HERETIC Pod Lights Arrived! Now What?

BuckYeah

I got these puppies through Bronco Nation (thank you for the sweet discount!) and I'm anxious to install them in my Modular Bumper ASAP.

Emphasis on "anxious." Has anyone else installed these? What was the procedure like? I watched the official Heretic video below twice and I'm still a little nervous about cutting and splicing wires and all that.

Connecting the hardware to my Bronco is not what bothers me. Running wires and knowing how and where to cut them is! The guy in the video says the harness is a universal harness that can be chopped here and there, but I've yet to gain the testicular fortitude to proceed. Any helpful tips?



Chase Gentry installs Heretic fog lamps

Heretic Fog Lamp Kit Installation - Official

Without knowing much about the type of wiring harness your lights came with…I just installed my Diode Dynamics modular bumper light set…and I purchased a few products from John Trischler at SPV Perfomance Parts…I would recommend them. Lots of great parts to make the job easier and lots of thorough install videos. John and the team is SUPER helpful and their customer service is fantastic! Good luck! It’s a fun project. https://specialtyperformanceparts.c...3y6to1Osz-utmGu0aVjOA63OfhoRE5t-ggZ0xq.UhMEPt

NavPatriot

Without knowing much about the type of wiring harness your lights came with…I just installed my Diode Dynamics modular bumper light set…and I purchased a few products from John Trischler at SPV Perfomance Parts…I would recommend them. Lots of great parts to make the job easier and lots of thorough install videos. John and the team is SUPER helpful and their customer service is fantastic! Good luck! It’s a fun project. https://specialtyperformanceparts.c...3y6to1Osz-utmGu0aVjOA63OfhoRE5t-ggZ0xq.UhMEPt

Thanks @NavPatriot. I'm feeling a little more at ease hearing from members who've installed their aftermarket lighting. The video Heretic uploaded to YouTube bears rewatching, and they were kind enough to tailor the wiring harness for the Modular Bumper... to a degree. A portion of the universal wiring harness needs to be modified by "simply" cutting off what is not needed. I'm hoping that once I lay it all out, I'll know what to remove and what to retain.

I will update this thread once I get 'er done. ;)

Here's their video: Heretic Fog Lamp Kit Installation - Official

BuckYeah

I got these puppies through Bronco Nation (thank you for the sweet discount!) and I'm anxious to install them in my Modular Bumper ASAP.

Emphasis on "anxious." Has anyone else installed these? What was the procedure like? I watched the official Heretic video below twice and I'm still a little nervous about cutting and splicing wires and all that.

Connecting the hardware to my Bronco is not what bothers me. Running wires and knowing how and where to cut them is! The guy in the video says the harness is a universal harness that can be chopped here and there, but I've yet to gain the testicular fortitude to proceed. Any helpful tips?



Chase Gentry installs Heretic fog lamps

Heretic Fog Lamp Kit Installation - Official

Chris,
It can be a little intimidating if you haven’t done it before…. Having the right tools does make simple electrical work easier. For DIY projects it is pretty basic, as the wiring Ford provides on-vehicle and the mod bumper makes everything pretty straightforward…

I have not yet installed my oracle fogs and will likely do so this when there is a little less rain to deal with. I have most everything I need for the install but a roof over the rig while working (could move some stuff to make that happen, too)…
If you find yourself really unsure and want someone looking over your shoulder and pointing, come on out… as an ex-shop teacher I have a rudimentary knowledge of lighting electrical, and we can pool ignorance ….

Bluestreak57

Chris,
It can be a little intimidating if you haven’t done it before…. Having the right tools does make simple electrical work easier. For DIY projects it is pretty basic, as the wiring Ford provides on-vehicle and the mod bumper makes everything pretty straightforward…

I have not yet installed my oracle fogs and will likely do so this when there is a little less rain to deal with. I have most everything I need for the install but a roof over the rig while working (could move some stuff to make that happen, too)…
If you find yourself really unsure and want someone looking over your shoulder and pointing, come on out… as an ex-shop teacher I have a rudimentary knowledge of lighting electrical, and we can pool ignorance ….

I truly appreciate the offer, and especially the moral support. One of these days, any wrench turning will be second nature. I have gobs of confidence, now I just need the experience to justify it. LOL

hey Chris - the aux switch wiring had me confused as hell at first too until I got it figured out... they make it SO easy... I've added lights in my modular bumper, utilizing the factory fog light wiring and adding the factory foglight switch to the headlight switch assembly, I've added ditch lights, reverse lights, etc - it's all super easy once you get it figured out.. you'll see that the lights will have pigtails coming out of them with a weather resistant plug, which plugs into the harness they provided you, which has a length of wiring probably running to a relay and switch they provide. If you've got the aux switches, you can discard the relays and the switch they provide you, and just run the +/- wires to the factory wiring connected to the aux switches . Have you looked up which switches have which amperage ratings yet? it's in the owners manual (through the infotainment system).. you'll see that some of them are rated for higher amperages than others, so use that as your guide for which switches to use.. .hope this helps, man - like I said I know that at first it's all overwhelming... but once you get it figured out ,you'll be relieved :) and, we're all here for ya if you have questions!!!

Calgecko

hey Chris - the aux switch wiring had me confused as hell at first too until I got it figured out... they make it SO easy... I've added lights in my modular bumper, utilizing the factory fog light wiring and adding the factory foglight switch to the headlight switch assembly, I've added ditch lights, reverse lights, etc - it's all super easy once you get it figured out.. you'll see that the lights will have pigtails coming out of them with a weather resistant plug, which plugs into the harness they provided you, which has a length of wiring probably running to a relay and switch they provide. If you've got the aux switches, you can discard the relays and the switch they provide you, and just run the +/- wires to the factory wiring connected to the aux switches . Have you looked up which switches have which amperage ratings yet? it's in the owners manual (through the infotainment system).. you'll see that some of them are rated for higher amperages than others, so use that as your guide for which switches to use.. .hope this helps, man - like I said I know that at first it's all overwhelming... but once you get it figured out ,you'll be relieved :) and, we're all here for ya if you have questions!!!

I'm lucky to draw upon the hive mind here in the Bronco Nation, for sure! I've been noodling on this and I've come to the conclusion that my apprehension is unjustified. I'm going to get those puppies in this weekend. That said, if y'all hear a news story about a car fire in the shadow of the Space Needle, you'll know there's one less Bronco in the world. 😜

I didn’t see a fire near the space needle, installation must have been a success :)

adcam

I didn’t see a fire near the space needle, installation must have been a success :)

That's cuz I haven't finished wiring them yet! Just you wait. Sparks will be a flyin'... 😆

I'm getting some new shrink-wrap connectors today via Amazon. I ran the wiring and I'm happy to say everything reaches where it needs to be. Phew!

I scraped up my arms trying to finagle the wiring through the narrow confines of the engine bay and down to the bumper. At one point, one of the connectors got jammed and I had to remove the battery AND the battery tray from the Bronco to retrieve it without damaging the end. Good times.

Man, running wires is a good way to acquaint yourself with your Bronco!

Finally got notified that my lights are shipped and are scheduled to arrive tomorrow! That will put it right at 4 1/2 weeks. Hopefully I can get them installed before Moab. Busy week ahead though.

TK1215

Finally got notified that my lights are shipped and are scheduled to arrive tomorrow! That will put it right at 4 1/2 weeks. Hopefully I can get them installed before Moab. Busy week ahead though.

Are you going to run on any trails at night?

BuckYeah

Are you going to run on any trails at night?

Man that would be awesome!

Hey, hey! My lights have arrived! These things are beautifully designed and constructed. @BuckYeah, I am curious if two of the smaller lights had the brackets upside down?

I don’t think so, @TK1215. The lamps are side-specific, so the harnesses point in a specific direction. This is helpful. Although I can say I’m not thrilled with the way these sit up against the modular bumper openings. Maybe I ought to yank ‘em out and see if the brackets are to blame. The quality of the lamps is great, but I don’t like the way they’re shoehorned into the opening. The official Heretic installation video is only marginally useful. They fast-forward a lot. I asked them a question and never got a response.

BuckYeah

I don’t think so, @TK1215. The lamps are side-specific, so the harnesses point in a specific direction. This is helpful. Although I can say I’m not thrilled with the way these sit up against the modular bumper openings. Maybe I ought to yank ‘em out and see if the brackets are to blame. The quality of the lamps is great, but I don’t like the way they’re shoehorned into the opening. The official Heretic installation video is only marginally useful. They fast-forward a lot. I asked them a question and never got a response.

I did a little adjusting of the wires and flipped the brackets around. Easy peasy. Mounted them up on the brackets. The video is pretty bad. Looking at the wiring diagram it appears that one harness attaches to the Quads and the other harness splits to the doubles. Pretty straight forward. I am definitely not trimming the extra off until I am ready to hook it up to the switches.

@TK1215 I was nervous about cutting ANY wires, let alone any "excess" wires. Regardless of the owner's assurances that I could "trim the length."

I ran the wires and everything fits beautifully and there is indeed, quite a bit of excess wiring. I was relieved to see there was ample wire to reach the upfitter switches. I passed on the "military splicing" the owner recommends in lieu of heat-shrink butt connectors. They're a simpler and more elegant way of routing power in my opinion. And they'll be water-tight and corrosion-resistant. I kept it simple. @Deano Bronc was right. I was silly for worrying. Classic overthinking on my part.

BuckYeah

I got these puppies through Bronco Nation (thank you for the sweet discount!) and I'm anxious to install them in my Modular Bumper ASAP.

Emphasis on "anxious." Has anyone else installed these? What was the procedure like? I watched the official Heretic video below twice and I'm still a little nervous about cutting and splicing wires and all that.

Connecting the hardware to my Bronco is not what bothers me. Running wires and knowing how and where to cut them is! The guy in the video says the harness is a universal harness that can be chopped here and there, but I've yet to gain the testicular fortitude to proceed. Any helpful tips?



Chase Gentry installs Heretic fog lamps

Heretic Fog Lamp Kit Installation - Official

I installed my kit on the heavy duty bumper and posted on the Forum under the "What did you do to your Bronco today area.
I found that it really helped if you had a heat gun and shrink connectors and wrap tape that matched what Ford uses on their wiring. Pre assembly of the lights helped and taking the time to see where Ford routed wiring in the various areas really helps to give some direction on where to route your wires. I used up fitter switch 3 for the clear lights and switch 2 (15 amp) for the fogs and everything worked perfectly. I did take out as much of the excess wiring as possible but didn't want to come up short so I had to zip tie (included with kit) 2 small loops to the side of fender near the the up fitter connections. I also installed at a later date the Heretic ditch lights and that was an equally interesting challenge. If you have any questions or need pics let me know.

@LR48 Thank you for relaying your process. I feel a lot calmer after having gone and done it myself. I practiced crimping and heat-shrink tubing a few "spare" wires, which gave me the confidence to perform surgery on my Bronco. The cordless heat gun is fun to work with, but you've got to keep a steady flow and rhythm to your application AND be careful where you lay the gun after you're done. It stays hot for a while!

I purchased some high-temp cloth wiring harness tape and love the way it looks and feels. The harness looks like a factory loom now! I'll post pix later.

As I said earlier, the hardest part of the whole installation was choosing the best path for the wiring and then actually running it. One word of advices: keep bandages handy. LOL

Lights are installed and getting ready to run the wiring harnesses. Took about 30 minutes to install. Have a good hands free light source and use care when working them into place. There is no rush.

those are nice looking!!!

So I have wired in and tested. All lights working. Quad lights to auxiliary 3 and the four doubles to auxiliary 4. Took about 30 minutes to find my access spots for the wiring harnesses and do a temporary hook up for the auxiliary switches. Time for lunch and then I will go zip tie up the wires cut it down to the right length and do my final button up and beam adjustments.