MICKEY MOUSE EARS

This is a trend started by the truck drivers. US truck drivers fill their roof with position lights. Scandinavian truck drivers fill their roof with auxiliary driving lights. (usually two or four) I've even seen Volvo 240's and such from northern Sweden, with roof mounted Bosch Big Knicks, but dismissed the idea for it's silly Mickey Mouse-look. -I'll place my aux driving lights in the nose of the car, thank you very much!
The original intention was undoubtably to have as much light as possible (when the front's full) but there is a side effect: During snowfall, you can see clearly with the roof mounted aux. lights switched on! Apparently the rules of "blinded by the wastelight" does not apply for lights mounted above your head. I discovered this, driving a truck with Mickey Mouse ears during a snow blizzard. I was amazed! All the other guys knew, but no one had told me!
Inspired by this, I decided to make a detachable roof rack with discrete Mickey Mouse ears, for long winter journeys. Usually the lightunits are bolted on top of the roof rack, and the wires strapped to it. Not very discrete...

Here's my recepie.
- Take a roof rack (Thule) loosen the adjusters, and fit it on the car. Not too far ahead, wastelight must not reach the bonnet. Reflections will ruin your night vision. Tighten the adjusters.
- Make a template (dummy bracket) out of carboard. It should be nearly as wide as the lightunit, and viewed from the side, it should be U-shaped. Clamp the template around the rack (duct tape helps), and make sure it clears the roof. Mark it's position.
- Take one of the aux driving lights, and hold it in front of the template. Swing the light's foot 90 degrees back, and mark the template where to drill for the light's bolt. (If you cant swing the foot back, you've got the wrong lights. Get another pair, mate)
- Trim off any excess material from the template, it should be flush with the top of the rack.
- Using the template as a reference, make two brackets of metal. I used 2mm stainless steel.
- In the front of the bracket there should be a 11 mm hole for the light's bolt.
- At the rear, make a hole several centimeters large, so you can insert a 17 mm socket to tighten the light's nut.

- At the bottom of the bracket, drill a 7mm hole. It's for an upper rear seat rubber bump stop, taken from a scrapped Saab. It helps preserve the roof paintwork, if you loose the rack during installation.

- Drill three 10mm holes on the rack's underside. One by each lightunit, and one at the RIGHT end.
- The wires can now be put inside the rack. I used 2,5 mm² wires, and put the two supply-wires in a schrink-tube.
- Using a vice, clamp the bracket around the rack, and drill through both. I used a 7mm drill, and a 6mm bolt.
- Drill a 6mm hole in the bracket, next to the 10 mm hole for the light's bolt, for the wire.
- Repeat for the other bracket.
- Now you can spray the brackets black.
- Insert the rubber bump stop.
- Bolt the brackets onto the rack.
- Bolt the lightunits to the brackets.
- Fit an anti-vibrate-rod on top.
- Fit the roof rack on the car.
- Route the supply-wires down the a-pillar, and make plugs for it, near the fusebox.
- How to wire: See "wiring schemes".

Since the Mickey Mouse rack is for snow driving only, I chose yellow "allweather" 55W bulbs.