Roof basket lights wiring

[Treleaven]

I have been going over all of my options for wiring the roof lights and I have decided to drill a hole and seal it up extremely well. My issue is, I cannot find any DIY or reference material to do it properly. Every bit of information I find is about someone running wire to the back and then back up to the engine bay which I do not wish to do. Alot of people respond to their posts about how they drilled a hole under the roof rack and sealed it up but their are no photos or info on product used, or they thread is so old the pictures have been lost.

My plan consists of using a trailer plug with 5 wires on it.

White = ground
Brown = 20" LED light bar
Yellow = 2 front 18W 4" LED spot pods
green = 2 rear 18W 4" LED spot pods
blue = 3 floods(each side and rear, do not have but setting it up to install at another time)
(I might also run the 2 front pods with the light bar on the same switch)

Then all of the wiring down to a relay box then to some dash/or headliner switches.

My main concern is finding out how people have drilled holes in there roof and sealed them up.

Right now, I have my cell phone booster and radio antennas going up in the window moulding and I plan to leave them there(not through the drilled hole) so I do not have to worry about upgrading in the future.

 

[LJRockstar]

You could use an electrical box "gland." It's basically a heavy duty grommet that you can tighten up like a compression fitting that seals around a wire or cable.

Kinda like this... http://www.ebay.com/itm/PG21-Black-Nylon-Waterproof-Cable-Connector-Gland-13-18-mm-10pcs-/222279066186?hash=item33c0dd624a:g:SmYAAOSwLF1X~c8Z

They work really well with multi conductor cables like this... http://www.ebay.com/itm/Carol-09005-10-AWG-5-Conductors-SOOW-Black-Cable-28FT-/272431154337?hash=item3f6e2984a1:g:qIYAAOSwnbZYFP1i

I know that 10ga one is pretty over kill, but its just an example.

You'll probably find what you're looking for at an Electrical supply place or maybe even the Electrical department at Lowes/Home Depot.

If you search for waterproof bulkhead connecters you may find something even better that you can easily disconnect if you have to remove the basket for some reason.

HTH!

 

[Nimrod]

You can try something like this.

http://www.defender.com/product3.jsp?path=-1%7C328%7C2289986%7C2289996&id=1351788

 

[Treleaven]

I am hoping to have 1 hole that is damn near hidden. I wonder if they make those compression fittings that would fit all of the wires. I will have to check that out.

That defender product is cool but I would like to keep it as hidden as possible.

 

[xjrobert]

When I had my roof rack with lights up there using a trailer plug like you, I ran the wires to the back and drilled a hole on the opposite side from where the rear hatch wires are and sealed up that hole with RTV.

 

[David_Bricker]

Waytek offers a multi conductor grommet. I bought them before, but a number of years ago. Now, a quick search doesn't show them up.

David Bricker / SYR

 

[anony_]

Blue Sea has several sizes and types (top and side entry) of "Cable Clams" for through roof mounting wires and cables.

This is a cable clam side entry: https://www.bluesea.com/products/1007100/Side_Entry_CableClam_with_Stainless_Steel_Dress_Cap

http://www.indexmarine.co.uk/cable-glands.html

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_sacat=0&_nkw=cable+clam+blue+sea&_sop=15

Illustrations:

http://assets.bluesea.com/files/resources/other_drawing/1007_cutout.jpg

http://www.indexmarine.co.uk/images/se-fitting.jpg

This site has grommets and cable glands. http://www.directindustry.com/prod/xingo-yueqing-xinguang-plastic-co-ltd/product-182598-1811814.html

Sites with 90 Degree Snap Elbow Connectors

http://www.elecdirect.com/cord-grips-strain-relief/90-degree-snap-elbow-connectors

https://www.sealconusa.com/products/liquid-tight-strain-relief-fittings/nylon/snap-elbow/npt/

 

[anony_]

Here's another one, appears to have a low profile.

http://www.solarpanelstore.com/sola.../info/1.html?gclid=CPG8gIWZjdMCFYJ8fgodtJUJCQ

 

[Demonoid369]

This is a good thread. Haven't drilled holes in the roof of my jeep yet because I didn't want to look ghetto or obvious. Something that's waterproof and low profile for the wires is nice


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[lawagoneer]

I used a marine clam shell, drilled a hole in the roof to pass the wires, used a grommet in the hole. After passing the wires thru the grommet I put on the clam shell then used clear RTV silicon to make sure I have no leaks.