OTHER ITEMS TO CONSIDER

No two installation scenarios are the same. Not everyone shares the same installation quality goals. Some folks are OK with twisting wires together, others want to solder and heat shrink them. Some folks are OK with running wires where they may be seen or unprotected to save money/time, others want a tidy, clean install without any wires showing. Some folks are OK with mounting their LED strips to whatever surface they can find, others want to take the time necessary to build out appropriate mounting surfaces to provide the best lighting effect on their vehicle and maximize the longevity of their lighting system.  The point is it's not possible to provide all the materials necessary for all installation scenarios on all types of vehicles to meet everyone's quality goals. Our light kits provide the essential components needed for a high-quality, functioning lighting system. Installation of our light kit to your specific vehicle will however likely require additional items to make it look, fit and work the way you want. This is particularly the case with electrical wiring, switching functionality and mounting surfaces for the LED strips.

Before jumping into the installation here are some items you may want to purchase in advance. These aren't necessarily essential items but often fall into the nice to have category to make the installation look more professional and the lights last longer. We offer these items on our website as a convenience to our customers. You can however purchase almost all of these items locally - usually at an auto parts store, hardware store, big box store or home improvement store. Many of them too are available for purchase online elsewhere for less.

BATTERY TERMINAL LUGS

Battery Terminal Lugs. We use these on the ends of our 10AWG battery cable extensions. Available in 5/16" and 3/8" battery stud size holes. You will need a crimping tool (or vise) to attach these to the cable.

SPLIT WIRE LOOM

Split Wire Loom. Flexible polyethylene split wire loom is ideal for holding groups of wires in position and protecting them against abrasion. We use this for covering exposed LED power lead cables as well as 12vdc power running from the LED controller to the battery. Also makes for a nice visually clean install. Available in both 1/4" and 1/2" widths.

BRAIDED CABLE SLEEVING

Braided Cable Sleeving. Ideal for dressing up Boogey Lights® installations in situations where the grey power lead cable needs to be white or black. You usually only need a few feet to cover the exposed cabling.

BATTERY EXTENSION CABLES

Battery Extension Cables. If your installation requires you to extend your LED Controller power leads to the battery, you're going to need battery extension cable to do it properly. Keep in mind that 12vdc power drops quickly over distance so depending upon the distance you're extending the battery cable, you'll need to adjust your wire gauge. The thicker, the better. We offer 8AWG, 10AWG and 18AWG Stranded Hook Up Wire.

CRIMP ON CONNECTOR CAPS

Closed End Wire Crimp Connector Caps Works on 10 to 20AWG wire. We use these instead of wire nuts to connect LED power leads to the LED controller. Also, 12vdc power connectors. Faster, less bulky and permanent. Requires a crimping tool such as a pair of pliers or electrical crimping tool.

HEAT SHRINK TUBING

Heat Shrink Tubing. We use this adhesive lined dual wall heat shrink tubing for use with our LED light kits and strips solder points. It can also be used to seal electrical connections. Makes for a professional looking installation.

BUTYL TAPE

Butyl Tape. Butyl tape is a premium synthetic rubber sealant. It is non-drying, non-hardening, remains permanently sealed and waterproof. Butyl tape adheres to just about any clean material you can think of; plastic, fiberglass, glass, metal, wood or concrete just to name a few. It is waterproof and is impervious to temperature changes. Butyl tape is highly resistant to movement and shock and can be easily adjusted during and after it is applied. Ideal for use on vehicles with surfaces that move, vibrate, flex, contract and expand. It is UV resistant and protects surfaces from corrosion. At Boogey Lights we use butyl tape for a variety installation applications on all kinds of vehicles. It's great for sealing holes we've drilled in vehicle for wire access. It works exceptionally well for holding down the end of an LED power lead to a mounting surface to make sure the power lead doesn't stress the solder point. It's perfect for filling in dips or holes in mounting surfaces where we would normally not mount an LED strip over. With butyl tape we're able to fill in those uneven surfaces (we build a 'butyl bridge' as it were) which make it safe to mount the LED strip on top of.

POWER LEAD WIRE

Power Lead Wire. It's not unusual for customers to need additional wire to extend the LED power leads so they reach the location where they are mounting the LED controller. We offer a variety of POWER LEAD WIRE to fit these situations.

NOTE: Most of the power lead wire we offer for sale is made specifically for us such that the inner jacket colors match the jacket colors of power leads coming out of our LED controllers and going to the LED strips. We do this to make it easier for customers to install (EG. Red connects to red. Blue connects to blue. Etc). Also, in some cases we produce the cable in both white and black outer jackets so they blend in better depending upon the installation. There however is nothing special about this cable beyond the color of the inner and outer jackets. You can for example buy four (or two) conductor cable at pretty much any big box home goods store commonly used for alarm systems. The difference is that their cable won't have the same color outer jackets (e.g. grey instead of black), the same color inner jackets (e.g. red, green, black and white instead of red, green, black and blue) and it will likely be a heavier gauge (e.g. 18awg instead of 22awg or 20awg). As long as you track which color jacket in the cable you buy connects to each of the colors on the LED strip and LED Controller, it will work. The LED controller and LED strips don't care what color the cable jacket is. You do however need to make sure you're buying STRANDED cable (not solid) in an insulated jacket and that it is no less of a gauge than we specify. You can for example use 18awg cable instead of 20awg or 22awg -- just not the other way around.

RELAYS

40 AMP Waterproof Relay This is a specialty item. We use these relays typically for single color LED installations where the customer wants to turn on/off a large number of LEDs at one time using an existing, low amperage lighting circuit (e.g. running light circuit). Commonly used for tow truck, semi-truck, food trailer/truck, car and pickup truck single color installations where the customer wants to turn on/off a large number of LEDs using an existing low-amperage switch.  The low amperage circuit will trigger the relay which can hold up to 40amps of current.

JUNCTION BOX

Waterproof Junction Box. A specialty item. We use these junction boxes when we need to protect components -- typically relays -- from the elements. Commonly used with our semi-truck tail-turn-brake light applications but can also be used to protect our smaller LED controllers from the elements.

FUSE HOLDERS

Fuse Holders. While our LED controllers include fuses and fuse holders, there may be instances where you need another fuse in the circuit. It's important to add a fuse as close to the battery connection as possible.

SWITCHES

Switches. How you're going to turn on/off your lights is something to think about in advance. It's essential the switches/circuits you're installing and connecting to are capable of handling the amperage. If you're installing one of our kits that includes an LED Controller, that controller is likely what you'll use to turn on/off the LED system. If however you're installing single color lights that require an external switch to turn them on/off, you may need to purchase a switch and/or relay to accomplish that goal. If you're using an existing switch already installed in your vehcile, just make sure the switch is capable of handling the amperage. If you're in doubt, we strongly suggest installing a RELAY to safely handle that function. If you aren't sure which switch to buy, here are some options we offer. There are of course many others you can purchase from other sources. Just be sure they're 12vdc capable and are sized appropriately to handle the amperage.


Battery Cut Off Switch. We use these in situations where we need an easy / quick way to cut off power to the Boogey Lights LED controller and lighting system without having to remove the inline fuse. While many vehicles already have a master cut-off switch, that switch can be difficult to connect to. Plus, we always prefer to isolate our lighting systems from all other electrical systems in the vehicle to minimize the possibility of a conflict. This cut-off switch is a very simple solution. It's easy to connect and mount.

Quick-Disconnect Connectors. We use these in situations where we are installing RGB multi-color lights (4 conductor cable) on a part of a vehicle that will need to be removed frequently for servicing. Examples include motorcycle fuel tanks, semi-truck side skirts and semi-truck breather cans. We also offer 2 PIN Quick-Disconnect Connectors which can be helpful for use with single color installations (2 conductor cable) or for easy / quick disconnect of 12vdc power to your LED controller from its power source.

3M PRODUCTS

3M Double Sided Tape. This is the industrial grade double-sided tape we use to attach Boogey Lights® LED products to RVs, motorcycles, ATVs, golf-carts and other vehicles. Be sure to treat the mounting surface with 3M Adhesion Primer first.

3M Adhesion Primer . 3M Adhesion Primer is required to properly prepare the surface before applying our LED lights

3M Dual Lock Reclosable Fastener. We've found this 3M® Dual Lock fastening system to be the perfect solution for mounting Boogey Lights® LED controllers in locations where you might want to be able to remove them at some point in the future. Use this Dual Lock Fastener instead of the permanent 3M® double-sided tape. Be sure to use Adhesion Primer first. We also use 3M Dual Lock Reclosable Fasteners to attach aluminum flat stock to the bottom of RVs (for mounting of LED strips) when we are unable to find a suitable point to screw into.

MOUNTING SURFACES

Aluminum Flat Bar. The perfect solution for mounting LED light strips to surfaces that aren't flat; typically for Under-Glow Light Kits but can be elsewhere. Also, we offer Plastic flat bar too (see below).

Aluminum Angle . Used in a wide variety of situations for mounting Boogey Lights® LED lights; typically for our Under-Glow Light Kits. The 90 degree angle provide additional rigidity vs the flat bar.

Plastic Flat Bar. A great alternative to aluminum flat bar. The perfect solution for mounting LED light strips to surfaces that aren't flat; typically for Under-Glow Light Kits but can be elsewhere.

Plastic 'L' Channel / Angle . A great alternative to aluminum angle. Used in a wide variety of situations for mounting Boogey Lights® LED lights; typically for our Under-Glow Light Kits. The 90 degree angle provide additional rigidity vs the flat bar. We also use this for mounting LED strips on the back of semit-trucks for rear fair accent and/or tail turn brake lighting.

Mini T12 Aluminum LED Strip Channel. These aluminum channels and the optional opal diffuser make for a very clean and professional look in situations where the LED strips are in plain view.

ZIP TIES & MOUNTS

Zip Tie Mounts. These handy mounts make it easy to add a zip tie to just about anywhere. The zip tie mounts have 3M adhesive on the back so you can stick them where you need them. Be sure to use 3M Promoter first.

Zip Ties. Helpful with organizing wires.