heh heh. During the summer I usually make quite a few trips through yosemite to mammoth for some camping and fishing. The road is curvy and the stock lights can't reach out far enough for me to see the next curve.

I was thinking about getting some 150W KC daylighters. Normally I don't see very many people on the road so I would have time to use the lights.

So for you guys with extra lights, do you guys think I'd have a problem with the cops? It's not like I'd be using them irresponsibly.

Oh, and I didn't think about this: can the stock alternator and electrical system handle the drain of 300Ws plus headlights?

Steve

 

Many people wire in their driving lights with their high beams, so no, I don't forsee that would be a problem as long as you turn them off when you see another car. I realize the Daylighters are long range and not driving lights, but same difference in respect to how you'd use them.

What's the stock alternator output on a 2nd gen? 3rd gens, I believe, are 75 amps. I run 500 watts (41.7 amps) worth of auxiliary lighting frequently without a problem. No dimming or anything.

Oh, by the way, this is what 500 watts looks like :

 

My 2nd Gen alt is a meager 60 amps...

 

As long as you dip your lights when you see someone coming...now here's some info I was sent on the alternator Q:

Alternator (This tip comes from
<a href="http://www.geocities.com/theironyuppy/index.html" target="_blank">Morgan</a>)

"If you are adding things like fridges, cb or vhf radios, a GPS, computers, or an electric fan, winches, additional lights, etc, you'll need to add a fusebox and Bosch 30A relays. And, even with a three battery setup, you should upgrade your alternator to a 110 Amp model. If you can find a 1990-1994 MR2 alternator and bracket from an MR2 with power steering, you may be able to make a straight swap (although I'm not sure with your diesel motor, as I don't have the shop manual for the diesel Hilux-unfortunately diesel was never offered in North America), and the MR2 alternator produces 100amps, as opposed to the 4Runner's 40-60amps. Alternately (pardon the pun), you could do what I did and order one from Downey Offroad, but I imagine the shipping fromthe US to the UK would make this a very costly option."

 

No you will be fine with the 150w lights.

Now if you are like me, and try to pull 1500-4000watts out of the electrical system you will have voltage and current problems if you dont modify the stock electrical system.

steve

 

You'll be fine if you use them responsibly - i.e. turn them off when there are other people on the road. 400w will be fine - I run 400w of lights on my rig and I've never had a problem (although 350w is the most I've run at any 1 time for any lenght of time).

 

Yes you can be fine.. but don't idle with them on.. and make sure that you wire them with a relay.. making sure that you keep the load under 30 amps per relay.. But, here is the weird part.. anyone know what wires to use with the Toyota headlight wiring system?? They have a funky polarity switching system..

 

Although my headlights etc run off the starter battery, my fogs and IPF spots (and all future lighting) will run off the second battery (the one that the split charge feeds). I'm not great on amps, watts and electrical loads so can anyone point me towards an auto-electric 101?

 

I run the 150W KC's and have had no probs. However, I've upgraded my electrical system in the form of a 110 amp alternator and Optima battery. You might want to check your State's laws regarding aux lights. Several years ago I got pulled for not having the covers on 'em. This was in broad daylight too.

 

Bundubasher, I brought this up a few months back.
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/show...ighlight=watts

I was trying to figure out what I could use with my new 400 watt power converter.

Basically to figure out lights, you can divide your total light output by 12v.

For example I run each set of two lamps on one 30 amp relay.
My Hella 500s put out 55 watts each, so that is 110 watts.
Divide 110 watts by 12v and you get 9.16 amps.
That means the 30 amp relay I use for the lights can handle it easily.

Lets say I replace my 55 watt bulbs in the housings with 100 watt one.
Now I have a 200 watt draw on the system and it now requires that the relay be able to handle 16.6 amps, more than enough to handle a bulb upgrade.

The URL in the above post by me has a pretty good chart on it for figuring out stuff.

Also if you have a power converter like I do, here is a good chart to use that Jalaber found.
http://www.tripplite.com/products/in...zing_guide.cfm

 

Cool, thanks guys.