Installing Side Indicator Lights In My Steel Bumper

[TheForger]

I am creating this thread because a couple people requested that I do a write up on 2 products I recently purchased - 10pk Eagle Eye 3W White LED's and a pair of linear LED light strips that are supposedly used for DRL's but I will be using them for addition reverse lights. This will be part 1: the installation and wiring of the Eagle Eye LED's. I only had time to complete those so I have to install the linear strips at a later date as part 2 (I will put that write-up in this same thread once completed). Please bare will me because this is the first 'real' write-up I've done for a personal installation but please feel free to offer helpful advice as I am all ears to new ideas and methods. Some of you may know I have a custom 'New Style' steel bumper courtesy of Mike's magnificent craftsmanship at Bump It Offroad. I mounted the LED's along the side of the bumper closest to the wheel well.

Anyway, enough will the chit-chat and on to the photos of prep measurements and figuring out where I want them to be:

Unfortunately I did not have a step drill bit so I have to go through about 8 different drill bit sizes before I finally reached the diameter I needed. Even broke a carbide bit in the process Guess a step bit is next on my shopping list. I also got a Q-Tip and coated the inside of those holes with a primer and painter all-in-one offered from Rustoleum which supposedly prevents rust.

Test fitting the LED's to make sure they're nice and snug...they came with a bolt to screw on the back and sandwich the steel plate between the light and nut...

I recently purchased a tube of marine-grade silicone sealant that I used to properly seal my off-brand 20" light bar (I had begun to notice small amounts of moisture build-up on the inside of the lens and figured it'd only get worse over time. Anyway, I used that as a sealant to hold these LED's in place. They are DEFINITELY not going anywhere and even doubled as a form of Loctite.

If I did my math correctly, 10 of these 3W LED's draw 2.5A. With such low amperage I figured that there was no need for a relay so I decided to tap directly into both turn signals so that they will also blink along with the stock indicator lamps (tuns out they actually blink opposite of the stock turn signals - when stocks are on, eagle eyes are off but it doesn't bother me at all. I'm sure that most of you electronics experts will see that I used the same wire or pos(+) and neg(-), but the positive green wire actually has a black strip that runs down it lengthwise but you cant really see it from any of these photos..

To be continued...

 

[TheForger]

Cont...

I am LOVE with this marine grade heat-shrink tubing with waterproof adhesive inside. The cables coming from the LED's were very dumbed down but extremely easy to work with - just one obvious red (pos) wire and one black (neg) wire that were pre stripped and pre-tinned. Since I decided not to go with a replay, I connected all the positive leads of the LED's together and then connected all the neg LED leads together to create one common positive and negative terminal. I then disassembled the turn signal housing and tapped into the solid green wire and the green with dark colored stripe wire. This would allow the lights to blink simultaneous to the stock turn indicators.

Before final soldering...

After turning the truck on and confirming that everything worked I went back over and torched the heat shrink tubing into one nice little bundle..

After completing the wiring, I then moved on to 'prettying it up' a bit. Nothing a little bit of cable loom and electrical tape won't solve.

Tucked the cable loom behind a plate under my bumper used for the Rigid fogs. Completely out-of-sight and 99.9% weather proof!

 

[TheForger]

Cont....

Annnnd voila, finally finished! Took about 4hrs but only because I had snapped a drill bit and had to substitute for a larger diameter which took longer to drill. It also took me that long because I originally tapped into the wrong wires. On my 2000 LC there are 3 wires leading into the turn signal adapter - 1 is for power (solid green), 1 is for ground(white) if you want the new LEDs to remain constantly on, and the last 1 is the power (green with dark stripe) for if you want the new LED's to flash according to the stock turn indicators. I initially tapped into the solid green and white but soon found out I need the solid green and the green with dark stipe. Anyway, I know this isn't much of a step-by-step write-up but this is the process I did this evening after I got home from work. And now for the long awaited final pics, drumroll please.....

Since they are wired into my existing turn signal lamps that I replaced with LED's, the new Eagle Eye LED's flash rapidly and at opposite times than the stock turn indicators in the side markers. I'm sure this mod isn't for everyone but I really like it! Now to check if this is street legal or not here in Arkansas...would anyone happen to know? When I say these things are bright, believe me, I AM NOT JOKING!

Anyway, part 2 coming soon!

 

[yotasavg]

Those are very cool, thanks for the write up. Would be cool to do them on a stock bumper too since you could reuse them later on a more HD bumper. Where is all the light under the front end coming from in that last pic?

 

[TheForger]

@yotasavg Those would be my own version of rock lights! I bought a 5 meter reel of those flexible LED strips from Amazon that you can cut every 3" or so. I unreeled the whole strip, cut it in half, and stuck them to the inside of my steel bumper. I wired them into my stock fog light harnesses since I no longer used them, so I control them with the fog light switch on the steering column. I hope to extend them into the wheel wells and behind the running boards at a later date.

 

[yotasavg]

Damn that's slick man, great job on that. I love the way the BIO is illuminated. Can't wait to see the other write up!

 

[Bama4door]

Cool idea...quick question. Are they there to serve as a blinker or are you going to run them always on?

 

[yotasavg]

Cool idea...quick question. Are they there to serve as a blinker or are you going to run them always on?

I believe he did wire them into the stock turn signals.

 

[r2m]

When I say these things are bright, believe me, I AM NOT JOKING

Not sure if everyone would be a fan of having super bright front proximity flood lights as side marker turn signals/running lights.

 

[TheForger]

Cool idea...quick question. Are they there to serve as a blinker or are you going to run them always on?

Yes, they are wired into the turn signals to blink when activated. They also stay on constant (as seen in the photos) when the blinkers are not in use and that is due to my laziness of not wanting to put in a load resistor. I replaced the turn signals and parking lights with LED's so now the blinkers stay on as long as the low beams are on. I decided to keep it like this because IMO it looks better when all the lights up front are on, especially since I have 6K HIDs and the cool white LEDs of the parking lights and turn signals match. The photos above of the truck inside my garage exaggerates the blueness of all the lights a bit, in person they are all crystal white.

Not sure if everyone would be a fan of having super bright front proximity flood lights as side marker turn signals/running lights.

I have considered this heavily.....I am concerned about the legality of such lights because these LED's do project a beam, as opposed to a diffused pattern. I pulled up next to my truck while it was parked in my driveway in my dads Camry to simulate a passing car and it does have a blinding effect. I might be wiring them into the stock fog light harness to join the rock lights so that I have the ability to turn them off when needed. As of now, they are on as long as the low beams are on, and I am happy that there aren't any lawyers on this forum

 

[r2m]

^^ Perhaps you can wire in a dimmer? Doing that, you can tone them down for all your on road driving and when wheeling, turn them up to help spot the trail ahead of you.

 

[hoser]

Now to check if this is street legal or not here in Arkansas...would anyone happen to know? When I say these things are bright, believe me, I AM NOT JOKING!

Since you asked... For the US, front side marker lights/reflectors should be amber only. Rear should be red. It allows other drivers to know your position and direction of travel.

IMHO, I suggest changing the color to amber.

 

[TheForger]

According to Arkansas State Highway Regulations § 27-36-210 under the "Auxiliary Passing Lamps" section (d), "Any motor vehicle may be equipped with not more than two (2) auxiliary passing lamps mounted on the front at a height not less than twenty-four inches (24) nor more than forty-two inches (42) above the level surface upon which the vehicle stands" and also section (e), "No motor vehicle may be equipped with more than two (2) ornamental light-emitting diodes white lights mounted on the front of the vehicle." Goes to show it helps to do a little research BEFORE committing to a project. Most likely I will move the wires to the stock fog light harness, good thing is all I have to do is reroute 2 wires for each side. This original idea of auxiliary turn lamps looked better on paper I guess there is no better way to learn than from my own mistakes...

 

[r2m]

If you go on to McMaster-Carr http://www.mcmaster.com/#pole-caps/=vo1qzo
You should be able to find some inexpensive plastic snap-in caps to fill the holes.

 

[iwashmycar]

Just put some black bolts in there to fill them...or go find some black cutting board material and smooth head bolts and make "rub plates"...maybe secure them with 3 of the 5 holes.

To each their own, but its a blessing in disguise...those didnt look very good at all Mount em all under the truck for rock lights

 

[TheForger]

I like em! They are great for peripheral lighting. They won't be going anywhere any time soon

 

[fireball]

That's not really the ideal location for them, especially if you're wheeling in the east. That's exactly the spot on the bumper where I like to gently nudge trees out of my way, a common occurrence on tight trails with the beastly LC!

 

[FlammableFishie]

I would add another pod on each side (for appearance, towards the front) and add a dimmer. I also assume these are amber. I honestly couldn't see the police giving you trouble if you're not affecting other drivers.

Good job on the write-up too!

 

[TheForger]

Linear LED's are on and wired up! I didn't take that many photos this time around because it really doesn't need them. This was one of the easiest mods I've done and it does help a lot more than the factory reverse lighting. The two wires I tapped into were the red w/green strip(power) and white w/black strip(ground). No relay is needed due to the low amperage draw of the LED's. I then ran those two wires through the same grommet that the trailer light harness passes through, then to the pos and neg wires of the LED's and added a little solder and marine-grade heat shrink tubing. I like em!

Also added the center console cubby box for a little more room for cell phones, pocket change, shotgun shells, etc...

 

[TheForger]

...almost forgot. I have to thank @hankinid for his help in describing how to wire this. I blew it wayyy out of proportion and made it seem like it was a lot more difficult than it really was. Thanks for sticking with an ignoramus like me bud