KC Lights

RustyDefender said:

i just drill a hole in the roof and just use a ton of sealant

Click to expand...

swmeader said:

Hi all just purchased a roof rack that came with KC halogen lights x 4. Although they are wired externally to a 4 pin plug, do any of you guys have any tips as to the best way to wire up and to where best for the wire to enter the vehicle.
Thanks in advance and I have attached a pic.

Click to expand...

300bhp/ton said:

There isn't really a best, just lots of opinions....

FYI, lights up there will reflect off the bonnet and wings, so aren't very good for driving about with when on. But they can work well for static lighting or work lights.

As for wiring, it really depends how you want to use them and where you want a switch. Ultimately you need to get power up to them, so you'll either need to run a wire down the windscreen, rear or somewhere, drill a hole or maybe feed though a door or panel/roof seal.

Halogen lights will need quite a bit of current, so make sure you run via a relay and use suitable grade wire and connectors. KC offer a number of lights and lenses, I think they are often quite a spot beam, so you may want all four to give a wide enough illuminated area.

If you plan on fitting other powered items (lights or other) to the roof or rack, you might want to wire with consideration for expanding to other items.

Click to expand...

swmeader said:

Hi all just purchased a roof rack that came with KC halogen lights x 4. Although they are wired externally to a 4 pin plug, do any of you guys have any tips as to the best way to wire up and to where best for the wire to enter the vehicle.
Thanks in advance and I have attached a pic.

Click to expand...

swmeader said:

Thanks, Flying Pete, I’ll look into doing it that way. Won’t ever use them on the road but I live pretty remote and thought they might be a bit of fun.
Thanks
Steve.

Click to expand...

dag019 said:

I completely agree with @FlyingPete pete, you want to fit a raised air intake and run them down that into the engine bay that way rather than drill more holes in the roof. I would also agree with him regarding having the extra lighting is great until someone comes the other way. It is still good but just takes some getting used to and awareness. you cannot have too much light as far as I am concerned.

You can use them on the road as long as they are linked to main beam so turn off with all the others. i use my roof lights on the road. There will be a little glare off the bonnet but not enough to make it unusable as suggested above. but the amount will depend son the style of light. My roof lights are long distance focused beam so I get minimal reflection but if they were a short range flood light i would get far more glare. I have also got black chequre plate on my wing and bonnet which reduces the glare.

As for the wiring I would definitely run them through a relay, rough rule of thumb would be two halogens to each relay so if you have four you will need two relays, but you can calculate the amp draw if you know the wattage of bulbs used. I like to use a three way switch on the dash for my additional lights so I can have the off, one with main beam, on permanently (to use as work lights). To achieve this I take a main beam feed form the warning light behind the dash panel and a permanent live from the dash centre to the three way switch. I then take the three way switch to the relay. Lots of diagrams online for how to wire in relays but make sure that the power feed to the relay is fused.


View attachment 311079

Click to expand...

dag019 said:

I completely agree with @FlyingPete pete, you want to fit a raised air intake and run them down that into the engine bay that way rather than drill more holes in the roof. I would also agree with him regarding having the extra lighting is great until someone comes the other way. It is still good but just takes some getting used to and awareness. you cannot have too much light as far as I am concerned.

You can use them on the road as long as they are linked to main beam so turn off with all the others. i use my roof lights on the road. There will be a little glare off the bonnet but not enough to make it unusable as suggested above. but the amount will depend son the style of light. My roof lights are long distance focused beam so I get minimal reflection but if they were a short range flood light i would get far more glare. I have also got black chequre plate on my wing and bonnet which reduces the glare.

As for the wiring I would definitely run them through a relay, rough rule of thumb would be two halogens to each relay so if you have four you will need two relays, but you can calculate the amp draw if you know the wattage of bulbs used. I like to use a three way switch on the dash for my additional lights so I can have the off, one with main beam, on permanently (to use as work lights). To achieve this I take a main beam feed form the warning light behind the dash panel and a permanent live from the dash centre to the three way switch. I then take the three way switch to the relay. Lots of diagrams online for how to wire in relays but make sure that the power feed to the relay is fused.


View attachment 311079

Click to expand...