KC Daylighters!

I just picked up a set of black housing 150w KC Daylighters at the local ATV store to mount on my interim Westin safari bar...



I'm wondering if anyone has installed this type of kit yet and if they had any tips to share - like the relay (could you use it? Did it plug into the Nissan panel?) and so on... I searched, but I didn't see anything.

To top it off, and having a Solar Yellow X, I of course had to pick up a set of these...



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01 SE 6cyl 5spd Solar Yellow

[This message has been edited by BoarderPhreak (edited 06-04-2001).]

The install is real straight-forward. You will need to decide if you want the ability to have the KCs on with the key off. I wanted mine to go out when the key went off so I spliced the (I think) white wire from the switch into the cig lighter wire. When you see the directions, this will make sense.

You'll notice an incredible difference. They light up far and bright.

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Patto
Silver 2001 4WD XE 3 Pak
w/mods

[This message has been edited by SkiCalif (edited 06-04-2001).]

I have the same lights, and I have absolutely no electrical or wiring knowledge yet still managed to pull off the install. However, my lights get the power from the battery, and would like them to automatically shut off when the key went off--although you'd have to be totally insane not to be able to tell that you left them on! They're wicked bright.

BP--the switch that comes with the kit didn't fit into the spare slot next to the winshield wiper switch on the dash so I picked one up at radio shack for like $3.00 and it works really nice. Looks really professsional.

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Ahh yeah, that was my other question... About the light switch. I was looking to pick up a nice, sano one with a lighted surround or something - and try to match the stock dash look a bit. I'll hit Radio Shack on the way home...

Thanks for the tips, guys. I'm glad to hear that they're really bright - that was what I was looking for mostly. Fill lighting, and lots of it.

I'm gonna run it right off the battery, but without the key/off option... There will be times I'll be hangin' wherever, and not want the engine running to run the lights (like setting up camp, a breakdown, helping someone in the dark somewhere, etc.) With a good battery, this shouldn't be too bad, and like y'all said - ya can't miss 'em...

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01 SE 6cyl 5spd Solar Yellow

If ya want the same setup that I just got on the lights, get 'em from J.C. Whitney. About half the price... You just have to "put the kit together yourself."

See here, at J.C. Whitney

You'd need two lights, and a wiring kit. I think the bulbs are included - if not, then it would add up to about what I paid. But I didn't see anything that said "lights not included" or "bulbs must be purchased" so...

The only thing is you won't get the plastic covers with 'em. They're definately KC Lights parts, but without the branding. You can get either soft covers, hard plastic covers, acrylic shields or rock guards separately, so I wouldn't worry about it.
J.C. Whitney even carries them, including "real" KC Daylighter packages.

There's no branding on the lights themselves that's visible anyway, so who cares. I was intrigued by the new "titanium look" kit, but it's not for us. It doesn't have shock mounts and it's a much weaker setup. Strictly for the rice and wannabe rally driver crowd.

Lastly, they come in chrome (dumb), stainless (smart) and painted black steel. I went with the painted cuz, well - it'll match either the Westin or ARB and chrome looks ass on an X.

Enjoy! I'll post pix when it's installed.

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01 SE 6cyl 5spd Solar Yellow

Get a switch at your local nissan dealership parts counter to match the other switches in your truck.
Toss out the one that comes with the lights - its worthless.
Pick a nice spot on the dash or center console and cut a little hole for the switch, string the wires and away you go!
Enjoy your new lights!

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Gary - '00 green Xtreme

"I'm younger and faster."
<>
"I'm older and have more insurance."

I just put Hella 550 lights on my Westin Safari bar ... the installation was easy ... they even gave me a switch which fits perfectly on the l/h side of the dash in the blank spot ... lights up green when the lights are on ... and the lights light up the world

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Pepper Kay

I hit the local Radio Shacks and was reminded how useless they really are. They're good for cable ties and electrical tape... And, what's with the salespeople that stalk you like a serial killer throughout the store?

I have some killer rockers from a company I was trying to become a dealer for - but alas, there was no way I could touch their volume requirements and didn't bother going down the chain. I have some samples and they're just... Nice! Gotta find 'em though. Heh.

The rocker that came in the kit I don't really care for... This big green that thing comes on when the lights do. Umm, shouldn't that be the other way around?

I may set aside room for three switches, like Warmonger did or something different - since I have a manual, I have a slightly different console. Eventually I'll probably add either roof lights and/or a light for the back.

I thought about that, Gary! I went to xterraparts.com but they didn't have any listed...

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01 SE 6cyl 5spd Solar Yellow

[This message has been edited by BoarderPhreak (edited 06-04-2001).]

I got them mounted, but not wired yet this evening. Took very little time and one wrench - but like I said, it's not wired yet which is the harder part.

I mounted them to the Westin Safari Bar that I ordered from grilleguards.net (great price and service and thanks to Russell for posting about them!)

Like I said in the thread about the Westin bar I will take and try to post pictures of the completed setup over the weekend...

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01 SE 6cyl 5spd Solar Yellow

I'm not sure if you've seen the install I did:

It might work for you with the manual trany. The switches came from Radio Shack. They are easy to install because they fit in round holes which are easy to cut with a drill.
Check out the details here .

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Snoopy , our '00 Cloud White SE, 4x4, 5SP

Okay, they're all wired!

I ran the wiring alongside frame parts, channels, grooves in the engine compartment, through the grommet, etc... Covered it all in the plastic conduit, electrical taped the ends and nylon-tied the whole thing in place. Nice, factory - clean. Woohoo!

What a bitch, though - maybe I was being too anal in routing the wiring and all, but it took a few hours. The hardest part really was getting a coat hanger w/wire through the firewall grommet. The passenger side was nuts, so I moved to the driver side. After a few attempts I got it through.

A lot of effort was spent securing the conduit, routing it cleanly and taping all the ends, etc. Totally worth it as it'll all blend right in and look sharp.

I didn't drill any holes or modify the truck in *any* way, using carefully selected locations for the relay, grounding wire, etc.

I tapped a constantly on power source under the fuse block cover and ran the wiring to the spare dash location, next to the wiper. For now, I fastened temporarily the switch that came with the kit until I find these killer rockers I got... Somewhere.

So, how do they work? Holy smokes... They are BRIGHT!

Pictures coming soon...

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01 SE 6cyl 5spd Solar Yellow

[This message has been edited by BoarderPhreak (edited 06-09-2001).]

Here's a shot of the lights and safari bar from the front... To see the rest, look for the thread entitled, "Westin Safari Bar w/Lights Pictures."



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01 SE 6cyl 5spd Solar Yellow

[This message has been edited by BoarderPhreak (edited 06-11-2001).]

I wired these lights on my Waag Sportster this weekend and it took me a couple of hours to do as well. Once I got it wired and working, I thought "I'm done!". I then spent another 1/2 hour putting the conduit on. I found that the hollow portion of the grill (where Nissan emblem is all the way down) is a nice spot to stick the wires from the lights in. They ARE bright!! I love mine!! I just can't use them enough!!

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"Why do today what you can put off untill tomorrow?"

Sweet! Congrats.

I drove around my buddy's block, illuminating people's living rooms... From down the block. Heh.

The one other thing I did was put the 3A fuse in the 25A socket. Hmm, why'd the fuse blow? D'ohhh!

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01 SE 6cyl 5spd Solar Yellow

The thing that got me at first was I didn't ground the relay, which caused the lights to not come on! I relized this after about 10 minutes. The other was I put the wires on the switch wrong, and kept blowing the 3 fuse on the white wire. I did this 3 times before I switched the wires around. I guess I thought the problem would cure itself.
Here is a pic of what a magnificent site it is with all of the lights on.
[img]http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1663226&a=12744024&p=50220941[/img]

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"Why do today what you can put off untill tomorrow?"

[This message has been edited by BigTom (edited 06-11-2001).]

That's nice, BigTom! I like that the lights are a little higher than with the Westin as they'll clear humps in the road/trail more easily. Nice and bright!

I was planning on adding another two lights up top when I get a KargoMaster down the road, or fabricate some other means of mounting them (modified crossbar, maybe). So, I'm not too worried about their low location too much. Later on I'll replace the Westin anyway, so - no biggie.

One thing I found out when testing the lights, which surprised me a little... Is that the fog lights turn OFF with the high beams! That's totally ass, but I can see why - you wouldn't drive in the fog with high beams on. But still, I'd rather it be MY choice, and not done for me.

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01 SE 6cyl 5spd Solar Yellow

That does suck that the fogs and highs can't be on at the same time. Like you, I wired the kc's so that they can be on whenever. I put my switch under the parking brake, but after reading this topic, I may have to pic up a new one. I never really thought about putting it in the empty slot! I may have to find a different ground so that the switch can make it up there, but that will give me something to do this weekend. I can't go a day without turning them on and just looking at them. I'm sure I'll get over it.

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"Why do today what you can put off untill tomorrow?"

I used the screw that holds the fuse block in place, in the upper left corner (behind the switch panel). It's a phillips screw with a 10mm pattern. I had to use a 10mm 1/4" ratchet with an elbow, since it seems my dad glommed my extra long phillips screwdriver. Ppppfffftttt. It's in there *tight* so I'd probably go with a socket - so ya don't strip the screw.

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01 SE 6cyl 5spd Solar Yellow

I was looking at the link to jc whitney about the lights and I had a question. if each one is for only one light then why is there a replacement light option. I ordered 2 along with the wiring kit like it was suggested and am now wondering If I am actually receiving 4 lights. Possibly with no bulbs.

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'01 super black XE 4x4
name: VADER

ONe thing u must know about KC lights is u have to ground the lights together or they wont work right. Mine werent getting enough power grounded sepretly. Just some advice

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Scott "Chia" Holland
SWXC Member #42
"Yes its true more vinyl decals more horsepower"

thanks for the ground info I called jcwhitney and the kits do come with bulbs so it is no problem I can't wait to give the install a shot.

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'01 super black XE 4x4
name: VADER

Good luck! You will love them. prepare to be blinded.

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"Why do today what you can put off untill tomorrow?"

Hey Phreak, I scanned this thread pretty quickly so forgive me if you mentioned it but, you *DID* use a relay didn't you? I've got four KC Daylighters on top of the roof and that circuit gets pretty hot. you definately want to isolate it from the other headlight circuit and keep it on a circuit all its own...

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kjw & the
PNUTMNM

Blaming Guns for Columbine is like blaming spoons for Rosy O'Donnel

Pnut, as per Email - yeah, I used the included relay that was part of the KC Daylighter kit.

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01 SE 6cyl 5spd Solar Yellow

I'm looking into the "generic" jc whitney 150W sealed beam and was wondering - (1) does the wiring kit come with absolutely everything you need to install the lights and (2) will the stock alternator put out enough power to run 150W lights? I know little about adding lights to a vehicle, so any info would be helpful.

Also, jc whitney offers 130 and 100W off road lights on the same pages as the 150W sealed beams. They are cheaper, but are they worth the trouble?

Thanks in advance.



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-jason
SWXC #25 - THC

Yes, the wiring kit was very complete and included everything you need.

The stock alternator does give you plenty of power for the lights. On battery, they might run for 15-20 minutes before killing your battery. Just to be on the safe side, I've upgraded to the red top Optima gel battery.

As for the wattage, that's up to you what you want to run. I'm going to pop another two lights up top. Pnut has four of these, so it shouldn't be any problem.

The light you put out will be worth it. You could light up the dark side of the moon with these things.

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01 SE 6cyl 5spd Solar Yellow

hey guys the instruccions on the wiring kit are for them to turn on when the headlights are on and I don't want to do that. The question is if I just want them powered by the battery do I have to use the relay or can I just run straight power acc. ground to the switch.

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'01 super black XE 4x4
name: VADERX

You still need the relay, or you'd cook your switch. The lights themselves stay on their own (heavier fused) circuit. The switch is independant and tells the relay to "enable" the light circuit when you throw it.

I have four lights, two on one switch and two on another, both using their own relay. Works independant of the headlights and they work GREAT.

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kjw & the
PNUTMNM

Blaming Guns for Columbine is like blaming spoons for Rosy O'Donnel

What I did was run the switch wiring to the extra hole in the dash, next to the rear wiper rocker. It was convenient because it's right above the fuse block...

Behind there, down by the fuse block is a line that's hot all the time. I tapped into that one (I was too lazy to look it up and not near my manual). I can get you the coloration of the wire if you'd like. I'll look it up tonight also and see what exactly I tapped into...

After spending a few hours in the hot sun and getting frustrated trying to get the wire through the firewall grommet, I was like... Whatever! Just make it work already!

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01 SE 6cyl 5spd Solar Yellow
"Sleep... A completely inadequate substitute for caffeine."

Well I finally got it done I ran power to the relay and the switch direct from the battery after the fuse. The wiring kit that jc sent me was pretty wimpy and only had a 15 fuse with thin wire. I used a thicker gauge or wiring throughout and bought a new switch so all I used from the wiring kit was the relay. Anyway they work great and are very very bright and they work independently of the headlights. Hopefully when I install my roof mounted lights it wont be such a problem.

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'01 super black XE 4x4
name: VADERX

Cool man - congrats!

It seems J.C. Whitney offers a slightly different kit than what comes in the box with the KC Daylighters... I got a 25A and 3A fuse, relay, wires (of good guage) and enough conduit to cover it all - plus two sheet metal screws and a green lighted rocker switch and it's bezel.

I'm still looking for the right rocker to replace that green one. I have some killer ones that I got as samples, but I gotta find 'em first... Radio Shack is useless.

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01 SE 6cyl 5spd Solar Yellow
"Sleep... A completely inadequate substitute for caffeine."

BP if your X is a 2000 Electoken has a solution to be able to turn on your fog/driving lights independently of the headlights regardless if you have the high or low beams on.

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http://www.gpxo.org

Got Spark?

It's a 2001 SE, and I got the HOWTO already (thanks to a kind fellow XOCer) but I've gotta get in there and do it...

I'm not terribly worried about the fog lights being on with the highbeams, since the original concept is sound - that is, you wouldn't be using highbeams in the fog, anyway. And, quite honestly, the stock fogs are pretty lame as far as light output goes and they only light up the area immediately in front of the truck.

But still, yeah - I would certainly like to control this myself, so if I did want to squeeze out every last photon available, I could...

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01 SE 6cyl 5spd Solar Yellow
"Sleep... A completely inadequate substitute for caffeine."

Well guys now that I have the lights installed I am unsure as to what light covers to get. Should I go for the hard plastic, vynil, black grid, or the clear hard covers. I really don't know. I have never had them before so I don't know if it is a pain in the but to get out and take the covers off the lights every time you want to use them. I want to get the black grid ones but I am afraid the heat of the lights would melt them since I have the 150 watt lights.

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'01 super black XE 4x4
name: VADERX

Hey border something for you to know, you will need to upgrade the wires going from the battery to the relay. I followed all the instructions that KC gave me, but the wires still melted. I even had the fuse holder melt?!?!?! I suggest a 10 gauge wire to the relays instead of the wimpy 16 gauge they send with it other then that all the other wires are fine on my set up.

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Scott "Chia" Holland
SWXC Member #42
"Yes its true more vinyl decals more horsepower"

[This message has been edited by Chia (edited 06-24-2001).]

Chia, yeah - you know, I was looking at the wiring, thinking that they might be a little on the thin side considering how much power the lights have... But, when you think about it, a 300w light bulb goes through pretty much the same gauge wiring in your house...

I was wondering though, if a thicker gauge wire might serve to assure a brighter, whiter light. Especially once you get four of these things going...

As for covers, they come with the classic yellow KC covers, but I picked up the soft covers with the sunglasses as well, thinking it'd be a more secure cover (since it is a bitch to get on until they stretch a bit). Also got 'em as a spare, as I just know some @sshole is probably gonna snag one or the other set...

I'm thinking about getting the clear acrylic covers though, since you can leave those on and not have to jump out to take 'em off...

For around town though, the yellow smileys are kinda trick, since I have a Solar Yellow X...

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01 SE 6cyl 5spd Solar Yellow
"Sleep... A completely inadequate substitute for caffeine."

what do yall think of these.



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'01 super black XE 4x4
name: VADERX

Those guards are cool, but there are a few problems I see with 'em. First, the grid will protect the lens if a rock hits IT, and not the lens. I see much more open than closed, so the odds are...

Secondly, I don't care for the logo over the lens. It's one thing if it's removable, but this guard is meant to stay on... Granted, the lights are probably bright enough that you wouldn't notice, but that's still lame.

I'd go for the clear acrylic shield, myself. Or look for headlight guards that are made of wire mesh that you safety wire over the lens (I think they make these for Jeeps or dune buggies)

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01 SE 6cyl 5spd Solar Yellow
"Sleep... A completely inadequate substitute for caffeine."

um the logo is there but it is cut out so where it looks white it is actually open space I got them today and am waiting for night to fall to see if there are any problems I will let yall know.

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'01 super black XE 4x4
name: VADERX

Put my lights on last night. The hardest part was finding the UPS truck that was carrying them. We must have the loose part of the ship here. Someone forgot to mention that the holes in the ARB bumper would need to be larger. A couple hours with the dremel fixed that. Running the wires was easy - I ran them along the fender well. The advice on putting the lights on before putting in a winch is sound. I had a hell of a time screwing in the light that is over the part of the winch where the wiring is. Now all I need is a good looking switch.

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'00 SE 4x4

I just installed 100W sealed beam, un-marked KC daylighters. I used 12 gauge wire, ran it straight off the battery using a 25A fuse. Installed the red switch into the blank plastic piece next to the rear wiper switch. DAMN they are bright. Total cost (2 lights, wiring, switches, fuses and covers) 40 bucks.

Just remember

Amps = Watts / Volts.

So all of you that have 150W daylighters.
you are using 25Amps per set. And your altenator puts out about 80 amps when it is at full blast around 1500 RMPs or greater.

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Goliath the X
*************************
Cloud White, XE, 3-Pack
31 X 10.5 M/T * AR-767 Rims * Rock Sliderz *
MAXC Member

son of a @!#$!@$ my lights stopped working today the switch still lights up but when I flip it the lights do nothing I just hear a clicking sound could this be my relay going bad or what any ideas guys.

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Were in the spirit world a$$hole they can't see us.
'01 super black XE 4x4
name: VADERX

Not to burst your balloon or anything, but I'm real curious how your KC lights will be a year from now. I've gone through my share, always had problems with the seals and reflectors on them. If anyone is within a winter belt, ( which I think was the real cause ) I'd suggest checking the rubber seal to the lense, and watch for condensation. They were great lights, but not on a long term. I went through 10 lights over -10 years.. ( 5 at a time ) on my 4runner.

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member of http://www.soxc.org
http://www.geocities.com/x_canuk

I found the problem turns out I forgot to seal the friggin fuse and it got some grime on it so not enough juice was gettin through. Luckily I live in the desert so my biggest problem will be having the seals drying out. Plus they were cheap and simple to replace.

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Were in the spirit world a$$hole they can't see us.
'01 super black XE 4x4
name: VADERX