Roof Rack, Behind Grill, Bed, and Tool Box Lighting Write-up

2012 Tacoma Aux Lighting Write-up
Hello everyone, after my write-up on the Baja Roof Rack I was asked how I did my lighting by several members, so here it is.
Ok, I am not an electrician nor am I an auto mechanic, so please excuse the lack of some of the technical terms.
I should also not that this would not have been possible without the direction and assistance of my close friend and fellow Soldier DAC.

So I have a 2012 DC Taco and I have a Baja Rack (BR-TYTCM-SFA-1-0) that bolts directly to the roof via pre-drilled holes (all tacos have them) and allows for the shark fin XM antenna. I also have the Baja Rack light bar accessory.
Included in this write-up is the behind the grill lighting, bed lighting, and tool box lighting I did as well.

The breakdown:

Behind the grill:
2ea Hella 500 55w fog lights

On the roof rack:
Front 4ea Hella 500 55w fog lights
Sides 1ea (on each side) 5LED 15w spot lights
Rear 2ea 5LED 15w spot lights
NOTE: I purchased the LEDs for the roof rack from e-bay here is the link
http://www.ebay.com/itm/12092623744...em=&sspagename=ADME:X:AAQ:MOTORS:1123&vxp=mtr

In the bed:
2ea Optronics 12LED fog lights on the outside of the tool box to light the bed
2ea Optronics 12LED fog lights on the inside of the tool box to light inside of the tool box
NOTE: I got the optronics 12 LED lights from Northern tool here is the link
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200575885_200575885
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So with all this lighting I wanted a somewhat OEM look to the switches and their locations inside the cab. I chose to use switches from OTRATTW here is the link
http://www.otrattw.com/proddetail.php?prod=VVPZC59-1TL
The switches I used are the V1D1JCNB SPST
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Additionally, I wanted a clean install as well as a safe install. So with that in mind I decided to add a fuse block, main fuse, almost all lighting on relays and I used 16 gauge wire.
I used this fuse block
http://www.otrattw.com/proddetail.php?prod=5025B
I used 12v 20/30amp relays
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=330-070&utm_source=googleps
I used this kit for the 4 gauge wires and 150 amp main fuse
http://www.stereoware.com/servlet/the-1394/NEW-MEMPHIS-4GPWKIT-REAL/Detail
I used these terminals
http://www.halfpricecaraudio.com/Kicker-BTPN3-Positive-Negative-Battery-Terminal-Clamp-09BTPN3.htm

I also used the Baja Rack accessory wiring harness.

It should go without saying that there is a ton of other things I used such as connectors, electrical tape, shrink tubing; as well as a ton of tools, dremel, cordless drill, wire crimpers, etc...

So before I started I needed to develop a plan for the layout. My friend DAC created a wiring diagram Here it is


Ok well I cheated a bit and installed all the lights before I placed the roof rack on the taco.

So with the lights installed I turned the rack up side down and used the first half of the Baja Rack wiring harness to connect the 4 Hella 500s. I then wired the 2 side LEDs and ran the wires inside the conduit of the Baja Rack harness.



I mounted the side LEDs at an angle on the front Air dam and the rear LEDs at the Baja Rack rear mounts. However, due to the included LED mounts being too short and would have forced the rear LEDs to be angled down and the fact that I wanted them to sit lower, I fabricated my own mounts and drilled an additional hole in the rear rack mount.


Once the harness was secured with zip ties I then had to cut out pass through squares in the bottom air dam of the roof rack. I used some rubber door edge to finish the edges of the cutouts so that the wires do not get cut.


Next, I decided to use one of the Baja Rack mounting bolts as a common ground. It should be noted that the Baja Rack wiring harness brings all 4 Hella 500s to two red wires rather than one. I assume this is done due to the amps the lights require. The harness is not designed for specific lights and some lights may be HIDs or high amp lights. So if you look at the wiring diagram we maintained this layout and brought both red wires for the Hella 500s to one 20/30 amp relay.


So the total wires that were grounded was 4 wires (2 from the Hellas, 1 from the side LEDs, and 1 from the rear LEDs).


I then had to decide how to get the red wires off the roof and to the engine compartment. The Baja Rack wiring harness is designed to run down the rear window and under the cabe but I did not like the look of the harness hanging down in the back so I decided to go through the cab. I considered three options:
Drill hole under the water drip rail (rubber strips on roof) and run down the inside of the A pillar.
Drill hole in rear roof mounted brake light and run wires under the head liner and down the C pillar and along the drivers side under the door seals.
Drill hole through the shark fin XM antenna and run wires under the head liner along the drivers side then down the A pillar under the plastic molding and into the dash.

I decided on the XM antenna method for several reasons. The holes were already there and the additional hole would be covered by the rubber antenna seal. Additionally, my free subscription to XM has expired and I will not be buying a subscription so the antenna otherwise would not be used (however, this method would not affect the operation of the antenna). Lastly, the antenna is close to the rack than the break light.



So I removed the head liner then removed the antenna. I drilled a hole in the front of the fin and inserted a rubber grommet. I then cut out the hole in the rubber antenna seal. The metal antenna insert already had a hole so there was no need to drill it out.






I punched through the rubber boot near the parking break to get the wires into the engine compartment.

Next, I needed to build wire harnesses for the switches. I needed 4 wire harnesses and each harness would have 4 wires. You can see the wire diagram for details.



Next, I ran the wires to the switch locations and into the engine compartment through the same rubber boot. I used a dremel to cut out the switch holes on the center console and I had to modify the switch holes in the dash to fit the switches.




Next, I fabracated a mount for the fuse block and relays.
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Once the fuse block was mounted and all the wiring run, I had to cut off the OEM battery terminals and wire up the new ones. Then I finished out the wiring to all the relays and switches.


Next, I needed to tap a fuse for the LED back light in the switches. I tapped the gauge fuse under the dash. This fuse is a 7.5 amp fuse and I used a 5 amp fuse for the switches.


With everything wired and hooked up and after several lighting tests throughout the process, I was done with the rack and grill, so I moved on to the tool box.

I located the LEDs on the outside and inside of the tool box but I wanted to have the ability to pull the tool box out of the bed if needed so I used a connector and wired the common ground to the drivers side frame and I tapped the hot wire to the drivers side rear light for the power. I wired a switch inside the tool box.





Here are the pictures of everything completed.







Well I hope this was helpful to some of you. Please let me know what you think or if you have questions.

 

Nice write up!

 

Nice. Much like my LED setup on the rear. Great write up.

 

Wow, nice write up! That was very thorough, I wish more write-ups would be this detailed.

sub'd for future reference.

 

Where did you get the zombie light switches from?

 

Thats legit. Well done!

 

Thanks everyone for commenting and rating this write-up.
SkullTaco2012, the Zombie lights switch was from Otrattw
http://www.otrattw.com/products.php?cat=36

 

Awesome work, good write-up!

 

Great work

 

Great Write-up. I'll be refering to this when I tackle my lighting project. Thanks!

 

Thanks guys for the comments.

 

Ok guys, I was asked to do a write up on head liner removal. Here it is
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2n...-dc-interior-head-liner-removal-write-up.html

 

Where did all the pics go?

 

Um, I see them just fine. Anyone else have issues seeing the pictures? Taczilla, try a different browser

 

I can see them now.

I think that my RAM was full. I had too many windows open.

 

This is a model of superior postings. Thanks a bunch youve helped me save a ton of confusion

 

Looks cool, and super nice color!

 

Thanks and I like your build