cab lights
Post Fiend
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 6,214
Likes: 13
From: New Jersey
It's very easy.
http://frederic.midimonkey.com/f350/console-13.JPG
Remove the headliner, and take the lights out of the package, and use the cardboard backing with the template on it, or the gaskets for the lights if there is no included template.
Mark the roof on the outside where you want to drill the holes - usually three - a large one for the wiring, and two small ones for the self-tapping screws. Drill the holes, push the wire to each lamp through the big holes and screw the lights down on the gaskets for a nice seal. If they are generic lights, they might not be overly contoured, so you can't put them too far forward, usually back off the windshield about 5-6 inches.
Connect all the wires together (I'd recommend soldering them, and slipping heat shrink tubing over the solder joints for a permanent installation, as moisture and dampness can corrode butt crimps and spade connectors over time). Then run a wire to the solder joint and connect that to a switch, then connect the other side of the switch to either battery if you want to be able to turn them on and off without the truck running, or like I did and run them to the ignition so when you shut the truck off, they go off so you don't forget.
You can also tap the marker/parking lights wiring so they go on with your lights, and skip the switch completely.
If you want to go fancy, you can make a fairly simple electronic circuit that will act as a signal/brake controller, as I built for a friend's crewcab. The front five lights are amber, and the outmost lights of the five light normally, but when he signals, they flash while the inside three stay lit. He also installed red rear cab markers, and we did the same using the same circuit, except the center three lights also get brighter when he hits the brake, since his truck doesn't have a 3rd brake light.
But the easy way is to just wire them together to a switch and provide that switch power.
http://frederic.midimonkey.com/f350/console-13.JPG
http://frederic.midimonkey.com/f350/console-13.JPG
Remove the headliner, and take the lights out of the package, and use the cardboard backing with the template on it, or the gaskets for the lights if there is no included template.
Mark the roof on the outside where you want to drill the holes - usually three - a large one for the wiring, and two small ones for the self-tapping screws. Drill the holes, push the wire to each lamp through the big holes and screw the lights down on the gaskets for a nice seal. If they are generic lights, they might not be overly contoured, so you can't put them too far forward, usually back off the windshield about 5-6 inches.
Connect all the wires together (I'd recommend soldering them, and slipping heat shrink tubing over the solder joints for a permanent installation, as moisture and dampness can corrode butt crimps and spade connectors over time). Then run a wire to the solder joint and connect that to a switch, then connect the other side of the switch to either battery if you want to be able to turn them on and off without the truck running, or like I did and run them to the ignition so when you shut the truck off, they go off so you don't forget.
You can also tap the marker/parking lights wiring so they go on with your lights, and skip the switch completely.
If you want to go fancy, you can make a fairly simple electronic circuit that will act as a signal/brake controller, as I built for a friend's crewcab. The front five lights are amber, and the outmost lights of the five light normally, but when he signals, they flash while the inside three stay lit. He also installed red rear cab markers, and we did the same using the same circuit, except the center three lights also get brighter when he hits the brake, since his truck doesn't have a 3rd brake light.
But the easy way is to just wire them together to a switch and provide that switch power.
http://frederic.midimonkey.com/f350/console-13.JPG
