Off road light wiring

I posted this in the lighting section but I then noticed it was the wrong section for this question Anyways I bought an off road light kit that I'm going to put on my brush guard. But I was wondering, where do you run the wires that come off the back of the lights? Do you route them through the grill somewhere to get to the battery, or do you route them under the truck and then up to the batter? Just looking for some advice.

 

Go with the option that hides them the best and keeps them out of the way of any debris you may come across while off road (branches and such). Going through the grill would be better than going under the front of the truck IMO.

 

I went through the bottom portion of the grill. And for each wire i just stuck to the lateral sides as much as possible. It looks good. With the brushguard you don't even see the wires going through the grill. I try to snap a pic. :-/

 

A picture would be awesome. Thanks!

 

Use lots of zip ties so nothing moves or hangs... I installed the Hella 4000 wire harness/ relay to my '05 for 2 lights.

 

i just went straight through the grill

 

Alright I got that part figured out. Thanks guys!

Now, the next question:

I am mounting the switch on the blank spot to the left of the steering wheel next to the ECT button. How do I get the wires from the battery to the switch? Is it relatively simple? Should I mount the switch in a different spot?

 

Use some stiffer gauge wire and it will push right through the fire wall. Go through where the hood latch cable is. Its a black looking boot on the driver side and then it will come out near all the other cables... if only I had a camera with me right now! If you can't picture this in your mind I can try to describe it a lil better.

 

is this black boot that you speak of circular shape? Like a little black donut?

 

Exactly! Go through the smaller circle that is in that same donut shaped circle. For some reason it is easier to push through and you won't hurt the hood cable.

 

Okay great, thanks. When I push the wire though, where should I expect it to come out? Do I need to take apart any of my dash or anything to get to the wires?

 

No. take a flash light and look up underneath the steering wheel and it will be there. You don't have to take apart nothing. It easy if you lay on your back where your floormats are and thats I have found it. What kind of lights you get?

 

Oh crap!!! I just saw you had a earlier model truck... I'm a 06. Hopefully its the same principle area.

 

Okay hopefully it won't be too different. I'm going to wire them up in the near future and will let you know. Thanks for your help!

 

I put my switch in one of those blanks as well (2005 Tacoma)... The battery wire will push through the firewall next to all the other wires... just look and you will see. There is a screw up in there above the fuse area where you can ground the switch, too!

Now, my 2010 uses up all those cherry switch blanks with VSC Off and Downhill assist and side curtain shut off... Where do I go now!

 

what did you all do to hide the wires going from your lights and into the grill? I used that black circular tubing stuff, but now there's just a black tube going straight into the grill that shows.


Also, with my light kit, the wiring that I got will not reach from the battery and to where I am mounting the switch. I have some speaker wire from a sub that I had in my old car. Could I use that and splice into the wiring for an extension? I mean, wire is wire, right?

 

I haven't got that detailed yet with hiding the wire. I was going to do it later. I just ran black wire down low and you can't see through the grill. I would use the type of wire that your lights came with whether it is 12 or 14 gauge it doesn't matter where you get it from though. imo

 

Alright thanks. I'm gonna get up a picture later of the wires from the lights through the grill. I think we may have them the same way.

Also, a buddy of mine just told me that speaker wire is designed to carry high frequencies for sound. So I'm gonna need to buy some wire. Where can I get some? I don't think it will cost much, right?

 

Um... good question... try any auto store and they usually sell a lil roll of it. If you want to get a lot you could try any electrical stores in your area. Not sure on prices, but wire is not usually cheap. It should be under 20 dollars for the amount you need. Maybe even less. You might need connectors too. But if you have an friend that is a electrician he can hook you up with some of his extra wire.

 

I'm gonna go take a pic of my truck grill now... I'll try to put it on here to show you.