How would you feel about this install?

Posted by ChickenPotPilot@reddit | overlanding | View on Reddit | 68 comments

Had four camp lights installed to my roof rack today and the installation quality was a little concerning. Wonder if I’m over reacting or is my annoyance warranted?

The camp lights are Baja designs rock lights that have a 20awg positive and negative wire. The idea was to have one long harness with four connections branched off at each light.

They ended up making two harnesses and splicing them together at the engine, they used t taps to connect each light to the main wire harness, and for some reason cut the main wire harness at certain points and used inline connectors to crimp the main wire together. The crimp was bad in the photo and the wire came out loose. They also used a giant plastic loom for 20awg wire, shoddy electrical tape placement so that the connections were exposed in places.

This was a reputable overland shop that has stores nationwide and 4.9stars locally. I’m just surprised of the quality of the install, or maybe I’m expecting too much?

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meat_whistle_gristle@reddit

If it was going to be a butcher job I would have just done it myself.

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Schnitzhole@reddit

Get your money back. My toddler could wire that better

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ninjawinch@reddit

"This was a reputable overland shop that has stores nationwide and 4.9stars locally."

If this is in Australia... OK, sure. I am not aware of any such chain of shops existing in North America.

If you're in NA, then that's the start of the problem here, and your primary misunderstanding. In NA I could imagine people saying this about 4WheelParts, for example, which is basically just Jiffy Lube with a parts catalog. Once, for a tire install; never, ever again.

If that's $400 in labor and install supplies, you got robbed blind.

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AdventurousTrain5643@reddit

Looks like it as his 1st or 2nd one.

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Embarrassed_Gas8516@reddit

I did something like this to TEST a little light bar I found at my county garage.

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Dubbinchris@reddit

This is exactly why I do everything myself. Just goes to show you literally can’t trust anyone, even “professionals”.

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butterorguns13@reddit

Yeah. Posts like this remind me that even though it may take me forever to find the time to tackle a project, I’m still better off than paying someone else to do it.

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Dubbinchris@reddit

Yeah I’m busy and slow, but meticulous and will do it correctly.

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VincentFostersGhost@reddit

Name them (with location) as a public service.

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WrenchMagnate@reddit

If I wired it at 11pm on Friday night in my back yard with no supplies to work with,...sure I'll just fix it.

If I paid someone else to do a professional job..... I wouldn't be a happy camper.

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Kindofaphotographer@reddit

To add to this *without a worklight lol

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WrenchMagnate@reddit

And a greasy blue shop paper towel wrapped around my bloody thumb because my utility knife slipped while cutting oem loom inside the center console.

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VincentFostersGhost@reddit

Lol, this, I snorted :-)

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Previous_Bed_6586@reddit

Yup. My first thought was "this looks like something I'd do at like 1am when I'm absolutely sick of it."

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rigweldingmb@reddit

In a downpour

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ChickenPotPilot@reddit (OP)

Thanks for the validation. Wasn’t sure what to expect, but was a little thrown off when I saw that it was worse than I would have done myself. This was unfortunately $400 in total.

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Zephyrus2OP@reddit

Robbery, raise a stink and get it fixed by them bare minimum

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DudeWhereIsMyDuduk@reddit

This is one of those times when the people who caused the problem might not be the ones to solve the problem.

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Zephyrus2OP@reddit

Right, my thought was though bare minimum fix it in case they don't want to refund

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shadow247@reddit

Charge back on your credit card, never return to that shop. Blast them on Google with these pics.

These jokers are going to burn someone's vehicle down.

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Open-Onion4631@reddit

Damn buddy, next time look up a video and spend like 2 hours hooking up your attachments or light. I’m far from an electrician, but you don’t need to be one. Anyone can do it

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liberty08@reddit

Oof, that's rough. I would talk to them and see if they're willing to correct it. This could be a learning opportunity for a new tech. Otherwise I would light them up on reviews with pics. You should not have to pay for this level of quality.

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Electrical-tentacle@reddit

Horrible. As an electrician this shit looks like a 15 year old was turned loose on it

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notover5andahalf@reddit

Not a chance in hell a wire tap is going nto my harness

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GoPadge@reddit

We have a word in the South, for that level of work, "bajankity".

Used in a sentence:

"Bubba did such a bajankity job on wiring his bew Boss stereo, that he not only shorted out the 'sound system', but also the entire dash..."

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TheGuyUrRespondingTo@reddit

What part of the south are you in? In Georgia we just call it regular old "janky".

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GoPadge@reddit

I'm in Alabama now... But I've lived everywhere from Texas to Virginia.

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Kindofaphotographer@reddit

Lazy ass way to wire that shit up. The routing is fine if they would throw potential pinch points into that plastic flex conduit tho but the splicing is garbo

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DudeWhereIsMyDuduk@reddit

Reviews don't always tell the whole story - I took my Jeep to a place that supposedly had a good reputation, independent shop so no chain pressure, etc - and they absolutely did a hack job of the lift. Ended up taking it somewhere else just so they could sort out the issues.

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TheGuyUrRespondingTo@reddit

I worked at an overlanding upfitter years back (as 1 of 2 techs that did standard automotive diag & repairs, not upfitting) that did absolutely awful work, but maintained 4.8/5 stars because 1) they were also a retail storefront for overlanding gear, & 2) they had virtually all of their negative upfitting reviews deleted by Google.

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TheGuyUrRespondingTo@reddit

Biggest red flag is that the purple wire has already pulled itself out of the butt connector, so that's a hard failure right off the bat. Second red flag is that they used plastic covered hardware store butt connectors instead of naked butt connectors (bare metal) & sealant-ladden heat shrink (this has become the automotive standard as more manufacturers have realized the impracticality of post-manufacturing soldering, don't believe the old heads who insist that soldering is the only proper way to join two or more wires together). Third reg flag is that they didn't even tape around the connectors to offer any modicum of weather resistance.

This is an absolute shit job, I would only do this as a field repair if I somehow lost my entire electrical field repair kit. I would sooner pay someone to uninstall this than to install it.

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Terrible_Ad1793@reddit

Can you do it better? If so then why are you paying to have someone else do it

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VB_Creampie@reddit

Disconnect it before it burns your rig down.

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Mayday-J@reddit

Deff warranted. But I'm a stickler about wiring. This day in age you shouldn't be using slice connectors, period. They work fine until they don't and they 100% should NEVER be used outside the cabin.

I stick with shrink wrap butt connectors so the metal is less likely to oxidize.

From installing stereos in my past I've see way too many issues.

The wire routing is terrible as well.

Sadly, these guys aren't likely to fix it correctly, just hide their mistakes. If it's a bigger shop with a lot of guys working there then it may have just been a newb or someone in a hurry and I would talk to an actual manager or owner. Sometimes they don't know they are putting out shit until someone talks to them directly.

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ChickenPotPilot@reddit (OP)

That’s my concern, what do I do next.. this is more like they don’t know what they’re doing rather than a rushed job. The use of the wrong connections and poor attention to detail makes me think they’re just not skilled enough and going back won’t fix it since it’s two guys running the shop (both were on this job).

Should I ask for some of the money back since I’m going to likely have to do it myself now?

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shadow247@reddit

Ask for your money back. If they refuse, just thank them for their time and charge it back. This does not meet any standard of industry.

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Tejano_mambo@reddit

Definitely talk with a manager first.

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shadow247@reddit

gif

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Angelworks42@reddit

Hope that is all on a fuse otherwise it's a fire waiting to happen.

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damnkidzgetoffmylawn@reddit

This guy lied on his resume, if you don’t know how to solder just say that lol

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jandrgarage@reddit

I would Rip it out and do it right.

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RigPicksOfficial@reddit

That's definitely not 4.9 star rating work. I'd be talking to whomever runs that shop and showing them exactly what the issues are. Honestly hard to say what your expectations should be in terms of getting it rectified, but ideally it'd be a refund and you fix it yourself or find somebody else who knows what they're doing and appreciates electrical work.

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JCDU@reddit

If this was a roadside get-you-home bodge I'd say it was nasty but OK... if this was supposedly done by any sort of professional for money they should be fucking embarrassed and ashamed.

On a note of personal prejudice, scotchloks have absolutely no place in any wiring loom whatsoever, they are a bodge.

If you want huge and comprehensive (and slightly angry) guide on how real professionals do it, this is a good read:

https://www.rbracing-rsr.com/wiring_ecu.html

I wouldn't expect motorsport-grade wiring on an overlander but I'd expect at least a nod in the direction of quality & reliability.

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idigholesnow@reddit

I've done this on the side of the road, and deep in the bush. I've left it alone for a long time. because it's fine. I've fixed it again when necessary. If I paid for it I'd be pissed.

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skumancer@reddit

Shoddy. Like an AI agent taught the guys who did it.

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Sinfluencer666@reddit

That wiring looks like the equivalent to a trail fix. Is their shop just a dirt road with minimal tools?

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85e30@reddit

as someone who just built their first wiring harness, that is fucking terrible. if you were to say this was your fix on the side of the road, great. but please give that shop hell

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brandrikr@reddit

Absolute garbage. Go get your money back and take it to somewhere reputable.

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owmysciatica@reddit

I’d be pissed.

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CasualEveryday@reddit

If this was a trail fix I'd still kick their ass.

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GregBVIMB@reddit

It's not good. You were right to feel wary about this.

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mavour@reddit

Someone working minimum wage who doesn’t know any better. You’ll have electrical issues in a few months, but by that time the warranty will expire or that person will be long gone.

Sorry man

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TheCarcissist@reddit

I was a 12v tech for over 20 years... ive seen it all. Believe it or not, ive seen worse. But I can confidently say ive never used a t-tap in my entire career. I would trust a military splice before I trusted a t-tap. Solder only for wire taps.

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skinny_tom@reddit

Sketch.

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Tejano_mambo@reddit

Lol even

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Some_Guy_Somewhere67@reddit

My eyes are burning...

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fallenredwoods@reddit

You got hosed, that’s amateur work

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Prestigious_Loss_671@reddit

My goodness I would be embarrassed to put my name on that. They spliced into a very expensive factory harness for absolutely no reason. I would want all my money back, no question asked. If not flame them every possible place to save the next poor soul.

If you are in AZ I would gladly wire it correctly for you.

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Itchy_Tiger_8774@reddit

I would feel ripped off. I expect better quality than that in my own work, so I wouldn't be happy about paying someone to do it.

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Clarence_Moose@reddit

This is atrocious. I did better work wiring a subwoofer in high school.

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TAINT_SMACKER_69@reddit

That is awful work. I doubt it lasts a few months before it fails.

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ChickenPotPilot@reddit (OP)

It didn’t even last a full day before the connections fell apart. I didn’t even bother looking at the other three lights, this was just the first one I unwrapped.

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