RAY'S MONTERO SITE
MY MONTERO MODIFICATIONS
Lighting Upgrades
Hella 500 Driving Lights
Figure 1
Figure 2
THE RATINGS
Function
Installation
Fit n Finish
Overall
After seeing the way other rigs looked with auxilliary lighting, I decided that it was something I definitely wanted and sooner than later.
I did some cursory searching on both the internet and in stores. I saw options as expensive as $1000+/ea. to as inexpensive as $20/pr. Not wanting to skimp too much but not also wanting to spend hundreds, I decided to go with Hella 500's with a Driving Light lense.
These lamps came as a pair with 55w bulbs which I upgraded to 100w bulbs (non-street legal) since I really only use them off road.
LIKES
I just love their nice clean and simple lines. Hey, thats what german engineering is all about after all.
With a depth of only about 3", they are as large as they need to be. No FAT here folks...
DISLIKES
The one MAJOR design flaw they have is that they don't come with a stone guard. Now, I'm no rocket scientist but I know from everyday driving, that you either put stone guards on the front of your lights or get used to replacing them. Headlights are no problem, you'll be replacing those regularly enough, and they are only $9.00, but these fog lamps have internal bulb assemblies which means the front lens (while it may be a replaceable part) is not normally replaced. This just ensures the Hella will get more business from you.
Now why am I waxing on this particular point so much? Because I currently have a 1/4" hole in one of my Hella's (figure 2: upper left corner / at the 11 o'clock). There's glass in the bottom of that lens and you'll notice there's now dirt on the inside with no way to clean it out.
BONUSES
I will note that even though it's been like this for the past 18 months, both lamps still work. Rain, Snow, Sleet, they still work. I'm beginning to think that I might have the Energizer Bunny of driving lamps.
Reverse Lights / Hi-Beamer Nightmares
THE RATINGS
Function
Installation
Fit n Finish
Overall
Ever been out on a trail at night and needed to back up? Those dinky reverse lights don't do much good do they?!?
I already had the "55 watt" bulbs back there but the reflectors and opacity of the lense were just not adequite to throw enough light backwards. So one evening when I was no longer willing to just deal with the situation, I went down to my local Pep Boys to find a light I could use when reversing.
Since I was planning on getting a new rear bumper anyway, I purchased a temporary pair of el cheapo driving lights by Rally to do the job.. Normally $14.99 a pair, lucked out and got them on sale for $9.99.
I put these on my rear bumper. I used the incorporated hitch mounting system since I'm not currently running a hitch. I literally just inserted the bolt from the Light into the lower right hole (not threaded) and used a Nut and Lock Washer to keep it in place.
The hardest part about this upgrade was to run power to them. I wanted them to work independent of my reverse lights. The solution was to run power from my battery through the firewall to a Terminal Block that I could then tap into as needed for accessories. I decided to make it continously on so that I could turn on devices even when the engine wasn't running (reason I also have an Optima Yellow Top).
From the Block,running power to the reverse light was pretty straight forward (no pun intended). I did got the extra route and ran the cable underneath the carpet.
I also enclosed the wiring in a self expanding/shrinking wire wrap. (It's essentially made by weaving plastic/nylon threads into the shape of a hollow cylinder, or "pipe". The weave allows the diameter of this "pipe" to vary as needed from a 1/4" to 3/4".) The unfortunate side effect of this design is that it isn't water proof, but then again neither are traditional wire loom designs. One added benefit is that the braid literally wicks fluid away from the wires inside.
While this modification is purely temporary, it works very effectively especially for those bozo's who try to high beam from behind for no reason but to be annoying.
In my minds eye I can just see the early 80's actor Mr. "T" saying... "I PITY THE FOOL who decides to high beam me from behind."
TEMPORARY SOLUTION
I designed this to be a temporary fix. I am
currently searching for a set of small
rectangular lights (2"x4") that has a metal
housing with an outer coating of Rubber
(additional protection). My plan is to
integrate them into my rear bumper.
Hits since created on 10, June 2000