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BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER.... A's, G's & E's


4 posters

    How to: Wire up Lights in Your Van! (The Basics)

    DanTheVanMan
    DanTheVanMan
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    Location : Escanaba, Michigan
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    How to:  Wire up Lights in Your Van! (The Basics) Empty How to: Wire up Lights in Your Van! (The Basics)

    Post by DanTheVanMan Wed Aug 17, 2011 11:36 am

    How to Wire up Lights in Your Van!

    Wiring up your lights doesn't have to be too complicated.
    However, there are some things that can screw everything up if not taken into consideration.

    First off , make sure you have good switches, light housings, connectors, etc. If you have an older car, corrosion can be a major problem.
    I have a Jeep that wasn't all that old (1984 CJ-7). I would be driving along, and all of a sudden, all the lights would just go out. Lots of fun on the highway...

    That would be this one...
    How to:  Wire up Lights in Your Van! (The Basics) 04281110


    But I couldn't find anything wrong.
    Finally, I figured out that what was happening was the light switch itself had corrosion inside it where you couldn't see it. However, it worked just fine when it was cold. Then, when I was running down the road for a while, the heater would finally make it warm enough under the dash that the corrosion in the switch would shut off the power. When I would try to figure out what was wrong, I had the door open, the switch cooled back down, and worked fine. Took me awhile to find that one...
    So, make sure you are starting out with good stuff.

    Second, make sure you are able to tie into good power. If you have too big of a draw at the fuse panel already, you won't have full voltage and you're gonna have dim lights.
    Only a 2 volt drop in a 12 volt system is a 17% loss in voltage to the headlights. That's why so many people have trouble with dim headlights.
    The easy way is to use relays. Basically, what you are doing with relays is supplying a short cut for the power. Instead of the power having to go through all kinds of connections, switches, tons of wire, etc., you create a short path for it to go, free of all that other stuff. Now you have lots of power and full voltage.
    That's why you need relays nowadays... All modern cars have them. That's because ignition systems are more powerful, headlights need more power, etc.
    Relays are simple to wire into the front harness. (See the lighting diagram below.)
    Just get the good Bosch 30 amp relays anywhere...

    How to:  Wire up Lights in Your Van! (The Basics) Lighti12

    Third, make sure you use the right gauge wire. Too small a wire can cause resistance, low voltage, and dim lights.
    Many people will just try to copy what their car had. However, many cars suffered from dim lights from the factory...
    Tri five Chevy's are a bit under wired to the headlights from the factory...
    So are Buick's and Pontiac's...
    Pretty much all of the other manufactures used 16 or 14 gauge wire on the headlamps... Chevy's choice was 18 gauge... Very small considering todays lighting requirements.
    Then add in the years of corrosion at connections, wear at the light and dimmer switches and the amount of resistance in the circuit goes way up.
    So, use the right size wire. (See the lighting diagram below.)
    Tip: You can buy trailer wire cable to run wiring to the back of a car. It's fully insulated and contains up to 7 wires. It's cheap, by the foot, and protects the wiring from any cuts, wear, etc. Just make sure the gauge is ok for what you want.

    How to:  Wire up Lights in Your Van! (The Basics) Lighti13

    Ok, so let's get to wiring. The wiring diagram below will get you good, bright lights without overloading the switches and wiring. It's set up for a basic system.

    How to:  Wire up Lights in Your Van! (The Basics) New-te10
    How to:  Wire up Lights in Your Van! (The Basics) New-te11


    However, it doesn't include turn signals. If you want to run turn signals, AND YOU SHOULD.

    Learn more about Turn Signals

    Dan


    Last edited by DanTheVanMan on Fri Aug 19, 2011 8:30 am; edited 2 times in total


    _________________
    DanTheVanMan    
    1965 Chevy G10 Sportvan Custom
    1984 Jeep CJ-7 Laredo, Restored
    2004 Kawasaki KLR650
    1997 Jeep TJ Sport

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    DanTheVanMan
    DanTheVanMan
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    Number of posts : 7902
    Location : Escanaba, Michigan
    Age : 62
    Registration date : 2008-10-08

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    Post by DanTheVanMan Wed Aug 17, 2011 2:08 pm

    Any topics you would like to see posted here just send a PM to let me know and I will see what I can do.

    Dan


    _________________
    DanTheVanMan    
    1965 Chevy G10 Sportvan Custom
    1984 Jeep CJ-7 Laredo, Restored
    2004 Kawasaki KLR650
    1997 Jeep TJ Sport

    My Mini Gallery

    How to:  Wire up Lights in Your Van! (The Basics) Qr_cod10

    <-<-<- Cruising is not a "Point A to Point B" thing, but an "Everything in between thing!  <-<-<-
    austinmodhouse
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    Post by austinmodhouse Wed Aug 17, 2011 3:06 pm

    great post! is there a section for diy projects where you can make these type posts sticky? and grouped by topic, ie this would fall under electrical.

    I’ve found the search feature on this site to be frustrating.
    DanTheVanMan
    DanTheVanMan
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    Number of posts : 7902
    Location : Escanaba, Michigan
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    Post by DanTheVanMan Thu Aug 18, 2011 5:25 am

    austinmodhouse,

    These and many others are posted under: "This is How it's Done" in the forums.

    Dan


    _________________
    DanTheVanMan    
    1965 Chevy G10 Sportvan Custom
    1984 Jeep CJ-7 Laredo, Restored
    2004 Kawasaki KLR650
    1997 Jeep TJ Sport

    My Mini Gallery

    How to:  Wire up Lights in Your Van! (The Basics) Qr_cod10

    <-<-<- Cruising is not a "Point A to Point B" thing, but an "Everything in between thing!  <-<-<-
    slowflapper
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    Location : GA
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    Post by slowflapper Thu Aug 18, 2011 7:55 am

    great info on the bundled trailer wire, I hadnt thought to use that.
    DanTheVanMan
    DanTheVanMan
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    Number of posts : 7902
    Location : Escanaba, Michigan
    Age : 62
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    Post by DanTheVanMan Thu Aug 18, 2011 9:36 am

    slowflapper wrote:great info on the bundled trailer wire, I hadnt thought to use that.

    Yep, I use this stuff for everything! In the Vans, Boats and trailers. It comes in different gauges so you can use it for driving/Fog lights...

    Dan


    _________________
    DanTheVanMan    
    1965 Chevy G10 Sportvan Custom
    1984 Jeep CJ-7 Laredo, Restored
    2004 Kawasaki KLR650
    1997 Jeep TJ Sport

    My Mini Gallery

    How to:  Wire up Lights in Your Van! (The Basics) Qr_cod10

    <-<-<- Cruising is not a "Point A to Point B" thing, but an "Everything in between thing!  <-<-<-
    DanTheVanMan
    DanTheVanMan
    Commissioner
    Commissioner


    Number of posts : 7902
    Location : Escanaba, Michigan
    Age : 62
    Registration date : 2008-10-08

    How to:  Wire up Lights in Your Van! (The Basics) Empty Re: How to: Wire up Lights in Your Van! (The Basics)

    Post by DanTheVanMan Thu Aug 18, 2011 10:06 am

    Here's the stuff I'm using on the 66 panel "Mean-Green" as the kids are calling it.

    http://www.etrailer.com/Accessories-and-Parts/Redline/127C500-1.html

    I'm running to the back driver's corner into a junction box that will be mounted under the taillight bucket for easy access.

    http://www.etrailer.com/p-38656.html

    Six 12 Gauge working wires & One 10 Gauge ground wire...
    (Keep in mind that this is "Trailer" wiring so the 10 Gauge ground will be the "WHITE" wire.)

    1. Running lights
    2. Brake lights
    3. L/ Turn
    4. R/ Turn
    5. Reverse light
    6. Interior lights

    The box is a 7-way so there's one extra terminal for when I think of something later on or use it as a ground term as it was intended.

    This will made wiring the rear of the van "Inside and Out" a breeze as well as trouble shooting later in life much easier. And not to mention the ease of hooking up a trailer harness!!!

    Dan



    Last edited by DanTheVanMan on Thu Aug 18, 2011 2:24 pm; edited 1 time in total


    _________________
    DanTheVanMan    
    1965 Chevy G10 Sportvan Custom
    1984 Jeep CJ-7 Laredo, Restored
    2004 Kawasaki KLR650
    1997 Jeep TJ Sport

    My Mini Gallery

    How to:  Wire up Lights in Your Van! (The Basics) Qr_cod10

    <-<-<- Cruising is not a "Point A to Point B" thing, but an "Everything in between thing!  <-<-<-
    slowflapper
    slowflapper


    Number of posts : 957
    Location : GA
    Age : 55
    Registration date : 2010-07-29

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    Post by slowflapper Thu Aug 18, 2011 12:32 pm

    Great info Dan, thanks.

    My harness is intact but old and brittle in some places (especially where it runs 10" from the exhaust manifold), which I plan on replacing in the future. I also want to leave the OEM electrical system intact and run new wire and fusebox for the radio, inside lights etc, this might make that much easier.
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    Post by Guest Mon Nov 28, 2011 12:17 pm

    amazing thread, been studying it for sometime now, gonna use it on my van and another project, a postal jeep. hey, i was thinking, can a toggle switch of some kind be used in place of the headlight switch? and if so, what amperage, it will have to be one for headlights, one for parking and tail lamps. and since the jeep is missing the turn signal arm it will be done with one of the spdt switches. thanks in advance.
    wylee
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    Post by wylee Tue Nov 29, 2011 3:02 am

    Cool great job dan. thank you.........................

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