Want to add a light bar.....

[1111ExpyEL1111]

I know there's been discussions on this topic but I searched and can't find them. I want to add a light bar to our 2017 Expy EL Limited and trigger them to go on when the high beams are on.

Can somebody please help me find the thread or share what you they did to accomplish this?

TIA!

 

[1111ExpyEL1111]

TTT!

I know this has been discussed before but for he life of me I can't find the thread!

 

[jeff kushner]

Oh nooo, you're going to be "that guy"?

I live in a community where you will find some type of truck is every driveway..........and we have a couple of "Light Bar guys".........I hate to be the one to tell you but many find those very intrusive.....typically driven by those with little regard for others.

To each their own though.....but I don't remember where the thread is.

jeff

 

[JExpedition07]

What I find to be intrusive are whatever GMC uses for their headlights. Should be banned. The pickups blind you by whiting out your mirrors when they are behind you and their headlights suck ass if you ever ever driven one. The light output blinds all the other drivers yet illuminated the road worse than halogens. I’m betting they are LED. They suck.

 

[1111ExpyEL1111]

Please let's get back on track here. We live in the country and light bars are an accepted Norm on trucks. They are only used when the high beams are on.

 

[chuck s]

I echo Jeff's comments. And besides, light bars are illegal for road use everywhere I've been for probably those reasons. Off road is entirely different and with no need to dim them off road complicating the wiring by connecting to the high beam circuit isn't necessary.

On road front lighting is nearly universally restricted by the states and provinces to four (4) white lights. This is why the fog lights extinguish by default when the high beams are activated. "Bambi mode" for the fog lights is technically illegal in many (probably nearly all) but I've seen no evidence anyone cares about the fogs being on as they don't blind anyone.

-- Chuck

 

[1111ExpyEL1111]

Boy lots of very helpful posts here! Please take your comments somewhere else. Thank you!

 

[1955moose]

Well 1111, doesn't look like you have anyone in your camp there. I don't think the factory wiring and relay will handle the extra current. Why not wire it separately like it should be with a separate toggle switch to fire them up. That way it's safer, and your highbeams remain just high beams. The bar mounting should be easy, an F150/250 pickup kit should give directions that are the same. Theirs quite a few videos online that show install.

Sent from my N9131 using Tapatalk

 

[1111ExpyEL1111]

Well 1111, doesn't look like you have anyone in your camp there. I don't think the factory wiring and relay will handle the extra current. Why not wire it separately like it should be with a separate toggle switch to fire them up. That way it's safer, and your highbeams remain just high beams. The bar mounting should be easy, an F150/250 pickup kit should give directions that are the same. Theirs quite a few videos online that show install.

Sent from my N9131 using Tapatalk

I thought the grills were different on the 150 and 250 S.

 

[1955moose]

I was just giving an example. Are you planning on mounting on roof, or are you going to mount down low? Most pickup guys attach to roll bar, not so easy on our SUVs. All the videos showed it below front grill on Expedition.

Sent from my N9131 using Tapatalk

 

[1111ExpyEL1111]

I was just giving an example. Are you planning on mounting on roof, or are you going to mount down low? Most pickup guys attach to roll bar, not so easy on our SUVs. All the videos showed it below front grill on Expedition.

Sent from my N9131 using Tapatalk

In the grill.

 

[chuck s]

Run via the high beams with a cutoff switch should meet your requirements and they can be switched to not come on in places they're inappropriate. A direct tap from one of the highbeam wires and a relay should be fairly simple to rig. I imagine such parts are available from one of several "off road" sources. LEDs draw significantly less power than other lighting but may still overtax the car's circuit breakers. I had to rewire my headlights so the low beams extinguished when the high beams came on back in olden days when I ran 5" diameter aircraft landing lights for high beams on US41.

I can't find anything specific to light bars in a quick view of WI traffic code. But spotlamp and adverse weather lighting more or less sets the tone:

(1) General restrictions. A vehicle need not be equipped with the lamps specified in this section, but if a vehicle is equipped with any such lamps, no person shall operate such vehicle on a highway during hours of darkness unless such lamps comply with the requirements of this section and no person shall use such lamps in a manner inconsistent with this section.
(2) Spotlamps.
(a) Any motor vehicle may be equipped with not more than 2 spotlamps.
(b) No spotlamp shall be used as a substitute for headlamps. No spotlamp shall be used as an auxiliary driving light on any motor vehicle except when such spotlamp is set or adjusted so that the rays of light are projected directly upon the road surface at a distance not exceeding 150 feet directly in front of the vehicle and to the right of the center of the traveled roadway. No spotlamp shall project any glaring light into the eyes of an approaching driver.
(3) Adverse weather lamps.
(a) Any motor vehicle may be equipped with not more than 2 adverse weather lamps which shall be mounted on the front of the vehicle below the level of the centers of the headlamps.
(b) Adverse weather lamps shall not be used in lieu of headlamps unless absolutely necessary in case of rain, snow, dust or fog and then only when a vehicle is equipped with 2 adverse weather lamps mounted on opposite sides of the front of the vehicle and when both such adverse weather lamps are lighted. Whenever any vehicle is equipped with only one adverse weather lamp, both headlamps of such vehicle shall be lighted at all times when such adverse weather lamp is lighted.

-- Chuck

 

[ManUpOrShutUp]

I know there's been discussions on this topic but I searched and can't find them. I want to add a light bar to our 2017 Expy EL Limited and trigger them to go on when the high beams are on.

Can somebody please help me find the thread or share what you they did to accomplish this?

TIA!

I haven't done a light bar just yet, but I have wired a set of reverse lights. It's all pretty straightforward. You will need a wiring diagram for the 2017 in order to find the location of the high beams. You will splice your relay into that and wire the light bar to the battery with a fuse in between. Most light bars (outside of the lowest end junk) will come with everything you need to wire it up.

FWIW, I'm with you on an auxiliary lighting source for country life. We live in an agriculturally zoned area with a mix of farms and residential homes, so street lights are few and wildlife are plenty. The lights are illegal, but I don't have a problem with them provided they are used responsibly and no officer here will stop someone for operating them (you will find them on most vehicles in our neighborhood).

Let me make a suggestion though re wiring: Use a switch (I'm partial to Carling switches). Position 1 can be on w/ high beams and position 2 can be off. This way when you leave the rural areas you can shut the light bar off completely. They are unnecessary in the city and you will be ticketed for it.