22" Lightbar installed in Front Bumper / Active Shutter area

[derelict]

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.

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[EdRudy]

I'm usually not a fan of bling lights all over the place, (the lightning already has way too much), but I kind of like the way your setup looks. Subtle, clean and nice.

 

[DatOleMan]

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.

Man, that’s a nice look. Watch out!

 

[dingmah]

Love it. I want that grill and light bar setup now.

 

[csukoh78]

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.

Normally I kind of dislike this kind of stuff like this but if I'm honest that looks amazing, well done

 

[derelict]

Thank you all for the positive feedback. I'm really happy with the way it turned out. I will try to get some night pics and post them in the next day or two...

 

[Effonefiddy Lightning]

Hopefully you didn't block too much air needed for the radiator.

 

[derelict]

Hopefully you didn't block too much air needed for the radiator.

There is still plenty of air getting through the active shutters, both above and below the bar.

 

[MNG-HTOWN]

Love this setup. Any updates on the wiring?

 

[Fast4U]

which 2 inch auxbeam exactly? There are a bunch and i would rather let the research you already did be my guide.

Found it. The SP series dual row

 

[derelict]

Yes that's the one:
https://auxbeam.com/collections/22-...w-off-road-led-light-bar-with-amber-white-drl

 

[Azgunguy]

Where do you have the switch mounted to? Awesome build.

 

[derelict]

Thanks. I installed a Switchpros 9100 which is where I wired this up to:

https://www.f150lightningforum.com/forum/threads/switchpros-sp9100-8-channel-switch-system.22045/

 

[Tom Jensen]

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.

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.

 

[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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