My WalMart Light Rack

Since I have a really cool FitchBox (tm) and a whole lotta switches I needed something to control with the new gear. So I went to my local walmart and picked up 3 boxes of Navigator NV-1055C WK driving lights, four lights for the front, two lights for the back. Oh, and if it looks like some of the lights aren't aim right, that's because they aren't. I'm missing some bolts because I had to use them with nuts to mount some of the lights because the including mounting screws











The two outside front lights are controlled by one switch, and the two inside front lights are controlled by another. The rear lights are not hooked up to Reverse, cuz I'll probably use it for more than just backing up.

Installation:

I removed the factory roof cross bars and peeled the rubber strip out. The cross bar is actually a hollow channel, just asking for wires to be run through it. On the cross rail, I notched out the area where the screw went into the mounting bracket (red arrow) and notched out the roof rack rail and end cap (green arrow). I then drilled a hole in the roof and fed the wires through, then put silicone to seal it up (blue arrow). **Make sure you feed the wires through the roof rail and endcap before feeding them into the hole in the roof**



Performance: Eh, they are ok. They need to be aimed, right now there is a really bright spot 5' in front of my jeep. It would be nice if they could have horizontal adjustments too. The backups would probably have been better as fog lights, or something with a wider beam, instead of driving lights.


Lessons Learned: Really the only thing I would have done differently using these lights is to make sure I taped the wires in the front like I did in the back (I did the front first and realized it too late). Maybe I would have tried to find better lights that fit, but I'm lazy so that means I probably would have never had any lights.

One thing that I really want to do is to use power mirror hardware as a light aiming tool. Maybe if I get a safari rack I'll get some better lights and go forward with that idea...until then, someone else will have to do it first!

Disclaimer: I am not responsible for anything you do to your jeep. If you end up with holes in your roof, or catch it on fire, or anything based on the information I have provided, I am not responsible. Also, these do NOT come with light covers. Check your local laws for off road light regulations.

nice. overall cost?

How much light do those actually put out? Aren't those fogs?

Jeepcomj - The cost for the lights were $23 a set, so figure $69 (he he) for the lights, and maybe $10 for 10awg wire and terminals. So to do both light bars is was about $80.

The FitchBox was about $60, and the switches are around $9 each shipped (I know that is rediculus, but I had to have them match the ARB switches)

crazyjim - no, they are driving lights. I bought a set of the fogs to put on my bumper, but they were too deep. I have since found a differnt Pilot (same compnay) set to try.

I would say the light output for two lights is about the same as a stock set of low beams with the stock wiring harness (which we all know kinda sux) I will get some pics up of them on once I aim them.

You need to pull those wires where they went thru the roof and put rubber grommets in there then feed the wire thru the grommets, get all that silicone out of there, the acidic action will eat that bare metal from the hole drilling over time. I'd actually put a dab of paint around the holes edges to seal the metal, put a small bead of RTV around the channel in the rubber grommet, put the grommet in then run the wires thru, you can use silicone there. It will not interact with the rubber and vinyl wire sheathing.
Be prepared for an interesting experience when you light off those top front lights, it may reduce your vision, if they are fogs I would flip the lenses so the light shooots straight out. Fogs have a very specific cutoff on their normally upper lense, you want that cutoff on the bottom now so it does not light up your hood and windshield. Otherwise I like that setup, enough that I may pull my oem bars out of the rafters and make a trip to wallymart, that setup would clean my surco nicely both front and rear which is handy as I take the surco off and on every once in a while.

Yah, I went with trapazoid pattern. The glare was awful, the lights kept gettting smacked by every low hanging item and the bulbs were constantly burning out.
Then I sold the truck.

On the next Cherokee, I mounted them on a light bar over the winch. Much better.

The cool factor suffered, but only slightly

great idea. a very stealthy look.

Rich- Yeah, the proper way to do this would have been to use gromets and not silicone. I already know the acidic properties of silicone, but I got lazy towards the end and did it anyway. Shouldn't be too hard to fix it tho.

As far as the glare, the two that are missing bolts and are aimed too low do produce a glare, but once I aim them it should be ok.

I've decided I want my 3-4mpg back so I'm taking off my safari style roof rack. I have 4 Hella 500s up there now so I think I am going to remove them as well and do this to maintain the low profile up top to keep the drag down.

I´d get rid of the roof bars and mount the lights to your bumpers.

Hrm, that doesn't look to bad at all.. dammit 6 days until payday.

I think I'll call around to some places and see who can properly drill/gromet/install some wire through my roof instead of doing it myself.

Nice idea



routed my wire a little differently though

Those look really slick under the bars.

-Alex

I usually give credit to where I steal the idea from...it may have been your jeep, I just didn't feel like searching to find where I found it.

So THANKS!

oo7, did you just use electrical tape to hold those on? If so, how's that working?

splitz said:

I usually give credit to where I steal the idea from...it may have been your jeep, I just didn't feel like searching to find where I found it.

So THANKS!

Click to expand...

haha no prob

xjh3 said:

oo7, did you just use electrical tape to hold those on? If so, how's that working?

Click to expand...

Nope, 2 bolts per light, i just covered the channel with a really wide piece of electrical tape to seal the deal.

Here's a little better angle

Nice job!!!!!

Well, it's funny, I decided I wanted to take off the roofrack. I didn't want to completely ditch the roof lights with it, so I recalled on one of oo7's threads from a while back and thought that this would be the best way to go. Then this thread came up and now I'm the third person to have the same lights in the same place. I guess I'm kind of a copy catter... Oh well I'm over it.

Here it is before with the rack:


Kinda seems naked to me like this, but I'm getting used to it.


I already notice a difference in driving around without the rack.

Heres mine