Mudderoy
03-08-2009, 12:47 PM
I was poking around on the Internet one day and I saw someone with "rock crawling" lights. Now I'm not interested (at least not with my XJ) in crawling on the rocks, but I thought under body lighting could be handy during the bad weather we have in Houston.
I read a bit and found that traditional rock crawling lights have a few drawbacks. One they get hot and water has a tendency to crack or break the bulbs and lenses. The other issue, also breakage, has to do with rocks or debris hitting the incandescent lights.
I happened across a website that sold LED rock crawling lights. I did some reading and found that these LED lights were bright but used 1/10 of the power required by the incandescent "traditional" lights.
The ad listed them as virtually indestructible, and cool to the touch.
I originally was going to purchase the WHITE LEDs. I thought about it for some time and went "pimp" with the RED!
So I purchased ONE to see just how bright it was. Once I received it my girls and I went outside one night. I held the connection to the battery and one of the girls held the LED under the Jeep. We looked to see just how bright it was. I was impressed, so I ordered 3 more. In addition I ordered their "switch" box. It allows you to turn the LEDs on and off or you can flash them at various rates by turning the analog dial. They call it a strobe. :D
I purchased some rubber grommets to put in the hole so the wire coming from the LED would rub against the bear metal. I also purchase some sheet metal screws with a rubber backing to attach the metal LED bracket to the bottom of the Jeep.
http://xjtalk.com/images/special/jeeprocklight5.jpg
I drilled three holes. One for the wires and two for the metal bracket.
http://xjtalk.com/images/special/jeeprocklight1.jpg
I positioned the four LED lights around the passenger section.
http://xjtalk.com/images/special/jeeprocklight2.jpg
I ran all the wires in the channel at the bottom of the doors to the front drivers side.
http://xjtalk.com/images/special/jeeprocklight4.jpg
Finally I connected the wires to the control box.
The lines were pretty short on this box so I mounted it where it would reach the lines from the four LED lights and where I could reach it.
http://xjtalk.com/images/special/jeeprocklight3.jpg
This is a picture in the garage, with the garage lights on.
http://xjtalk.com/images/special/Jeep_rockcrawlinglights.jpg
http://xjtalk.com/images/special/JeepNightShot.jpg
Both of these are over exposures but they are close.
Future:
This was the first, major, step. I still have four more LEDs to add. Two behind the rear tires and two in front of the front tires.
These LEDs DO NOT produce near the light that traditional incandescences produce. If you are a TRUE night rock crawler these are probably not for you, however if you would like to have light to see under your rig in very dark environments, these are great. Also you could leave these on all night and still start your heap in the morning, at least that is the claim.
You could also be very clever and hook these up to your keyless entry so they come on when you unlock the doors with the remote. This is great when you are trying to get in the Jeep. You can easily see where your feet are and where the bottom of the door is. :thumbsup:
These LED rock crawling lights were purchased from http://www.roundeyes.com/ (http://www.roundeyes.com/LED_Lighting-LED_Rock_Light_Kit.html)
Total project cost was about $150, and about one to two hours of my time.
Remote Keyless Entry (RKE)
It really isn't that difficult to add RKE control to your additional lights. You'll need a way to tap into the control line, a standard automotive 12 volt relay, and some wire.
If you slide your dome light forward and look under you'll see this (1998 model)
http://xjtalk.com/images/special/xj_rke.jpg
You need to tap into the yellow line, see arrow
http://xjtalk.com/images/special/RKE_Additional_Lights.jpg
Please NOTE that you have to switch the GROUND and not the 12 volt shown here. (I know I need to update the diagram)
The LED grounds are connected between the 87 and the chassis. The 12 volt goes to 30. I found this out as I was trying to hook my LED rock lights up.
I read a bit and found that traditional rock crawling lights have a few drawbacks. One they get hot and water has a tendency to crack or break the bulbs and lenses. The other issue, also breakage, has to do with rocks or debris hitting the incandescent lights.
I happened across a website that sold LED rock crawling lights. I did some reading and found that these LED lights were bright but used 1/10 of the power required by the incandescent "traditional" lights.
The ad listed them as virtually indestructible, and cool to the touch.
I originally was going to purchase the WHITE LEDs. I thought about it for some time and went "pimp" with the RED!
So I purchased ONE to see just how bright it was. Once I received it my girls and I went outside one night. I held the connection to the battery and one of the girls held the LED under the Jeep. We looked to see just how bright it was. I was impressed, so I ordered 3 more. In addition I ordered their "switch" box. It allows you to turn the LEDs on and off or you can flash them at various rates by turning the analog dial. They call it a strobe. :D
I purchased some rubber grommets to put in the hole so the wire coming from the LED would rub against the bear metal. I also purchase some sheet metal screws with a rubber backing to attach the metal LED bracket to the bottom of the Jeep.
http://xjtalk.com/images/special/jeeprocklight5.jpg
I drilled three holes. One for the wires and two for the metal bracket.
http://xjtalk.com/images/special/jeeprocklight1.jpg
I positioned the four LED lights around the passenger section.
http://xjtalk.com/images/special/jeeprocklight2.jpg
I ran all the wires in the channel at the bottom of the doors to the front drivers side.
http://xjtalk.com/images/special/jeeprocklight4.jpg
Finally I connected the wires to the control box.
The lines were pretty short on this box so I mounted it where it would reach the lines from the four LED lights and where I could reach it.
http://xjtalk.com/images/special/jeeprocklight3.jpg
This is a picture in the garage, with the garage lights on.
http://xjtalk.com/images/special/Jeep_rockcrawlinglights.jpg
http://xjtalk.com/images/special/JeepNightShot.jpg
Both of these are over exposures but they are close.
Future:
This was the first, major, step. I still have four more LEDs to add. Two behind the rear tires and two in front of the front tires.
These LEDs DO NOT produce near the light that traditional incandescences produce. If you are a TRUE night rock crawler these are probably not for you, however if you would like to have light to see under your rig in very dark environments, these are great. Also you could leave these on all night and still start your heap in the morning, at least that is the claim.
You could also be very clever and hook these up to your keyless entry so they come on when you unlock the doors with the remote. This is great when you are trying to get in the Jeep. You can easily see where your feet are and where the bottom of the door is. :thumbsup:
These LED rock crawling lights were purchased from http://www.roundeyes.com/ (http://www.roundeyes.com/LED_Lighting-LED_Rock_Light_Kit.html)
Total project cost was about $150, and about one to two hours of my time.
Remote Keyless Entry (RKE)
It really isn't that difficult to add RKE control to your additional lights. You'll need a way to tap into the control line, a standard automotive 12 volt relay, and some wire.
If you slide your dome light forward and look under you'll see this (1998 model)
http://xjtalk.com/images/special/xj_rke.jpg
You need to tap into the yellow line, see arrow
http://xjtalk.com/images/special/RKE_Additional_Lights.jpg
Please NOTE that you have to switch the GROUND and not the 12 volt shown here. (I know I need to update the diagram)
The LED grounds are connected between the 87 and the chassis. The 12 volt goes to 30. I found this out as I was trying to hook my LED rock lights up.