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FORDMUSCLE.com FordMuscle Nav
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by Jon Mikelonis

Whether you are an off-roader looking to light up a trail or a midnight rambler in need of deserted highway illumination for your musclecar, auxiliary lighting is an easy and satisfying upgrade when done right. The aftermarket offers hundreds of options in supplementary lighting, most over $100 and complete with relays and wiring kits. However, like any true do-it-yourselfer, doing it your own way is more rewarding and offers you the opportunity to bolster the system in case you want to upgrade in the future. That is exactly what we did in this article. So when considering the multitude of lighting systems offered by popular brands like KC and Hella that would make a nice addition to Project RedNeck, we opted for a pair of Pro Comp 5"x7" 100 Watt Halogen Lamps. The Pro Comps are sold individually for about $30.00 each an come without relays and harnesses.

 


Here are the parts we used. The Pro Comps were from Summit. They are rated at 100 watts and draw under 9 amps each. The relay, wiring, switch, panel, terminals, and other goodies were acquired from a local NAPA store.		  
This isn't a typical starter solenoid. It operates the same but this one is rated at a lower amperage (80 amps) because it is for continuous duty. While the 80 amp rating is not appropriate for a starter, it's more than enough to suit the lamps used in this article. More importantly, by using this relay we could comfortably add two additional Pro Comp 100 watt lamps in the future. See sidebar for a smaller, less expensive option to the rugged Echlin Solenoid.
     

Since it was convenient, we located the relay on the radiator core support, close to the under bumper auxiliary lighting mounting locations.		  
Next, we "terminalized" some 14 gauge wire with a large ring terminal. The 14 gauge wire used here could comfortably handle the load of four 100 watt Pro Comp lamps. For now, we'll just stick to two lamps.
     

The 14 gauge wire was connected to the side of the relay nearest the battery.

 
Next, we routed it along the core support toward the battery using tie wraps.
     

A 25 amp fuse was added in-line between the battery and the solenoid as a safety measure. The fuse selected was based on the combined lamp load of just under 20 amps.		  
We "terminalized" the other end of the 14 gauge wire and connected it to the positive side of the starter solenoid. It could have also been connected directly to the battery.
     

Now that direct battery voltage was connected to the relay, we needed a switch wire to trip the relay when desired. Fresh 16 gauge wire was fed in from the cab through a grommet and up to the relay.		  
The switch wire was "terminalized" and connected to the top terminal on the relay.



(Light Mounting and Final Wiring)
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In This Article:
FordMuscle shows you the proper way to power up auxiliary lighting via Project RedNeck. Follow along step-by-step as we install a continuous-duty relay and a convenient underdash toggle to safely apply full battery voltage to supplementary lighting.


By using a continuous duty relay, full battery voltage is applied to our auxiliary light setup. A smart alternative to tapping-in to your existing wiring harness and a safe alternative to the tempting rookie move of wiring a switch directly between your battery and load.

The same electrical layout (without the lights) used in this article can be used to power an electric fan in your Ford project car or truck.
 


While the lights used in this article are just a "starter kit" pulling under 20 amps, the 80 amp relay we installed offers room for additional lighting if the need arises.

While positioned in the "fog light" setup shown here, for heavy duty offroading these lights are better mounted on top of the bumper. Radical maneuvers like rock crawling could tear these off quickly. We'll move the lights to the upper bumper position when Project RedNeck rides the Rubicon. No chance!

 

Bosch 12 Volt Relay
As an option to the large continuous duty solenoid used in caption 2 on this page, you can use the common and less expensive Bosch 12 Volt relay shown here in its place. They typically come rated between 20 amps and 80 amps to suit your load. In fact, this is the kind of relay you'll normally find in auxliary light kits that come complete with a wiring harness.

The only reason we went with the $19 Echlin solenoid in this article was because of the rugged
casing, steel mounting bracket, larger terminals, and a tendency to be impressed with sturdy-looking devices.

Bosch 12 Volt Relays are available at most automotive chain stores.

 

 

 

 

 


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