OldSlowReliable Posted April 18, 2009 Share Posted April 18, 2009 Hey again, well my mom is letting me take my pathy on the dunes for the weekend, so im gonna try to put on some cheapo $20 walmart lights (they are the baja runners or w/e but they really look aight) just incase something bad happens or i need to use them for night runs, you know... Anyways, i don't have more than 1.5 hours from when i can use power tools and work, to when i gotta get on the road, so i mocked up my lights right now on my table w/a 6 volt HD flashlight battery just to test connections... After one light not working, i traced that to the ground wire not being connected INSIDE the lamp housing (stupid walmart) so i got that under control... But i am planning on mounting these on the plastic plate thing that sits on the top of the bumper, but where should i GROUND them? the ground wire from the lamp is only about 5" long, and after i feed it through the hole it will only be about 3-4 @ best Any ideas? i don't own a saudering iron or any other wire, but it did come with a prong for each wire...im thinking maybe ground it to some sort of screw in the bumper right there or something,...idk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beavis0076 Posted April 18, 2009 Share Posted April 18, 2009 for a temp fix.. once you have them mounted.. you can just search around with the power on until they light up.. then screw the ground to that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldSlowReliable Posted April 18, 2009 Author Share Posted April 18, 2009 for a temp fix.. once you have them mounted.. you can just search around with the power on until they light up.. then screw the ground to that. YOUR MACGYVER! Thanks, def gonna try that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beavis0076 Posted April 18, 2009 Share Posted April 18, 2009 (edited) thats just a temp fix though... find a good ground once you get some wire and some good connectors. The better the ground.. the brighter the lights.... any autoparts store sells a good mixed set of elec connectors for $15 bucks and they are good to keep in the back... with some spare wire. Edited April 18, 2009 by beavis0076 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldSlowReliable Posted April 18, 2009 Author Share Posted April 18, 2009 thats just a temp fix though... find a good ground once you get some wire and some good connectors. The better the ground.. the brighter the lights.... any autoparts store sells a good mixed set of elec connectors for $15 bucks and they are good to keep in the back... with some spare wire. What would be an ideal ground? Frame? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beavis0076 Posted April 18, 2009 Share Posted April 18, 2009 (edited) honestly.. others may balk at this.... but I use temp grounds all the time... (I guess that means they aren't temp...) the trick is to keep them clean.. if you get corrosion, you get more resistance and that means less light. a good ground is any solid peice of metal that lets the lights shine bright. when you switch the power on and rub the ground wire around... you will see what the best ground source is... just touch it to diffrent stuff, and screw it to the best thing. oh.... i am gonna get a bunch of crap for telling you to do it this way,,, but Ive been doing it for 15 years w out a prob. Edited April 18, 2009 by beavis0076 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavefromOZ Posted April 18, 2009 Share Posted April 18, 2009 What would be an ideal ground? Frame? Honestly, the best ground is to run it back to the -ve terminal on the battery. That is what I will be doing when I get my roof basket done, lights up top with a terminal block in the back, heavy duty cable running from the battery to the block in the back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldSlowReliable Posted April 18, 2009 Author Share Posted April 18, 2009 and where is a good place to run the wire for the switch through the firewall and into the cabin? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MY1PATH Posted April 18, 2009 Share Posted April 18, 2009 What would be an ideal ground? Frame? I would bolt the ground under the horn tabs for the time being. later on you can run a battery ground to the same bolt to improve you horn and your lights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nige Posted April 18, 2009 Share Posted April 18, 2009 and where is a good place to run the wire for the switch through the firewall and into the cabin? if you have enough room left, there is a hole in the firewall right by the brake booster. I have run all of my wires through there. I am going to replace all them with one 8 gauge going to a new fuse box inside the cab somewhere. Then you can wire lights and switches up to the fuse box and not have a pile of O ring connectors on your battery's positive lead. But yeah as for the grounding, daveoz is right. the neg batt terminal is the best spot provided it is shiny and free of corrosion. My1path's is a good spot too. just rub down the contact points with steel wool to clean them up and give the connector and bolts a little shot of white lithium grease to keep the corrosion down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted April 19, 2009 Share Posted April 19, 2009 Lol I just grounded them to the bumper where they bolted. But then again I needed them urgently and temporarily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldSlowReliable Posted April 19, 2009 Author Share Posted April 19, 2009 (edited) if you have enough room left, there is a hole in the firewall right by the brake booster. I have run all of my wires through there. I am going to replace all them with one 8 gauge going to a new fuse box inside the cab somewhere. Then you can wire lights and switches up to the fuse box and not have a pile of O ring connectors on your battery's positive lead. But yeah as for the grounding, daveoz is right. the neg batt terminal is the best spot provided it is shiny and free of corrosion. My1path's is a good spot too. just rub down the contact points with steel wool to clean them up and give the connector and bolts a little shot of white lithium grease to keep the corrosion down. Could you get a pic of this hole? and how did you direct them after pushing the wire through? I see a plastic cover thing that surrounds the firewall portion where the steering shaft exits, what about if i drilled a small hole through that? Edited April 19, 2009 by OldSlowReliable Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldSlowReliable Posted April 19, 2009 Author Share Posted April 19, 2009 (edited) nvm! i spent more hours than i should have, but I DID IT! I ended up running the ground to a much easier location (the ground wires are only 4 inches long unfortunately), by drilling a hole just below the light on the front of the bumper (where it was metal and i wouldn't have to drill through plastic) then attach the wires via a prong, and then set them between the screw and bumper.... Idk if its as powerful as it could be, but now i have a way to wire it to the neg terminal w/o having to directly attach the two wires Edited April 19, 2009 by OldSlowReliable Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldSlowReliable Posted April 20, 2009 Author Share Posted April 20, 2009 Fuse is trash after a few minutes of driving w/em Anyone know what could suddenly cause this? i was driving with them on, then oncoming traffic so i shut em off, and they didn't come back on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beavis0076 Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 how did you run your power wire? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldSlowReliable Posted April 20, 2009 Author Share Posted April 20, 2009 how did you run your power wire? The way the kit came- Power wire goes from + to fuse to switch, then green wire from switch to splitter that goes to each lamp, then each lamp is ground to the bumper I attached the power wire by wedging it onto the screw that holds the other wires onto the + terminal inbetween two other attachments on that screw. The red wire runs along the passenger fender, then on the back firewall and in through what i assumed was the hole for the clutch pedal (i have a/t) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beavis0076 Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 look at the red wire from the batt .. through the firewall. the to the switch.. any chance it touched metal? look hard where u went through the firewall... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldSlowReliable Posted April 20, 2009 Author Share Posted April 20, 2009 look at the red wire from the batt .. through the firewall. the to the switch.. any chance it touched metal? look hard where u went through the firewall... The edge was kinda sharp where i drilled through, but i covered it with painters tape to de-sharp, and i didn't see any rips in the insulation on the wire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beavis0076 Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 how about the back of the switch where the contacts go.. are any of them close or touching? I am of the frame of mind that if a fuse blows.. you have a prob... but since this is so new... it could just be a bad fuse......? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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