LED lightbar

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bucata206

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Has anyone tried installing one of the new LED light bars to their squares? Was possibly interested in doing it in the long run, but I am horrible at wiring. Didn't know if it would be more trouble that it would be worth. I just know my 36 year old headlights aren't much to brag about down a long dark road.

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PrairieDrifter

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They are soooo simple! As long as it comes with the wiring harness. Mine came with a full weather proof wiring harness with a push button switch and HID relay. All you have to do is run the switch into the cab hook up the battery power and ground and you are all set.

I might add that I wouldn't use a lightbar for on road use, as they are very very bright. Off road or country roads, hell yeah! you cant get much brighter than a nice lightbar. But way too bright for highway and city driving.
 

CSFJ

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Have you upgaded all your grounds and checked the plug terminals on your factory lights? Nothing wrong with adding auxiliary lights, but make sure all your other components are working like they should first.
 

bucata206

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No I haven't checked over everything yet. This was more of a long term goal.

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bucata206

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They are soooo simple! As long as it comes with the wiring harness. Mine came with a full weather proof wiring harness with a push button switch and HID relay. All you have to do is run the switch into the cab hook up the battery power and ground and you are all set.

I might add that I wouldn't use a lightbar for on road use, as they are very very bright. Off road or country roads, hell yeah! you cant get much brighter than a nice lightbar. But way too bright for highway and city driving.
Awesome! Ya it'd be more for backroads. Regular streets there would be no way. Be treated more as auxiliary high beams for backroads. Stupid deer come out of nowhere.

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PrairieDrifter

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Awesome! Ya it'd be more for backroads. Regular streets there would be no way. Be treated more as auxiliary high beams for backroads. Stupid deer come out of nowhere.

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Definitely worth the money then in my opinion. I love my lightbar!
 

PrairieDrifter

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Where did you mount yours?

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It isn't on any of my squarebodies, its on my daily. Its a 42 inch with flood on the outsides and the center is a spot light pattern, its mounted on my roof. The only thing I don't like is how it shines on my hood, but other than that its great.
 

bucata206

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Ah got ya

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Green79Scottsdale

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I just know my 36 year old headlights aren't much to brag about down a long dark road.

Before you go spending big money on an LED bar, do some work on your stock lights first, IMO. That way you have much improved lighting for everyday situations, not just the "long dark road" times.

On my '79, I bought a wiring harness that put a relay in place to control the power to the headlights. In the stock state, power goes from the battery, through the headlight switch, and then to the headlights. With the relay, power goes straight from the battery to the headlights, bypassing all that extra (and smaller gauge) wire, and your headlight switch now just controls a relay, not the whole system. Load on your switch is drastically reduced and more power ends up at the headlights. Works great even with 36 year old lights.

I also went another step and installed some H4 style headlights from Hella. The Jeep guys call them "E-codes", and this is the go to light for upgrading Jeeps. Our trucks use the same lights. These lights have both an improved light pattern, but also utilize a new replaceable bulb. So when it burns out, you only need a new bulb, your whole housing and everything stays in place. Easy for changing, no need to re-aim them, and you have a whole slew of options for headlight wattage ratings. I left the stock bulbs in them, 55/60's IIRC, but they have them all the way up to like 90/100's if you desire that.

That is what I would do first. I think I spent about $100 on everything. If that still doesn't light up the road enough, then go with an LED bar.
 

Stepside Billy

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That's the next thing I want to get is that headlight wire harness. I went through all of my grounds and the p.o. put in newer headlights. Really made a difference. A lot brighter than the lights on my Dakota!
 

v2500burb

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Check out carid.com
I have LED headlights
They are a HUGE improvement and give the Burb an AWESOME look


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theblindchicken

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Light bars aren't all that hard to install. Just gotta figure where you wanna mount it and then go from there. Wiring is pretty simple even if it doesn't come with its own harness. Just a simple run of wire, relay, fuse and switch. Standard auxiliary circuit wiring. Could easily make it fire with your high beams if that's what you wanted as well.

I'd start with your stock headlights first and then go from there. My truck used to have sealed beams when I first started driving her around.... Needless to say that the headlights would be washed out by the normal halogen streetlights around here.

Just upgrading to an H4 housing and a newer bulb made a world of difference. Like mentioned, they're very easy to swap out a burnt bulb without having to pull everything apart.
 

Johnnyz453

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Just installed 20in light bars behind my grill. Turned out to look really good and are bright as f***. Mine didn't come with a wiring harness but it was really easy to wire up and I wired it how I wanted and was able to hide all the wires and have the two on one switch. Made a custom switch panel in my ashtray spot. 3 led backlit rocker switches and a led backlit dual USB ports. Can take pictures if you would like and help with the wiring if it doesn't come with a harness. IMO I'd rather make my own harness and be able to hide everything.
 

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