Hummer H3 Remote Control Lighting - Four Wheeler Magazine

One of our project goals for Trailhugger was to dramatically improve its exterior lighting. Not just forward-facing, but in all directions. We call this "full perimeter lighting," and we've found it to be worth its weight in gold on a dark trail.

This was one of the reasons we chose to install the Gobi Stealth roof rack (Oct '08). It has four built-in forward-facing light tabs and a pair of rear-facing tabs. The folks over at Gobi recommended installing PIAA 2100 Series Xtreme White Beam lights, so naturally we heeded their advice. We used four forward-facing driving-style lights (15-degree spot beam) and a pair of rear-facing fog-style lights (70-degree wide beam). We also wanted strong side lighting, so we mounted a pair of wide-beam PIAA lights on each side of the Stealth rack. All of these PIAA lights are halogen, 55 watts, have a silver PPS composite housing, glass lens, and a Super Multi-surface Reflector (SMR). Each kit includes two lights, a wiring harness, a relay, and a switch.

1. Here are some of the PIAA lights we installed on Trailhugger. Ultimately we installed 10 lights: Four driving beams and six wide beams.

1. Here are some of the PIAA lights we installed on Trailhugger. Ultimately we installed 1

The switches that come with the PIAA lights are really nice and are of the stick-on variety, but we didn't really want a bunch of switches inside the cabin of our truck. Matt Dinelli of Attitude Performance brainstormed a solution. He recommended a wireless-remote-control lighting system, and he knew just the guy who could create such a system. Enter Jerry Villa and the team at Showtime Audio in Chicago. Villa has been involved in the A/V world for the past 17 years, and as we found out he's the Emperor of Electronics. Walking into his incredible new shop in downtown Chicago is like walking into an auto show. Lamborghinis, Bentleys, and BMWs are commonplace, and they share space with cars, trucks, and SUVs of all makes and models. Villa said creating a wireless-remote-control lighting system would be no problem, and he provided us with a list of parts we'd need to make it happen.

Our next call was to Directed Electronics. These folks are the gurus of the electronics aftermarket. This 25-year-old California-based company has a massive product line that encompasses everything from home audio to automotive electronics. They're the folks behind Viper, Clifford, Polk Audio, and Directed Video to name just a few. Directed has thousands of dealers in the retail mobile and home electronics aftermarket too. Needless to say, they had the components we needed to create a reliable wireless-remote-control lighting system.

Installing a system like this is best left up to the professionals. It took the experienced team of Villa and Dinelli a full day to get all of the components installed. Following are some of the highlights of the install.

2. The components needed to create the wireless-remote-control system included a Directed replacement Super Code-Hopping transmitter (we got one for our key ring and one to mount in the truck), a Buss 80-amp circuit breaker, a Buss six-circuit ATC fuse panel, a Directed Electronics Effective Vehicle Security 450R receiver, and five Directed Electronics 40-amp relay assemblies.

3. The first thing Villa did was head over to his in-house fabrication shop to create a "command center" to mount the electronics. He used 1/4-inch masonite and covered it with black Ozite speaker-box carpet.
3. The first thing Villa did was head over to his in-house fabrication shop to create a "c
4. Next, he mounted the components and wired the command center. Here you can see the back side of the unit nearing completion.
4. Next, he mounted the components and wired the command center. Here you can see the back
5. The finished command center ready to install in Trailhugger. It holds the 450R receiver, ATC fuse panel, and the five relays (Villa split the four forward-facing lights into two circuits). Notice the plastic grommets used in the holes where the wires feed from front to back. This will eliminate any chafing of wires.
5. The finished command center ready to install in Trailhugger. It holds the 450R receiver

6. Power for the system comes directly from the battery. Villa used four-gauge wire to carry power to the Buss circuit breaker and then on to the command center inside the vehicle through a factory rubber firewall grommet. The Buss circuit breaker is waterproof, so it was OK to mount underhood. We chose to fasten it with Velcro to the top of the plastic battery enclosure. It won't hinder battery removal and the circuit breaker itself is easily accessible.
6. Power for the system comes directly from the battery. Villa used four-gauge wire to car
7. We chose to mount the command center under the driver seat. In this location it is safe from only the most extreme dunking (if water gets there we have bigger problems) and it's easily accessible. With the driver seat moved all the way forward and the board pulled rearward slightly it is easily accessible. Here Villa makes the main power connection.
7. We chose to mount the command center under the driver seat. In this location it is safe
8. Villa avoids drilling into the body whenever possible to decrease corrosion potential, but he had to drill a hole to install a self-tapping screw to ground the relays and remote.
8. Villa avoids drilling into the body whenever possible to decrease corrosion potential,

9. While Villa was working on the electronics, Dinelli was bolting on the PIAA lamps. The four forward-facing lights bolted onto the rack with no drilling. The rear-facing lamps required drilling two holes for each mounting bracket. The side lights used existing rack-mounting bolts but the rear-most mounting brackets required minor bracket trimming to make them fit.
9. While Villa was working on the electronics, Dinelli was bolting on the PIAA lamps. The
10. Villa modified the PIAA wiring harnesses on the four forward-facing lights by removing the relays and switches and just using the connectors and wires. On the side and rear lights he used different colored power wires for each pair of lights to make the wiring easy to track. After installation all of the wires were loomed to prevent chafing and create a clean look.
10. Villa modified the PIAA wiring harnesses on the four forward-facing lights by removing
11. In the event we want to remove our Stealth rack for some reason, we utilized a Valley Industries six-way trailer connector so the wiring could simply be unplugged. Here, Dinelli makes the connections using the color-keyed power wires.
11. In the event we want to remove our Stealth rack for some reason, we utilized a Valley

12. There was gobs of room under the driver-side faux air intake, so we lined the edge of the factory hole with some small Dynamat pieces Villa had lying around and then used cushion clamps to mount the trailer connector to the truck. In the event we have to remove the rack, we can simply unplug the wiring at this point and the male end of the connector will remain hidden from view and out of the weather.
12. There was gobs of room under the driver-side faux air intake, so we lined the edge of
13. All of the power leads for the PIAA lights were funneled down the A-pillar under the plastic A-pillar cover, so nothing is visible and the wires are protected. Villa grounded the roof lights at a factory roof rail bolt.
13. All of the power leads for the PIAA lights were funneled down the A-pillar under the p
14. Villa notched out the plastic A-pillar cover slightly to allow the wiring to travel unobstructed under the A-pillar cover.
14. Villa notched out the plastic A-pillar cover slightly to allow the wiring to travel un

15. The power wires to the lights from the relays were then tied to their respective wires that traveled down from the roof and through the trailer connector. Villa tucked the finished wiring harness under the carpet in a convenient indentation in the body tub where it would be well protected.
15. The power wires to the lights from the relays were then tied to their respective wires
16. The last step was to mount the receiver antenna. It is designed to mount on the windshield using pressure tape, but we found that mounting it behind the kick panel on the driver side still allowed us to activate the lights over 100 feet from the vehicle.
16. The last step was to mount the receiver antenna. It is designed to mount on the windsh
17. The four-function remote control allows us to activate any of the lights from inside the vehicle or out. And we don't have a bunch of switches dotting our dash.
17. The four-function remote control allows us to activate any of the lights from inside t

Result
We're so down with our new lighting system. We're digging the small, unobtrusive size of the PIAA lamps and this translates to less wind resistance, which helps us meet our project goal of retaining fuel mileage. Hey, every little bit helps. The lamps may be small but they cast bright, white light. We have the wide-angle rear lamps turned outward slightly and this creates a wide swath of light that has greatly improved rear visibility while backing at night. The side lights allow us to see what's next to us before we make a turn and we think you know the benefits of that. We pointed our forward-facing lights so that the outer pair shine on the edge of the roadway while the center pair cast light straight ahead. All four are adjusted to cast their light just over the upper cut-off line of the factory headlights. Result: Vastly improved visibility. Finally, the remote-control feature rocks. We carry one remote on our key ring so we can activate the lights from outside the truck and we used Velcro to mount the other remote to the center console so we can toggle the lights on and off at will from inside the vehicle.

Cost
Jerry Villa at Showtime Audio says that the cost of a wireless-remote-control lighting system like this depends on how many lights you wish to install. He estimates that a system capable of triggering four lights would cost approximately $400, not including lights. The PIAA 2100 Series lights like we used have a street price of around $235 per pair.