ARB Lights - Wiring Harness Issue

[Ahitchc4]

Hi, I purchased a 2004 LC last week and it was already set up with a lot of aftermarket ARB goodies. However the 2 solis lights mounted on the bumper don’t work.

Upon further inspection I noticed the wiring harness for one of the lights is melted. I don’t know much about electronics but I’d think the lights can still be salvaged with a new wiring harness right? Arb customer service probably my best bet? Thanks for any help!

 

[Mike NXP]

Yeah hit up ARB for a replacement harness but make sure you install it the right way. I had the same thing happen to me because I kept the signal wire constantly powered on, or at least that's what ARB/myself assumed what happened. Although mine fried at that particular connection not on the light harness.

I eventually just tapped the signal wire into the fog light power wire . So when the fog light dial is turned off the circuit is dead. When I turn the fog lights on the circuit is live. With the right style switch in line you can keep the switch ON and then just use the fog light dial to control the ARB lights.

 

[Swirvinnirvinn]

Yeah hit up ARB for a replacement harness but make sure you install it the right way. I had the same thing happen to me because I kept the signal wire constantly powered on, or at least that's what ARB/myself assumed what happened. Although mine fried at that particular connection not on the light harness.

I eventually just tapped the signal wire into the fog light power wire . So when the fog light dial is turned off the circuit is dead. When I turn the fog lights on the circuit is live. With the right style switch in line you can keep the switch ON and then just use the fog light dial to control the ARB lights.

If I could pick your brain, or if OP can help because this is my first electrical work on my 100;

Did you wire the harness to the foglight like below?
Does the orange (coral) wire go to anything?
Also there is a third set of plugs that comes with the wiring harness. Does that get used at all? Thank you in advance for any info and time any of y'all can provide!

 

[Mike NXP]

Orange wire
>> Do you have wiring diagram for your harness? ARB has changed the harness a bit since the first version of the 'intensity' lights and its been a while since I did it. I don't recall an orange wire or any extra connectors./ If you can share the wiring diagram I can look

- Fog light question
>> In my case , I do not have fog lights and I have a dedicated AUX power setup, seen below. So I just clipped the wires and ran power and ground up to my panel. The little red post is the fog light power if I remember right and the yellow thicker wire is the ARB fuse going back into the harness

>> The wire going to the fog light is just the signal wire that closes the relay and allows power to be delivered through the harness to switch / lights . There are other ways to accomplish this but this setup worked best for me and allows for the lights to be controlled via the fog light dial rather than just the switch with key on

I cant remember what the harness looks like I assume I cut if off and just wired it right in. Is that Y harness connector you are showing meant to connect right to your fog lights?

>> Did you run the wires through firewall yet? Make sure you plan that out because you have limited length on the harness. I went through passenger side due to my setup and it being easier to punch through

 

[Super77]

I don't know about these ARB lights specifically, but I have done my fair share of automotive electrical work, including a rack of offroad lights on my 62. Here's are 2 things generally to know about lighting: 1) the more of a dedicated circuit you have, the safer, 2) aftermarket wiring is hardly ever stout enough.

I would NOT wire offroad lights directly into another of the car's circuits. Those factory circuits are designed and rated for a specific draw, and Uncle T did not design them to handle any more. What I'd do with any aftermarket electrical stuff is wire it back to a fused terminal block wired to the battery +12V or alternator lug. Then, you use a relay that is activated by a switch (like your fog lights).

This is just for reference. That 30a fuse shown is your master fuse - I'd also use individual relays and fuses for the lights.

@Mike NXP is this what you meant? Your dedicated 'AUX power' setup kinda looks like it.

Most aftermarket lights ship with 16ga. I'd use high-quality automotive wire at least 50% above the gauge rated for the lights' draw. You'll probably be OK with 14 ga, I overkill with 12ga. I set my FJ40 on fire once by shortcutting my light wiring, I won't make that mistake again.

 

[Swirvinnirvinn]

Attached is the instructions and wiring diagram below that and the wiring loom "features & benefits" for anyones input.

My initial hang up was that if my understanding is correct, I would have to buy a relay for the negatively switched high beam the 100 series Land Cruisers have. I began to look for any write ups and instructions, but no one seems to have them posted, aside from what I saw @Mike NXP wrote in regards to using what seems to be a positively switched fog light(?).

I appreciate the help so far!

Also, I found out that the orange/coral wire is to tie into a parking light for illumination of the control pad.

I have not tried to insert inti the firewall yet, but both sides seem very difficult to insert through.

Also, I found out that the orange/coral wire is to tie into a parking light for illumination of the control pad.

CORRECTION!!!!
I just held the coral wire to the parker light harness connection, and it also fires up the actual spot lights. I didn't realize at first because the dimmer keeps them off until signal is provided to the coral wire.

 

[Mike NXP]

I don't know about these ARB lights specifically, but I have done my fair share of automotive electrical work, including a rack of offroad lights on my 62. Here's are 2 things generally to know about lighting: 1) the more of a dedicated circuit you have, the safer, 2) aftermarket wiring is hardly ever stout enough.

I would NOT wire offroad lights directly into another of the car's circuits. Those factory circuits are designed and rated for a specific draw, and Uncle T did not design them to handle any more. What I'd do with any aftermarket electrical stuff is wire it back to a fused terminal block wired to the battery +12V or alternator lug. Then, you use a relay that is activated by a switch (like your fog lights).

View attachment 4198955
This is just for reference. That 30a fuse shown is your master fuse - I'd also use individual relays and fuses for the lights.

@Mike NXP is this what you meant? Your dedicated 'AUX power' setup kinda looks like it.

Most aftermarket lights ship with 16ga. I'd use high-quality automotive wire at least 50% above the gauge rated for the lights' draw. You'll probably be OK with 14 ga, I overkill with 12ga. I set my FJ40 on fire once by shortcutting my light wiring, I won't make that mistake again.

The ARB wire harness that comes with their lights is top notch and rated for the power draw. Unless im misunderstanding the fog light comment / question above is just in regards to this signal wire which is low power draw and the wire is gauged properly if using the arb harness. Its meant to tie into factory circuit

Also, I found out that the orange/coral wire is to tie into a parking light for illumination of the control pad.

I have not tried to insert inti the firewall yet, but both sides seem very difficult to insert through.

OK so the orange isnt needed unless using touchpad ? Which u dont have right or is that what the switch is on these new Solis lights?

You should not have to buy any additional relays to make it work ....getting through the firewall is not as hard as you think.


I will take some pics and post more details on wiring it up when i get back on my computer

 

[Swirvinnirvinn]

OK so the orange isnt needed unless using touchpad ? Which u dont have right or is that what the switch is on these new Solis lights?

I do have the touchpad. The ARB logo is an off/on switch and its a dimmer also (see below).

I do need to wire the orange into the parker light to not only illuminate the touch pad, but to power the off/on switch itself and the spotlights. I tried to turn them on without the orange wire and it wouldn't, until I held the wire to the positive terminal of the parking lights.

Also, would that mean I can wire them to the high beams instead, or are they negatively switched like I've read everywhere else? If not, I guess having to "turn on" the fog lights at the stalk (since I don't have any on my ARB) and then turning on the lights is extra security in itself.

 

[Swirvinnirvinn]

Sorry, I forgot to attach a photo of the dimmer.

 

[Mike NXP]

I do have the touchpad. The ARB logo is an off/on switch and its a dimmer also (see below).

I do need to wire the orange into the parker light to not only illuminate the touch pad, but to power the off/on switch itself and the spotlights. I tried to turn them on without the orange wire and it wouldn't, until I held the wire to the positive terminal of the parking lights.

Also, would that mean I can wire them to the high beams instead, or are they negatively switched like I've read everywhere else? If not, I guess having to "turn on" the fog lights at the stalk (since I don't have any on my ARB) and then turning on the lights is extra security in itself.

Ah gotcha, I haven't been keeping up with their new lights and switch stuff...

Orange wire -
So this is just your battery positive signal wire for the switch then right? Im pretty sure I tapped into a fuse in the kick panel on driver side for my switch and also cut off the ARB switch to replace it with a rectangle blank that fits into the dash. Since the solis have dimming feature I would keep their switch and find a good place to mount if possible

The signal wire / Fog light thing we were talking about
- ARB diagram shows this going to high beams, this is just like a safety thing, they dont want you turning on your spotlights unless your high beams are on. I find that I almost never have my high beams on at the same time so I wanted to get power elsewhere, so tapped into the fog lights. The nice plus there is the ability to roll the fog light dial in the vehicle to control the spotlights

I don't think our lights are negatively switched on, I could be wrong but don't think too hard about that one I think you just need to get it all wired up and find a good source of power and ground where needed.

I found the driver side was too tight to have all these wires + my winch cables that's why I switched over to the passenger side.

If you are wiring up on the driver side you may need to add a ground post somewhere or figure out how to cram all the grounds + relays + fuses over


Lay the harness out on top of your engine bay to get an idea of length and where you can secure ground + power

After you make sense of all that you can punch through the rubber grommet on the driver or passenger side. Passenger side is easy and comes in under the glovebox then you can snake the wires over to the driver side under the dash.

Its a bitch of a job for sure but doesn't require any major wrenching just patience

 

[Swirvinnirvinn]

Ah gotcha, I haven't been keeping up with their new lights and switch stuff...

Orange wire -
So this is just your battery positive signal wire for the switch then right? Im pretty sure I tapped into a fuse in the kick panel on driver side for my switch and also cut off the ARB switch to replace it with a rectangle blank that fits into the dash. Since the solis have dimming feature I would keep their switch and find a good place to mount if possible

The signal wire / Fog light thing we were talking about
- ARB diagram shows this going to high beams, this is just like a safety thing, they dont want you turning on your spotlights unless your high beams are on. I find that I almost never have my high beams on at the same time so I wanted to get power elsewhere, so tapped into the fog lights. The nice plus there is the ability to roll the fog light dial in the vehicle to control the spotlights

I don't think our lights are negatively switched on, I could be wrong but don't think too hard about that one I think you just need to get it all wired up and find a good source of power and ground where needed.

I found the driver side was too tight to have all these wires + my winch cables that's why I switched over to the passenger side.

If you are wiring up on the driver side you may need to add a ground post somewhere or figure out how to cram all the grounds + relays + fuses over


Lay the harness out on top of your engine bay to get an idea of length and where you can secure ground + power

After you make sense of all that you can punch through the rubber grommet on the driver or passenger side. Passenger side is easy and comes in under the glovebox then you can snake the wires over to the driver side under the dash.

Its a bitch of a job for sure but doesn't require any major wrenching just patience

I appreciate the advice man! I sorta got lucky that the previous owner busted the hose that leads to the rear window cleaner nozzle, so I just pulled that hose for the time being, and ran the wire through that hole. Lol

I have everything wired up and then ran into a new problem..... ARB's mounting tabs on the bull bar are slightly slim and only have one hole, whereas the light has slots for three holes.
What's been the solution for everyone on this?

 

[Swirvinnirvinn]

The mounting tabs aren't wide enough to drill new holes, which I would've done, but leaving just one allows me to slightly turn the mount if I apply some force.

 

[Mike NXP]

The mounting tabs aren't wide enough to drill new holes, which I would've done, but leaving just one allows me to slightly turn the mount if I apply some force.

View attachment 4200200

View attachment 4200201

Thats interesting . You should hit up arb and ask about that

I assume just one bolt is fine but that sure is a wide footprint and you say it can wiggle ? Might just need to get it good n tight and test it out. Should be OK

 

[Swirvinnirvinn]

Thats interesting . You should hit up arb and ask about that

I assume just one bolt is fine but that sure is a wide footprint and you say it can wiggle ? Might just need to get it good n tight and test it out. Should be OK

I saw someone mention that apparently other markets have the holes on their tabs due to their bumpers being commercial grade.

I've been tightening them little by little and can't really wiggle one of the bases anymore.... just hope it doesn't bite me in the ass.

Thanks for your help on all this man! Hopefully I'll be done with this tonight. Lol