Auxiliary light opinions/pics

[Pballer71]

Right now I'm debating on what style of auxiliary light's I should put on my m1009. I don't have a roof rack so Im going to put them on the bumper/brush guard. Wanted to know your guys opinion of what style (square, round, or led bar) look best on these truck? If you have any pictures those would be a great help! Thank you

 

[Skinny]

I personally would go with something compatible with 24v to keep any extra draw on the entire charging system and not just the 12v side. My plan is to add some headlamp relays, install 24v H4 bulbs in my conversion lense.

 

[gimpyrobb]

I have some 50w floodlights available. They are oem for hetts and hemtt wreckers.

 

[Pballer71]

I personally would go with something compatible with 24v to keep any extra draw on the entire charging system and not just the 12v side. My plan is to add some headlamp relays, install 24v H4 bulbs in my conversion lense.

For your conversion lenses have you considered getting conversion lense that's meant for hid and running hids instead of halogen bulbs?

 

[Skinny]

I have a traditional conversion lense that came with a standard H4 bulbs. I don't even think they have DOT markings on them so legality is questionable. Since everyone now has LED headlamps which are focused like laser beams when oncoming, backup lamps that stay illuminated when the driver leaves the vehicle making me think someone is about to backup when no one is even driving, and DRL's which drop out when a turn signal is engaged...I say F the DOT! Your state inspector may have issues with any type of aftermarket lense in the truck if they are sticklers so just keep that in mind when purchasing.

I don't want HID's because I haven't been too impressed with quality. I've seen quite a few just drop out for no reason, then come back on. With a single bulb, you would be limited to low beams only since HID's cannot be cycled quickly on and off. You would have to do a quad lamp conversion, convert the wiring so all 4 come on when on HI BEAMS, then use HID in the LOW BEAMS lamp housing only. Clear as mud?

I'm impressed with just a quality Sylvania drop in sealed Halogen lense. I only bought my H4 conversion which was the same money so I did it just for budget and not performance. It also allows me to get back to the 24v headlamp scenario.

 

[Mainsail]

2 X 450watt 25v aircraft landing lights (thanks popacom!).

Seriously, the streetlights go out.

Yeah, you better dim those highbeams....

 

[cucvrus]

I have KC HID POD on my M1009 for the past 5 years. They are 24 volt 7" round and each has close to a million candle power each. I have them pictured in what I done to my CUCV lately Novemeber 10 2014. I needed to modify the brush guard , grille, grille moulding and lower valance panel to mount them. But they work good and are very useful in the back lands of PA. Not something you want on when you have approaching traffic. I also have the HID headlamps in it. They work well also. ON and off road in all conditions. They (HID headlamps) are 5 years old and never failed me. I still have the stock wiring harness with out issues. I have a set of truck lite LED headlamps in my M1009 Mule that work well. That is $375. per set. Either way you are good. Even with Sylvania silver star halogens you will be good. Now I am giving you my opinion on this. What ever you do it is your rig.

 

[richingalveston]

popacom lights.

I second the popacom lights 450 W 24v. I have them and a 24 inch led light bar. I can turn my high beams on, and the led light bar.
The led puts out a lot of light but once I turn the big lights on, I cannot tell all of the other lights are on.
The big lights draw a lot of power. you can feel it load the alternators. I hear that they have short life so I use mine somewhat sparingly, I use the other lights until I need to see a little further then I turn on the big ones.

Made some custom brackets so they bolt to my brush guard.
the Pic was before I installed the 24 inch led, it is mounted in the bottom brush guard space just above the bumper, below the license plate.

The other lights I have are two convoy driving lights, got rid of the jump start port. and I have two IR lights.
Going to add a large light bar above the windshield at some point.

I also plan to move the blinkers behind the grill (like the later model civy blazers) and make my current blinkers under the headlights daytime running lights.

 

[cucvrus]

Your lights look good. The Center lights. Honestly I would smash them in a New York minute up in Northern Pennsylvania. Tree branches , heavy brush and deer. Besides not being able to have them for State Inspection. I put digital kevlar helmet covers over my KC lites when I take it in each year for the annual state inspection. I have been stopped for the lights on 2 occasions and they were not lit. Both times they just checked the paperwork and did a walk around. One NY trooper was intrigued by the bullet holes in the fenders. He did a quick walk around and ask if I had any weapons , explosives , mines , grenades or any other lethal weapons. I sort of smiled and said no and he said OK drive safely and that was it. That was up near Watertown on I-81 N. That is in the middle of nowhere. If you have ever been there you know what I mean. Anyway your M1009 looks good. Keep it rolling.

 

[richingalveston]

The lights must be a PA thing.
No problem with having them in Texas that I know of. They were there when I had it last inspected. I know the law in Texas is you can only have 4 headlights/fog lights (forward facing driving lights). This does not count the marker lights and they must be DOT approved.

Driving on public roads with them on is illegal, having them is not. I know it is different in every state so probably the best advice for the OP is to check his state laws first.

I do plan to get the guards for them that are sold in the forum. I also plan to have covers made when I have my seats redone.

Rich

 

[tim292stro]

...and DRL's which drop out when a turn signal is engaged...

Well at least that one is a LAW: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2004-title49-vol5/xml/CFR-2004-title49-vol5-sec571-108.xml

S5.5.11(a)(4)(iv).

"S5.5.11(a) Any pair of lamps on the front of a passenger car, multipurpose passenger vehicle, truck, or bus, whether or not required by this standard, other than parking lamps or fog lamps, may be wired to be automatically activated, as determined by the manufacturer of the vehicle, in a steady burning state as daytime running lamps (DRLs) and to be automatically deactivated when the headlamp control is in any “on” position, and as otherwise determined by the manufacturer of the vehicle, provided that each such lamp:"

"(4) If not optically combined with a turn signal lamp, is located so that the distance from its lighted edge to the optical center of the nearest turn signal lamp is not less than 100 mm, unless:"

"(iv) The DRL is deactivated when the turn signal or hazard warning signal lamp is activated."

Has to do with DRL not affecting the visibility of the turn signal when they are close to each other - the turn signal's conveyed information is more important (the direction of the vehicle is about to change), than the information conveyed by the DRL ("hey, there's a moving vehicle here").

 

[Skinny]

Agreed

Sometimes they need to be covered too! This and most LEO's (not all) have no idea what the law really is and make up one to enforce. Seams to be a common problem with automotive state inspectors too. I remember when the Jeep Liberty Renegade model came out with the roof lights, a few states wouldn't allow it to be sold. Seems like every state has vastly different approaches to auxiliary lighting.

 

[Skinny]

"(iv) The DRL is deactivated when the turn signal or hazard warning signal lamp is activated."

Has to do with DRL not affecting the visibility of the turn signal when they are close to each other - the turn signal's conveyed information is more important (the direction of the vehicle is about to change), than the information conveyed by the DRL ("hey, there's a moving vehicle here").

Thank you for posting that up, very informative regarding DRL's. I just do not like how they have turned DRL's into being so bright that they need to be deactivated for the turn signal to work. Seems confusing and counterproductive. It grabs my attention which means it works but it also is very distracting as to try and figure out what is happening with the lights.

 

[tim292stro]

I don't disagree, for my part the DRLs that function when people turn on their parking lights bug the h311 out of me, or the electronic dash boards that are backlit which when combined with DRLs sucker morons into thinking their headlight came on automatically when in fact they are running mostly dark.

For my part, with a CUCV I like the armor headlights since they look the part (I don't like aftermarket consumer housings so much), I generally haven't seen a square shaped LED light bar installation on a CUCV that I've liked. I am modifying a few armor headlights for very high power LED for my build.

 

[tim292stro]

...With a single bulb, you would be limited to low beams only since HID's cannot be cycled quickly on and off....

Bi-Xenon HID kits have been available for about a decade. They use standard H4 housings, and have an electromagnetic actuator to slide the arc and a shutter from the shielded low beam position, to an unshuttered high-beam position.

On my Toyota I run a set in Cibie 200mm E-Code (5"x7" rectangular) housings with H4-4300K 35W Bi-Xenon HIDs. Ballasts are available in 24Volt if you want, and other power ratings (35W, 55W 75W, 100W). Now to caveat this, E-code housings are not DOT compliant, nor is sticking an HID system into a housing marked Halogen (such as an "H4" marking) - I know this and will not be butt hurt if a LEO calls me on this. I have also gone through the effort of having a third party optical lab confirm that this combination does actually meet modern FMVSS lighting limits (to protect against negligence claims). The new CUCV will have the J.W. Speaker Evolution 8900 lamps since I'm expecting my truck to be a "harassment target" outside of home turf, so I want to be absolutely sure I pass any road-side inspections.

[EDIT:] For underneath my truck I bought a 10-pack of 10Watt LED flood lights that will create a pool of light for checking clearance while running on unimproved roads/trails, and for making sure crazy people (or zombies ) are not hiding under the truck when I approach at night. They will be poked through the under-armor/skid-plates of the truck so there is nothing to shear off or any exposed wires to cut. 3x out each side spaced by beam width (60°) for coverage, and 2x out the front and rear for a 120° spread coverage.

Also, instead of building a roof rack I'm going to be building a set of jettison-able SWAT rails attached to the cab cage which will house hidden IR route flood lights and white LED route flood lights.


Jettison-able because there may be circumstances when having people riding outside might provide them the opportunity to do something stupid - i.e. I might not want to have extra passengers

[/EDIT]

 

[evldoer]

I went with the Trilliant lights from Grote. Got some cheap on flea bay because they are 24 volt, but that's fine for those of us who have 24 volt. These lights are also available in 12 volt. I wish a picture could show how well they work. I feel they are the best light out there. They draw only 1.9 amps, so you Dont need to run heavy gauge wire to feed them. They fit in the front brush guard like they were meant to be there with their factory mounting bracket. They could even be set back closer to the grille of tje truck for better protection of the lights.I also made a bracket to mount 2 of them facing to the rear, up high behind the cab. I would rate these lights as A+.

 

[tim292stro]

Yeah, those are awesome! I bought 4x of those to put in the end of an extendable painter's pole. Put it in the cab when not in use, clamp it to a headache rack when I need/want a portable 18' light tower (plus bed height it will be more like 22')



[EDIT:] For my front lights, I don't want to do what you did where you're blocking the blackout drive light and the NATO slave plug - I'll be trimming the grille louvers between the headlights and those fixtures and putting in armor headlights with a flood lens , aimed cross-eyed to avoid too much blockage by the grille guard [/EDIT]

 

[lostinutah]

I have a pair of Ibis tek 24" hid ir light bars that the guy threw in with my m1009. Problem is, no wiring harness and no mounts. I may just use the hids and mount them on the brush guard. I like the armored lights though. Ive seen some on ebay, i wonder if anyone would trade...

 

[epitts]

I got LED's from Amazon for 17.00 and run on 24 volts.

 

[MarcusOReallyus]

Nice. How bright are they?