My 3rd mod: Landing lights

[gakman]

Got the front of the Expy all wired up today. Those are "for off-road use only" KC 6x9 100W driving lamps. Can't wait to flash those idiots who drive with high beams on.

I am a bit concerned about the real estate of these gadgets blocking free air flow to the radiator. I guess I will monitor the water temp to see if it runs hotter than before.

 

[Grasshopper]

I wouldn't worry too much about the air flow. These trucks have plenty to spare, IMO.

When I had my Thunderbird, I had way over half of my radiator blocked by a tranny cooler, among other things...It did just fine. I think you'll be just fine.

 

[AvroAero]

Your all over the place, are those predator's I see?

 

[gakman]

No Avro, those are "STL Grille Pro" from SpeedTech Lights, a company in Richardson, TX. Their stuff is fairly well built and MUCH more affordable than the typical Wheelens. All the emergency stuff in my truck is from there.
http://www.speedtechlights.com/

I got the lead from the motor pool chief on base here who maintains all the Navy road vehicles. They have switched to this company (from the typical GSA suppliers) a few months ago and saved a s-load of money. So far I am happy with their products. They are built overseas though you can tell by the bad english on the instruction sheets.

 

[AvroAero]

Wow those are more than half the price I paid for used equivalents. If they're as good this might be bad, I've already got tons of stuff that needs to go on I can't add to it!

 

[SG1NUT]

Speed tech lights are nowhere near the quality as the more expensive lights such as Tomar, Whelen, Sound-Off, etc. I would never buy from them, especially because they knock off the designs of other lights.

 

[gakman]

You are probably right that SpeedTech is inferior in quality to the real professional stuff - it is at a much lower price point. But the stuff I have gotten from them seems well made and I am happy with them.

But then again, I use them for novelty it is not like I turn them on everyday like a cop would. And I certainly don't want to pay the price of a Whelen or Tomar.

 

[SG1NUT]

I understand. The bigger brands cost a lot more than equivalent Speed Tech lights, especially Tomar. But, if you like them, thats what matters.

 

[gakman]

BTW, SG1NUT you should know these products really well right? Didn't you say you install these on vehicles? Do you do it as a living? A sideline? Or a hobby?

 

[SG1NUT]

Yes, I sell emergency lighting as well as install it onto vehicles for customers. I am a dealer for Tomar, Nova, and Whelen.

 

[gakman]

Say, have you installed any strobes? The ones that integrate into the turn signals. Say if the strobe box is under the hood, how would you route the cables to the rear taillights? Would you run it in the headliner and then down the rear pillars? Or under the rocker? Or under the vehicle entirely to avoid tearing apart a bunch of stuff?

I hope you don't mind sharing some of your trade experience with me....

Thanks!

 

[SG1NUT]

Yes, I have installed strobes into several different vehicles. Personally, I prefer to run the cables underneath the step plates inside the vehicle. I've run plenty of wiring in my Expy, and there should be enough space for several cables.

I would not run the cables under the vehicle, because there is a much higher chance of things going wrong. It is also extremely easy to run wiring through the firewall into the vehicle.

I prefer to mount strobe packs and other equipment inside the vehicle as well. I have noticed that generation 2 Expeditions don't have a whole lot of room under the hood, and it would likely be difficult to find enough room to mount a strobe power supply.

Additionally, if you are planning on putting strobes into your headlights, you have to remember that the gen 2 Expeditions have two layers of plastic to get through in order to get the strobe through. You will have to drill a large enough hole to get the strobe through, and then the correct size to mount the strobe into position. The taillights should be much easier though, as they only have one layer to get through.

Be careful with hideaway strobes, as they do get hot, and you don't want them to melt the housing of the light that they are mounted in. You shouldn't have any trouble though, unless you want to place them into the reverse lights.

 

[MobyDick]

Very nice install. I was considering a set of Hella amber fogs mounted in a similar manner to use as DRLs. I have a Colgan bra w/ a grille screen. Do you think the heat from the lamps will fry the screen material?

 

[Tech]

Lights look great gakman! How'd you remove the front grill? I want to do that to my Expy, but I want to mount a couple of KC Daylighters in there.

 

[ELVATO]

I posted how to in another thread, lemme see if I can find it.

Basically, there's I think 7 clips that hold the grille to the bumper. Take those off, and the grille, along with the chrome surrounding, will come off.

 

[ELVATO]

Found the link on how to:

Click Me

Going to reply with same message in the other threads.