Something to consider if you are planning on a lot of lights...

The new high output LEDs are quite bright and very low draw.

PIAA makes an excellent product but will cost you... there are several "off brands" that use identical casings/parts to the name brand makes for a fraction of the cost.

 

Rigid Industries makes really nice LED light bars, but as you said,they'll cost ya! They do have some more affordable products, though.

 

Just get some cheap off road lights that take the H3 bulbs and get a HID kit. I know harbor freight has some lights for like $30 throw in a HID kit for $50 and youll be good. You could always get Hella 500s for around $80-$90 I think

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=769370

 

I think I'm gonna just stick with halogens. I know they're not the best performance wise, but they're gonna put out the same TYPE of light that my headlights are and that's what I want. I'm not looking for the light of God or anything, just a little extra to light up the road or the middle of the forest somewhere.

 

i've noticed that when coming over hills, you can't see the other side if the lights are below your line of sight. if you have roof-mounted lights, the problem is eliminated. just a thought...

 

yeah, that makes perfect sense, but I want to keep it looking mostly stock at first glance. The roof mounted lights would be an amazing improvement, but I don't really have a whole lot of trouble seeing what I need to see at night. I'm just looking to upgrade a little, plus upgrade my coolness scale from suspenders and horn-rims to at least overalls or something like that

 

The main reason for HID's is they use less power than halogen and put out more light leaving you with more power for other things

 

I know it. If I could find a set of HIDs the right color temp I might consider it. It's just everything I've seen is that cold/bluish white that I don't like. At least not for these trucks. If I could find that warm white that the halogens put off then maybe.

 

You can get almost any color HID capsule you want. 4300k is about the color of sunlight at noon on a clear day and is what the OEMs use. No tint of blue at all and it's the brightest you can get. The lower in kelvin you go, the more yellow they will be, but you also lose some output.

 

This is why I ask questions before going out and buying the wrong $tuff. It appears I need to do better shopping.

 

Anyone out there have a 4300K set of HID's on their truck? I'd like to see it on there first before I go grabbing parts.

 

Not a pickup but still a Yota. 4300k is definitely what you will want. Gives a nice light pretty close to the color of what my H4 hella headlights are putting out.

http://www.supraforums.com/forum/sho...=1#post7182410

 

Definitely whiter. I guess I was kind of hoping to keep it the SAME color, but I think I just realized that's like wanting to put a 4" lift on your truck but have it sit at stock height ... I have my moments. Ok, now that I've stopped being ridiculous ... I'm reading up on how relays actually work and I think I'll draw up my diagram.

Thanks for all your help and suggestions guys. I've been here a few years, but I'm still a newb to all this. Guess I better trust in that new set of "matched tires": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHkM4...feature=relmfu

 

Question for the electricians: where do the diodes go in the circuit? I understand they're like an electrical check valve, but on which side of the relay do they go? Should it be "Switch-Diode-85Relay86" or "Switch-85Relay86-Diode" or none of the above?

 

I may have answered my own question ... are the diodes there to kill voltage spikes induced from shutting the relay off?

 

Almost there i think ... so the diode is in parallel with 85 & 86 so it redirects the spike? What if you used a resistor instead? Sorry for the multi-posts ... just thinking out loud. I think I broke something mental ...

 

Alright ... had some time. If anyone wants to proofread me and make sure I'm on the right track go for it:


This one is my fog light system. I want it to turn on with an ON-OFF switch, but only when the parking lights (at a minimum) are on. Once you shut the parking lights off, the fogs should shut off too.

1. Fuse 2. Parking Light Switch 3. Fog Light Switch 4. Relay/Diode 5. Parking Lights 6. Fog Lights





This one is for my aux lighting system (both my Behind-the-Grill lights or my Extra Reverse lights). I just put the one diagram up because they're identical, but it will be two separate systems. I want them to be controlled by an ON-OFF-ON switch. One ON should turn them on independent of anything else. The other ON should turn them on ONLY when their dependent system is on (Hi-beam/Reverse light).

1. Fuse 2. Hi-Beam/Reverse Light Switch 3. Aux Switch 4. Relay/Diode 5. Hi-Beams/Reverse Lights 6. Grill/Aux Reverse Lights




How'd I do coach?