jaredking733
New member
*DISCLAIMER* I am in no way affiliated with, paid by, or associated with Rigid Industries LED lights in any way, shape, or form. I'm just a guy with a bit of an unhealthy LED obsession, who did some research and made a purchase online. That's it.
Now that that's out of the way...
After reading until I went cross-eyed, and watching more YouTube than I really care to admit to, I finally made a decision a few days ago to purchase these:
Amazon.com: Rigid Industries 98000 SR-M Diffused Back-Up Light Kit: Automotive
My Amazon Prime order showed up yesterday with package 1 of 2 (2 coming later, but containing more Rigid lights. We'll cover that in a later post), containing my Rigid Back-Up lights. Like a little kid on Christmas, I opened the box as fast as I could.
Upon first impression, 2 things stood out.
First, wow, these things have some "weight" to them. I knew I was dealing with a quality product from the moment I set my hands on them. This was a WAY different feeling than I have had in my youth installing the fog lights on various crappy vehicles that Advance Auto Parts sells on special from time to time. These are made of a solid aluminum I believe, and the lens is equally solid feeling as the housing.
Secondly, Holy Mother of Wiring Harnesses Batman! Now, I knew that I had purchased "Back-Up" lights, but good Lord. The wiring harness is probably 18' long. I knew this would cause a headache while trying to set up as clean a look as possible, but my excited-ness overcame me and I jumped head first into the install.
Now onto the install...
I don't know if every 3rd gen T4R has these, but there were two holes that were being used to mount the epitome of Chinese fog lights. They appeared to be pre drilled, but I cannot confirm that. I ripped the old fogs out with a quickness. I used those holes to mount the Rigids. I had to just barely drill out the diameter of the holes to make clearance for the supplied mounting bolt.
I installed the lights hand tight, and ran the wires just enough to mock everything up to see if there were going to be any obvious problems. The excess length was, but I knew I could find a way to make it look presentable.
After that, it got too cold and dark to continue. So, I packed it in for the night. Keep in mind, removing the grille makes tightening down the bolts that secure the lights MUCH easier. It's almost impossible without it so I highly recommend this step.
Anyways, this morning bright and early, I got up and got back to work.
I hunted a place to make entry with the wiring harness through the firewall. After a little looking, I could only find the hole that was used for the aforementioned fog lights, so I opted to use that.
Rigid recommends that you install the relay inside the cab to protect it from moisture. This presents a problem because your only two options are to find a hole the size of the relay, or take the wires out of the relay, run them through a hole, and reassemble the relay. I opted for #2, so that took a little bit of tedious work, but was finally accomplished. I didn't know how to take the wires out, but with the help of this video, and a little bit of tugging, I finally got them all out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5CstFkGxqU
Getting them back is fairly easy, but takes a little patience to get them where they will accept the prong of the relay without pushing out. Pretty much reverse the steps shown in the video. That's what I did, but it took a little time, couple curse words, and a few minutes of wondering why I had to have these &(*$&*(#$&$* lights in the first place.
After a quick test of the lights, I could now start hiding the wires as best I could, though I'm pretty sure Stevie Wonder could probably see them. (Too soon?)
I couldn't find a better way to hide THAT much wire. I may in the future cut out the excess and heat shrink the excess together for a much cleaner look, but I didn't want to mess with it today. So with the help of a couple of zip ties, Viola!
Did I mention there was extra wiring?
I simply zip-tied the excess out the way and secured it to the center support in front of the radiator. Again, I may cut and heat shrink in the future. It's fine for now (and let's be realistic, probably for good.)
After a little more tucking and hiding, using a stepper bit, I drilled a 3/4" hole in one of the factory cut outs to mount the switch. The instructions call for a 3/4" hole, but I had to go just a smidgen bigger. YMMV. I just wallered the bit around to expand the hole and that worked like a charm.
Oh, and BTW, they stick out just a little bit. Here's a pic to give you an idea.
Drum roll please...
Tadaa! Here's the end result. Good God are these things bright. You can't look at them, even in the daytime. Seriously, these will most likely damage your eyes. Don't play around with them.
Keep in mind, these are not DOT approved, and I'm aware of this. That's why I will use them for OFF ROAD activities. I'm not responsible for what you do with them. I needed better fog lights for OFF ROAD activities. I believe I have found them.
I hope this post if helpful for someone out there. I will update this post tonight with pictures of light output and the like.
:thumb:
Now that that's out of the way...
After reading until I went cross-eyed, and watching more YouTube than I really care to admit to, I finally made a decision a few days ago to purchase these:
Amazon.com: Rigid Industries 98000 SR-M Diffused Back-Up Light Kit: Automotive
My Amazon Prime order showed up yesterday with package 1 of 2 (2 coming later, but containing more Rigid lights. We'll cover that in a later post), containing my Rigid Back-Up lights. Like a little kid on Christmas, I opened the box as fast as I could.
Upon first impression, 2 things stood out.
First, wow, these things have some "weight" to them. I knew I was dealing with a quality product from the moment I set my hands on them. This was a WAY different feeling than I have had in my youth installing the fog lights on various crappy vehicles that Advance Auto Parts sells on special from time to time. These are made of a solid aluminum I believe, and the lens is equally solid feeling as the housing.
Secondly, Holy Mother of Wiring Harnesses Batman! Now, I knew that I had purchased "Back-Up" lights, but good Lord. The wiring harness is probably 18' long. I knew this would cause a headache while trying to set up as clean a look as possible, but my excited-ness overcame me and I jumped head first into the install.
Now onto the install...
I don't know if every 3rd gen T4R has these, but there were two holes that were being used to mount the epitome of Chinese fog lights. They appeared to be pre drilled, but I cannot confirm that. I ripped the old fogs out with a quickness. I used those holes to mount the Rigids. I had to just barely drill out the diameter of the holes to make clearance for the supplied mounting bolt.
I installed the lights hand tight, and ran the wires just enough to mock everything up to see if there were going to be any obvious problems. The excess length was, but I knew I could find a way to make it look presentable.
After that, it got too cold and dark to continue. So, I packed it in for the night. Keep in mind, removing the grille makes tightening down the bolts that secure the lights MUCH easier. It's almost impossible without it so I highly recommend this step.
Anyways, this morning bright and early, I got up and got back to work.
I hunted a place to make entry with the wiring harness through the firewall. After a little looking, I could only find the hole that was used for the aforementioned fog lights, so I opted to use that.
Rigid recommends that you install the relay inside the cab to protect it from moisture. This presents a problem because your only two options are to find a hole the size of the relay, or take the wires out of the relay, run them through a hole, and reassemble the relay. I opted for #2, so that took a little bit of tedious work, but was finally accomplished. I didn't know how to take the wires out, but with the help of this video, and a little bit of tugging, I finally got them all out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5CstFkGxqU
Getting them back is fairly easy, but takes a little patience to get them where they will accept the prong of the relay without pushing out. Pretty much reverse the steps shown in the video. That's what I did, but it took a little time, couple curse words, and a few minutes of wondering why I had to have these &(*$&*(#$&$* lights in the first place.
After a quick test of the lights, I could now start hiding the wires as best I could, though I'm pretty sure Stevie Wonder could probably see them. (Too soon?)
I couldn't find a better way to hide THAT much wire. I may in the future cut out the excess and heat shrink the excess together for a much cleaner look, but I didn't want to mess with it today. So with the help of a couple of zip ties, Viola!
Did I mention there was extra wiring?
I simply zip-tied the excess out the way and secured it to the center support in front of the radiator. Again, I may cut and heat shrink in the future. It's fine for now (and let's be realistic, probably for good.)
After a little more tucking and hiding, using a stepper bit, I drilled a 3/4" hole in one of the factory cut outs to mount the switch. The instructions call for a 3/4" hole, but I had to go just a smidgen bigger. YMMV. I just wallered the bit around to expand the hole and that worked like a charm.
Oh, and BTW, they stick out just a little bit. Here's a pic to give you an idea.
Drum roll please...
Tadaa! Here's the end result. Good God are these things bright. You can't look at them, even in the daytime. Seriously, these will most likely damage your eyes. Don't play around with them.
Keep in mind, these are not DOT approved, and I'm aware of this. That's why I will use them for OFF ROAD activities. I'm not responsible for what you do with them. I needed better fog lights for OFF ROAD activities. I believe I have found them.
I hope this post if helpful for someone out there. I will update this post tonight with pictures of light output and the like.
:thumb:
