Help! Bronco needs lights!

[ObsidianTheBronco]

Hey Bronco Fam! As the title suggests, I am new to electrical wiring and want to know if what I have planned is feasible. I currently have diode dynamics mod bumper fog light kit and 4 SS3 pods on order. As I am beginning this process I am also keeping in mind other future plans of adding 2 light bars as well. My current plan is listed below if anyone could help me plan this and make sure I'm not missing something that would be great!

Aux 1: 28 Amps
(4) SS3 Pro - A-Pillar Mount
(4) SSC2 Pro - Lower Fog Mount

Aux 2: 15 Amps
(6) SS3 Sport - Custom Pod Lightbar
(2) SS3 Max - Lower Fog Mount

Aux 3: 5 Amps
(1) SS5 Crosslink Roof Lightbar

Aux 4: Empty For Now

Aux 5: Empty For Now

Aux 6: ? Amps
Backlight for all pods
(12) Diode Dynamic RGBW Rock Lights

If there is any more questions about the setup that you all need don't hesitate to let me know. Thanks in advance for the help!

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[Boreal]

There are a few things here that I would note, All my own opinions.

First, You don't want to necessarily run the Aux Switches at their limit. There is a chance that the lights/circuit could overamp. Better to have some buffer built in for reliability. Aux 1: 28A on a 30. Aux 2: 15A on a 15. If you are dead set on loading these circuits up, then add in some relays to at least keep the risk minimal. The SS5 Roof kit should come with a relay'd harness.

Second, Zone Control. You will want your A pillar on its own circuit and ideally aimed towards the ditch. Get some lumens on those deer. The A pillar is a great location for ditch flood/fill because the light is closely levelled to the drivers point of view. aiming these forwards during inclement weather tends to give you the "warp speed, jump to light speed" effect and makes it difficult on the eyes. SS5 Sports are a wicked option here. Lots of flood light throw with a minimal hotspot (due to the spot optic).

The SS5 Crosslink roof kit you are aiming down the road for mid-long throw.

The lower SAE legal fogs are something you can run at anytime, they should be separate to all other lights. You will use these the most.

The SSC2's will offer great low level flood/fill, but they aren't "street legal".

The Custom SS3 Bar will most likely be mounted on top of the bumper, more towards the headlamp level... This is an important light to have on its own trigger for those inclement weather/gravel drives. It offers a powerful mid level throw, almost never ending because its shooting parallel to the ground. Don't be afraid to add a few spot lenses here. No matter what, id build a daisy chain'd harness with a relay, it'll be easy to rack up 15A-20A draw.

Id suggest:

Aux 1: SAE Fog Lights - 6A out of 30A - Overpowered but convenient to constantly throw
Aux 2: A Pillar Lights - 6A to 12A out of 15A - second most used light
Aux 3: Crosslink Roof Bar - 1A/10A - Low draw because of relay harness
Aux 4: SS3 Pod - 1A/10A - Relay this harness
Aux 5: Rock Lights/DRL's - 10A
Aux 6: SSC2s - 3A to 8A out of 10A - on the outside as a convenient throw

This is fairly similar to my own personal build and its eventual finished goal. I am working on a 40" S8 roofbar mount at the moment. Put some bullet or blade connectors on the Aux to Harness junctions to make it changeable in the future. If you ever tag on some Reverse lights, consider the Hitchpod... If you constantly throw the Roof and SS3 Pod Bar together, they can always be ran with the relays wired in a circuit. This will free up an additional Aux should you need it too.

Study up on the benefits of Zone Control from the pros - https://www.bajadesigns.com/help/lighting-zones/

And here is some more Aux Info from the Manual.

 

[ObsidianTheBronco]

There are a few things here that I would note, All my own opinions.

First, You don't want to necessarily run the Aux Switches at their limit. There is a chance that the lights/circuit could overamp. Better to have some buffer built in for reliability. Aux 1: 28A on a 30. Aux 2: 15A on a 15. If you are dead set on loading these circuits up, then add in some relays to at least keep the risk minimal. The SS5 Roof kit should come with a relay'd harness.

Second, Zone Control. You will want your A pillar on its own circuit and ideally aimed towards the ditch. Get some lumens on those deer. The A pillar is a great location for ditch flood/fill because the light is closely levelled to the drivers point of view. aiming these forwards during inclement weather tends to give you the "warp speed, jump to light speed" effect and makes it difficult on the eyes. SS5 Sports are a wicked option here. Lots of flood light throw with a minimal hotspot (due to the spot optic).

The SS5 Crosslink roof kit you are aiming down the road for mid-long throw.

The lower SAE legal fogs are something you can run at anytime, they should be separate to all other lights. You will use these the most.

The SSC2's will offer great low level flood/fill, but they aren't "street legal".

The Custom SS3 Bar will most likely be mounted on top of the bumper, more towards the headlamp level... This is an important light to have on its own trigger for those inclement weather/gravel drives. It offers a powerful mid level throw, almost never ending because its shooting parallel to the ground. Don't be afraid to add a few spot lenses here. No matter what, id build a daisy chain'd harness with a relay, it'll be easy to rack up 15A-20A draw.

Id suggest:

Aux 1: SAE Fog Lights - 6A out of 30A - Overpowered but convenient to constantly throw
Aux 2: A Pillar Lights - 6A to 12A out of 15A - second most used light
Aux 3: Crosslink Roof Bar - 1A/10A - Low draw because of relay harness
Aux 4: SS3 Pod - 1A/10A - Relay this harness
Aux 5: Rock Lights/DRL's - 10A
Aux 6: SSC2s - 3A to 8A out of 10A - on the outside as a convenient throw

This is fairly similar to my own personal build and its eventual finished goal. I am working on a 40" S8 roofbar mount at the moment. Put some bullet or blade connectors on the Aux to Harness junctions to make it changeable in the future. If you ever tag on some Reverse lights, consider the Hitchpod... If you constantly throw the Roof and SS3 Pod Bar together, they can always be ran with the relays wired in a circuit. This will free up an additional Aux should you need it too.

Study up on the benefits of Zone Control from the pros - https://www.bajadesigns.com/help/lighting-zones/

And here is some more Aux Info from the Manual.

Thank you for this. I like the direction you are taking your build!

It seems that I was a little over zealous and trying to save as many aux switches as possible. At the end of the day I can always install another switch panel I guess.

Currently I'm thinking of revising the plan according to the zones from Baja Designs. I think it would be something like this:

Zone 1 - Dust/Fog (Aux ? - 18A)

• (6) SS3 Pro - Combo (18A)

Zone 2 - Cornering (Aux ? - 10.3A)

• (2) SS3 Pro - Flood (6A)
• (2) SSC2 Pro - Combo (4.26A)

Zone 3 - Driving (Aux ? - 6.5A)

• (2) SS3 Max - SAE (6.41A)

Zone 4 - Spot (Aux ? - 10.3A)

• (2) SS3 Pro - Combo (6A)
• (2) SSC2 Pro - Spot (4.26A)

Zone ? - ? (Aux ? - 20A)

• (7) SS5 Sport - Combo (19.25A)

Zone 6/7 - Backlighting/Rock Light (Aux 6)

With this setup it seems that I am still over capacity on most switches. Would I be able to build a relay panel as an extra precaution for this? I see you mentioned a "daisy chained harness with a relay" what is that?

Apologies for being a tough cookie with this. It is all very new to me and I would love to understand and gain more knowledge. Thank again for helping!

 

[Lèòn]

I'm basically running my 3 Fogs on Switch 1, my Bumper Pods (SS1's) on switch 3, A-Pillars on 4 and the shop who installed it ran the backlights on 6 (long story)

Does the trick, already got 5 and 2 figured out, just need to save for them while also figuring out what to do with 6

 

[Boreal]

Thank you for this. I like the direction you are taking your build!

It seems that I was a little over zealous and trying to save as many aux switches as possible. At the end of the day I can always install another switch panel I guess.

Currently I'm thinking of revising the plan according to the zones from Baja Designs. I think it would be something like this:

Zone 1 - Dust/Fog (Aux ? - 18A)

• (6) SS3 Pro - Combo (18A)

Zone 2 - Cornering (Aux ? - 10.3A)

• (2) SS3 Pro - Flood (6A)
• (2) SSC2 Pro - Combo (4.26A)

Zone 3 - Driving (Aux ? - 6.5A)

• (2) SS3 Max - SAE (6.41A)

Zone 4 - Spot (Aux ? - 10.3A)

• (2) SS3 Pro - Combo (6A)
• (2) SSC2 Pro - Spot (4.26A)

Zone ? - ? (Aux ? - 20A)

• (7) SS5 Sport - Combo (19.25A)

Zone 6/7 - Backlighting/Rock Light (Aux 6)

With this setup it seems that I am still over capacity on most switches. Would I be able to build a relay panel as an extra precaution for this? I see you mentioned a "daisy chained harness with a relay" what is that?

Apologies for being a tough cookie with this. It is all very new to me and I would love to understand and gain more knowledge. Thank again for helping!

The journey of the build makes it even more fun. I started with a Base on lease till my order showed up. An Auxbeam switch panel was simple enough to pull through the firewall and install on a 1” RAM ball I turned at work. Be sure to mount the SS Relay panel vertically to avoid pooling water/shorting.

A relay panel is a little overkill in my opinion, although some owners are actively doing that and it’s clean as shit. A trip to Princess Auto/Harbour Freight/Amazon should find you some Bosch-Style four or five in relays.

If you end up making your own light setup, chances are you’ll need a custom harness to power it. Using appropriate gauge wire, you can “Daisy chain” the lights together - wiring them in a parallel circuit. Relays directly feed the lights with energy from the battery, not through the switch. It’s highly recommended to use these for big LED Pods, high power lightbars and linked Pod assemblies. Solder, heat shrink, wrap all this up in some loom and you’ve got yourself a safe wiring harness.

I’d say that your Aux/Zone layout is much more driver friendly and customizable to the scenario that you are in!

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