Upfitter wiring advice

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Biggwrm

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Hey all,

Mainly looking for some advice on what switches people wired on, or after using they would do differently.

i have the 6 light BD kit with KCs from FRL and the backup s2.

original plan was amber kcs on 1, BD sports on 2&3 and S2s on 6.

thought I read somewhere the amp rating in the switches were different. Any recommendations from would be helpful, thanks.
 

Strongarm Garage

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I'm planning to use switches 3, 4, and 5 for mine.

My limited understanding is as follows:

Switches 1 and 2: 15A
Switches 3 and 4: 10A
Switched 5 and 6: 5A

Perhaps someone a bit more seasoned that I can chime in.
 

smurfslayer

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Hey all,

Mainly looking for some advice on what switches people wired on, or after using they would do differently.

i have the 6 light BD kit with KCs from FRL and the backup s2.

original plan was amber kcs on 1, BD sports on 2&3 and S2s on 6.

thought I read somewhere the amp rating in the switches were different. Any recommendations from would be helpful, thanks.

Remember that you can use any of them as a trigger if you use a relay.
I have #1 as 2x XL80s and the S8. #2 squadron pro spot, #3 squadron pro combo, #4 SAE; #6 rear facing squadrons, also triggered by reverse.

I may add some rock lights, maybe on board air. if I do, I will probably combine a couple forward facing squadrons to free up a switch.

With your setup, I think I’d keep the #1 free for a higher amp draw, maybe 2 also. You may want to add some more serious lighting later on, you never know.
 
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Biggwrm

Biggwrm

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Remember that you can use any of them as a trigger if you use a relay.
I have #1 as 2x XL80s and the S8. #2 squadron pro spot, #3 squadron pro combo, #4 SAE; #6 rear facing squadrons, also triggered by reverse.

I may add some rock lights, maybe on board air. if I do, I will probably combine a couple forward facing squadrons to free up a switch.

With your setup, I think I’d keep the #1 free for a higher amp draw, maybe 2 also. You may want to add some more serious lighting later on, you never know.
Thats good point..

New plan maybe 3 & 4 BDs 5 for KCs and 6 for reverse.

thanks guys
 

JK2Raptor

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Once I receive my BD SAE lights, I'll install the front triples on upfitters 3, 4 and 5. I installed my S1 reverse lights on upfitter 6. It works great so far. I also have the reverse harness ran up to my passenger taillight, but haven't tapped into the reverse wire yet. I'm still deciding on whether I want to do it.
 

01Moch1

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Hey all,

Mainly looking for some advice on what switches people wired on, or after using they would do differently.

i have the 6 light BD kit with KCs from FRL and the backup s2.

original plan was amber kcs on 1, BD sports on 2&3 and S2s on 6.

thought I read somewhere the amp rating in the switches were different. Any recommendations from would be helpful, thanks.

When I wired my fog light kit, I soldered a short 12" section of larger 14 gauge wire onto each of the upfitter wires to give me more length to play with but mostly make the wires consistent and usable sizes. The leads for switches 3 and 4 are small and the leads for switches 5 and 6 are tiny to the point where crimping the provided butt connectors didn't create a connection I trusted. I then decided to put a single wire weather pack connector on the light wiring harness and upfitter switch wires I planned to use. 1 & 2 are BD pro Squadrons in spot and driving combo and I put my SAE lights on 6.
The beauty of the weather pack connector is it'll allow me to easily move my spot and driving combo lights over to lower amp switches if I need them in the future for other electronic goodies. Just make sure everything is labeled adequately. There are also other options that could clean up the individual connectors per wire such as a 6 wire weather pack or a Deutsch Connector.
 
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Biggwrm

Biggwrm

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Once I receive my BD SAE lights, I'll install the front triples on upfitters 3, 4 and 5. I installed my S1 reverse lights on upfitter 6. It works great so far. I also have the reverse harness ran up to my passenger taillight, but haven't tapped into the reverse wire yet. I'm still deciding on whether I want to do it.

I tied mine in at the back of the trailer plug. Was a bit worried about pulling my taillight and scratching or damaging somehow..
Works great on reverse.
 
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Biggwrm

Biggwrm

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So i got them all operational last night. Pulled the reverse harness through the frame, ran the driver harness through the hitch channel. Nice and clean.
3&4 are my BDs
5 as KCs
6 as reverse.

unfortunately, the 3way harness that FRL provides , male to two female, had a bent pin on the ground side. Tried to straighten it with a lil screwdriver, but it is delicate and half broke out.
Ill have to reach out and try to get another, tho it is working, probably not making a great connection.

happy so far, have to work on alignment. I followed the directions on the spacers to fit the lights in the pockets, tho they seem to sit low.
Thick washer, spacer, flat washer.

F03FA279-0D93-49B6-8D77-F3DBD5861DE2.jpeg

D5B6361E-803E-43C5-8BF8-E36E11337E1F.jpeg

A876E475-D2A3-4785-B84A-1322FD286B47.jpeg
 

JK2Raptor

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When I wired my fog light kit, I soldered a short 12" section of larger 14 gauge wire onto each of the upfitter wires to give me more length to play with but mostly make the wires consistent and usable sizes. The leads for switches 3 and 4 are small and the leads for switches 5 and 6 are tiny to the point where crimping the provided butt connectors didn't create a connection I trusted. I then decided to put a single wire weather pack connector on the light wiring harness and upfitter switch wires I planned to use. 1 & 2 are BD pro Squadrons in spot and driving combo and I put my SAE lights on 6.
The beauty of the weather pack connector is it'll allow me to easily move my spot and driving combo lights over to lower amp switches if I need them in the future for other electronic goodies. Just make sure everything is labeled adequately. There are also other options that could clean up the individual connectors per wire such as a 6 wire weather pack or a Deutsch Connector.

I agree with you...wires 3-6 are tiny! I bought a six-pin deutsch connector that’s already wired up and heat shrink butt connected it to the hot wires. I had to put some solder on the tiny guage 3-6 wires, but it worked out pretty well.

9001b5df53727d207d155b41ab23bd95.jpg

It definitely makes it easier to wire up everything in the future, instead of trying to connect to the tiny, short OEM wires.


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JK2Raptor

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I tied mine in at the back of the trailer plug. Was a bit worried about pulling my taillight and scratching or damaging somehow..
Works great on reverse.


Yes, I thought about doing what you did, but my taillight popped right out with no issues. Plus, I figured since I was still on the fence about even tapping into my reverse wire anyway, I would just zip tie it up in the taillight cavity.


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