4runner901

okay, me and my friend just wired up kc's on his jeep,

it was super easy because his jeep had some many routes to choose from.

and his panel where we mounted his switch just popped right off, and we drilled a hole in it and mounted it and grounded the ground wire inside there and everything, it just worked out perfect is what im saying

this was our first time to wire anything up

now i want some for my 2gen 95 4runner

but we got to looking at it trying to figure out how we were going to do it

and its just not lookin so easy,

we are wondering how you take off the dash to mount the switch and the ground. and how to get the wires from the battery and relay and stuff to the inside of my 4runner


any help?


thanks

4x4mike

You're going to have to go through the firewall. I didn't want to make a bunch of holes so I mounted an aux power box under my dash. This allows me to tap into power and not hack into anything else, just one clean sealed wire through a firewall grommet.

You need to use a relay for your lights which means you need switched power and constant power. In the past I have just used constant power so I don't need to have the truck on. Im assuming you're having trouble getting a switch panel off. I think they just pry out or you can try to push it out from the back. The dash panels come off easy, just look for screws. You can ground the switch to anything metal behind the dash. The relay also needs a ground but doesn't need to go back to the battery. Buy quality lights and wiring kit, it'll all be laid out for you.

4runners.org has a good right up for a light install. The pictures are labeled and easy to follow.

4runner901

he lights im getting are the same ones we wired up on the jeep,

so im familiar with them

and they do already have a wiringharness and all that
okay thanks man

so no matter what i have to drive through that wall??


once i get throught there and my dash is off i should be smooth sailing

and like you said, i already have like a pre cut rectangle for a switch so..

okay thanks,

CJM

Easiest way to wire lights:

Tap 12V source, be it constant, or always on. Battery or something else fused that comes on with the key. I personally prefer wiring like this: get a auxillary fuse box from napa an auto parts store. Get a length of 8 gauge wire or so and wire it from the battery to a 30amp breaker or a 30 amp fuse holder, then to the box. All you need is some crimp on connectors to fit the bolt on the battery and the aux fuse panel.

Then wire your positive part of whatever using to the fuse panel and use the appropriate fuse, I used 30 amps for my 100w lights.

Then wire that positive to a switch thats rated for at least 20 amps. This bypasses needing a relay period and will work fine, I have wired dozens of lights this way, dont skimp on a good switch and you dont have the hassle of a relay. Then put the positive of the switch back out to the lights, you can splice two wires onto one so you can run it into the lights. Simply ground the lights right to the lights bolt down or similar and your good to go. You could ground it also inside the engine bay if you wanted like I did.

So to simplify: Battery to 30amp breaker fuse or 30 amp fuse holder, to aux fuse panel to switch, from switch to lights.

If you dont wanna use that fuse panel, wire it like this: battery to 30amp fuse holder to switch to lights. Or you could wire incab, finding a fuse in the fuse panel that will work. Need a test light hooked up to a good ground in order to check whats on when the key is on or off.

I prefer the fuse panel b/c it makes adding stuff so easy. All you really need for this whole setup is a a few crimp on ends, fuses and wire. The whole project will run you about 30 dollars at the most and it will make wiring that much easier next time.

As for switches, this one I used for 2 sets of lights. Its rated at 20amps or better and will fit the factory holes. http://www.oznium.com/gsw-45-led You can buy a similar switch at toyota for about 20 bucks as well.

4runner901

thanks man

but my lights i have already have all the relays and wireing harness and stuff put together

what im wonderin is how to get from the engine to the inside of my 4runner,

then im wonderin how to get the dash off and the switch mounted

but i think i got it all

could anyone clear it up for me?

thanks

4x4mike

Personally I would run the lights as shown in the diagrams, with a relay. With out the relay you have to rely on a cheap switch (whatever the amp rating) to keep your lights off. You're also running full current through the wires all the time. I have seen a couple of fires do to switches failing and shorting out behind the dash because of the full current load. Without a relay the switch sees too much power. If the switch is warm it's too much.

4x4mike

Oh about power into the cab. There are other ways. You can go through the tunnel or an existing hole. The engine compartment is small and hard to drill into. It's not hard, just crawl around.

I have never taken the dash off to run a switch. Come through the firewall, peek under the dash (under the steering wheel) and grab the wires you poked through. Drill a hole in the dash, poke the wires through the back side of the hole, wire switch and zip tie everything all clean. That's it.

4runner901

okay i got all that stuff already.

what about a plan how to route the wires.

you know

where to ground the relay and switch?

how to get engine to cab?

how to get dash off and mount switch?

thanks

4runner901

oo okay thanks

4runner901

wait, how do you look under the dash?? dont understand

and how do you mount the switch to the dash with out taking it off?

91 4Runner

Put you head down in the driver side footwell and look up, you can see a portion of the firewall there. You can either drill a hole through there or you can split the rubber boot that is already there and feed your wires through. You can also pop out the little rectangle cover either with a pick or push it out from the back. Drill your hole in the cover and insert your switch, then replace the cover. Bundle and tape/secure your wiring and you are done.

I have both a Jeep YJ and a 2nd Gen 4Runner and running the lights on the 4Runner was way easier... (all but running wires behind the grill - but still not bad)

Hope this helps..

RoBatt

i got lazy and just ran my switch through the steering column