I previously had stuffed the firewall grommet so tight with wires that I couldn't fit any more through so running just 1 wire to run 4 circuits is a welcome change.
High travel, high clearance & high octane, a streetable adventure LJ story
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I previously had stuffed the firewall grommet so tight with wires that I couldn't fit any more through so running just 1 wire to run 4 circuits is a welcome change.
That's about where mine is right now. And I really need to use more colors to make sense of what is what.
For sure. I have been using red and black for the main power to circuits and white/blue/yellow for the other "signals" (such as wire coming off ACC into relays). Especially around connectors of the same styles I'm using a label maker to print out tags so I know what connects to what if things get disconnected. Don't be afraid to hack up premade wiring harnesses that come with kits to make them the length you need and remove the built in fuses (assuming you're already fusing the circuit closer to the battery).
Fine tuning my HU using the graphic equalizer and getting the speaker settings just so greatly improved the sound stage in my rig. I too was not as impressed with the Polks as I thought I would be, but I'm running them off deck power, with a mono amp running the sub. I considered running a separate amp for the Polks like you did, but am glad I didn't after hearing your comments on the quality of sound comparisons.
I previously had 2 large 9" Hella lights on my front bumper in addition to aftermarket halogen headlights. The halogen technology of bulb is really not worth keeping when compared to LED and I've since upgraded the headlights to Trucklite heated LED lights (made by Rigid). Additionally I've broken the glass on the bumper mounted Hellas and replaced them several times over the years. I also think they make the front end look visually heavy. They will not be going back on.
Here's what I had:
The LED headlights provide all of the light I need on road when combined with the high/low relay mod (if the high and low beams don't turn on together with the highs). I do however want additional lighting offroad since I will now be doing difficult and extreme trails. I need to see obstacles in more detail and at longer range.
At this point I am obligated to quote @Sundowner:
So... I am going with a light bar. Yup... I'm embarrassed.
I have compared cheap/knockoff/amazon led lights such as Auxbeam and the light quality and pattern isn't as good as a name brand such as Rigid. I have Auxbeam bars on my plow ATV since 90% of my plowing is in the dark and they're acceptable for that use although they do have a hot spot in the flood. Rigid's have very even lighting across the view which is important to me offroading where I want my eyes adjusted to the light across the entire trail.
I started out by calling up Rigid. The guy I talked to was super knowledgeable. If you have any questions I suggest calling rather than struggling through specs online. With the Rigid Trucklite headlights I am running he said that I already have the driving zone lit and highly suggested the 50" spot/flood combo (part 950314) to help fill in the range. For my uses the single row was also recommended, additionally it'll create less noise compared to the double row E-series.
In order to "un-light bar" the light bar as much as possible, I wanted to go with Rigid's midnight edition. It's all black including the lens and visually blends in with the top of the windshield/black top, but that model only comes in a spot lens which will take care of distance but leave a gap with my headlight's beam. Additionally the guy I talked to said that the midnight version isn't as dark shaded as they used to make it because it'd go cloudy overtime from the light pumped through it. He suggested I stick with the normal version up front.
Here's what I had:
The LED headlights provide all of the light I need on road when combined with the high/low relay mod (if the high and low beams don't turn on together with the highs). I do however want additional lighting offroad since I will now be doing difficult and extreme trails. I need to see obstacles in more detail and at longer range.
At this point I am obligated to quote @Sundowner:
So... I am going with a light bar. Yup... I'm embarrassed.
I have compared cheap/knockoff/amazon led lights such as Auxbeam and the light quality and pattern isn't as good as a name brand such as Rigid. I have Auxbeam bars on my plow ATV since 90% of my plowing is in the dark and they're acceptable for that use although they do have a hot spot in the flood. Rigid's have very even lighting across the view which is important to me offroading where I want my eyes adjusted to the light across the entire trail.
I started out by calling up Rigid. The guy I talked to was super knowledgeable. If you have any questions I suggest calling rather than struggling through specs online. With the Rigid Trucklite headlights I am running he said that I already have the driving zone lit and highly suggested the 50" spot/flood combo (part 950314) to help fill in the range. For my uses the single row was also recommended, additionally it'll create less noise compared to the double row E-series.
In order to "un-light bar" the light bar as much as possible, I wanted to go with Rigid's midnight edition. It's all black including the lens and visually blends in with the top of the windshield/black top, but that model only comes in a spot lens which will take care of distance but leave a gap with my headlight's beam. Additionally the guy I talked to said that the midnight version isn't as dark shaded as they used to make it because it'd go cloudy overtime from the light pumped through it. He suggested I stick with the normal version up front.
One other thing that doesn't get mentioned often is that by mounting the light above the driver (read: above the windshield) the shadows don't end up as long as mounted on the bumper and can help the driver see terrain quicker. I was watching cars at King of the Hammers go across the desert at night and it was interesting to see how different light mounting locations effected the spread of light.
I previously had 2 large 9" Hella lights on my front bumper in addition to aftermarket halogen headlights. The halogen technology of bulb is really not worth keeping when compared to LED and I've since upgraded the headlights to Trucklite heated LED lights (made by Rigid). Additionally I've broken the glass on the bumper mounted Hellas and replaced them several times over the years. I also think they make the front end look visually heavy. They will not be going back on.
Here's what I had:
The LED headlights provide all of the light I need on road when combined with the high/low relay mod (if the high and low beams don't turn on together with the highs). I do however want additional lighting offroad since I will now be doing difficult and extreme trails. I need to see obstacles in more detail and at longer range.
At this point I am obligated to quote @Sundowner:
So... I am going with a light bar. Yup... I'm embarrassed.
I have compared cheap/knockoff/amazon led lights such as Auxbeam and the light quality and pattern isn't as good as a name brand such as Rigid. I have Auxbeam bars on my plow ATV since 90% of my plowing is in the dark and they're acceptable for that use although they do have a hot spot in the flood. Rigid's have very even lighting across the view which is important to me offroading where I want my eyes adjusted to the light across the entire trail.
I started out by calling up Rigid. The guy I talked to was super knowledgeable. If you have any questions I suggest calling rather than struggling through specs online. With the Rigid Trucklite headlights I am running he said that I already have the driving zone lit and highly suggested the 50" spot/flood combo (part 950314) to help fill in the range. For my uses the single row was also recommended, additionally it'll create less noise compared to the double row E-series.
In order to "un-light bar" the light bar as much as possible, I wanted to go with Rigid's midnight edition. It's all black including the lens and visually blends in with the top of the windshield/black top, but that model only comes in a spot lens which will take care of distance but leave a gap with my headlight's beam. Additionally the guy I talked to said that the midnight version isn't as dark shaded as they used to make it because it'd go cloudy overtime from the light pumped through it. He suggested I stick with the normal version up front.
Sorry for being away for a bit; there's been a lot going on. Only one question: have you been regularly pointing and saying "fuck that light bar"..?
To mount the light bar I used the windshield mount from Rigid. I'm pretty sure the mount is manufactured by Poison Spyder for Rigid but they changed the material to stainless steel for Rigid. I painted them color matched red to my Jeep. The mount is honestly not a great design, but nobody makes a better design that I've seen and making something better myself isn't feasible without investing in special tooling. My ideal mount would be one that sits tight against the windshield frame the entire way up. I did leave off the pointless backer gasket that comes with the kit since this will only cause uneven pressure as the bolts tighten down.
I used 316 stainless steel button head phillips bolts with washers to attach the bracket. While I was at it, I replaced the stainless steel hex head bolts I previously had used on the doors with phillips head. Phillips allows more torque to be applied to the fastener before stripping out compared to the hex.
The power cable is routed at the top corner of the door frame. It's possible that I'll need to notch the plastic windshield trim slightly once the top goes on. From there the wire is hidden down the inside of the windshield trim to behind the dash.
Something I realized about the wiring for the light bar, backup lights, and the rock lights is that the hot power wire for each will be running through the interior regardless of fusing them in the engine bay. So, to prevent having to run multiple hot wires through the fire wall I added a second fuse block under the dash for these items. This allows me to keep wires as short as possible.
I stacked the second block using 1" standoffs (wrapping the one near the hot lead with electrical tape) a serrated flange head bolt on the back side to prevent the standoff from rotating when I unscrew it. I originally wanted a thumb nut holding the second block on so it'd be easy to check fuses without tools but I couldn't find any in the size I needed. A thumb nut would probably be unnecessary and overkill anyway since a screwdriver is needed to remove the under steering panel, but it's the little things like this that make the fit and finish of the build perfect imo.
The instructions for the light bar suggest using a 15a fuse, but the included wiring harness came with a 40amp fuse, however the bar is 290 watts which is closer to 25 amps on 12 volts. So, I decided on a 30 amp fuse to give a little overhead.
I'm starting to have concerns about trying to ground around 200amps through the dash between both fuse blocks (plus all factory stuff) so I put a 1/4" bolt through the dash to act as a negative stud and will be also attaching a ground wire directly from the battery to this bolt.
I added a plug between the wiring harness and the light bar so it can be replaced without cutting the wires in the future if necessary.
There is a good writeup about different style plugs and when to use each over on Pirate: https://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/ele...-plugs-when-wiring-up-truck.html#post25535218
I have been using WeatherPack connectors on the interior of the Jeep since they are relatively cheap and offer good weather resistance in case things get a little wet. However they are limited to 20amps and my light bar is 25amps so I went with a Deutsch DTP connector with gold solid contacts for the light bar. This connector is rated to 25amps. By going with the gold contacts vs stamped I hope I'm able to fully reach the connectors rating and not cause any resistance in the connector especially as things age.
Outside of the Jeep I plan to use Deutsch connectors instead of WeatherPack since they offer better weather protection and I think they look cleaner.
Crimped:
Connector:
Light bar plugged in:
The light bar install is easy enough that I am tempted to remove it between trips so I don't have to look at it.
Haha! Yes I have... And before it was on the Jeep I'd point at the shelf it was on.
@B00mb00m Here are the driveshaft clearance points Blaine and I were talking about. I cycled my axle a few inches at a time and took measurements and wrote them on my driveshaft as I went.
For reference this is a 1-1/4" driveshaft.
This is as close as mine gets to the mid-arm bracket:
The lip of the 42rle pan and the test ports get within 1/16" of the driveshaft (this picture shows them a little further than that):
Here's my final clearances along with the measurement of how far down the shaft they are:
To get a little more clearance you can replace the OEM test port plugs with 1/16NTP allen head plugs (I used Fragola 493201):
I did a mock up as if I had 12" shocks and I don't think you'll get nearly as tight of clearances with less droop from the 12" shocks.
For reference this is a 1-1/4" driveshaft.
This is as close as mine gets to the mid-arm bracket:
The lip of the 42rle pan and the test ports get within 1/16" of the driveshaft (this picture shows them a little further than that):
Here's my final clearances along with the measurement of how far down the shaft they are:
To get a little more clearance you can replace the OEM test port plugs with 1/16NTP allen head plugs (I used Fragola 493201):
I did a mock up as if I had 12" shocks and I don't think you'll get nearly as tight of clearances with less droop from the 12" shocks.
In back, I had previously installed 2.5" round LED reverse lights and actually had upgraded them a few months ago with some that are supposed to be brighter. I tested them the other night and they are dim at best. Combined with the tinted rear window they aren't going to work.
Here's one of my 2.5" back up lights:
I talked to my guy at Rigid and he said any of their flood diffused lights would work great even their smaller ones. I went with the midnight 3x3 flush mount (part 212513BLK). The midnight lens puts out slightly less light than clear but he mentioned that there is enough light for it's purpose and not to worry about this. I think the black will look better on the red paint. These 3x3 cubes have become a fairly universal size so I should always be able to find a replacement.
At the same time I took the picture with the 2.5" lights, I tested the Rigid D-series Pro diffused flood:
I know it's not a super accurate way to show the difference between the lights since it's in a different position, my phone camera adjusts it's settings per picture, and my garage is reflective white inside but you can see how the surrounding area is lit and the shadows aren't as hard. It was also the difference of being able to walk across my garage and not tripping on things without using a flash light.
Here's one of my 2.5" back up lights:
I talked to my guy at Rigid and he said any of their flood diffused lights would work great even their smaller ones. I went with the midnight 3x3 flush mount (part 212513BLK). The midnight lens puts out slightly less light than clear but he mentioned that there is enough light for it's purpose and not to worry about this. I think the black will look better on the red paint. These 3x3 cubes have become a fairly universal size so I should always be able to find a replacement.
At the same time I took the picture with the 2.5" lights, I tested the Rigid D-series Pro diffused flood:
I know it's not a super accurate way to show the difference between the lights since it's in a different position, my phone camera adjusts it's settings per picture, and my garage is reflective white inside but you can see how the surrounding area is lit and the shadows aren't as hard. It was also the difference of being able to walk across my garage and not tripping on things without using a flash light.
B00mb00m
The Church of Cutting Brakes of Atlas-Front Digs
Supporting Member
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B00mb00m
The Church of Cutting Brakes of Atlas-Front Digs
Supporting Member
Ride of the Month Winner
Do you have a plan for a good process for trimming the front inner fenders to fit around the CO hoops?
That was all the other gentleman who's helping you's idea. I only found the part number. Thank him, not me.
I'm starting on that on Sunday hopefully (Saturday I plan to cut the hood). If I think of any tips I'll make a note of them.
Remember that the hoops are part of the frame and the fender liners are part of the body so they need room to move independently. That also gives you some tolerance for cutting. Start with cardboard mock ups and work your way toward the real deal.
Being the wild man I am, I used a sawzall to enlarged the hole for the backup lights in the tub:
I unbolted part of the corner guards so I could clean between them and the body and painted the cut:
And hooked the lights up:
I found a grommet that fits my 4" turn signals better (Grote 91740) so the screw in flange is going on the shelf for now.
I unbolted part of the corner guards so I could clean between them and the body and painted the cut:
And hooked the lights up:
I found a grommet that fits my 4" turn signals better (Grote 91740) so the screw in flange is going on the shelf for now.
Are you intending on doing any type of sound deadening in your Jeep? I imagine that would help audio quality.
Even though it'd be nice for long trips (since I plan to drive to trails and not tow my Jeep) I don't plan to at this time. My concern is that water will get under it and not escape until it rusts through and makes its own drain hole. I also don't want the additional 80lbs of it. I could live with that weight if it makes driving more enjoyable — I'd figure out a way to lay down mats instead of using adhesive to the floor so they could be easily removed for cleaning. I will be replacing the carpeting which has the thicker LJ padding.
The optional wiring harness I am using for the rear is: Rigid 40192. This backup wiring harness is great because it allows you to wire it to a on-off-on switch so you can turn the lights off, tie them in with your reverse circuit for on the street (where I'll leave the switch 99% of the time), or leave them on for offroading in tight sections so a spotter can have a better look at your position and even their own footing while walking around the Jeep.
I am routing the wiring for the back up lights alongside the factory wiring inside the tub. I picked up the reverse light wire under the dash kickboard area for the switch to trigger the back up lights (huge thanks to @jonny Jeep and @Rubi4MyMrs for helping me figure out which wires are which. You guys saved me hours of work.). I also will need to pick up the factory wire for the running lights for my boost gauges so I grabbed that wire now. To keep the wiring neat and maintainable I installed a DTM connector between my harness and factory so they can be separated. Having the connector in place also allows me to repin the connector for more options down the road (such as making it into a 3 or 4 pin connector). One option here is that you can wire the front light bar switch to be inline with the high beam circuit so the light bar can't be turned on unless the high beams are on and they'll turn off together if you switch to low beams. I opted not to but it's an option based on your uses.
I was able to poke a new hole through the factory boot in the back corner of the tub and feed my wires through. I had to disassemble the connector Rigid put on the harness to fit the pins through without the connector. Here's a video that shows how to take apart the connectors:
I'm powering the back up lights off of the second fuse block I previously added under the steering column. I decided not to relay the lights off of switched power because I want to retain the ability to turn them on even if the Jeep isn't running like if I'm setting up camp or fixing something. As long as I don't forget about them, they shouldn't drain the battery too quickly.
The switch I mounted on the blank area of the center dash. The other 2 switches are for the light bar and rock lights. I put a 3/4" panel plug in the 4th location (not pictured) for future mods.
Lastly, I forgot that I had left the trailering harness tied up in the wheel well. I've come to the realization that I just don't see hauling a trailer on the street and my Jeep isn't going to be tuned for that at all (aside from a few miles down the road during the day which I don't need lights for) so I cut that part of the harness off the Jeep's harness while I was back there to remove some bulk.
I am routing the wiring for the back up lights alongside the factory wiring inside the tub. I picked up the reverse light wire under the dash kickboard area for the switch to trigger the back up lights (huge thanks to @jonny Jeep and @Rubi4MyMrs for helping me figure out which wires are which. You guys saved me hours of work.). I also will need to pick up the factory wire for the running lights for my boost gauges so I grabbed that wire now. To keep the wiring neat and maintainable I installed a DTM connector between my harness and factory so they can be separated. Having the connector in place also allows me to repin the connector for more options down the road (such as making it into a 3 or 4 pin connector). One option here is that you can wire the front light bar switch to be inline with the high beam circuit so the light bar can't be turned on unless the high beams are on and they'll turn off together if you switch to low beams. I opted not to but it's an option based on your uses.
I was able to poke a new hole through the factory boot in the back corner of the tub and feed my wires through. I had to disassemble the connector Rigid put on the harness to fit the pins through without the connector. Here's a video that shows how to take apart the connectors:
I'm powering the back up lights off of the second fuse block I previously added under the steering column. I decided not to relay the lights off of switched power because I want to retain the ability to turn them on even if the Jeep isn't running like if I'm setting up camp or fixing something. As long as I don't forget about them, they shouldn't drain the battery too quickly.
The switch I mounted on the blank area of the center dash. The other 2 switches are for the light bar and rock lights. I put a 3/4" panel plug in the 4th location (not pictured) for future mods.
Lastly, I forgot that I had left the trailering harness tied up in the wheel well. I've come to the realization that I just don't see hauling a trailer on the street and my Jeep isn't going to be tuned for that at all (aside from a few miles down the road during the day which I don't need lights for) so I cut that part of the harness off the Jeep's harness while I was back there to remove some bulk.
Finishing up the radio, I installed a USB-C port down on the blank switch panel (on the Rubicon this is where the locker switch goes). I tend to keep my phone in the cup holder area so by having the port low the cord won't be in the way of the HVAC controls or other switches. I went with USB-C instead of USB-A (the "normal" usb port) for the size factor. Here's what I used: http://www.l-com.com/usb-usb-type-c-male-to-usb-type-c-female-panel-mount-length-03m
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For being something that never would have even been thought of in a car when the Jeep CJs were first on the road in the 1940s, and technology that didn't even exist as the last TJs rolled off the line in 2006, I think it turned out pretty good!
Another neat item I found if water and dust messing up your USB port is a concern is this bulkhead connector with cap: http://www.l-com.com/usb-harsh-environment-usb-30-type-a-f-to-a-f-coupler
For being something that never would have even been thought of in a car when the Jeep CJs were first on the road in the 1940s, and technology that didn't even exist as the last TJs rolled off the line in 2006, I think it turned out pretty good!
Another neat item I found if water and dust messing up your USB port is a concern is this bulkhead connector with cap: http://www.l-com.com/usb-harsh-environment-usb-30-type-a-f-to-a-f-coupler