ARCHIVE Owl plug-and-play LX courtesy/puddle replacement and rock lights

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Joined
Jan 8, 2016
Threads
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Messages
1,361
Location
ABQ NM
Hey all,

I'm officially no longer gauging interest and am instead selling them!

What they are: (4) ip68 water resistant, 10 led lights (6 led lights are available instead of 10 if you want something a little less bright). (4) hand made (to keep price down) stainless steel protective brackets to mount each light to the frame. (2) wiring harnesses, one for each side, which are pre soldered with connectors to connect to the factory runningboard light socket.

The full kit will work with any LX or LC that has, or had, the AHC system and lights on the running boards. Theses will work if you have sliders or running boards currently installed.

The AHC system does not still need to be in place to mount these. The 2 bottom bolts that held each of the 4 accumulators on will be needed though (I can provide those if needed).

The light can be switched on when driving to act as rock lights very easily!

First remove the kick pad but prying/pulling up on it:
eezmS5h.jpg


Then you expose a small black plastic screw. Unscrew it.

JTvIC60.jpg


Now remove the side panel by gently pulling on the front (closest to the firewall) till the tabs pop loose, then sliding the panel back to remove it.

4l9yhM2.jpg


Now remove the door jam plate and gently pull up on the carpet as seen.

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Under the carpet, you will see the rubber boot and two wires from the factory connector. You will have to tap into these wires using wire taps. I usually solder most my wires but given the proximity to the carpet, I used taps to avoid burning anything.

JisagrW.jpg


To wire a non led indicated switch, you only need to tap into the ground wire (red with blue stripe). To wire a switch that has an LED indicator, you'll need to tap both the ground and power wires. Since this is a ground switch as opposed to a traditional power switch, finding an LED indicated switch that will work properly was tough. For that reason, I won't be including a switch with the setup. The only led indicated switch I could find that would work was a 4 pole cheap switch from amazon: E Support Car Marine Blue LED Toggle Switch Dash 4pin Pack of 5 Amazon.com: E Support Car Marine Blue LED Toggle Switch Dash 4pin Pack of 5: Automotive

Here is an example of the switch working:




Here are the purchase configurations:

1) Full plug and play kit (check your connectors for corrosion)

If you would like a wire taps, extra wire, and all the nessessary crimp connectors to make them work as rock lights please request it (you will need to supply your own switch and have the ability to crimp the connectors).

Price: $135 plug and play +$10 for rock kit

2) Full kit minus the connectors (good for if your connectors are too corroded and you need to hardwire; will include crimp connectors on ends but can be cut off if soldering.)

Price: $130

3) just the 4 brackets for use with own lights and wiring.

Price: $70

All prices include ups ground shipping. If local pickup, $15 shipping is waved




So here is one of the brackets
IMG_20170315_183302.webp


IMG_20170315_183307.webp


Here's it is mounted to the truck

IMG_20170315_192540.webp



Here is one completed side. You would receive two of what's pictured and 6 small zip ties for the wiring between each light. All the wiring is soldered, heat shrinked and covered with a loom.

IMG_20170315_204041.webp
 
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Here are some more photos. The longer shields face towards the closest tire.

IMG_20170315_182644.webp


IMG_20170315_182657.webp


Here is how they attach to the frame. If you have AHC still installed, you will want to mount them on top of the accumulators for simplicity. Without the accumulators in places they will be flush against the frame (on top of accumulators in the photo).

IMG_20170404_185958.webp


And finally a night time photo.

IMG_20170315_205233.webp



Since they are facing downward and are up higher than the sliders, you get a nice cut off about 2 feet out. They come on with the remote and anytime the doors are opened. I definitely find them useful when off road as stepping out into soft mud or water is no fun. Especially when trying to find a good camping spot.


Also, here is a video showing how they fade on and fade off with the remote.

 
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**UPDATE**

Okay, so it looks like there some interest so I'm going to give this a shot. I'm making the brackets by hand from scratch so they will not be 100% perfect asthetically but I will test each one before sending them to make sure they bolt up without any issues. Since I do it by hand, it takes an hour or more per set so to make. If they do well and people keep ordering, the price will likely go up to make it really worth my time.


Here is the list so far:

@[S]nnnnnate[/S]
[S]@ballardcruiser[/S]
@[S]MastiffDad14[/S]
@[S]CharlieH[/S]
@[S]LXstatic[/S]
@[S]OregonB[/S]
@[S]taco47001[/S] - no connectors
@[S]rweigel1[/S]
@[S]mgoblue[/S]
@[S]FortyBigPigs[/S]
@[S]Scotch[/S]
@[S]COGerding[/S]
@[S]maxse01[/S]
@TheDough
@beedo34
@Flipped Bezel
@jdayment
@TheHomeBuilder
@mogili222 no connectors
@KillerBox
@Premier
@m3roar
@aceLX470
@RedstitchNC
@jLB
@MattSEG
@ric3125
@octothorp27
@drocay
@LC100
@Ice cold

Those are in order of contact with me. Let me know asap if you don't want them. Also, if you can't remember if you had running board lighting, verify that first.



I timed how long it took to install one side. It was under 5 min since all the wiring is already done. All you'd have to do is remove and reinstall 8 bolts, pull 6 zip ties, and plug in 2 plugs total for both sides. I'd guess less than 30 min for someone who has little to now wrenching skills.

If you want something less glaring, you can install the lights facing up instead of down. Here is how they look facing up:

IMG_20170508_203734.webp


Only adds a few minutes to the install.
 
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In. How much and what email do I send my money. PP's gotta represent. lol
 
Definitely interested... keep us posted on pricing.
 
I haven't finalized a price since I've been collecting stuff to build. It will definitely be under $100 but hopefully closer to $75.

The lights themselves are the most expensive part. And 4 of them adds up quickly. Also using stainless instead of steel adds cost but I think it's worth it to not have to deal with paint or rust.

I'm also thinking I could adopt them to work on the Toyota variant if the demand is there, but would require a bit more invasive install.

The ones for the LX are plug and play btw.
 
I don't remember if I had lights under mine when I removed the running boards. How can I check compatibility?

And here comes the customizing questions. It looks awesome as is, but, without asking you to re-engineer the whole thing, do you think it would be possible to turn it on while night wheeling?
 
I don't remember if I had lights under mine when I removed the running boards. How can I check compatibility?

And here comes the customizing questions. It looks awesome as is, but, without asking you to re-engineer the whole thing, do you think it would be possible to turn it on while night wheeling?

That's a good question. I'm not 100% sure which years of LXs came with the lights. An easy way to tell is to look under the truck were the boards used to be in the front and see if there's a couple inches of wire and a plug coming from the floor of the body.

I'm brain storming the switch idea. It would be a lot more difficult to get it to work on a switch though.
 
In. Let me know when and where to send you some money when you are ready to open the books on this.
 
I'm in, I will be pulling running boards soon and would love to have these to replace the puddle lights.
 
First timer to a group build, but just tell me where to send the check. Nice work, thanks!
 
I ordered a set from @screendoor but after seeing this setup, I deff think this is better suited to me. I spray my undercarriage with fluid film annually and the 3M sticky back on the LED's from his kit probably isn't going to last very long. I'm in for a set.
 
Sweet. I'm still in, I'll cut those connectors off then throw out the steps. I knew there was a reason I hadn't tossed them yet.
 
Looks awesome, Rami. Can we retro these into a cruiser?
 
Looks awesome, Rami. Can we retro these into a cruiser?

Thanks Chuck! I'm thinking I may be able to. Installing them would be more difficult though as you'd have to get through the firewall. I'm going to get a buddy with a cruiser to let me poke around and see what I can come up with.
 
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