing more than a high amperage switch. With a relay, the switch itself sees a very minimal load, so it's (in theory) less likely to fail (when a switch is overloaded, it can heat up and melt -- or possibly cause a fire). The fuse in the above diagram should prevent that from happening, but short circuits can happen and I'd rather blow up a relay than a switch. Not to mention that you can run shorter wires for the high-load stuff (only wiring going through the firewall/dash isn't carrying the load since it's for the switch) so it will have less of a voltage drop seen at the lights. This would be my preferred method:


Clay -- did your rig have factory fog lights? If so, your best bet may just be to wire that directly into the fog light wiring -- it's already setup for that load (fused and relay'd) and you can just use the factory fog light switch. Most fog lights are 55W, so it should be able to handle the lights (assuming you are only using two). The limitation with this, though, is that on a 93ZJ, the fog lights can't be turned on independently of the headlights.

SirFuego is absolutley correct, make sure the fuse and switch are rated appropriately (oops I left that out). The diagram he provided is perfect for use with a relay, which all Hella kits come with.

[SirFuego]

Thanks guys, that does help so I can see the big picture.

Also, I'd recommend using heat shrink tubing to seal up every splice you make. You can get that at any auto or hardware store. All you need is a lighter to melt the tubing. If the lights already came with a relay, I would definitely use that as it will have the proper rating. Just make sure that every wire you splice into the relay is at least as thick as the wire you are connecting it to. It may not be a bad idea to mount the relay relatively close to the battery (there should be plenty of room to mount it) to minimize the wiring you need to run for the lights. Less wire = less resistance.

Did Hella did not even provide a schematic for the lights? This isn't the first time I've heard complaints about the shitty instructions.

[BigClay]

The lights did come with a relay, so I will certainly use it.

As for the "schematic" it spent more words on where to locate the lights and how to drill the mounting holes than it did on the wiring... very crapy instructions.

[TN_WJ]

As for the "schematic" it spent more words on where to locate the lights and how to drill the mounting holes than it did on the wiring... very crapy instructions.

X2
When I did my black magics the wiring diagram Hella provided didn't match at all with the harness that came with the lights. The wire colors were completely different between the two. I got em in though and everything's been fine for a few years now but it's still frustrating for someone who needs all the help they can get when it comes to wiring.

[rodd88]

I'm sorry for bumping this thread, but I was looking at the diagram, where would the switched power come from? I really need to redo the shitty wiring I have for the KC's.