AlexB's 2014 TE Build & Photo Thread

[alexb]

Flame if you will. Ordered a cheap 40" curved LED light bar off of Amazon along with 2 8" ones for the rear. I was initially planning on getting the 40" Curved LED bar from SuperBrightLEDS.com but was holding out for their next big sale. I decided I wanted something by this weekend for my trip to the lake over the holiday so I picked these up off Amazon.

MICTUNING 42" Curved 240W CREE LED light bar $199
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MW54I0O/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

MICTUNING 8" Single Row CREE LED light bar $42.90
Amazon.com: MICTUNING Performance SR-Mini Series 8'' 30W__Single Row CREE LED Light Bar COMBO Spot/Flood Beam 5W LED - 2 Style Mount 2700 Lumen 1000 yards Visibility 4x4 Off Road Jeep Polaris Razor ATV SUV UTV Car Truck: Automotive


I am not expecting much out of these at all and only purchased them because I have a prime account and can return them after a few weeks if they just completely suck. Since pretty much all of these cheaper bars are rebranded Hanma bars I wouldn't be too shocked if it's the same higher quality bar SuperBrightLEDs.com is selling for $450.

If it works, great I'll keep it and be happy I spent about half of what I had originally planned for. If not, I'll return it all worry free with my Amazon Prime account and move on to something of higher quality (no way in hell I'll fork over Rigid money though). Let's be honest, I'm mainly doing it for looks and occasional night cruising at the lake etc.

Should be arriving Wednsday and hope to install them that night. Flame suit is on and ready.

 

[alexb]

Got the lights in today and mounted up. Still have to finish the wiring and adjust them. The GOBI bracket is somewhat finicky and doesn't quite hold the curved bar how I'd like it. May have to change that up.

Turning them on in daylight they seem pretty damn bright. Will get a real test in when the sun goes now.

 

[alexb]

Not bad for $199. Bright as hell IMO and more than exceeds my expectations. Easily lights up objects a few hundred yards away.

 

[ur2ez22]

Got the lights in today and mounted up. Still have to finish the wiring and adjust them. The GOBI bracket is somewhat finicky and doesn't quite hold the curved bar how I'd like it. May have to change that up.

I got the Desert Rat curved lightbar mounted yesterday, and experienced the same thing I'm guessing you did. The brackets are very specifically meant for a straight bar, so if you leave them as-is then the bolts will have the torque side-loaded at an angle going into the curved bar. We ended up cutting the vertical piece that holds the bar to separate it from the horizontal part that mounts to the rack (and the fairing, which was issue with just trying to rotate that piece more) and welding in a different piece to allow us to turn the mount to align with the curve of the bar...royal pain...

 

[alexb]

I got the Desert Rate curved lightbar mounted yesterday, and experienced the same thing I'm guessing you did. The brackets are very specifically meant for a straight bar, so if you leave them as-is then the bolts will have the torque side-loaded at an angle going into the curved bar. We ended up cutting the vertical piece that holds the bar to separate it from the horizontal part that mounts to the rack (and the fairing, which was issue with just trying to rotate that piece more) and welding in a different piece to allow us to turn the mount to align with the curve of the bar...royal pain...

Yep, that's the exact problem I am having. The curvature of the bar is keeping me from being able to angle it down past horizontal. I don't have those fab skills, or a welder, so I'll have to figure something out. Someone in the Group Buy thread mentioned he changed the carriage bolts out and was able to spread the brackets out a little wider. I may give that a try next.

 

[camerontopa]

How do those 8 inch ones work for ya? I wanna put a couple in the upper part of my grille. Any output pics of those?

 

[alexb]

How do those 8 inch ones work for ya? I wanna put a couple in the upper part of my grille. Any output pics of those?

Hoping to get the wiring finished up this evening then I can test everything out and get some pics. Pics may not come until the weekend though.

 

[alexb]

Some updates from over the weekend.

Got all of the wiring finished on the LED lights and cleaned up for the most part. Waiting on a few things I ordered today to clean things up a bit.

My initial impressions on the lights:

Pros:
So far the brightness is very impressive. It rained pretty much every evening over the weekend so it was hard to tell the distance of the 40" bar, but even still it lit up more than I could ever imagine needing to see. The rear lights have been great too, super bright and no issues at all.

Now the cons:
The wiring harness that came with the bar is cheap and not near adequate for a 240W light. I noticed yesterday it was getting very HOT to the touch and after researching wiring and amps realized it is way to small at 18 AWG. 12-14AWG is the minimum recommended. That will be replaced ASAP. I just ordered one of these to replace the crappy harness with quality components. Universal Relay Fuse Auxiliary Distribution Box Jeep Cooper Bussmann Off Road | eBay expensive, but not starting a fire in the 4Runner is worth any price.
Now for the 40" bar itself. I new the main thing to worry about was condensation on these cheap bars. After 2 days of driving in the rain it was clean and clear and I thought it was good, but driving home 3 hours in the rain yesterday it finally got some condensation in the driver side corner. After further inspection one of the allen screws does not tighten all the way. My plan is to pull the front cover off, dry it out, check the gasket and seal with RTF silicone if needed and replace the stripped screw. I'm hoping this will prevent any condensation issues in the future.

I also installed some Hella Optilux Xenon Yellow halogens in the fog lights and love the yellow color they put off. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002E2WMWG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Hoping to have the new relay/fusebox, weatherproof connectors and sleeving in by this weekend then I will pull the bar off, fix the seal, and wire everything up nice and tidy.

Now for some pics! Sorry they are only crappy cell phone for now. Weather did not permit for any quality shots. Hoping to get some with the Nikon sometime this week, but yet AGAIN, RAIN in the forecast all week long.... :ybrick:

Hella Optilex Yellow Fogs

4300K HID low beams only

40" Curved 240W LED Light Bar only (impressive but the cell phone doesn't truly capture the distance this thing throws light)

Rear LEDs

 

[alexb]

Received some techflex cable sleeving and waterproof connectors in today. Got started with the bar and new harness. Bussman fuse/relay block will be here Saturday.

 

[DLH87]

Awesome build. I love the truck!

 

[alexb]

Getting a little play time in a few weeks ago for Memorial weekend. Barely made it down the boat ramp with the crazy flooding all the lakes have had!

 

[dieck]

How effective is the bug guard at keeping the windshield clean and bug free on road trips?

New AVS bug deflector and window rain guards installed along with a new Gentex auto-dimming rear mirror with HomeLink.

Next up is a Blendmount for the Valentine 1.

 

[alexb]

Got the custom Bussmann relay/fuse block installed and started wiring it up. Quality is amazing, looks OEM when it's all closed up. This is where I ordered it off eBay.

Universal Relay Fuse Auxiliary Distribution Box Jeep Cooper Bussmann Off Road | eBay

 

[alexb]

How effective is the bug guard at keeping the windshield clean and bug free on road trips?

Honestly I don't think it helps much if any for the windshield. Main reason I got it is to protect the hood from rock chips.

 

[alexb]

Wiring Complete!

Finally finished up the wiring for the LED lights this evening. Ripped out all the old Chinese wiring and replaced it with proper gauge running back to the custom Cooper Bussmann fuse box. Ran 12AWG wire up the driver side to the 40" LED bar and connected using waterproof connectors. Now the wires and connector only get slightly warm to the touch after being on for 5+ minutes.

For the rears, I extended the driver side wiring in the GOBI and fished it over to the passenger side. I then combined the 2 18AWG wires for driver and passenger side rear lights and used waterproof connectors to connect to 12AWG leading down the passenger side to the engine bay. Also covered everything between the windshield and rack with techflex sleeving.

Was pricey and time consuming, but well worth the comfort knowing I can run everything and not worry about starting a fire :flame:

One of these days I'll get around to taking some quality pictures again. For now I have these.

 

[alexb]

So, my 30 day return window on Amazon for my 40" LED bar ends on 6/20. I was browsing around and came across another 40" curved bar today that looks to have much better optics than my bar for only $60 more. I went ahead and placed an order for it tonight and should have it by the weekend. I'll be comparing the two to see if there is any significant difference.

The optics on the new bar have a fisheye style lens that is supposed to project the light better. Like this:

vs my current bar that has the typical projectors you see on most Chinese bars. Like these with only plain flat lens in front.

This is the exact bar I ordered tonight: Amazon.com: Oslamp? Curved 41.5" led light bar 240w 40000lm Osram chips Combo beams for Jeep ATV UTV Golf cart lighting trucks Pickup Ford f150: Automotive

It also claims to have 5w Osram LEDs vs the 3W "CREE" leds in my current bar.

I'll report back with comparisons once it gets in Friday.

 

[alexb]

Just a quick update. I got the new LED light bar in the mail with some good and some bad.

Bad news: I look to have gotten a damaged/returned bar. There was a major dent in the heat sink and some chips in the paint. A replacement from Amazon will be here tomorrow.

Good news: Aside from the damage the quality of this light looks much better than the first one. The finish on the metal looks much better and the optics and light output are much better as well. The new optics provide a much more focused beam. Unfortunately I got busy and didn't have a chance to take any side-by-side comparison photos before sending the old one back.

The original bar was extremely bright, but it threw light EVERYWHERE. The glare off the hood almost made it harder to see what was ahead. The new bars optics do a much better job of focusing the beam straight ahead.

Hopefully the replacement arrives without damage tomorrow and I can get it mounted up permanently. Until then, here are a few quick shots I snapped tonight.

Taken with my Nexus 5 with manual exposure to compare the brightness.

Headlights only:

Headlights plus LED bar:

New optics/lens:

More focused beam pattern:

 

[alexb]

Oh and one other correction. I miss read the description and this new bar has 3watt LEDs as well. They are claimed to be Osram chips instead of CREE though.

 

[MadeInMaine]

Overall happy with the new light bar?
Mounts easily to the GOBI?

Also, why did you go with the BUSSMAN, vs a Blue Sea, or other fuse box/relay? Just curious on your thoughts

Cheers

 

[alexb]

Overall happy with the new light bar?
Mounts easily to the GOBI?

Also, why did you go with the BUSSMAN, vs a Blue Sea, or other fuse box/relay? Just curious on your thoughts

Cheers

I got the replacement for the damaged new bar in today and it is perfect. Came in a sealed box this time with no blemishes at all. Just finished putting a new waterproof connector and techflex on it. Will get it mounted up tomorrow.

I went with the BUSSMAN because I really liked the OEM look of it and the one I ordered from eBay came custom wired with the relays and fuses already installed. It made the work on my end super easy. Just splice the wires together and install. Also it is completely water tight. It cost a pretty penny but for the quality, fit, finish, craftsmanship and ease of install it was well worth it.