22" Lightbar installed in Front Bumper / Active Shutter area

[derelict]

Your project came out very nicely. i was not certain about how you were able to get access to the metal part of the bumper to mount the light bar. Did you need to go through the (pretty darn intimidating) process shown in the video clip or was it a simpler thing? I ask because I’d like to mount fog lights behind the grill but can’t find any solid mounting points. I’m reluctant to mount lights to any of the plastic pieces up front because the lights will vibrate and create a strobe effect. I’d welcome your suggestions. Thank you.

Yes, I pretty much followed the video and ended up completely removing the front bumper. I don't think it can be done without doing that. However it is actually quite easier than it looks, it is really just removing a bunch of screws/bolts. I ended up doing this because like you said, I was uneasy about just attaching it to plastic. I was concerned that eventually the vibration would make the lights break the plastic. I considered using a metal backing plate behind plastic (like a mending plate or something similar) but at the end of the day felt much better about actually mounting to the metal of the bumper.

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[bordner42]

How were you able to mount it to the bumper? I watched the YouTube video to see where exactly you mounted it but aren't sure of where still. Did you have to drill through a part in the bumber?

 

[derelict]

How were you able to mount it to the bumper? I watched the YouTube video to see where exactly you mounted it but aren't sure of where still. Did you have to drill through a part in the bumber?

Sorry I didn't get a chance to take pictures, it would make it so much easier to explain.

So there is this plastic box that guides air into the active shutter area. You need to take that out. Then turn the mounts for the light bar so that instead of sitting at 90 degrees, they are 180 degrees and mount to the vertical metal backing of the bumper. That is where you need to drill holes and mount. I then needed to cut a slot on each side of the plastic box so it could slide over the mounting brackets. You will have to unscrew the radar unit for the ACC so you can move it out of the way and get your hand in the area where you want to put the mount so you can get the screws in.

Once you have the bumper removed all of this will make sense.

 

[salimbarut]

I have the same grill, and now I have to tint my bar as well, that looks sick!

 

[Mcfly]

I ordered this light bar but with the RGB function. Going to mount it up in the same spot and attempt to wire it up to my aux switches. I'll post some pics with done.

 

[Mcfly]

Done, mounted slightly higher than I wanted but overall I'm happy with it. Also installed some rigid ditch lights.

 

[dpwmc93]

Looks great. Looking to get some ditch lights installed on mine.

 

[Landscaper]

I finally got all the wiring done for this project and successfully fired everything up so I wanted to share. I have been going down a rabbit hole with lightbars and wanting to mount it somewhere on the front grill, bumper, etc. I bought and returned a whole bunch of cheapo Amazon things, just part of the discovery process. I really had my heart set on the diode dynamics stage series, but they only had an 18" bar. I wanted to mount the bar to something solid, so after watching this video, I realized I could mount it to the metal part of the back of the front bumper:



So I decided on the Auxbeam because it is 22", has both and amber and white DRL, and yes, I know what everyone says about buying chinesium stuff but the Auxbeam feels pretty solid and is on the higher end of the cheap stuff.

I also installed a switchpros 9100 so I could control everything, when I get a chance I'll write more about that. I started out with the Auxbeam AR800 and while I think that system is fine, the deal breaker for me was that everything defaults to off when you start the car. So if you wire your DRLs or the grill marker lights in my case, you have to press a button every time you start the car for them to come on. With the switchpros you can have a default on state. So a lot more $$ for the swithpros, but ultimately I do think the SP is a good system and I am happy with the switch.

Nice job making the stock light bar disappear. My only complaint with the truck. Does any light leak out at night?

 

[derelict]

Nice job making the stock light bar disappear. My only complaint with the truck. Does any light leak out at night?

Thanks, posted all about it here:
https://www.f150lightningforum.com/...rapped-with-stek-light-protection-film.21730/

You can see a night pic on post #5. Lets the light through, no leaks around the edges...

 

[Landscaper]

Thanks, posted all about it here:
https://www.f150lightningforum.com/...rapped-with-stek-light-protection-film.21730/

You can see a night pic on post #5. Lets the light through, no leaks around the edges...

Perfect! Thx

 

[dpwmc93]

Where did you get the Custom Grill? That looks awesome!

 

[derelict]

Where did you get the Custom Grill? That looks awesome!

Thanks, that’s the Raptor style grille, there are a few threads on this if you search. I got mine from AliExpress but others have purchased on eBay, etc…

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