2007 XLT stealthy light bar install

- 2007 Explorer XLT
- 32" curved LED light bar
- MICTUNING single lead wiring harness and zombie lights switch

 

[toypaseo]

Are any of the LEDs getting blocked by the grill in front of it?

 

[bobditts]

there is some minimal blocking. Not enough for me to want to do anything about it.

 

[PotatoExplorer]

Hey Bobditts, I'm thinking about tackling this project this weekend... depending if I can get together enough time to do it. I have an old 20" LED light bar that I pulled off my Ranger and I just bought an after market grille so I thought this would be a great time to do this install.

Question - When mounting to that metal bumper bar, I'm guessing you were able to get your fingers behind there to thread a nut onto the bolt going through? Were there any sensors (like for the airbags) that you had to avoid?

 

[bobditts]

Hey Bobditts, I'm thinking about tackling this project this weekend... depending if I can get together enough time to do it. I have an old 20" LED light bar that I pulled off my Ranger and I just bought an after market grille so I thought this would be a great time to do this install.

Question - When mounting to that metal bumper bar, I'm guessing you were able to get your fingers behind there to thread a nut onto the bolt going through? Were there any sensors (like for the airbags) that you had to avoid?

The metal bumper comes off with 2 bolts if I remember correctly. Might have been 4. Either way, I took the bumper off to drill my holes to mount the light bar. Much easier than trying to fight it while still attached to the frame. There weren't any sensors or any electronics at all attached to it to worry about. Super simple and straight forward.

 

[PotatoExplorer]

Cool thanks man. I'm going to actually attempt this right now so I'll let you know how it goes later!

 

[bobditts]

Cool thanks man. I'm going to actually attempt this right now so I'll let you know how it goes later!

How did it go?

 

[PotatoExplorer]

Installation of the bar and the aftermarket grille went fairly smoothly. Running the wiring into the cab and getting the bar to work was a dud. I got all the wire ran just as I did in the Ranger but couldn't get the light bar to work. Im going to have to look at it again. Unfortunately my next available time will be in 2 weeks. I also tried to wetsand and rattle can several clear coats on the front bumper since mine was starting to spiderweb and crack and that turned into a huge PITA. I ended up using 2 cans and ran out of paint and time. I had to throw it back on and it looks like straight garbage.

A few follow up questions -
Where did you enter the cab for your wiring? I tried to go through the main wire harness near the steering linkage but I couldn't for the life of me snake a wire through the factory rubber gooseneckish fitting. I ended up pushing the rubber fitting at the firewall to the side a little and snaking it to the side of it.

Where did you ground your switch inside the cabin? I looked for a factory ground within the cab like in my Ranger and couldn't find any factory spots. I tried to ground to a small bolt near the emergency brake pedal and I'm not sure if that was my problem.

Does your switch piggyback/tap into the fusebox? I tried a few of the 10amp fuses with no luck.

I need to take some time to troubleshoot. Sorry for all the follow up questions. Thanks for all the previous help!

 

[toypaseo]

@bobditts , when you turn on the LED bar, do you get radio interference?

 

[bobditts]

A few follow up questions -
Where did you enter the cab for your wiring? I tried to go through the main wire harness near the steering linkage but I couldn't for the life of me snake a wire through the factory rubber gooseneckish fitting. I ended up pushing the rubber fitting at the firewall to the side a little and snaking it to the side of it.

ANSWER - I used the same location but cut a small hole in the rubber and sealed it up after running the wire through it. I absolutely hate doing it this way but did it anyways.

Where did you ground your switch inside the cabin? I looked for a factory ground within the cab like in my Ranger and couldn't find any factory spots. I tried to ground to a small bolt near the emergency brake pedal and I'm not sure if that was my problem.

ANSWER - My switch connects to a wiring harness that I purchased. All connects are made to the battery.

Does your switch piggyback/tap into the fusebox? I tried a few of the 10amp fuses with no luck.

Answer - Straight to the battery with a dedicated fuse.

I need to take some time to troubleshoot. Sorry for all the follow up questions. Thanks for all the previous help!

@bobditts , when you turn on the LED bar, do you get radio interference?

Negative. Sounds like you have a ground loop somewhere. Try grounding directly to the battery.