I'll be getting mu Saftey Device roof rack and am planning on mounting lights up on the rack. How do you get power up to the lights? ANy help would be appreciated.
Adventure Rack lights and wiring?
- Thread starter CRASH05
- Start date
If you have a D2:
Open the passenger side door. You will see 4 or 5 "clips" holding the pillar casing "black plastic cover" Remove the clips and pillar cover. Once you have done this it is easy to run wire from the battery up the pillar along the rain gutter and up to your rack. Just put the pillar cover back on and you should be completly stealth.
Open the passenger side door. You will see 4 or 5 "clips" holding the pillar casing "black plastic cover" Remove the clips and pillar cover. Once you have done this it is easy to run wire from the battery up the pillar along the rain gutter and up to your rack. Just put the pillar cover back on and you should be completly stealth.
S
Sergei
Guest
Nice connectors, they look weatherproof, right?
How does it look when the rack is on? pretty stealthy?
How does it look when the rack is on? pretty stealthy?
Of course they are. When the rack is off I just zip tie it to the factory rack. Easy on and off. You can't really see the connector behind the lights. I just hate wires running up the outside of the pillar or behind that weather stripping. Notice I only used one ground for both of the lights. I would recommend using a 10g wire for the ground. There is too much current for a 12g. It may get too hot and melt.
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I think even 10 AWG for a common ground might be too small since copper 10 AWG is rated at 15A. I don't think it would heat up too much, but it would still create a bottleneck.
9 AWG with a capacity of 19 A would be better, assuming 2 Hella 4K at 100 watt bulbs each should draw 16.666A. I believe this changes with the alternator running at 13.2V to 13.5V, but at any rate, better not to have any electrical bottlenecks.
Nonetheless, it's nice to see someone putting thought into the design of the electrical wiring. I think more often than not very little thought is put into selecting wire for lighting.
9 AWG with a capacity of 19 A would be better, assuming 2 Hella 4K at 100 watt bulbs each should draw 16.666A. I believe this changes with the alternator running at 13.2V to 13.5V, but at any rate, better not to have any electrical bottlenecks.
Nonetheless, it's nice to see someone putting thought into the design of the electrical wiring. I think more often than not very little thought is put into selecting wire for lighting.
Craig, you've proved that you understand Ohm's law. However, you may want to check the NEC for sizing conductors. Table 310.16. 10 THHN (which is UV resistant) is actually rated at 40A at 90 degrees C. This table shows voltage from 0-2000v. It doesn't matter for A/C or D/C current. (see Table 310.13 for temperature ratings of conductors) 4 100W hella's at 12v is 33.3A. The alternator will give you over 14v, maybe a little less with the lights on. Either way a 10 will work fine. I doubt that you would consider the lights as being continuous duty since I don't know anyone that will leave them on for over 3 hours. I would be a little concerned about my battery and alternator at that point.
Koby, Is this stealthy enough?
Leigh, It's not bad. You have to pull off the visors and the "Oh Shit Handles". After that it's pretty easy to get at the factory rack bolt. I used a round bastard to notch the factory rack. I also used a little silicone before bolting that thing down. I've done this on 2 disco's and have never had a problem leaking. Notice Black and White. Believe me, your sunroofs will leak first.
Koby, Is this stealthy enough?
Leigh, It's not bad. You have to pull off the visors and the "Oh Shit Handles". After that it's pretty easy to get at the factory rack bolt. I used a round bastard to notch the factory rack. I also used a little silicone before bolting that thing down. I've done this on 2 disco's and have never had a problem leaking. Notice Black and White. Believe me, your sunroofs will leak first.
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Man, that is a kick ass connection. Very stealthy indeed!
90C? isn't that a bit hot?
This thread is divirging into something new to me.
Tell me more about this wiring. Obviously my grasp of electical physics isn't up to par. if I'm not doing something right with my wiring, I may need to change my ways.
90C? isn't that a bit hot?
This thread is divirging into something new to me.
Tell me more about this wiring. Obviously my grasp of electical physics isn't up to par. if I'm not doing something right with my wiring, I may need to change my ways.
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I guess we are going off on a little tangent here. Land Rover electricial systems are way too weird to be doing things wrong. Sorry if I came off a little like an ass, but I am an electrician and will read anything and everything to better educate myself in this field. I had some electricial problems early on with my 94. It's not fun to diagnose a vehicle's D/C system.
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bshinn
Guest
Does everyone tap into the high beam wire (so that the aux lights will shut off when the low beams are on), or do you all do something else? Also, does anyone know exactly which wire going to the headlights is the high beam, to save me from a bit o' trial and error?