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Off Road Lighting Wiring Harness Recommendation?

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  #1  
Old 04-05-2018, 11:36 AM
hummer_on_fumes's Avatar
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Default Off Road Lighting Wiring Harness Recommendation?

I'm going to attempt to wire up the lights on my H2 even though I've never done it before, doesn't seem too complicated. Does any one recommend a specific wiring harness? I have x4 7-inch LED lights that are 51 Watts each. I am leery about buying a Chinese wiring harness off eBay or Amazon that might melt or something. Any suggestions?
 
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Old 04-06-2018, 07:23 AM
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Personally, unless you want to bundle up and try to hide lots of excess wire, etc. I suggest creating it from scratch. Big differences in generic crap quality wire and good quality wire, massive difference in connectors, especially with basic ones like butt connectors. The cheapest of those are thin and will not hold in the long run, if they crimp super super easy that is not a good sign. Quality crimp connectors from 3M, etc take considerably more force to crimp. Proper crimping with the right tools, etc is also key.

For stuff under the hood, exterior lights, etc. I always use good quality weatherpak or equivalent to OEM type connectors. They cost more and also require special crimpers and terminations but in the end you end up with wiring that looks totally stock and will last for years and years. Plenty of places sell the Delphi weatherpak connectors in small kits on eBay and Amazon. You MUST have the correct type of crimper to properly terminate them though.

This all might be way more than what you want to deal with. It is for the vast majority and most just use the cheap crappy switches, wiring, connectors, etc that come with lighting kits. Some, but never the cheapest, kits do come with halfway decent wiring and switches.
 
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Old 04-08-2018, 01:15 PM
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I have a massive bundle of wires coming from my roof rack for all my lights. The bundle runs through the driver corner marker light (just under the plastic trim) then down the windshield trim on that side, under the hood hump into the engine compartment. There I have all my relays for my switches. Even though LEDs don't pull nearly as much as old halogens I would still run everything on relays for reliability and less strain on factory harnesses.


It is definitely more work to run relays harnesses but in the end it's worth it. Honestly, I use fairly cheap relay harnesses as well and never had a single issue.
 
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Old 04-13-2018, 12:54 PM
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Originally Posted by LoJac963
I have a massive bundle of wires coming from my roof rack for all my lights. The bundle runs through the driver corner marker light (just under the plastic trim) then down the windshield trim on that side, under the hood hump into the engine compartment. There I have all my relays for my switches. Even though LEDs don't pull nearly as much as old halogens I would still run everything on relays for reliability and less strain on factory harnesses.


It is definitely more work to run relays harnesses but in the end it's worth it. Honestly, I use fairly cheap relay harnesses as well and never had a single issue.
How did you go under the hood hump? Did you drill a hole?

Did you use multiple relays/kits? I cannot find a wiring harness with 4 leads that will support over 200 watts
 
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Old 04-16-2018, 12:20 PM
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Originally Posted by hummer_on_fumes
How did you go under the hood hump? Did you drill a hole?

Did you use multiple relays/kits? I cannot find a wiring harness with 4 leads that will support over 200 watts


Yes, I have multiple relays set up. I think I'm up to 7 or 8 relays for all my lighting and other accessories. The wiring can come down the windshield, under the cowel then under the driver side "hump" into the engine compartment.
 
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