LED light bars on a 2000 ford explorer | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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LED light bars on a 2000 ford explorer

Joined
August 17, 2015
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City, State
Milford, DE
Year, Model & Trim Level
2000 Ford Explorer
Has anyone on here done any light bar work with '95-'01s? I am getting a brush guard for my explorer here real soon from a friend, and a set of 6.5IN LED light bars from carid to mount up on the brush guard.... the only thing is that I am still a little lost on how to wire up the lights to the truck to have it to where I can turn the bars on when I flick the highbeams on and to where I can turn it on just with the highbeams off...
 



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If (and hopefully you are) using a relay, you can tap into the high beam wire to do what you want. I did mine so that of the switch in the cab is off, and the high beams are on, the aux lights will be off. But if I turn the aux switch on, and turn the high beams on, the aux lights will come on too. I can't remember exactly what color the high beam wire is that I tapped into, but this thread was very helpful when I was hooking everything up http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=113584&highlight=grizzly.
 






From top to bottom 50" Cree, 20" Osram, 20" Cree, and 4 Cree pods for fog lights and aux reverse lights
 

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From top to bottom 50" Cree, 20" Osram, 20" Cree, and 4 Cree pods for fog lights and aux reverse lights

He's not wanting pictures. He was asking about wiring?

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You need to use a relay and link to the high beam wiring. As for also being able to switch on without the high beams I am thinking maybe a second switch in front of the relay...maybe a second relay forward of the high beam relay?

Getting a little bit more advanced then I have done.
 






Mmmm yeah I didn't ask for pictures, but they do sorta help out a little... that's actually exactly what I want my stuff to look like, minus the light bar on the top of the brush guard though. I'm getting some tail light guards for it as well. (sorry it took so long to reply back, lifes been crazy lately) But to be honest, I'm new to the whole light bar ideas.... but I actually take back what I said when I started this thread about running it to where they turn on with my highbeams. Where would I run the wires and stuff at?
 






12v fused from battery to relay 30 pin, ground on 85, ignition on 86, and output to switch on 87. Open the fuse box under the hood and use a multimeter to locate a fuse that is activated when the ignition is turned on. One you find that, run a wire from that fuse to the 86 pin on the relay There is a rubber boot on the drivers side near the steering column on the firewall which where I cut a small hole. Fish the wires through the hole with an old antenna or other stiff piece of wire. Once that is done, select how many switches you want and where you want them to be. Don't cut any wires until you have the desired length. Once you decide where you want your switch(es) drill the hole to size and put the switch in place. I advise using a 30 amp with and indicator light switch, especially if you plan on running the lights for long durations. If you run constant power without the relay to the switches they can get hot and melt. Power, ground, and output will be the three pins on the switch which are pretty self explanatory. Decide however many light you want per switch and link the red power wires together. You can use butt connectors or solder. I always use solder and heat shrink to keep moisture out. Link the ground wires together and secure them to the frame or negative battery post. Run a power wire from the lights through the same hole in the firewall to the output on your switch. Secure wires with split loom and zip ties then you're done.
 






They're not legal for public roads so they shouldn't be wired to come on with high beams at all. It really makes no sense to do that instead of leaving them as separate switched lights.

There are going to be times where you should have high beams on for public road driving without the new light bar so you'd still want a switch to kill the feature if you had it, so if you still have to keep flipping a switch for that, it might as well not have the high-beam link feature at all.
 






Love the roof light bar ! Which brackets are you using ?
From top to bottom 50" Cree, 20" Osram, 20" Cree, and 4 Cree pods for fog lights and aux reverse lights
 






I ran a lightbar on my Ex, before I sold her.
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As J_C pointed out, they are not legal for on road use. I would recommend keeping it on a separate switch / not triggering it with the high beams. If you do, I'd recommend having a "kill" position, perhaps with a 3 position (on/off/auto) switch, and a couple of relays, this way you can still use your high beams without the lightbar coming on.
 






my factory fog lights were gone, so I wired them in where the fog lights used to be.
 






Anyone know what brackets will fit on a 2000 mercury mountaineer for a 52 inch curved? Just need to know the brackets. Thanks in advance
 






^ Depends on what light bar? Normally they come with bolt on brackets, then you drill holes and add bolts if not included.
 






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