Auxbeam 32" 180W 5D led light bar review (bumper mounted)

Just finished the install of my new auxbeam 32" 5D led light bar, mounted in my bumper.



I used the the wiring harness that was included, an OEM style switch from CH4x4 and mounting brackets from caliraisedled.

I wired the switch into the blank location and tapped into the bed light switch so the switch only illuminates when the headlights are on (or light bar obviously).



The only modifications I had to do was cut a small portion off the wind deflectors inside the grill and had to enlarge the mounting slot on the bracket because the hardware for the auxbeam light bar is slightly larger than the caliraisedled bar.

The unit itself came well assembled with no paint chips or dents. All screws were tight and I don't expect any moisture anytime soon. Some people put silicone right away but I'll take my chances for now since it came well assembled. Here's my little helper pointing out the 5d lenses.



Light output is great! The spot throws light very far and the floods do a nice job lighting up the rest. Even though it's mounted down low it lights up a lot more than the high beams and further down the road. My only complaint would be the color. I like closer to white than blue. This is closer to 6k than 5k I believe .

All the pictures were taken on a street with no street lights and it was raining lightly.

Low beam 35W HID kit and amber halogen fog lights


Low beam/fogs + 180W Auxbeam 32" 5D Bar
You can see how much of the sidewalk/house and trees are lit up from the floods not to mention the throw down the street. Even the tree in the background in the middle has light on it as well. Pretty impressive for a cheap light bar.


Low beam/fogs + OEM Halogen high beam


Low beam/fogs + high beam + light bar


For a light bar that didn't cost much more than the brackets themselves, I would say this is a great product so far. It's definitely in the rainy season here so I'll update this as I go if any moisture develops inside the light bar. @pwalnut has an awesome installation write up in this thread ( https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/30-light-bar-install-easier-than-you-might-think.406194/page-16 ) if you need any help installing it.

 

Those poor people at the end of the street must love you! HAHAHAHAHA

That light bar is intense dude!

Had to turn the blue light filter off on my phone to see the color. Yea, definitely more blue than the rest of your lights but for not paying a lot that's a fair trade off. I like it!

Hey, couple questions.

How do you keep your fogs on when the high beams are on? I thought they turned off?

Can a light bar like this be wired easily to the high beam circuit.

Is it a big deal to put this behind the lower grill and then move it to a bumper later?

Thanks for the write up, you know I like these light threads.

 

Good golly miss Molly, that's a lot of friggin light!! Thanks for the pictures, but no thanks cause now I want!! lol

Hope you warned your neighbors! Makes me think of the poor neighbors that lived next to the Griswalds in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation movie...the part where he finally got the outdoor x-mas lights working and it blinded the neighbors!

 

You're right. I never noticed that the fogs cut off with the highbeam, so I'll edit my post to say there were no fogs with the highbeams. Not like they did anything with that light bar on lol.

I don't think it will be hard to wire it into the high beam signal to trigger the relay. You might still want to run a switch in the cab so you can use the high beam without it just in case.

Before I put it in the bumper it didn't see too hard to mount it on the grill. It wouldn't be a clean install with the stock mounting arms it came with but some companies sell brackets that allow you to mount it there. My only issue is that the grill seems to block a lot more light than the few little lines in the bumper.

Hope that helps!

 

Hah it was super late at night after we finished at my buddy's shop. The main spot beams were only focused on the trees and the houses were just hit by the floods. They were only on for a few seconds so I don't think I woke anyone up lol and if I did I have a good relationship with them so I don't think they'd be too pissed as it's not a regular thing I do, lighting up the neighborhood lol.

 

No, I was just asking if you rewired something as a work around. I think it's stupid they cut off. I had hoped you found a way to keep them on.

Yea, I will only use/need a light bar like this when my high beams are on and I would hope tapping into the high beam circuit would be a lot easier than running a dedicated circuit. I'm not as electrically inclined as you all.

Sorry, that's what I meant by lower grill, the area that is between the main grill and bumper. I just happen to refer to that as the lower grill. I was wondering if you moved it from there would the mounting holes for the brackets need to be cleaned up a lot or not at all?

Thanks! I'm a firm believer, thanks to this review, and the similar one @Parker315 did about his light bar, that you can get get great quality lighting for a fraction of the cost of other brands. I mean, I like to name drop as much as the next guy but I like keeping money in my pocket more.

 

Ah so I think the reason why fogs turn off when you turn on your highbeam is because in some states only 4 forward lights can be on at all times.

I'm not electrically inclined that much either, we messed up initially with the wiring and the switch was always lit regardless but we ended up figuring it out. I think though you will still need to run some sort of harness to draw from the battery since you might fry the stock wires if you try to run the power for the light bar off of it.

The mounting brackets use existing bolts on your crash bar, so there's no drilling required, so if you ever move it the only thing that's permanent is the little cutting you need to do from your stock wind deflectors to make space for the light bar. That's it!

 

I think that is the exact same set up I went with as well! Light bar, brackets, CH4x4 switch and I added a custom OEM looking switch panel to that cubby hole. Looks awesome and you definitely won’t be disappointed. I did add crystal sylicon to my light though. No moisture at all yet and I’ve had it on for 2 months.

Great post my friend

 

@rlx02

What lift, tire, and wheel setup do you have?

I’ve got a 3” all around suspension lift sitting in the garage waiting to have installed. I was thinking about going with 285/55/20 or 295/55/20 and 20” -12 offset wheel.

 

Damn now, supernova !!!!!!!!!!!


Loving that light bar set up. Your truck looks badass and I gotta get some enhanced lighting for my truck. You have pushed me over the edge....gonna happen. I know what I'm asking my wife for my birthday, lol. Steak & BJ day + light bar money.

 

What light bar did you go with?

I have an icon stage 1 set at a little over 2". Wheels are KMC XD129 Holeshots 17x9 -12 offset. Tires are 285/70/17s.

 

What wire in the bed light switch did you tap for illumination when headlights are on. Im thinking of either doing that or an add a tap to tailamp fuse if there is one. Thanks

 

So in this picture it's the green wire on the right side of the picture that has a t-tap on it . I did mine a little different by plugging the wire straight into the same terminal that the green wire is in instead of splicing it. Made sure it was completely snug and then taped the wire to the rest of the bed light switch wires to stay in place. I know its not 100% SOP but works just fine.

 

Thanks. IMO thats the cleanest place for an LED lightbar. Looks great

 

Cool thanks for the additional info. I will check into the piggy-back idea. Just seems like a hassle to use the light bar on the road at night with the high beams and have to it two switches. Tied in it would just be so much easier. If it works. Yea, if those brackets are behind the grill or bumper and that's all you have to cut off, no big deal. Just some of the aftermarket bumpers I look at have the option for light bars to be mounted in them and that is what I would want to do if I bought the light bar long before the bumper.

 

Sweeet!! Ok cool so a -12 should like real good.

I got from AuxBeam a 32 INCH 180W FLOOD/SPOT COMBO STRAIGHT LED LIGHT BAR. It was about $85 or $90.

 

Yea, I thought you said the one you bought was cheaper than the other one posted. i wonder what the difference is.

 

This looks solid. The secret to the cheaper led solutions like these is to add some clear silicon and check the tightness of the seal bolts periodically. I have a set of nilight ditch lights that is still condensation free after several months of plenty of precipitation!

 

Wow, that looks great! That's the same lightbar I'm considering but after adding LED high beams, I'm not sure I need a light bar.

One thing I'm curious about is what the difference is between the 2nd and 3rd gen brackets. You can get 2nd gen for $25 but the 3rd gen options are Caliraised and Rago for $60.