Installed Diode Dynamics SS3 ditch light kit today...

[BroncoStang]

I guess I did alright, I mean, they work lmao
Overall I really like the pods, I'm not so much a fan of this wiring harness though. From what I've gathered this is a universal wiring harness rather than a Bronco specific one even if you shop the Diode Dynamics website by vehicle. I'm probably just gonna replace the harness with the one from 4x4truckleds.

I was left with a lot of excess wire length...

So much extra...
Also side note, any potential issues with running the red/power wire where I did? It couldn't reach from the ground I used to the battery so I went there instead for power.

First picture is headlights only, second picture is pod lights only.

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[HighVelocity]

I've been hoping someone would make wire that can be cut to length by now.

Someday the technology will catch up.

 

[4x4TruckLEDs.com]

I guess I did alright, I mean, they work lmao
Overall I really like the pods, I'm not so much a fan of this wiring harness though. From what I've gathered this is a universal wiring harness rather than a Bronco specific one even if you shop the Diode Dynamics website by vehicle. I'm probably just gonna replace the harness with the one from 4x4truckleds.

I was left with a lot of excess wire length...

So much extra...
Also side note, any potential issues with running the red/power wire where I did? It couldn't reach from the ground I used to the battery so I went there instead for power.

First picture is headlights only, second picture is pod lights only.

That's why folks grab the Ditch Light kit from us. As we include our upfitter harness at no additional cost. So you save money with our Ditch Kit.

$199.95 ($239.95 with backlight) - https://www.4x4truckleds.com/diode-dynamics-stage-series-ss3-ditch-light-kit-for-2021-ford-bronco/

Compared to $259.95 if you get the kit from Diode Dynamics (which doesn't include our stream lined harness, it'll work, their harness, but it's a LOT of extra stuff/relays which are not needed)

 

[4x4TruckLEDs.com]

I've been hoping someone would make wire that can be cut to length by now.

Someday the technology will catch up.

Our kit includes our harness that goes right to the upfitters. It DOES have some extra length because we use it for a variety of A-Pillar Kits on various trucks. It's not worth making one specifically cut to size on a Bronco as we also use them for fog lights too.

 

[BroncoStang]

Our kit includes our harness that goes right to the upfitters. It DOES have some extra length because we use it for a variety of A-Pillar Kits on various trucks. It's not worth making one specifically cut to size on a Bronco as we also use them for fog lights too.

Just ordered a harness from you guys, looking forward to cleaning up this install lol.

 

[Dirtrider]

I guess I did alright, I mean, they work lmao
Overall I really like the pods, I'm not so much a fan of this wiring harness though. From what I've gathered this is a universal wiring harness rather than a Bronco specific one even if you shop the Diode Dynamics website by vehicle. I'm probably just gonna replace the harness with the one from 4x4truckleds.

I was left with a lot of excess wire length...

So much extra...
Also side note, any potential issues with running the red/power wire where I did? It couldn't reach from the ground I used to the battery so I went there instead for power.

First picture is headlights only, second picture is pod lights only.

If you are using the upfitter switches, you don't need the relay and all of the associated wiring. Cut the wires near where the upfitter switch wires, splice the two grounds together and ground to the chassis ground lug near the drivers side hood hinge. Tie the two 'accent' light wires to one of the upfitter switch wires (your choice) and the two 'light' wires to another (any of the upfitter switches have plenty of current capacity for these LED lights). To make it easy and easy to change, I like the Wago lever connectors (3 port work perfectly for this) Wago 221-413 Lever-Nuts 3 Conductor Compact Connectors 10 PK: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific
I originally installed the same lights using the relay, cutting and splicing to reduce the unnecessary wire length but I hate messy wiring and reworked it to remove the unnecessary relay as well.

 

[Hal deane]

Thanks for the insight. I'm coming late to the party but very helpful.

Are all the switches strong enough for the lights?
If you wire the backlight to the low beams will that cause an issue without the relay?
I'm no electrician but assume the relay is to manage the higher power from the battery without powered switch but want to make sure.

 

[Dirtrider]

Thanks for the insight. I'm coming late to the party but very helpful.

Are all the switches strong enough for the lights?
If you wire the backlight to the low beams will that cause an issue without the relay?
I'm no electrician but assume the relay is to manage the higher power from the battery without powered switch but want to make sure.

Any of the upfitter switches will handle the current for the two lights. For the 'Pro' lights, each light is 2.7 amps and the backlight is 0.03 amps. The lowest current upfitter switch is 10 amps. I have the 'sport' version of the Diode Dynamics SS3 ditch lights which is less than half the current draw of the 'pro' lights.
At 0.03A for the backlight, I don't think they would be a problem for low beam circuit but that is just my opinion, 0.06 amps for two backlights is a really small current draw. I went a different route, I wired all of my backlights (I have the two SS3 Ditch lights and in the Modular bumper I have two SS3 SAE fog lights and 2 of the 'sport' SS2(?) driving and 2 of the SS2(?) 'sport' combo lights) to one of the upfitter switches and used separate switches for each other light pair. I put them in a switch order of 'friendly' to 'obnoxious' to oncoming drivers.

For the Modular Bumper lights, Panda Motorworks makes a really nice harness for the Diode Dynamics lights (and other brands too I believe) that works really well with the upfitter switches. Connectors and connections are clearly labeled and the cables are the correct length.

 

[4x4TruckLEDs.com]

Thanks for the insight. I'm coming late to the party but very helpful.

Are all the switches strong enough for the lights?
If you wire the backlight to the low beams will that cause an issue without the relay?
I'm no electrician but assume the relay is to manage the higher power from the battery without powered switch but want to make sure.

Yes you can operate any of the Diode Dynamics SS3 (Sport Pro or Max) from any of your upfitters

Our kits do not use relays, no need. You have upfitters. Our harness, which comes with our a-pillar kits, plugs into the lights and the other end crimps onto your upfitter wire. So it's real easy to use.

https://www.4x4truckleds.com/diode-dynamics-stage-series-ss3-ditch-light-kit-for-2021-ford-bronco/

 

[4x4TruckLEDs.com]

For the Modular Bumper lights, Panda Motorworks makes a really nice harness for the Diode Dynamics lights (and other brands too I believe) that works really well with the upfitter switches. Connectors and connections are clearly labeled and the cables are the correct length.

Panda actually sells our harness They are a good dealer of ours and buy our harnesses to provide with some of their fog kits (because it makes it easy for installation). CrystaLux is one of our in-house brands (we make wiring harnesses + LED bulbs). KR Off-Road is another in-house brand (brackets).

 

[Dirtrider]

Panda actually sells our harness They are a good dealer of ours and buy our harnesses to provide with some of their fog kits (because it makes it easy for installation). CrystaLux is one of our in-house brands (we make wiring harnesses + LED bulbs). KR Off-Road is another in-house brand (brackets).

I didn't know that Panda sells your harness. It works really well and I highly recommend it. Thanks for the good product!

 

[Hal deane]

Well that failed. I connected red to aux switch, blue to headlight, and black to ground and it did not work, and the a pillar was working before removing the relay. I just wanted it cleaner. Not sure what i did wrong.

 

[Brian_B]

Well that failed. I connected red to aux switch, blue to headlight, and black to ground and it did not work, and the a pillar was working before removing the relay. I just wanted it cleaner. Not sure what i did wrong.

What were you trying to do? And how did it work before you cleaned it up?

I'll also drop this thread here
https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/threads/picture-of-plugs-to-headlights-wiring.80393/

 

[Hal deane]

Originally I wired it using the standard ss3 harness with a relay going to the battery positive and negative and the activation on the aux switch.. But it had a ton of extra wire wound up in the corner. So based on what I seen here an other posts I understood we did not need the relay. So I cut all of that and from each light you have the 3 wires. I understood the red was power to go to the switch the blue was for the backlight (which I went to headlight harness to come on with the lights…. This is working for other lights without issue - This was a Sparky harness), and black for the ground. Originally I tried grounding on negative. Later I moved to a body ground thinking I was not grounding well enough. No change to the outcome…. Basically that is what I did but it is not doing anything . Both lights are on the same switch (#5) but understand that should work. Clearly not sure what I did wrong. I’ll check the other post maybe there is more there.

 

[Brian_B]

Originally I wired it using the standard ss3 harness with a relay going to the battery positive and negative and the activation on the aux switch.. But it had a ton of extra wire wound up in the corner. So based on what I seen here an other posts I understood we did not need the relay. So I cut all of that and from each light you have the 3 wires. I understood the red was power to go to the switch the blue was for the backlight (which I went to headlight harness to come on with the lights…. This is working for other lights without issue - This was a Sparky harness), and black for the ground. Originally I tried grounding on negative. Later I moved to a body ground thinking I was not grounding well enough. No change to the outcome…. Basically that is what I did but it is not doing anything . Both lights are on the same switch (#5) but understand that should work. Clearly not sure what I did wrong. I’ll check the other post maybe there is more there.

Hmm... sounds like it should work. No lights at all on the thing?

Sometimes tapping into the headlights is tricky, since it isn't like a normal halogen headlight. Some of those connections are just CAN bus and aren't actual power - which is what the post I linked helps out with. But if you have the blue wire going to an aux switch, you should at least have backlight...

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