How to hook up roll bar lights on Ford F-150

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JeffInChi

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Just wondering if anyone out there has anyexperience hooking up roll bar light bar lights to a vehicle, and if so, how to go about it, what parts to use, how difficult it is, and how much it might cost? Anyone know how?

I have a couple pics of my '87 F-150. Let me know if you need a closer shot or if you need to know what kinds of lights these are.









Any help would be appreciated! Thanks for viewing!

P.S. Administrators, feel free to move the thread if there is a more appropriate catagory.
 
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Anyone know how to install roll bar lights on an F-150?

Just wondering if anyone out there has anyexperience hooking up roll bar light bar lights to a vehicle, and if so, how to go about it, what parts to use, how difficult it is, and how much it might cost? Anyone know how?

I have a couple pics of my '87 F-150. Let me know if you need a closer shot or if you need to know what kinds of lights these are.









Any help would be appreciated! Thanks for viewing!

P.S. Administrators, feel free to move the thread if there is a more appropriate catagory.
 
Re: Anyone know how to install roll bar lights on an F-150?

Don't worry, it's very simple!

All the lights should be in parallel (all the positives connected to one another, and all the negatives connected to one another or the rollbar itself). Run your positive with an inline fuse from the battery to a switch in your dash (or whherever you want), then on to the positive pigtail.

I can be more specific about switch rating, fuse rating, and wire gauge if you can tell me what the wattage of the lights is.

I think you should be able to do all inside the rollbar itself, so it will be a pretty clean looking install.
 
Re: Anyone know how to install roll bar lights on an F-150?

Don't worry, it's very simple!

All the lights should be in parallel (all the positives connected to one another, and all the negatives connected to one another or the rollbar itself). Run your positive with an inline fuse from the battery to a switch in your dash (or whherever you want), then on to the positive pigtail.

I can be more specific about switch rating, fuse rating, and wire gauge if you can tell me what the wattage of the lights is.

I think you should be able to do all inside the rollbar itself, so it will be a pretty clean looking install.

Really easy install, actually. Maybe throw in a Relay, too. :thumbsup:
 
Re: Anyone know how to install roll bar lights on an F-150?

Definitely use a relay and some big honkin' wire. Five lamps at 55w each(I'm assuming, but that's a very common lamp wattage) is ~25 amps, and you've got a pretty decent distance from the battery, too. Small wires + long distance + large draws = big voltage drop, and a 10 percent drop in voltage equals a 46 percent drop in light output from a halogen bulb, so this is not something to dismiss. I'd use no less than 10awg wire, but 8awg would be better and I'd not sneer at 6awg. Note that "Overkill" has been suggested as a possible middle name for me for awhile. I'd run an equivalent ground wire to the battery too.

:buddies:
 
Welcome to CPF, JeffInChi.

You posted your thread in rather a backwater, and I didn't notice it until now. We have an Automotive section, so I'll move it there for you.
 
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Maybe the OP crossposted and the one DM51 caught was the wrong one.
That's exactly what happened. I've merged the 2 threads now.

Jeff... please read Rule 9. Cross-posting isn't allowed, for the very good reason that it causes exactly the sort of confusion we have ended up with here.
 
Personally I would have gone with better quality lights, I know that sounds harsh but I've had the exact same lights shown in the pictures above (on a 4x4) and they pretty much were a pain to align properly (and keep there) not to mention the fact that they rattled their way to self destruction :(

Did I mention they rust up quick too? :ohgeez:


BTW :welcome:
 
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That is a nice looking truck, those lights are custom Ford F150 truck parts! [link removed - DM51] I highly recommend that you consult a very experience electrical guy who can connect those lights in series! You may need extra power to those lights depending on the wattage of each one coz its gonna eat a lot of power from your truck
 
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From the pictures, they look like sealed beams, and like KC's or copies of KC's. At a guess, each bulb could be anywhere from 50 watts to 150 watts (open one up and read the wattage on the back of the bulb). Plan for the high end; five times 150 is 750 watts, which is 62.5 amps at 12 volts. If this is the case, you are talking about BIG wire, probably at least two circuits and two relays.

Even if the bulbs are smaller than that, assume you may eventually replace them with bulbs of different wattage. Go BIG on wiring,

With that many lights, depending on beam pattern, you may want to aim the outboard lights to the sides. You may even want one aimed to the rear (three circuits? Forward, Sides, Rear?), but it all depends on your intended use.

My own kind of "off road" work is low speed, and often in the dark. I don't need extreme long range lights away from the highway. But I sometimes want light in just about any direction.

For what it's worth, here's a bit of experience: If there is ANY slightest fog, dust or smoke in the air, long range lights mounted at or above windshield level will bounce an amazing (and blinding) amount of light back at you (left spotlight on my International has a 250 watt landing light in it -- AAUGGHH!). Rooftop driving lights are useless unless it's CLEAR in front of you.

Fog lights are most useful mounted about 12 to 16 inches from the ground, which sort of rules them out for tall offroad rigs.

Low speed offroad in these parts often includes sharp switchbacks. Fog pattern lights, mounted on the extended winch bumper, can be very helpful as "cornering" lights, though not much help in fog. They can even be work lights on the sides of a truck.

Lights up on the rollbar are vulnerable to brush. I've busted spotlights mounted at upper windshield corners, even though I had steel deflectors coming pretty far forward over the cab from my bed sideboard frames.

But if I lived in open country without overhead brush, say desert, and I ran at high speed in very clear weather, I'd probably love those mega-candlepower long range lights -- even though I know they are very illegal to use on a public highway, because they can blind oncoming traffic (so let's say we're talking about long private roads in huge ranches...).

Good Luck. Go heavy duty on wiring and relays. You can then run nice small wire into the cab, and use nice small switches to control the relays.
Give youself a choice of how many of those lights you use at a time.

And please, PLEASE, aim them carefully!

Have Fun, My Friend. That's what it's all about. :thumbsup:
 
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I'm no expert in off-road lighting, but I would suggest. . .

Divide the lighting into two circuits. (1) Take the center three lamps and connect them in parallel. Aim the center lamp straight forward and put a slight spread to either side on the lamps to the left and right of center. Use a properly rated wire/overcurrent protection device/relay to power these. For the relay power, tap the high beam light circuit on the truck and run that through a switch to power the relay coil. Then the lights will come on when you have the switch on AND the high beams are on. I can't see you using these on the road anywhere, but they look cool, right? (2) Change the outer lamp on each side to a flood pattern instead of a pencil beam and aim them to the side and slightly down. Put these on a different circuit, in parallel, and power the relay from a switched accessory circuit in the truck through a switch. These would then become work lights around the vehicle or would provide close in lighting of the sides of the trail when you go 'wheeling. With a switched circuit you don't forget them and run the battery down when you leave the truck.

For wiring, I've found amplifier wiring kits on ebay super cheap. It is a good way to get heavy wire and the fuse and fuse holder. Just add the relay and any switch that has the looks you want for inside the truck.
 
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