# Grill LED install



## Lowriderfd44 (Feb 23, 2008)

I'm back with another install. Just finished up installing four Sound Off/Signal LED3s. These lights are fantastic. I origionally wanted to get Whelen TiR3s but the clears were just too expensive. I have them installed on my S-10 and love them. I new someone that worked at a weheln dealer so i got them cheap. Unfortunately, i don't know him anymore.

So i shopped around and came accross these. $49.99 a piece at www.lshlights.com I had my doubts cause they were so small but i watched a video about them on www.sirennet.com. And were very impressed. And i'm STILL impressed. These lights are even better in person.

However, they're a bit of a pain to install. It's more of how the directions are worded. A little confusing. Just read them, then re-read them, then keep them at your side while doing the install, lol.

They have three wires. Power. Ground. Pattern selection.


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## Lowriderfd44 (Feb 23, 2008)

next up, pick where you want them mounted. I wanted them behind the Grill.

Start by removing the cover. It's only held in by push pins. Get a flat haed screw driver and pop up the little pin. Then you can pull the whole pin out. Then the cover comes right off.


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## Lowriderfd44 (Feb 23, 2008)

here's what the pins look like out


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## Lowriderfd44 (Feb 23, 2008)

Here's the front with the cover off. Upon looking, there isn't a lot of room. For a big truck, Silverado 1500HD, There wasn't much room. And with what room there was, There wasn't really anything to mount them too. Only a small radiator support in an upsidedown V. That's when i knew... time to Macgyver some things...


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## Lowriderfd44 (Feb 23, 2008)

Hi ho hi ho, it's off to Lowes i go.

First i measure to see how much room i had. Not much. I originally wanted to do an X pattern with the light

blue\ /blue
\/
white/ \ white

but there wasn't enough room, or rather places to mount them so it would work that way.

so i went with a accross the grill pattern

blue whiteblue white

with the blue and white on the ends alternating in a different pattern then the two in the middle.

with that, i had 2 feet accross to play with.

I picked up a 1 3/8" x 36" x 1/16" thick piece of zinc plated metal. I found it in the garage door section.

I also picked up four L brackets to use to push the metal plate closer to the grille. I put them together almost like a box.


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## THEGOLDPRO (Jun 18, 2006)

i've been waiting for like 20 minuts for an update lol


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## Midwest BuildIt Inc (Nov 14, 2004)

lol..... me too:waving:


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## Lowriderfd44 (Feb 23, 2008)

THEGOLDPRO;542836 said:


> i've been waiting for like 20 minuts for an update lol





BNC SERVICES;542838 said:


> lol..... me too:waving:


haha. sorry. i went to go eat dinner. i'm workin on the next one now


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## Lowriderfd44 (Feb 23, 2008)

Since my grill is divided into sections, i just held the lights up where i thought they would look good, then measured how much space i needed.

originally, i was just gonna run the wires through the existing holes in the metal. didn't work out so well. i had to drill the hole a little longer. The wires on the lights are off set.

I also traced the light on to the metal so i knew where to drill the mounting holes.


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## Lowriderfd44 (Feb 23, 2008)

here's what it looked like without drilling the holes longer. If i did that, i would only be able to get one mounting screw in.

here are the lights mounted with the holes longer. I just used small machine screws, lock washers, and hex nuts. I think they were #6. but i don't know the length.


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## Lowriderfd44 (Feb 23, 2008)

oh yeah, forgot to mention. I had to cut off 1 foot of the metal. only needed 2 feet, it was three.


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## Lowriderfd44 (Feb 23, 2008)

with that all said and done, now it's time for the bracket. That was a *****, lol. manly cause there is NO room to move your hands around. But, i'll get to that in a minute.

First i put the two brackets together to form a U. and since, none of the holes lined up, i had to drill. you only need two holes big enough to get the #6 screws through. here i used those screws, washers, lock washers, and hex nuts. I didn't put thm together right away though. i had to take them out to the truck and test fit to see what angle they would have to be on to properly mount to the main bracket...:crying:


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## mcwlandscaping (Sep 8, 2005)

I can't wait to see the rest of these as well as shots of them turned on...i really want more lights in my truck


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## kklick (Mar 8, 2008)

Man this is like viewing adult themed material on dial up (or so I'm told). You watch and watch and hope for the goods and there's nothing. lol... Can't wait to see the finished results.

I've been contemplating the tir3's for my trailer. These may be a little cheaper option the way it looks.


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## THEGOLDPRO (Jun 18, 2006)

damn it i left for like an hour and its still not done, lol


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## stroker79 (Dec 2, 2006)

this is in real time. as he completes a step, he posts it here. maybe he is not done???


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## KINNCO (Jan 19, 2007)

tic toc tic toc


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## Lowriderfd44 (Feb 23, 2008)

WOW! i had no idea my thread was this popular, lol. :bluebounc I had to step away from the computer, i was getting a headache from staring at it for so long. I'll finish it up now.

and yes, it is completed, i just procrastinate a lot...


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## Fiafighterdude (Jan 2, 2008)

got any videos yet


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## Lowriderfd44 (Feb 23, 2008)

OK. after I made up that little U bracket. I went out to the truck to get a test fit. here's where it gets tricky. since the radiator support is an upsidedown V, i had to mount the part of the bracket on an angle. using the two exhisting holes, not the ones i drilled. i shot 2 self tapping screws in. be careful not to use too long a screw, wouldn't want to puncture the radiator.

oh yeah, be for warned, wear gloves... your hands WILL get cut up by the radiator. 

i had to put the bracket together only to see how it would line up. i did that before i attached the piece to the radiator support. i held it up straight as if th support was straight up and down. positioned it where i liked it, then just tilted a bit so that i could mount 2 screws. then i disassembled the bracket. and attatched the other half to the support. 

since it's so tight in there, i just used a long extension on my drill and went through the mesh of the grill.

for the other side, i just used something long and flat to lay accross the already attached bracket and marked where the other one would go and attached that one the same way.

sorry, forgot to take pics of just the one half being mounted.


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## THEGOLDPRO (Jun 18, 2006)

i have been waiting all night to see this conclusion lol


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## Lowriderfd44 (Feb 23, 2008)

next, i attached the second half of the bracket to half that is mounted to the radiato support. Here i used #6machine screws, washer, lock washer, and hex nut.


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## Lowriderfd44 (Feb 23, 2008)

ah! a step i forgot. my bad.

i put them together just temporary. then held up the light bracket. postionet that where i liked it on the U bracket and marked on the U bracket where the holes on the light bracket lined up. 

then i disasembled the U bracket and took the half with the new markings on it and drilled them out.

again, i forgot to take pics there. but on the pics above you can kind of see a blue dot on each bracket, thats the marking i made to be drilled out.

after those were drilled, then I assembled the U bracket.


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## Lowriderfd44 (Feb 23, 2008)

Now that the U bracket is assembled, time to attach the light bracket. using #6 machine screws, larger washers, lock washers, and hex nuts.

next up, wiring


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## THEGOLDPRO (Jun 18, 2006)

please tell me youi painted the bracket black...


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## Lowriderfd44 (Feb 23, 2008)

THEGOLDPRO;543046 said:


> please tell me youi painted the bracket black...


forgot to, lol. you really can't see it all that well anyway, but now that i've done it and know how to assemble/disassemble, i plan on painting it when it get warmer. it's been too cold and windy here to do it right and i have no room inside to spray it. but it will get done, lol


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## THEGOLDPRO (Jun 18, 2006)

any more pics or videos???? i know you took video


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## Lowriderfd44 (Feb 23, 2008)

i still have a headache from this wiring... only cause of the way they worded the instructions...

i'll try and break it down a little better.

each light has 3 wires. power(red), ground(black), pattern selection(white)

for starters, depending on how you want the lights to run: alternating, simultaneous, or criss crossing, and how many lights you have. This can change the origonal wiring.

each light is programmed with a code. 1,2,3, or 4. now depending on the set up, the numbers have to be different.

i'm using 4 lights, but i'm splitting them into groups of 2. 2 on one pattern and 2 on another. but each set of 2 lights will be alternating. the blue and clear on the ends will alternate with each other and the blue and clear in the midle will alternate with each other.

basically, set the number code up for 2 alternating lights on each set of 2... 

connect one light at a time. to do that, connect your power(Red) and pattern selec(white) together to your constant power.

which, for those that have been following my install, is the custom switch panel i made here: http://www.plowsite.com/showthread.php?t=59500

and connect your ground. once its starts flashing, (right now you're in code mode) it will flash a number of times corresponding to the number 1,2,3,or 4. Ineed one light on code #1 and one on code #3, doesn't matter which one is which, just one light in each set of two, one must be on code #1 and the other on code #3. so with 4 lights, i have two on code #1 and two on code #3.

once you've found the correct code for each light, without dissconnecting power, dissconnect the white wire. (if you need to change the code, tap the white wire to ground and it will cycle.) then dissconnect power to get out of code mode.


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## Lowriderfd44 (Feb 23, 2008)

next is pattern selection. i'm starting with the two lights on the ends. connect the corresponding wires together. red to red, black to black, and white to white.

find a good ground, i used an existing bolt on the hood release latch.

connect your connected black wires temporarily to the permanent ground and red temporarily to the permanent power. they'll start alternatly flashing in there default pattern. To change patterns, take a jumper wire and connect it to your white wires. touch that to a ground to cycle through the 16 flash patterns and find one you like. i picked alternanting quint flash for the ends.

once you have the pattern you like, disconnect your temporary hook ups from power and ground. leave the 2 lights connected though. cap your white wires, you no longer need them.

then move onto the middle 2. do the same thing hook up wise.i picked hyper flash, or something, i dunno what it's called.

now take both your sets of connected wires. reds and blacks. cap all your white wires. connect all your red wires together from all 4 lights and the same with the black. conecct all 4 black wires to the permanent ground, permanently. i used wire nuts with electrical tape. connect all four red wires to your constant power, again with wire nuts and electrical tape. 
all four will now turn on at the same time with the flick of one switch.

since it's a squirrels nest of wires, i strongly suggest wire loom, lol.


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## Lowriderfd44 (Feb 23, 2008)

and... TADA! you have flashing lights.

http://i26.photobucket.com/player.swf?file=http://vid26.photobucket.com/albums/c149/drumrmanFD/grilleday.flv


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## Lowriderfd44 (Feb 23, 2008)

here's the whole thing in the day

http://i26.photobucket.com/player.swf?file=http://vid26.photobucket.com/albums/c149/drumrmanFD/alllightsday.flv


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## Lowriderfd44 (Feb 23, 2008)

and night

http://i26.photobucket.com/player.swf?file=http://vid26.photobucket.com/albums/c149/drumrmanFD/alllightsnight.flv


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## Lowriderfd44 (Feb 23, 2008)

i'm also gonna put up how i did the amber light in the back window in this post too. i just don't have any pics uploaded yet.


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## THEGOLDPRO (Jun 18, 2006)

damn they are bright huh, looks sick man.


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## Lowriderfd44 (Feb 23, 2008)

for those curious, here's the link for the strobe instal. that's a work in progress

http://www.plowsite.com/showthread.php?t=59643


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## THEGOLDPRO (Jun 18, 2006)

also do you have a full siren selection or just the horn?


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## Lowriderfd44 (Feb 23, 2008)

THEGOLDPRO;543071 said:


> damn they are bright huh, looks sick man.


they really are. i am deffinately impressed with them and glad i bought them.


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## Lowriderfd44 (Feb 23, 2008)

THEGOLDPRO;543074 said:


> also do you have a full siren selection or just the horn?


It's a cheap Wolo siren. I just wanted the air horn. It was $35 in the Harbor freight catalog. I figure if it sounded gay, oh well. but it's actually pretty loud. again, another purchase im happy with. plus the install was beyond easy.

it came with a four button switch panel about the size of a credit card. the sirens sound awful but the air horn is nice.


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## Lowriderfd44 (Feb 23, 2008)

and thanks for the compliments everyone


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## DodgeGuy (Mar 9, 2007)

Nice install, but wire nuts = very bad. I hope that was only to get them working and you plan to go back and change out to crimp on connectors. Again nice install and awesome step by step.


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## Lowriderfd44 (Feb 23, 2008)

DodgeGuy;543079 said:


> Nice install, but wire nuts = very bad. I hope that was only to get them working and you plan to go back and change out to crimp on connectors. Again nice install and awesome step by step.


Thanks. I've never had a problem with wire nuts under the hood, but i wasn't happy with using them. it was all i had. So they're wire nutted with an ass load of electrical tape until i can get some heat shrink tubing or connectors this weekend.

thanks again


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## schatzfan15 (Mar 12, 2008)

hey nice job. oh and that whole switch panel thing i think i am gonna make one


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## mcwlandscaping (Sep 8, 2005)

those are BRIGHT, now i really want a set in amber and in white...i just don't think ide be able to understand the whole wiring thing :-\, they look awesome in the grill though, i do want to look into them and see if i can do it. Put some in the grill, on my tool box, on the backrack, and who knows where else! 

Awesome job with the lights!!

-mike-


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## Humvee27 (Feb 5, 2008)

*great job*

Excellent job...when I get around to running lights I'll do it pretty much the same...those lights are a lot brighter then I thought they would be....nice job again...


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## Fiafighterdude (Jan 2, 2008)

nice looks good


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## THEGOLDPRO (Jun 18, 2006)

your neioghbors might think you're crazy sitting in the raod with all your lights on and blasting the horn, lol


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## Lowriderfd44 (Feb 23, 2008)

schatzfan15;543105 said:


> hey nice job. oh and that whole switch panel thing i think i am gonna make one


Thanks! Cool, glad i could be of some help.


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## Lowriderfd44 (Feb 23, 2008)

mcwlandscaping;543141 said:


> those are BRIGHT, now i really want a set in amber and in white...i just don't think ide be able to understand the whole wiring thing :-\, they look awesome in the grill though, i do want to look into them and see if i can do it. Put some in the grill, on my tool box, on the backrack, and who knows where else!
> 
> Awesome job with the lights!!
> 
> -mike-


Thanks! I can't say enough how impressed i am with these. I think they're brighter then my Whelen TiR3s in my other truck.

If you need any help with the wiring, feel free to ask.I'm glad to help. It deffinately is confusing when you first read through the instructions. But it's actually pretty easy once you break it down into normal words, lol.


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## Lowriderfd44 (Feb 23, 2008)

Humvee27;543200 said:


> Excellent job...when I get around to running lights I'll do it pretty much the same...those lights are a lot brighter then I thought they would be....nice job again...


Thanks! They're even brighter in person. Sound off scored big on these lights. Great price, great light.


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## Lowriderfd44 (Feb 23, 2008)

Fiafighterdude;543215 said:


> nice looks good


thanks! :salute:


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## Lowriderfd44 (Feb 23, 2008)

THEGOLDPRO;543227 said:


> your neioghbors might think you're crazy sitting in the raod with all your lights on and blasting the horn, lol


They already think i'm nuts . This just verifies it, lol


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## grasmancolumbus (Mar 4, 2008)

check out strobelightking.com he is on ebay great prices already mounted in brackets with switches ready to go


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## AWLCO (Nov 25, 2007)

LED3's are awesome little lights. You're gonna love em. SLK is a crook, stay away from him!!!!!


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## Lowriderfd44 (Feb 23, 2008)

AWLCO;543490 said:


> LED3's are awesome little lights. You're gonna love em. SLK is a crook, stay away from him!!!!!


I already do. Best purchase i've made in a while. I saw SLK on Ebay. a bit pricey with a bunch of negative feedbacks.


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## mcwlandscaping (Sep 8, 2005)

grasmancolumbus;543333 said:


> check out strobelightking.com he is on ebay great prices already mounted in brackets with switches ready to go


are you the strobe light king??


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## Lowriderfd44 (Feb 23, 2008)

sounds like he is, lol


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## bike5200 (Sep 4, 2007)

Get rid of the wire nuts, solder the wires together and use heat shrink tubing. When you are driving in the rain there will be 70 MPH water trying to get into those joints.


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## Lowriderfd44 (Feb 23, 2008)

like i said before, i didn't want to use wire nuts but it was all i had and i couldn't really go anywhere to get something cause my truck was in pieces, lol. So i wire nutted them and covered it in electrical tape. It'll be good for now until i can get something else.


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## ADMSWELDING (Dec 26, 2005)

*blue lights illegal in mass*

I don,t know about down your way but up here in mass if you tried to run blue lights and you are not a cop,you are in for one hefty fine. payup


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## Lowriderfd44 (Feb 23, 2008)

ADMSWELDING;543810 said:


> I don,t know about down your way but up here in mass if you tried to run blue lights and you are not a cop,you are in for one hefty fine. payup


haha, yeah i know. NJ is blue for volunteers and red for cops. I was in Boston last week seeing a friend of mine. Made damn sure i had my blue light permit in easy access just in case


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## THEGOLDPRO (Jun 18, 2006)

CT uses blue lights for volunteer fire as well. police use red and blue, fire use red.


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## Lowriderfd44 (Feb 23, 2008)

THEGOLDPRO;543843 said:


> CT uses blue lights for volunteer fire as well. police use red and blue, fire use red.


NJ is blue for volunteer fire and ems. Red for chief/asst.chief (fire) captain/asst. captain (ems) also sirens for both. Red or red/blue or red/clear combo for police. Yellow for caution and green for command post. Purple for funeral.


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## Lowriderfd44 (Feb 23, 2008)

Well, i figured i'd post this here instead of starting a new thread. Mainly cause i'm lazy... lol

I finally re-did the install on my dash light. I forgot to take a pic when i started so i'll use the stock Whelen photo.

I got a Dual Whelen blue/blue Talon.

I originally had it on my dash. I decided to get it out of the way and put it above my rearview mirror.

Doing that meant some modification. Whelen makes a headliner bracket, but from what i understand, you just drill it through your headliner. They also make a visor bracket for it, which i had planned on using.... until i realized there was almost no room for it to fit. I figured instead of paying $20 for the visor bracket, i would try making my own first, mainly to see if it would work and if i liked it being mounted up there.


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## Lowriderfd44 (Feb 23, 2008)

So i went to Lowes and looked all through their "bracket" aisle. I finally settled on a "L" bracket, in "bronze tone" i believe it was. It was the closest to black i could find. Putting two together to make a "U" bracket. If they had something like that pre made, i couldn't find it. I got some of the shortest screws i could find. an put them together.

but first, i disassembled the Talon (took of the light shield and took off the window bracket) I used the screws from the window bracket to attach the U bracket.

The holes on the L bracket didn't totally line up so i had to drill. Not a huge deal.

Then i did that for both sides and assembled my U bracket with the screws... it's not the prettiest thing, but compared to the $20 Whelen bracket that mey not have worked, this was $4.... do the math, lol.


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## Lowriderfd44 (Feb 23, 2008)

i tucked the bracket right above the headliner. Now, it's not totally secure... mening, it wobbles around. So i have to get a small piece of metal, maybe HVAC metal or something. maybe go back to the bracket aisle at lowes and stare for a bit. I popped off the dummy panel from my overhead console, and theres plenty of room and a pre exhisting hole to use a screw to mount an anchor bracket. This may be a lot of work, but it's cheaper then the whelen one that i really don't think would have worked for me.

i tucked the wire up under the headliner and ran it down my A-pillar. Taking that off was easy, it's only held in by clips. Just get a small screwdriver in there to pry up and edge then use your fingers and give it a tug, it'll come right off. It didn't come all the way off cause the dash was there and i just didn't want to risk breaking the A-pillar. I had enough room to run the wires.

I popped off the fuse panel cover on the side of the dash and used a grabber thing i had in my garage and grabbed the wires and pulled them through.

since this was already hooked up to my switches, i didn't have enough wire to reach the new location, so i just cut the wires and spliced in a new section, maybe a foot long.

the negative wire to ground and the positive to my switch.


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## Lowriderfd44 (Feb 23, 2008)

final product


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## THEGOLDPRO (Jun 18, 2006)

looks bad ass.... videos?? lol


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## Lowriderfd44 (Feb 23, 2008)

Of course! lol and thanks!

http://i26.photobucket.com/player.swf?file=http://vid26.photobucket.com/albums/c149/drumrmanFD/talonnight.flv


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## Lowriderfd44 (Feb 23, 2008)

Here's all of my lights, minus the rear window light and the rear strobes i haven't installed yet, lol.

http://i26.photobucket.com/player.swf?file=http://vid26.photobucket.com/albums/c149/drumrmanFD/lightsnightnoheadlights.flv


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## THEGOLDPRO (Jun 18, 2006)

i knew you had some vids, lol


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## Lowriderfd44 (Feb 23, 2008)

haha, i got tons, lol


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## Dissociative (Feb 28, 2007)

whats in the back window?


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## Lowriderfd44 (Feb 23, 2008)

Dissociative;563708 said:


> whats in the back window?


Sho-Me LED slim light in yellow. Now i actually have the yellow on one side and red on the other. I'll take another video.


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