This is how I installed my hood mounted pod lights

I installed my dual LED pod lights on to Zroadz dual adapter hood hinge plate and that was attached to the Apoc Industries hood / Ditch light brackets. Problem was they windshield wiper would hit the lights so I had to elevate them.

Used a 2" Stainless Steel spacer with Stainless washers and glued them together with steel epoxy glue.

Painted them with Rustoleum Stain Black paint.

Used a 3" Stainless bolt kit and mounted them. Wipers can now be used.

I dont like rocker switches in my vehicles, those belong in boats. I like the LED 19mm push button switch.

I removed the cigarette lighter face place and used a Forstner drill bit to drill 2 clean holes for the switches. 1 for the Pod lights and the other for the LED light bar on the bumper.

New LED push button switches mounted to the face plate.

Used a mesh wire harness and shrink wrap to clean up the connections on the switch connectors.

Switches installed and hooked up to power and the lights.

Both switches illuminate when the lights are on and turn off when depressed. I like the clean look to these switches.

My truck with the Elevated dual pod lights and the 24" LED light bar mounted on the Bull Bar. ( It was Christmas, hence the lighted wreath)

Testing out the lights before I head up the the snowy mountain roads in Lake Tahoe. These lights lit up everything for blocks when I needed them. ( New LED Projector headlights too with running daylight 3D strip)

 

is there suppose to be a pic there?

 

Probably.

 

First post and FAIL!

 

LMAO I had pics and descriptions and uploaded them and 5 min later it was all deleted.
I will post it up again right now.

 

Sometimes you have to post in a few threads when youre nee before they allow you to upload pics

 

Mounting lights in front of the windshield like this seems to be a growing fad. But it doesn't sound like a good place for a light to me. Don't you get a lot of back scatter and reflections from the hood and the like?

What state are you in? When I lived in Virginia, the police always got a real case of the *** about any vehicle that had more than four lights in TOTAL facing forward. Also the inspectors for the mandatory state vehicle inspections would make you take off any add-on lights before they would give you the sticker. OTOH I'm now in Florida and anything goes here! :-)

 

I'm in California, I dont use these for driving on the streets with other cars. I did turn them on when I was all alone on the roads in the mountains and it lit up the whole mountain. I dont have them pointing forward, I have them angled to the left and right. I use them with the front facing light bar and it lights up everything.

 

Nice setup Tito! You always make any install a pro job!!!

 

I'm in California also. I have a light bar in the front. My light bar illuminates in daylight white, and amber. Mine is tucked into the bumper behind the air dam, between the fog lights. I use mine when I drive on the street, and on the freeway. Since most of the street lights and freeway lights are now LED, I don't use them unless I'm in dark alleyways, like Chinatown, Financial District, East Oakland public housing projects...... Light bar has been great in the rain. With the "atmospheric rivers" that we've had this past year, I used the light bar a lot. I've been using LED light bars for years, and have never had a traffic stop contact regarding the lights.

I have seen large, long light bars mounted along the hood line and roof line. My concern with roof mounting is the lower portion of the light beam on the windshield. Some people will mount the lights further back on the roof, or on the top of a roll cage. That only puts the lower portion of the light beam on the roof of the truck. With mounting along the hood, that puts the lower portion of the light beam on top of the hood. But I get it. A lot of those lights are mounted because the vehicle owner thinks the lights look cool. Most of those people never consider how well the light will function, or even know the difference when it comes to beam pattern, amp draw, lumen output, et cetera.

At least TNATRUK put enough thought into sourcing the special mounting brackets, and aiming the light pods out to cover the sides of the truck, which the forward light bar and headlamps are not illuminating. Same reason why work trucks and police cars have those A-Pillar mounted spot lamps.

California also specifies that you cannot have more than 4 forward facing lights. Headlight assembly and fog light assembly add up to 4 lights. Lights facing forward can only be white or amber. Lights in the rear must be red, unless they are flashing amber signal lights which only illuminate when flashing. Any lights on the side of the vehicle must be red towards the rear, and amber towards the front. Lights in the front have a minimum and maximum height. Trucks on lift kits usually have headlights at an illegal height. Forward facing auxiliary lighting, also has a specified minimum and maximum height; lights mounted on the hood or roofline, are above the the hood line and illegal. Marker lights on the hood are legal; only in amber, and less than 3 watt. Fog lights are suppose to be aimed down so that the useable light is below the fog light height. Headlight low beam and high beams are supposed to be aimed in accordance to vehicle code specifications.

My truck's light bar is dual color, also flashes the lights in a warning pattern. My truck also has other lights hidden in the fog lamp housing, 3rd brake light housing, and tail lamp housing, which flash and strobe. My van is also set up with the dual color light bar and strobe lights. CA Highway Patrol closes Interstate 80 or US 50 because of snow, then slowly leads small groups of vehicles in a single file line across. The cops always allow me operate all the strobes and the light bar for those crossings to Lake Tahoe & Reno.

 

If you have more than 4 lights, you can make covers for them...

I remember when I was younger I used to see folks with Tacomas with light bars, and they'd have the Hella caps on them. They took caps off when off roading.

 

Back in the old, halogen spot lamp days, those big round lights actually came with the covers. In a lot of states, maybe all states, you are suppose to cover your lights unless you are using them. I'm sure there are still places where the local law enforcement will stop and issue citations for that type of offense. Bottom line is that a cop could find something to write you up for, if he really wanted to, and he did not have anything else better to do at the moment. There must be a couple of violations in every state's vehicle code which covers off-road, auxiliary type lighting. Too low. Too high. Too bright. Improperly aimed. Not covered. Not DOT approved.

Don't install anything on your car if your best interest is to avoid law enforcement contact. Leave the vehicle completely stock. How many dummies get pulled over for tinted windows, loud stereo, illegal ride height, unsafe tire & wheel combination......and in the course of the traffic stop, the officer sees, smells, or hears something in plain view to further his investigation, then bust the guy for a major felony which he would otherwise have gotten away with? Imagine that cop asking for your license, registration, and proof of insurance because you drove down the street with your fancy off-road lights......then he sees a joint, smells weed, and hears something which sounds like a woman screaming for help from the trunk of your car. He then secures you (at gunpoint), into handcuffs, and seats you in his patrol car cage. He finds the hookers in your trunk, the meth in your glove box, and the gun in the center console. He only wanted to ask you why you had offroad lights on a public road.

Only once, has a cop ever talked to me about my LED light bar. He wanted to see how it was wired up, how much it cost, and wanted to know if I could help him install 1 on his own car. It turns out that we were affiliated by 2 degrees of separation. He knows one of my cousins. So I sourced everything, including wire, solder seal connectors, split loom, et cetera. I had him do all of the work as I talked him through drilling the hole in the firewall, installing a grommet to protect the wire run, et cetera. A few weeks later, he told me about how other guys at work are asking him to do their install.

Even police cars are suppose to cover their lights, if that unit is not available. Sometimes that police unit is on an assignment which the officer cannot deviate from. If a citizen sees a police car and tries to flag him down; that cop will not stop to help him. That's why a lot of departments use "OUT OF SERVICE" covers on the light bars.