Topic: Lights

[Jeffy]

Well, since it's nice today I worked on my Jeep a little.  I've got to do a lot of wiring still though.

In any case, I have to day a propper drill press beats a handheld hands down.  I had to make a few brackets.  Only problem is I made them out of aluminum, I had laying around.  I might have to redo them in steel since they flex a bit.  I'm not sure if that'll be a problem yet though.

I ended up removing my PIAA driving lights in favor of some older PIAA's I have.  These have bulbs in each case.  One's a yellow fog light while the other is clear driving light.  I used to have them on my Jeep way back when.  Driving at night stucks with the stock headlight.

So now I have to wire the lights from scratch which shouldn't be too hard.  Then I might get around to wiring up my dash winch controls after the lights are done.  I still might sweep back the lights a bit so they aren't so close to the ends of the bumper.

I'll probably do a article about lights later.

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[SMC4WD]

I used to have those PIAA's on my Mustang.  I loved them.  I replaced the white bulbs with the Super Whites, and I spent way too much time popping out that yellow ring and replacing those other bulbs with ion coated ones.  

I sold the car with those lights...  Now I wished that I hadn't.  

That looks good.

[Jeffy]

I've had these lights since 1992.  I've also got a set of 6" Cebie's that I could use too.  My Cebie's are 55w Ion's so their really bright.  Only problem is that Ion bulbs are really expensive.  They were non-existant when I got the lights so I threw in 55w's.

I'm not sure what I'll do with the lights that are on it now.  I'm not sure if the bulbs are good or not.  I haven't run them in years.  The yellow isn't too bad.  you lose 10% through the extra layer of plastic and another 10% from it being yellow.  Funny thing is the US only used 55w/55w in them.  In Japan, where I bought them, they use 85w/90w.  So compared to the US lights, I mine are brighter.  I like the yellow though, it really highlight the roads contours.

[SMC4WD]

They had two different versions of those lights.   Yes 55/55 and the other was that greater wattage.   But they were different dimensions too (minimally).  I am trying to remember the numbers...   the 940's were those smaller, and the 960's were the bigger one's.

[Jeffy]

Mine are 940's.  I called PIAA USA after I bought them and they freaked out that mine had 85w/90w bulbs in them.  I bought mine in Japan.  Actually all my lights are from Japan where 85w is legal.

[SMC4WD]

I can't believe I still remember this stuff.

So pop out that yellow ringy thingy...  Buy some hotter, brighter 55w PIAA's.  55=85, or 55=110 extremes...

[Jeffy]

I'm first rewiring the lights.  The relays work but the harness went to crap after I cut them off once for DOT inspection.  I spent today rewiring the lights and rebuilding the harness.  I still don't have plugs for the lights so I hardwired them till I find some.  I'm hoping to get it done by tomorrow.  I think I'll probably put 55's in the driving lights and 85's in the fogs.  Only problem is finding bulbs that are cheap.  I'd really like to get 55w Ions for my Cebie's.  Maybe run them on the windshield hings or on the roof rack.  Haven't decided yet.

I think it's weird that you can still buy 940's but the 960's have been discontinued.  I believe the 940's were the boxier ones.  They're something like 1/4" wider then the 960's.  They're awesome lights though.  Far better then KC's.  Better then Hella's too.

I'll see if I can dig up an old picture of my Jeep with them on it.

Oh yeah, soldering in the cold sucks. :?

[Jeffy]

This is circa 1996.

[Jeffy]

Well, I got them all wired up.  Used a fuse tap for the switch since I want to one day run a block from the battery inside.  I've got splices all over the place and it needs to stop.   Here is what the lights look like.  The Yellow Fogs are on the outside and the Clear Driving are on the inside.  Wiring took a while since I had to reuse old plugs and connectors which had been crimped before.  Turned out pretty good though.  Oh and all the blubs were ok which is great.  Means I don't have to replace them.  The old harness looked like crap though.

[SMC4WD]

ahhhh....   what fond memories!

That looks awesome!!  Congratulations!

[Jeffy]

http://www.4bangerjp.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=545

Any questions?

[Sparky Watts]

I miss my yellow fogs from my old '85 Toy 4x4.  They were excellent in snowy conditions and also for fog (go figure, huh?).  I like the looks of that setup, Jeffy.  I've been looking for a set of fog/driving lights like that, all in one.  I've got four unknown brand El Cheapo's on my light bar, and recently went from the standard 55w H3 bulbs to Sylvania 100w Halogens....man, what a difference!!!  I also threw the glass lenses in the dishwasher while doing the swap, to get a few year's worth of bug guts off of them, which I'm sure helped the situation, too.

Wiring isn't my specialty (in fact, I hate all things electrical...a side effect of how I got my nickname).  I did, however, do things right when wiring these lights in, despite what a pain it was for me.  I added a 6-fuse fuse block to the YJ, used velcro to attach it to the driver's side kick panel just to the left (behind, whatever) of the e-brake pedal.  I got the block at Advance Auto for around $7, I think.  It's got a max rating of 150 amps, each individual fuse has a max of 30 amps (I think).  Sure came in handy when adding a few extras to the YJ rather than looking for a place to splice into existing wires (never did like doing that, I hate fire as much as I hate electricity).

Anyway, great write up....

[Jeffy]

Well, all my wiring is clean, except for the low power 12v taps for the switches but they go into the cig. lighter.  I'll probably bring in a 10 gauge line from the battery to a new fuse block.  Then run all the accessories off that sooner or later.

I've still got to aim the lights and see if the brackets I made will work.  They are aluminum and flex a bit.  The lights can actually bounce if you flick them.  I'm not sure how that's going to hold up.  I've also got some angle iron but I might buy some flat stock.

I'm still going to redo all my switches.  The new lights use the toggle switches I'm going to use for the OBA, Lights, Winch and what not.  Should look nice once I get it all sorted out though.