Scott's Jurassic Park Jeep Build!

[ScottWarrior]

Had the wife help me spool up the cable the other night. I purchased a Daystar Hawse isolator. You can see it in the picture between the clevis hook and the steel Hawse fairlead. It keeps me from having to hook the clevis onto the tie bars and cleans up the look of the winch. Most importantly it keeps the clevis from scratching up parts of the winch or jeep and also stops any vibration and noise. You can also see the spacer plates a little better in these pictures as well.

[ScottWarrior]

I also installed my KC HiLites last week. Before I did I also replaced my tail lights since someone had replaced them with trailer lights that didn't have the side reflectors, which made them illegal. Not to mention the fact that one looked like cap. So hey, an excuse to buy a new part that makes the Jeep look better. I spent time running the wiring through the factory harness and used the same Weatherpack clips so that I can remove the tail lights without cutting wires. To make it even better I ran the fog lamp wire through the tail light and then resealed the factory wiring when I was through.
The blue wire in the pictures is obviously the positive lead for the fog lamps. I chose blue because that is the color of the positive lead for the front fog lamps. Also blue is not used on the rear wiring harness, making it easier to identify.

[COBrian]

Looks great, You wired up your kc's the same way I did, so no holes needed in body.. Good job!

[ScottWarrior]

Thanks Brian. I was trying to make it as clean as possible.
One thing I didn't talk about in the last post is how I have made it possible to run the amber KC lights when I have my parking and head lights on.
Warning: before any of you do what I am describing, or plan on operating your Jeep on public roadways with your rear amber KC lights illuminated, please check your local laws. Most states should have a law similar to the ones I am mentioning due to some older vehicles that were manufactured with amber colored stop lamps. Since I work in law enforcement I encourage anyone doing this to find your state laws, print them from a reliable source, and keep a copy of them in your vehicle in case you are stopped by law enforcement on the matter. There are thousands of state laws regarding vehicle equipment and operation, so it is impossible for all law enforcement to know every state law in detail.
In Oklahoma there are two state statutes that concern this matter. These can be looked up on and printed off of OSCN.net.
1. Title 47 section 12-206 Stop Lamps states
Shall display a red or amber light, or any shade of color between red and amber, visible from a distance of not less than five hundred feet to the rear in normal sunlight.
2. Title 47 section 12-201.D Proper display of lamps
No lamp, other than a headlamp, displayed on any vehicle shall project a glaring light; provided, every headlamp shall comply with section 12-222 of this title.

Sorry about the detailed information, but I don't want anyone getting into trouble if they can avoid it.
So now that is out of the way, let's continue. The way I wired my KC lights up is using a relay and a dimmer switch. I wired up the relay and connected it to the parking light wire coming from the headlight switch. So when I turn on my lights it activates the relay which sends full powers to my dimmer switch. Just a personal recommendation, but you should always use a relay.
Now for the dimmer. I bought the dimmer I am using off of eBay and it was shipped here from China. I purchased it because it came in it's own black housing and was rated at 40 amps, and could handle 480 watts at 12 volts. Which was more than enough. If you are going this route you have to make sure your dimmer can handle 110 watts at 14 volts. Why 14 volts? Because your alternator produces any where from 13.7 to 14.2 volts. So don't make the calculation based on 12 volts because it will be wrong and you don't want to burn up a dimmer and consequently your Jeep. To calculate your amps it is "watts = amps × volts."
I wired the main power wire from the relay, to the dimmer, and then to the lamps. It worked great and I am able to dim them down to where they are illuminated to where they are no brighter than the tail lights. I have included pictures to show how it looks. As you can see the dimmer switch is mounted to the plate that also holds your wiper control module. I had to bend my plate a little for it to work, but I think someone had bent it down prior to me owning the Jeep. Blends in well and is hardly noticeable.

[ScottWarrior]

Also I am still running the stock 55 bulb in the KC lights with the dimmer.

[ratrace427]

I have been wanting to do this for a while but didnt know what to buy. I was thinking about a set resistor in the power line but this is way better. If you have no regrets with your purchase i would like to get the link to the ebay listing. Doing a search isnt as easy as i thought.

[heartyfield]

Ditto to what Ratrace said, if you wouldn't mind providing some additional details on the model dimmer you went with, that'd be great! Nice work!

[COBrian]

Very cool! almost makes me want to mess with wiring again..... ALMOST!

[Cyrix9445]

Fantastic job!

[weapon lxxxi]

Awesome good job! Love the dimmer idea too