01-04 valence 8" led bars in turn signal spot +20"+dtrl's with mesh inserts[installs]

Been a long time waiting for some of you. I have been asked quite a few times how I got the light bars in the turn signal area..

But finally got around to compiling all my pics. And finally getting my 8" led bars reinstalled into the turn signal areas. Did this a while back, but had a wreck and got new bumper and hadn't had the motivation to do it all over again as they are a total pain, especially the 8" ones..

Not gonna go into too much detail.. I'll put in a caption or two along the process..

I'll break it down to 3 posts for each project.
-8" led bars in turn signal areas
-20" led bar in center
-DTRL eagle eye bolts with mesh inserts

 

8" led bars in turn signal areas



First I tried this as a dremel, ended up being better to use a box cutter with a fresh blade and it cuts through pretty easy. The bumper plastic is pretty soft, and using a dremel can be quite precarious. You will see below a photo of the hacked up plastics using the dremel, and then how it was using the blade on the other side.


Traced out what I wanted cut. Which is pretty much the entire signal housing except two tabs top and bottom for mounting points













Used some thin cardboard sheets for templates.





Grille mesh was from customcargrilles.com
Is malleable enough to be easily bent as well as cut with wire snips.
Traced out my design and bent them to shape by hand after cutting them.







Test fitting the mesh:




Below you can see how I mounted them. The grille mesh is held in to the tabs using 4 small bolts (2 top and 2 bottom) with nylocks. Drilled out holes in the tabs first of course.
Then used a combination of flat stock bars to attach the bar to the valence. The perforate bar is attached to the led bar. The the 'U' shaped bracket is attached to that and the two tabs in valence. I also got longer small allen bolts for the front caps of the led bar, fed through the mesh and into the light bar. These add to overall sturdiness as well.. The first time I tried this, I just used mesh and bolted the led bar to the mesh with the same extended bolts, but the bars are too heavy and eventually started breaking the mesh as it's too flimsy to support the weight..

The first time I used the brackets, I had 4 'L' shaped brackets. This time it was changed to a single wrap around 'U' shape bracket. And it's sturdy enough to hold it just the same. They aren't budging at all.



Viola!

Side note
Keep in mind too, that for proper aiming of the led bars, it will depend on how the mesh inserts are installed, but mostly due to how the brackets in back are aligned. Having a bracket (like the "U" shaped one) with a slot in it, or multiple holes, or even adjustment before drilling a single hole, would be ideal. So they can be properly aimed forward. The first time I did it, I had the valence on truck and adjusted the light how I wanted whilst being bolted to mesh, and marked the brackets for drill points. This set ended up being pointed down too much. I'll probably just leave it, as they are flood lights. If nothing else, I just gotta unbolt that single bolt and readjust then drill a new hole. There is a little bit of wiggle room for adjustment doing it that way. The plastic tabs on bumper will flex slightly, but still hold its position once fastened down.

 

20" led bar

This method allows the single row bar to be installed in the valence and be flush with the front of bumper, versus installing a double row for example, behind the valence. Only reason I did this way, is because I wanted the flush look, as well as the bumper not limiting its field of view. Some bars will be affected more than others depending on their optics. But this bar has a very wide output/spill of light.


First I cut out the middle tabs (again with a razor knife)




Then I created a bracket. With this bar, the length is just shy of reaching the tabs so I used spacers as well. The bracket was measured beforehand and shaped to fit from tab to tab.




I then marked where it needed to be cut and trimmed whilst placing the bar in temporarily, removed the bracket from led bar, then installed the bracket to valence by drilling holes through and secured with small bolts and nylocks.





Led bar reinstalled:



Double checking finished look. Bolting up valence to bumper.

 

Valence dtrl eagle eye bolts with mesh inserts


I used these led bolts


Commonly referred to as "Led eagle eyes" on ebay. These on ebay are pretty cheap, both in price AND quality. Others of much higher quality can be found at superbrightleds.com or oznium.com
The cheaper ones are anodized, and tend to fade in direct sunlight to a bronze-ish/copper color. The lenses also tend to fall off too. But I plan to remedy this with coating new ones with a uv protectant or just clear coat if nothing else. Also to note, is that some of these are referred to as amber, but are in actuality, more of a yellowish color. On ebay, it's very hard to tell what youre gonna get be it yellow (unless it's stated as yellow) or true amber. I've gotten both color hues from different sellers. So buyer beware!! If you are only buying 4 of these and not a ton like in my turn signals, then superbrightleds/oznium is the best bet. Oznium also has options to get ones with or without lenses, for a narrow/wide spread of light.

But they are crazy bright and love the look. These are also commonly used in 'raptor light' mods. I still have yet to reinstall these back in my new valence. I also have these in my turn signal filler panels as you've probably noticed, for custom turn signals. I have a writeup on those as well here:
Headlight Filler Panel led turn signals & misc led dtrl's (bolt led's) [write-up]











First I used a mechanics hook/pick tool to puncture the valence with holes, and attached the mesh using thin wire. The holes needed for the led bolts were easily snipped out with wire cutters. The bolts have the nut on back but I might suggest washers and/or lock washers to make sure they dont come loose. I had driven with these for quite a while without washers or lock washers, and they didnt budge loose.






Test fitting and securing them in place with the wire.

Folding the edges in around the mesh. (not needed but looks cleaner from the backside, plus a little more protection if you have to reach up there blindly to service a led bolt down the road..

 

i still think your lighting build out is amazing

thanks for sharing the details

edited for stupid wording

 

Sick! Always liked your truck man!

 

Thanks guys. I'll be kinda sad to see my valence go once I get my plate bumper. Should still get a few months of use out of it until I actually receive the bumper tho, ha. But, gonna try to replicate the look I've currently got on the plate bumper as well. Waiting on word from relentless regarding some custom 2.5"x8" cutouts just for these lights. Plus gotta figure out how to mount my 20" on the lower skid. Probably fab up something like this.

 

does the bumper come with an FJ attached?

 

Wow. Nice work Harlan, sweet rig!!

 

I know there might be a write up somewhere but, did you have to do anything to your battery running all this?

Anything extra fuse wise?

 

I didn't use any extra fuses for any of the led eagle eyes. Those are just tapped straight into the running light wiring. I also have 7 of those eagle eyes, each side for turn signals, also tapped into the turn signal wiring with no extra fuses or anything. And they have not had any issues.

I did however make my own wiring for the led bars with relays utilizing a blue sea fuse block. I will eventually be redoing all my wiring with distribution blocks for the running lights and maybe fuses, as well as a waterproof relay box for all the led bar wiring and relays. But that's a job. Quick and easy works, but it makes a helluva mess of wires under the hood and wherever you route them, especially when you start adding more and more, heh.. I do kinda tidy them up along the chassis and body a lil bit with zip ties tho. But yeah, kinda wished I had done it right the first time with all the wiring. Gonna be fun trying to rip that all out and redo it all.

 

@NightProwler glad to see you back on here lately - hadn't seen you for awhile. I think I want a 6,10, or 12" amber single row for my aftermarket skid plate - any recommendations for getting the best output for the price? I'm not looking to buy a Rigid or BD if I can save about half the cost and get most of the performance. Thanks.

 

Yeah man I've kinda lost interest in the taco. At least for a good while. Got back into sportbikes so I've been preoccupied with that.. Barely drive the taco anymore. Ha.. So I'm kinda outta the loop regarding lights as well. Certainly with amber ones at that as ive never really looked too hard into those. Sorry man. But i can say, that I'd probably hunt for a 4d or 5d if going amber and that small. For performance that is. That way it will penetrate and throw as far as possible. Otherwise any other optics just wouldnt be practical for a smaller light bar. Unless its just for looks. You could always go for an amber cover too. But the performance wouldnt be quite as good versus true amber leds. But you'll also have more options going with a regular bar plus amber cover, as true amber bars are kinda limited in styles and optics. If it were me I'd probably go for a single row with 10watt leds with an amber cover, with spot optics. But again, there might be better options out now.

 

Thanks for the info! So I have a name brand 20" dual row bar and pods in white so I wanted some amber down low in my skid just for snow and dust occasionally - not for tons of distance. I found 2 options and I think a 6" is best to use in my skid since the light will be right where the mounting points to the front cross member are and I can reinforce it better around a 6" bar.

I know they aren't the top of the line lights, but for something down low that I'll try to protect with some mesh, but will be living a relatively hard life, I just want some cheap reliable light. Let me know what you think - I read the reviews on the Amazon one about it not having the output advertised. I'm wondering if the extremeLED bar is worth twice the price?

$43 Super Bright Off-Road LED Light Bar 6" Single Row, Amber Long-Range Wide Flood Beam for All-Weather Applications, 12V/24V DC, Corrosion & Vibration Resistant, Rugged Die-Cast Aluminum Housing, 1-Pack

https://www.amazon.com/Lightronic-Amber-Light-Single-Offroad/dp/B01LX4DKK5?th=1&psc=1

https://extremeledlightbars.com/x6-...ngle-row-led-light-bar-3600-lumens-flood-beam

This is at the top of my price range, but there's a question answered saying no one stocks an amber cover:

Rigid Industries 906312 SR-Series 6" Spot/Flood Combo Light Bar, 2 Piece

https://www.amazon.com/Rigid-Indust...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=SMTM2T7BP24NNP7Y1ZE9

 

Thats a good lookin light! Forgot about those ones. Think you can get interchangeable lenses too. Honestly man theyre most likely the same light. I'd snag up the Amazon one. Ive bought lights from that seller on eBay before.