so i have a lovely surco rack (pics in my sig link) i now have my kc daylighters mounted there.

so how do i wire them? ive seen everyone going out the back and down the door frame. i would like to avoid running miles of wire to the back, down and forward to the battery for such a short trip.

any one have theirs running through the doors? i know i can get them in the cab via the grommet for the rear door wiring harnesses.

i would also like to run my cb antenna on my rack, but thats a whole new issue entirely.

so what do you guys think? run em up through the doors or out to the back and down the hatch?

planning on doing this later today when i get home, so the answers in the next 7-8 hours will be the ones i consider.

thanks, appreciate it.

 

The wires from my Hellas come off the rack above the rear driver's side passenger door, behind the rubber weather strip and down into the engine compartment to the relays and through the gromment ending with my switches.

 

^^ That's how I plan to run mine too.

Check out pics of Darren's 4Runner to get a better idea of how his wires were routed: http://www.mycolorado.org/wiring.html

Post up some pics when you're all done!

 

thanks!

darren's 4runner is awesome! great ideas there!

my idea was to use EMT tubing, bend it to fit, paint it black and also use that as my ground wire (so im using less wire)

however, i may have to go with something more flexible, though im not a fan of that split loom cable.

ill take a trip to the hardware stores, auto parts stores, electronics stores and see what i cant find.

 

you can always use shrink wrap. I ran the wires down the surco and in the back through the rear hatch, then up to the front. I think it just looked cleaner this way.

 

mine required drilling buts its SUPER clean install. the wires can not be seen.

http://www1.pacific.edu/~c-eaklan/4r...htwrite-up.htm

 

yea i really dont want to drill through my roof. just really dont want to...

but that is damn clean...

ill probably go with the rear passenger door, see how that works.

i dont want to run to the rear hatch, thats over 25 feet of wire all said and done. and if i can do it in 10 feet, id rather.


keep posting ideas, this is great, should help out other people wondering the same.

 

One thing nice about a 2nd Gen when it comes to installing lights atop a vehicle, is their 3rd brake light can be removed and wires can be ran through it. (That's how my last setup was done.)

The only disadvantage I see to running them down beside the doors is their ease of access. I might just be paranoid, but someone could easily snip the wires right at that point.

Oh well, let's just hope that doesn't happen.

 

i wonder if this is possible on the 3rd gen? ill have to look into it when i get home this afternoon.

 

when i had a roof rack and lights I drilled my roof and sealed it with silicone and ran the wires up behind the passenger side pillar moulding and under the roof liner, couldnt see anything from the inside OR outside and the hole has never leaked to this day, about 4 years later.

 

Nope. the 3rd brake light on 3rd Gens is molded into the roof. No removing this part.

 

Thats exactly how I would do it.

Furthermore, after I searched around for a very long time, I came across some kick ass connectors that are weatherproof and allow you to easily remove the rack without messing up the wiring.

They have flanged and unflanged versions, depending on what route you take to wire up the lights.

http://www.suresealconnections.com/

They still have the deal where they'll send you a few free "samples" at no cost. You can't beat that...

I'm sure if you had some more email addresses and physical addresses, you could snag a few more at no cost.

 

awesome find, thankx for sharing Im ordering my "samples" now. what size wire are most driving lights ?

 

I have a surco basket and the wiring was easy, I just ran the wires underneath the liner around the driver door. I can take a few pics if you still need um.

 

thats what i ended up doing yesterday. it got dark and cold on me pretty quick (stupid winter...) so i still have the final incab and underhood wiring to do. it came out looking great. hopefully the connection running up the roof doesnt wistle in the wind.

pics later today after i finish up all the work on the cars (dad's truck needs oil change and gas pistons on his camershell, etc)