Hey everyone! With some help/ideas from jeeplib05 I wanted to show you what exactly it took to get my 42" curved LED light bar mounted just above the top of my windshield. I am not a mechanic, I am not a professional, but sometimes I can figure stuff out. :weld:
Tools Required:
Philips head screwdriver
Drill with 3/16 or smaller bit
Allen Key (Most light bars come with one to tighten bolt that goes through the mount into the light bar)
Tape Measure
Marker
Loctite
Parts Required:
99-06 Chevy Silverado/GMC Sierra 52" curved light bar mounts by OMotor (Yes 52" is correct for the mounts but the KJ will only fit a 42" curved bar) - $20.99
Auxbeam 42" 5D Curved LED Lightbar 240w - $129.99
1/4" width 1/2" length sheet metal screws (Quantity 6) I went to my local fastenal and they had these in packs of 3 for ~$2.50
About the light bar and why I purchased this specific one.
Light bars range in price from less than $100 all the way up and over $1000. If you have the cash and want a top of the line bar Rigid Industries seems to be the go to company. If you're spending less than $400-500 you'll notice all of the light bars from Amazon to Ebay look nearly identical. I believe they are all produced over sees (China) by a handful of factories unbranded. Then Auxbeam, Autofeel, Eyourlife, RigidHorse, etc slaps their logo on it and calls it a day. Not trusting Amazon reviews I waited until I spoke with someone who actually owned a bar and got their thoughts on it. jeeplib05 was that someone, but don't go blaming him/me if you get a dud. Auxbeam does have their own site they sell from but the prices were better on Amazon, with Prime I don't have to pay shipping, and I trust Amazon's customer service to help me out if I have any issues within the first year (length of warranty from nearly all the cheaper light bar sellers).
1) Where to put the mounts
I measured 0.5" back from the top of the windshield top weatherstripping, held up the gmc mount and marked the holes with my marker. I then drilled 3 pilot holes ~1/4" deep.
The gmc mounts come with a "gasket" that sticks to the side of the mount that goes against the vehicle. You don't need to worry about leaks because this is drilled into the rail and not the roof itself. I still put it on as sort of a spacer.
Use 3 of the sheet metal screws per mount. I put loctite on them and hand tightened them with a philips screw driver.
That it's for the mounts.
Now to add the light bar itself to the mounts. There is one bolt that goes through the mount into the light bar itself. This bolt came with my light bar (one for each side). The bolt itself is slightly too long with the GMC mounts so I used the rubber gasket that is supposed to be used with the mounts that come with the bar and stuck it between the gmc mount and the light bar. You can see this in the pic below
I will be replacing this rubber with something stiffer. Since it is so soft you need to really crank the bolts down for the bar to not tilt up/down by itself. I will update this post once I take care of this on my next day off.
What about wiring it up?
This light bar came with a wiring harness, 40amp relay, 30 watt inline fuse, and a switch with an led that is red while off and green while on. The red led stays on even if you turn your car off but it draws such a minuscule amount of power you don't need to worry about it. I tucked the wire from the bar into the gap between the a pillar and windshield. You can see this in the picture above. You can probably pull out the cowl and tuck the wire under it and go into the engine compartment but I just went over the cowl and under the hood for now. I will be running running the wiring for the switch through the firewall on my next day off. Right now I just run the switch wire out of the drivers side cowl and through the door jam temporarily. See pics below.
The wiring is 14-16awg. I left it on for a bit and none of the wires got warm to the touch. This bar claims to draw 240w@12v which is 20 amps. I will be upgrading the wiring to 10 or 12awg wire with a cooler looking switch :emotions34:
Additional Pictures:
Why the tape over the cooling fins?
The tape is a temporary fix to what I can only describe as an EVIL sound! While doing research before purchasing a light bar I would see people complaining about their light bar "whistling". No big deal I thought it's probably just the wind hitting the flat front surface of the bar. Oh boy was I wrong. This is exactly what it sounded like every time I went over 40mph.
Light bar "Whistle" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSvjCxJCa4w
Apparently the wind going under the bar causes these fins to act like the devils harmonica. At night here it's between 30 - 45 degrees so my light bar is always cold so I'm not worried about overheating the LED drivers. I will be removing the tape and placing some silicon between the fins to prevent it from over heating come spring/summer.
Tools Required:
Philips head screwdriver
Drill with 3/16 or smaller bit
Allen Key (Most light bars come with one to tighten bolt that goes through the mount into the light bar)
Tape Measure
Marker
Loctite
Parts Required:
99-06 Chevy Silverado/GMC Sierra 52" curved light bar mounts by OMotor (Yes 52" is correct for the mounts but the KJ will only fit a 42" curved bar) - $20.99
Auxbeam 42" 5D Curved LED Lightbar 240w - $129.99
1/4" width 1/2" length sheet metal screws (Quantity 6) I went to my local fastenal and they had these in packs of 3 for ~$2.50
About the light bar and why I purchased this specific one.
Light bars range in price from less than $100 all the way up and over $1000. If you have the cash and want a top of the line bar Rigid Industries seems to be the go to company. If you're spending less than $400-500 you'll notice all of the light bars from Amazon to Ebay look nearly identical. I believe they are all produced over sees (China) by a handful of factories unbranded. Then Auxbeam, Autofeel, Eyourlife, RigidHorse, etc slaps their logo on it and calls it a day. Not trusting Amazon reviews I waited until I spoke with someone who actually owned a bar and got their thoughts on it. jeeplib05 was that someone, but don't go blaming him/me if you get a dud. Auxbeam does have their own site they sell from but the prices were better on Amazon, with Prime I don't have to pay shipping, and I trust Amazon's customer service to help me out if I have any issues within the first year (length of warranty from nearly all the cheaper light bar sellers).
1) Where to put the mounts
I measured 0.5" back from the top of the windshield top weatherstripping, held up the gmc mount and marked the holes with my marker. I then drilled 3 pilot holes ~1/4" deep.
The gmc mounts come with a "gasket" that sticks to the side of the mount that goes against the vehicle. You don't need to worry about leaks because this is drilled into the rail and not the roof itself. I still put it on as sort of a spacer.
Use 3 of the sheet metal screws per mount. I put loctite on them and hand tightened them with a philips screw driver.
That it's for the mounts.
You must be registered for see images attach
You must be registered for see images attach
Now to add the light bar itself to the mounts. There is one bolt that goes through the mount into the light bar itself. This bolt came with my light bar (one for each side). The bolt itself is slightly too long with the GMC mounts so I used the rubber gasket that is supposed to be used with the mounts that come with the bar and stuck it between the gmc mount and the light bar. You can see this in the pic below
You must be registered for see images
I will be replacing this rubber with something stiffer. Since it is so soft you need to really crank the bolts down for the bar to not tilt up/down by itself. I will update this post once I take care of this on my next day off.
What about wiring it up?
This light bar came with a wiring harness, 40amp relay, 30 watt inline fuse, and a switch with an led that is red while off and green while on. The red led stays on even if you turn your car off but it draws such a minuscule amount of power you don't need to worry about it. I tucked the wire from the bar into the gap between the a pillar and windshield. You can see this in the picture above. You can probably pull out the cowl and tuck the wire under it and go into the engine compartment but I just went over the cowl and under the hood for now. I will be running running the wiring for the switch through the firewall on my next day off. Right now I just run the switch wire out of the drivers side cowl and through the door jam temporarily. See pics below.
You must be registered for see images attach
You must be registered for see images
The wiring is 14-16awg. I left it on for a bit and none of the wires got warm to the touch. This bar claims to draw 240w@12v which is 20 amps. I will be upgrading the wiring to 10 or 12awg wire with a cooler looking switch :emotions34:
Additional Pictures:
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images attach
You must be registered for see images attach
You must be registered for see images attach
You must be registered for see images
Why the tape over the cooling fins?
The tape is a temporary fix to what I can only describe as an EVIL sound! While doing research before purchasing a light bar I would see people complaining about their light bar "whistling". No big deal I thought it's probably just the wind hitting the flat front surface of the bar. Oh boy was I wrong. This is exactly what it sounded like every time I went over 40mph.
Light bar "Whistle" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSvjCxJCa4w
Apparently the wind going under the bar causes these fins to act like the devils harmonica. At night here it's between 30 - 45 degrees so my light bar is always cold so I'm not worried about overheating the LED drivers. I will be removing the tape and placing some silicon between the fins to prevent it from over heating come spring/summer.
