[tundrunk]

I was doing okay, been two weeks without any mods. Then I got itchy, shaky, started twitching, I needed a quick fix! AAAAHHHHH the M.A.D.ness was kicking in!

I got myself a set of fog lights off a friend who had a kit sitting in his garage. He had lost interest in them and gave them to me for buying beer!

All I needed was some wire, had it in the garage already. Got a switch I could live with since the kit provided one was pretty crappy and I was off.

Installed the switch in the little space under the keys, ran wires to the battery with a fuse, wired a ground, ran wire from the switch to the rear end, then to the lights and a ground for each one. Mounted the lights on the back side of the rear fenders where they are not visible and are protected from tire flung projectiles. I still have to fiddle with the aiming but they do work very well. I think I am going to run a relay in between somewhere, I can get them for free so it's a good thing to do. For some reason the switch gets warm when they are on for a while, maybe the relay will help with that. I only use them for 10 seconds at a time anyhow so it's okay for now. I still need to clean up/tuck and tie the wires but big deal, they are in. For the price of a $10 switch, and buying some beer that I drank my share of, I can now see what I'm running over in reverse! Here are some pics, enjoy. Until the M.A.D.ness strikes again, should be any day now.

 

[kerryman71]

Why didn't you wire them so that when you put it in reverse they come
on? Just curious.

John

 

[08SalsaMax]

Why didn't you wire them so that when you put it in reverse they come
on? Just curious.

John

If you put in a three position switch (on - off - auto on when in reverse), you can have the best of all worlds .....

Great Job.... Mine look very similar...

 

[tundrunk]

That is a good idea to go that route. I thought about it, but it was easier to do it this way, didn't want to splice into anything. The good thing is the way they are tucked, they don't blind people around me. I was accidentally responsible!

 

[WhiteLiteNin]

I was accidentally responsible!

that was too funny! HA!

it could be thought of that you don't have M.A.D.ness... instead you have M.O.D.ness. keep it up bro-you're doing great!

 

[Erki]

Nice install. I like the location and they look good and bright. I installed some since I tinted my taillights, They weren't as bright as i thought they would be but could just be the lights. I was curious though since I spliced them into my reverse lights would there be a resister in that circuit or would they be full 12V? I guess I could just test it unless someone has the answer. Would they be brighter running off a switch with power source straight from the battery?

 

[CJM_T100]

I have a similar set to salsas lights on another truck, like them very much. 3 way switch was to annoying to wire imho as well, so I wired them to come on with a switch.

 

[tundrunk]

Those look good Salsamax. Thanks for the compliments everyone.
Erki, that is what I was concerned about, that's why I chose not to splice into anything. They aren't totally done, but they are fully functional. Just for comparison, these are 55watt. I'm not honestly to knowledgeable on electrical voodoo, but I had a feeling that splicing would result in shared voltage(series circuit) rather than independent voltage(parallel circuit) Again, I don't know too much about electrical, but I remember a few things and one of them is that shared voltage is what it sounds like, SHARED/DIVIDED. By that logic, (if it is correct) that would mean splicing into existing lights power source would result in divided 12v, likely 6v and 6v. If I am wrong, feel free to correct me but be cool about it, I'm just a plumber!

 

[Derek24]

Now all you need is some green neon lights under the truck and go cruz downtown. Looks good Tundrunk, I like how bright they are. We installed lights in the same place on my brothers truck, mine are mounted on the tow hitch and are all smashed up lol! Thanks man, looks like I'm buying some light's tomorrow!:tu: M.A.D.ness lives on!!!!!
.

 

[youvebeenkumped]

sick set up , i like it

 

[Barney_Fife]

haha i have those exact lights in my garage right now. thought about something similar to that but just never got around to it. i might someday but for now they just sit in teh cabinet all alone haha

 

[Dinosaur]

Those are great! I love how they don't even shine behind the truck, only down at the ground.

No, the voltage does not get cut in half 12v down to 6v. 12 volts is 12 volts... it is the amperage/draw that changes. It is slightly similar to residential wiring in that you use circuits and protection (fuses or circuit breakers). Larger wire for larger draw and smaller wire for less draw. A breaker is just another way to stop the flow of electricity when a circuit is overloaded or shorted.

What will happen is if you tap into an existing 12v circuit you may draw too much and it could overload the circuit. The existing backup lights may only have a 10 or 15 amp fuse/circuit and if you install additional lights you will most likely over burden the existing circuit. The best way to add lights is to either do an additional fused hot lead just like you have it, or add a relay. The relay could be triggered/switched off the reverse light circuit but would have a separate hot lead from the battery (fused of course) so it is basically an additional circuit but getting a signal from the reverse switch to turn on and off. If that makes any kind of sense.

 

[CoachRon]

M.A.D. strikes again! haha... Nice mod! :tu: I've been wanting to do the same thing for a while but I just never get around to doing it. :sad3d:

 

[kerryman71]

That is a good idea to go that route. I thought about it, but it was easier to do it this way, didn't want to splice into anything. The good thing is the way they are tucked, they don't blind people around me. I was accidentally responsible!

Maybe some night you can drive along the highway around 90 MPH with those lights
on and have someone drive behind you taking pictures of it :crazy3d:. I think I know
the perfect candidate for the job.

John

 

[deadrx7conv]

Those lights look too 'spotty' for me. Need a good 'flood' from the lights when backing up in reverse.

I'm using V-leds to replace stock 921 reverse bulbs.
V-LEDS HID WHITE 19 M-SMT 8W HIGH POWER BULBS 917 918 920 921 922 923

And, with the 20-watts I save from the above bulbs, I'll be splicing in one of these to the stock wiring:
V-LEDS HIGH POWER 18W LED BACK-UP LIGHT LICENSE PLATE FRAME

But, for your beer price, you can't go wrong with fog lights... which have been used as backup light improvements for years. Its great to be able to see who you're backing into. I had a history of breaking reverse mounted fog lights off. They don't do too well when backed into something.

 

[SuckersWalk]

nice set up. i had one of these on my ranger and could use more lights behind the tundra along with a backup camera

 

[Erki]

Those are great! I love how they don't even shine behind the truck, only down at the ground.

No, the voltage does not get cut in half 12v down to 6v. 12 volts is 12 volts... it is the amperage/draw that changes. It is slightly similar to residential wiring in that you use circuits and protection (fuses or circuit breakers). Larger wire for larger draw and smaller wire for less draw. A breaker is just another way to stop the flow of electricity when a circuit is overloaded or shorted.

What will happen is if you tap into an existing 12v circuit you may draw too much and it could overload the circuit. The existing backup lights may only have a 10 or 15 amp fuse/circuit and if you install additional lights you will most likely over burden the existing circuit. The best way to add lights is to either do an additional fused hot lead just like you have it, or add a relay. The relay could be triggered/switched off the reverse light circuit but would have a separate hot lead from the battery (fused of course) so it is basically an additional circuit but getting a signal from the reverse switch to turn on and off. If that makes any kind of sense.

Yeah that makes sense. thanks for sharing. I think I need some more wire and a relay to do it right now. Might even attempt the three way switch while im at it.

 

[tundrunk]

Thanks for the info Dino, I'd send points but I can't for now. Raincheck!
In real life they do light up enough area to see, but there is of course a focused spot since they are meant to be aimed forward not down. I agree, flood lights would be better for the job, I agree again that the price was right!:heh:

 

[Dinosaur]

Yeah that makes sense. thanks for sharing. I think I need some more wire and a relay to do it right now. Might even attempt the three way switch while im at it.

If you search over at 12volt . com there is a lot of info. It is a little trickier over there but I have had pretty good luck.

Yeah, I will be doing the same thing. I already have the preliminary stuff in place and I temporarily hooked everything up so make sure it worked properly. When I am done I will have a switch in the bed, up under the dash, and be able to use the reverse as well. Not at all necessary but kind of fun to do. I wired my truck with an alarm/RS start and had fun with that so now I am kind of into the wiring stuff.

I went with some work lights mounted on my rack so that I can see pretty far back. Great for backing up trailers and I have already used them for work a few times.

 

[Erki]

yeah i enjoy wiring too. And I also wanted a switch in the back. good for hooking up a trailer at night. right now I just leave it in reverse and kill the ignition and turn it back to acc. or whatever allows the lights to be on. I might just leave them to be on with the reverse lights and also put a switch in the back as well. I dont really need it in the truck. Or maybe somehow wire them into the cargo light switch....hmmm