Police impala spot lights on an xj.

so i picked up a pair of spot lights off a newer impala and would love to get them on my 99 but want to know what the plus and minuses will be before i start drilling and i need some info on the electrical system

I hate to tell you this, but those A-pillar spot brackets are usually designed for specific vehicles, meaning that later Imp brackets are probably not going to seal effectively on XJ A-pillars.

Oops.

In order for the cabin to be weathertight, you need the proper brackets and gaskets - and fabbing up the gasket to fit the wrong bracket is going to be a task. I won't come right out and say it's impossible (very little actually is...) but it's going to be awully damned difficult.

If you make them work, I'd like to hear about it.

As far as the wiring goes, your best bet would be to tap either a "Hot in ACC" lead (if you want the key to control them,) or an "Always Hot" lead (if you want to turn them on without the key,) and use that to feed a switch. Use relays to feed power directly to the spots - you can take this directly from the battery - if you have the switch fed from a Hot in ACC, the relay will only switch ON when the key is in either ACC or RUN - and this will take a significant load off of the switch (depending on the bulbs used - I'm not sure how high PAR34 bulbs can go - you may have a hard time locating a switch that will handle the load effectively. Also, the shorter you can keep the main power feeder leads, the better off you are.)

Keep in mind that drilling thru the A piller decreases the overall strength of the body, in a roll over that area will give.

Just an FYI

Rev

Well i was also thinking of other spots but the roof is all that came up im sure i can get it to mount and not leak but i have seen them on xj,s come on who has done this and how. iv alwas wanted it them but now that i got a pair for $50 it looks like i bitch. so ya what about the roof?

It's been done on XJs because there are A-pillar spot kits with XJ bracketry and such available - probably still are (and probably two basic kits - 1984-1996 and 1997-2001.)

Rooftop spots are easier - those kits tend to be more "universal" since the roof panel is nearly flat in just about all cases where you're likely to have one.

I'm not sure, but if the basic spotlamp mounting is the same, then see about finding bracketry to mount it wherever you want. You can always check with manufacturers (like Federal Signal or Whelen Engineering) and see if you can secure just the bracketry, and find out what measurements you need to take to ensure fitment.

the majority of the xjs that i have seen with a spot on the a-pillar, were retired DNR vehicles, this may be somewhat to the tune of what you're looking for? http://galls.com/style.html?assort=general_catalog&style=SL028

I had a spotlight that I took of an '87 Dodge Diplomat police car. I went with the Diplomat lights because the shaft was considerably shorter than the ones in the full size Impalas. "Seemed" like a cool idea at the time, but once it was mounted, the handle was too close to the steering wheel - I hit my hands on it frequently and I was a bit afraid of it should I get into an accident or roll over - having my body/head hit that damn thing didn't seem pleasant. I'd imagine the longer shaft Impala lights would be much worse.

Then I laid my XJ over on it's side and having the spotlight mounted in the pilar caused all kinds of damage since it bent and twisted the pillar - which wouldn't have even been touched if it weren't for the light sticking out......




You can see the spotlight in this pic. When the XJ laid over, it then slid backwards and the light caught on the ledge - twisting and bending the pilar and shattering the windshield. The pillar and windshield would have been fine if it weren't for the light.



Trees could also cause this kind of damage as you're 'wheeling along - catch the light and tweak the crap outta the pilar.

As far as mounting them on the roof..... The XJ will look like it has mickey mouse ears...... and the handles will drop way down into the interior - watch your head......

Found this

http://www.magnalight.com/pc-565-98...ight--6-inch-round-with-installation-kit.aspx

For that kind of money get a hand held spotlight, plug it into the cigarette lighter plug, and stick your hand out the window.