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LIGHTING

S

shaneallen

GUEST
:cool:

OK, has anyone installed the headlight and fog/driving light controllers from R&D Truck and Auto Accessories @ http://www.truckautoaccessories.com.

If so, was it REALLY an easy 3/4 wire install w/o having to have a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering that was on the Apollo 11 moon mission?

Also, does someone have any insight on the daytime running lights and how they can be configured to be on at night as well - ie. if the headlights are on (low or high) how can I have the daytime running lights on as well - 3 sets of lights - fog/driving, daytime, regular (low & high). The controllers from truckautoaccessories will allow me to accomplish the fog/driving and regular (low/high) at the same time, now I want as much daylight as possible by having the daylights on. Yea, yea, yea - might be somewhat illegal somewhere, but not where I'm going. Plus, with the new grille and adding 4 more lights, plus the 14 existing lights on the roof rack and the 4 under the grill strobes in green and white, this Avalanche will light up the night just like it was day.

Any input will be appreicated.

shane_allen@yahoo.com
 
shaneallen said:
The controllers from truckautoaccessories will allow me to accomplish the fog/driving and regular (low/high) at the same time...
Click to expand...
Hmm... might want to double-check; I believe the foglights will still turn OFF when you turn on the high beams.

My first upgrade will most likely be this one from Kennedy Diesel:

http://www.kennedydiesel.com/hbbooster.html

I asked him about integrating the factory fogs and driving lights and received this reply:

Tim,
Have you actually SEEN what the factory fog lamps put out? 2 oil lamps nearly equal the output. My kit is designed to work with the headlight system only. Once you see what it can do, you'll forget all about the fog lights. Installation requires NO cutting whatsoever.


I too am interested in converting as much of the OEM lighting as possible for use off-road. Keep in touch.

Tim
 
How about changing the regular bulbs to HID then you should have enough light to sun tan.
 
I did the headlight controller from R&D (puts both the high and low on during the high beam cycle) late one cold night last weekend (hey it's the only time I can get anything done, after my kid goes to sleep). Had the baby monito perched on the hood, of course. The job is really simple, and the R&D instructions are good, complete with some pictures, 3 or 4 wires need to be tapped into, the wiring harness you will be dealing with is a little tight, but other than that no probelms.
 
I did both of the acc. from R&D, and both installs were very easy.

However, after 2 weeks of use, the auto fog light acc. stopped working. It works when the headlights automatically come on, but only works about half of the time when I manually turn them on.

My real beef is that after three e-mails to the company over a period of three weeks, I have not received a single reply. This makes their customer service a little questionable in my eyes.
 
Could someone explain to me why the xenon HID kits cost so much? I can't believe that 2 bulbs and 2 ballasts should cost $500-$700. :eek:

What are the specs on those things? Can I find suitable replacements somewhere else and put together my own kit?
 
Hey Ratthedd,

You can actually get the newest stage2 kits for under under $500.00 including shipping. Check out www.autotoys.com I just got them to exchange my 3 month old kit for one of the new stage 2 6000K kits.

As for the high cost factor, The ballasts are responsible for safely turning 12 volt D.C. power into 120,000 volts A.C. to power the HID's. The HID's are only putting out 35 watts compared to your stock halogens which are 55 watts. The halogen bulbs have a filament which burns constantly and requires more power (amps) to get them to be bright enough to light up the road.

The HID bulbs are truly a gas filled bulb and when the initial firing occurs, the gas actually ignites and creates an extremely bright and energy efficient light source needing only 35 watts. There are no filaments. The average life expectancy of a halogen bulb is about 500 to 1000 hours. The average lfe expectancy of a HID bulb is around 2,500 to 3,500 hours or about the life of the vehicle.

If you have ever been on a film set and have seen those big lights which look blue/white when lit up then you have seen the effect of an HID bulb. The same thing on a helicopter with a searchlite. Those are also Xenon HID's.

Neverthless, an automotive HID bulb after it has been properly enveloped and focused for the particular type of housing will cost $100.00. Compare that to a halogen bulb at $20.00. The replacement bulb for the helicopter searchlite or Motion Picture HMI light is no less then $2,500.00

HID's are very elaborate and precise lighting systems that is why they are so expensive...........
 
Shawn A said:
I did both of the acc. from R&D, and both installs were very easy.

However, after 2 weeks of use, the auto fog light acc. stopped working. ?It works when the headlights automatically come on, but only works about half of the time when I manually turn them on.

My real beef is that after three e-mails to the company over a period of three weeks, I have not received a single reply. ?This makes their customer service a little questionable in my eyes.
Click to expand...

Sorry to hear about your bad experience. ?I've had my kits for around 1 1/2 years, with no problems. ?I did have a problem with the Headlight Overrride switch, which was actually my fault. ?I accidentally unplugged the connectors that plug into the switch. ?I emailed R&D to ask how they were supppose to connect, and got a reply that same day.

Again, sorry to hear about your problems. ?:cautious:

Thanks for plugging my site grandolphxx. :)
 
Just a follow-up... I got home tonight, and found a brand new R&D fog light controller in the mail. No e-mail replies, which would have been nice, but oh well.

I'll be installing that along with the steering wheel audio controls from JP.

Any words of advice on the audio controls?
 
to fosser, newbie, putting in aux. driving lights.

you should have any extra lights, wired seperate from high beams!!

always try to leave the wiring stock, and get power for lights from the battery, or in that red connector box, near the alternator.

Use a fuse or circuit breaker, as close to the power source as you can.

many light kits have a relay, I used a CONTINOUS DUTY solenoid, on my av to feed the power to the lights. the solenoid has a big, power in, a big power out, a smalll ground lug, and a small power in, to turn it on.

a toggle switch can turn on the solenoid, and only uses a couple amps, and the soleniod passes the big power draw to the driving lights.

another problem you might have, is the cops might not like an extra set of driving lights on at the same time as the high beams, so with a switch you can turn them on when you want!

 
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