DIY grill/lights + wiring details

Hello all
allow me to first say i don't intend to steal anyones thunder sort of speak all credit goes to forum members : rhoppas(for the wiring) and lifesaflaw123(for satoshi)

I searched for a thread showing both the wiring and grill mod and had somewhat a of a hard time. so here it is to the best of my ability

for the satoshi you will need:

1- bondo body fill can
1- fiberglass repair kit
1- roll painters tape
1- can of spray primer
1- can of dupli colour spray paint ( i used black however there are tones of colours to choose from)

also:

a pair of scissors (to cut your fiberglass)
1 to 2 sheets of 80 grit sand paper
1 to 2 sheets of 120 grit sand paper
a dremel tool with a cut off wheel( see pic) and a sanding wheel (see pic)
jig saw with a fine tooth blade (this will make cutting the grill out so much easier)
a 10mm socket
and a flat head screwdriver



to start remove the grill via the 10mm socket (see pic) also remove plastic rivots via flathead screw driver



now that you have the grill removed you can begin cutting away the center
before you cut i would recommend taping the outside of the grill I didnt but it would be a better choice to protect your paint
pics below show what i used for dremel wheel and saw blade





once you get the largest part of the grill cut away take the dremel sanding wheel and skim away the access bits don't worry about stretching the surface a bit there will be more then enough body fill to touch up the sanded spots




now the not so fun part begins you'll need beer and patients for this


now that you have the center out and the sanding done its time to fiberglass
the box will dictate the amounts however i used half the big tube of resin with half the little tube of hardener NOTE where gloves and before you mix..cut out the fiber give yourself about 1 1/2" to 2 inches of excess fiber to stick around the inside of the grill ( pic will make more sense ) also tape the oppsite side of the grill with painters tape to keep the fiberglass from sagging in when you apply it ( see pic)



the kit comes with a tray mix it in there i found it easier to fold the fiberglass in a U shape and dip the fiber strip in (soak the hole piece) kit also came with a wooden tongue depressor used that to wipe away the excess resin ..you want the fiber to be fully soaked but not dripping resin

it takes about 60 to 90min to fully harden. this is a good time to relocate the horns its pretty straight forward (see pics) you'll need a 12mm socket
remove the bolts and unclip the horns. you'll also need to unclip the temp sensor





there are two unused screw holes behind the battery the original horns bolt fit perfectly. I adjusted the screw on back of one of the horns so i could have both horns attached in one bolt hole. (leaving the other hole open for the lights ground wire)

horns in place


once the fiberglass has hardened you'll want to cut it square with the rest to the grill


now on to body fill. the can says to mix a golf ball size of the fill with a 1 1/4" strip of hardener. the colour will be kinda of a light salmon pink ( for lack of better description) fill in all sanded areas. i used the scraper that came with the fiberglass kit. you wanna press the body fill in with a little force but not to hard don't crack the fiberglass.


and back to sanding this part takes a while be patient. start with 80grit then 120grit i stop at 120 but you could use a higher grit ..i just applyed more primer does the trick


once all the sandings done hang the grill up from the two holes that attach it to the grill and prime the hell out of it ...i did about 6 coats allows 20/25min or 2 beer between coats(it should be dry to the touch)

once your satisfied with the primer give the grill 4 or 5 coats of paint and your done

 

you should change your title, does not match your write up. i will add you did a great write up on the satoshi grille..

 

how did you do the lights? are you still editing the first post because i dont see any thing on lights, maybe i missed it in the pics though

 

i am assuming your finishing your write up....patiently waiting the write up on lights as i am about to start my fog and driving lights wiring install...

 

On to the wiring NOTE i did my lights/ wiring for two 100w lamps anything higher will require thicker gauge wire and inline fuse (see rhoppas write up for more info regarding higher watt lights) : http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/technical-chat/6525-diy-wiring-after-market-lights.html

things you will need:

1- roll of 14gauge wire
1- roll of 18gauge wire
1- small box 14gauge female spade connectors
1- small box 18gauge female spade connectors
1- small box of crimp ring connectors 14gauge (go with ones that have about 1/4" inside diameter so the bolts will fit through them )

1- small box male crimp on connectors (14gauge)
1- 20amp automotive inline fuse
1- automotive relay 12vDC
1- mini fuse tap (HHH mini add-a-line see pic)
1- two position toggle switch (must have 3 male connectors)
1- length of wire lump about 6' (black plastic channel to hold wires neatly in place)
1- bag of cable ties (use the blacks ones they seems to be more resistant to weathering then the white ones)

also you'll need
a pair of electrical wire cutters/ crimpers
electrical tape

below are pics of the supplys needed


heres the 30 amp automotive inline fuse they didnt have a 20amp one however 30amp works fine just use a 20amp fuse


forgot to take pics of the following so i stole these from the net to help give a
better idea of with i you'll need

ring connectors :


mini fuse tap:


wire loom:


Now to start wiring !!!

first thing i did was mount the relay. i used to bolt that holds the fuse box in place to mount the relay. however the relay mounting brackets hole was just a little to small to put the bolt through. i drilled the hole bigger ( it you don't have the tools to do this locate the relay wherever you can fit it...the bolt hole next to the relocated horns maybe )


heres where to mount relay..don't tighten the bolt all the way leave it lose enough to swing it when it comes time to connect the female spades


now you want to mount your toggle switch..this is easy just remove you little insurance holder drawer and pop out a blank


drill out a hole center of the blank. i used a drill bit that was slightly smaller then the toggle to give a nice tight fit my toggle was about 3/8th's of a inch in diameter


my toggle was just a little to big to fit in the blank so i had to cut the sides out with a carpet knife to get a good fit (be careful don't cut yourself like i did lol)


now you need a length of 18gauge wire about 8-10 inches to make a ground to your toggle i used this bolt under the dash its next to my clutch sorry the pic came out dark ...its the bolt to the left of the red/blue wires in the pic (it will be the only bolt directly under the fuses that connects to bare metal)
connect a spade connectors to one end of the 18 gauge wire and connect a ring connector to the other end...then bolt the ring in place and plug the spade into your toggle


now comes the pain in the ass part. you need to run a length of 18gauge about a fathom(one full arms length or about 5-6' long) through the fire wall into the engine compartment...use a coat hanger..straighten it out and fold over a hook shape in one end ...poke a hole in the rubber gasket that the main wires run through its near the petals
heres the hanger :

heres the gasket sorry the pics dark


once you get the wire through connect spade connectors to each end of the wire one goes to the toggle (doesn't matter which of the connections you put it on) the other end connects on the relay to the post marked #86

heres the under side of the relay:


at the toggle :


you can see here the connection on the relay (i taped every crimp connector just to be safe)


next you want to cut a length of 14gauge (about 4" long) to make a ground with the relay i connected my ground to the main battery ground directly next to the relay connect a spade to one end and a ring to the other and connect the spade to post #85 on the relay (pic above shows where ring connector goes the bolts already removed)

next you will cut two short lengths of 14gauge to connect the the inline fuse to the battery and the relay.. here you will use the male and female spades to piece it all together with a ring connector at one end to connect to the battery
(connect the ring end to the positive post on the battery ) connect the opposite end to post #30 on the relay



now cut 2 lengths of 14gauge about 3-4' long these will route to your lamps
one will be a ground (connect to the same place you grounded the relay in the pic its the wire with the blue ring connector) solder the lamp ends together and use a male connection


the other will connect to the black wires on your lights(your lights may not have a black wire however the ground should be marked)to the relay at post #87 (NOT 87A) i soldered the lamps wires then added a female spade
i used female on the black wires for the lamps and male on the the ground this way i could mix it up when connection to the relay and ground post (different coloured wires would have worked to lol) and the solder it just to ensure a good solid connection as these connections will see the most weather


the last bit of wiring is in the dash. you will now cut a length of 14gauge (5-6") connect one end to your mini fuse tap and the other end gets a spade and connect to the last post on your toggle the fuse tap takes a 5amp fuse
there is a empty slot on your fuse panel under the dash its the second row second fuse slot....i referenced rhoppas wiring write up, in it he says you can use a volt meter to find a fuse slot that will turn off the lights when the trucks is off ...i simply used the slot he refers it works, if you have to use a different slot use the link at the top to see how to find another fuse


and your done

now for the bits i left out (grill just arrived today)

the grill and light bar!!!!!!
i bought a grill and light bar from Black Diamond FAB (aka timsxr)

let me say this theses grills are sick
my package came very fast and well wrapped
and the price was right forsure

so here they are

you'll have to drill some pilot holes for the grill to connect to the main grill body ...i test fit the grill on the grill body then marked where to drill..
drill then screw it all together




the light bar fits like a charm simply remove to bolts and put the two provided ones in ...and your done so easy



heres the job all done



hope this helps anyone wanting to do these mods it took me about 8 hours in total most of the time was spent sanding and taking pictures..

I highly recommend Black Diamond FAB
no one in my town has a grill and light bar like these
looks awesome and fits perfect

cheers
SAVOY

 

great wright up and amazing job....looks great.

 

shit don't know why all the attachments didnt load sorry guys ill try and fix

 

Great write up. I see a satoshi in my future and this will help.

 

Looks great man!! thank you!!

 

it stays light out until 1130 up north in the summer
finally got dark ....until i turned on the light lol

 

freakin sweet! your truck is so clean man i love it!

 

thanks man ...i baby it

 

How big are your lights behind the grille?