DIY Budget Bumper Pocket Light Setup

[wetdog]

I have always wondered what the reason was for the amber colored lights, I don’t like the look of them, but are they really that good in fog? I HATE driving in fog…the worst thing to drive in!

Nope no better nothing cuts thru fog ,water droplets are like tiny mirrors .
The advantage is getting the light low so it doesn't reflect in your vision..
No new cars use yellow/ amber ,but if I see a car with amber lights it seems more noticeable.
I live in a super Foggy area and I have never found anything that works well .
If the road is clear and you the only one on it use all the driving lights you want but I would save your $ they are annoying on the trail and just rust and give thrives something to pull off.

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[BroncoAZ]

Nope no better nothing cuts thru fog ,water droplets are like tiny mirrors .
The advantage is getting the light low so it doesn't reflect in your vision..
No new cars use yellow/ amber ,but if I see a car with amber lights it seems more noticeable.
I live in a super Foggy area and I have never found anything that works well .
If the road is clear and you the only one on it use all the driving lights you want but I would save your $ they are annoying on the trail and just rust and give thrives something to pull off.

The longer wavelength of the yellow light penetrates water droplets better than white. I’ve see it first hand in fog. When I showed my wife the difference she was impressed with how much better she could see.

https://ww2.motorists.org/blog/yellow-vs-white-fog-lights/

 

[Ig_bronco]

Yeah I was just testing the fit. I've cleaned it off with angle grinder and wire wheel. Then primer and Rust-Oleum and then paint and a rubberized coating. I'm sure it will rust eventually but no time soon.

Well when that time comes those three methods work the best. I'm something of an amateur blacksmith I feel full of myself saying that. But they'll work.

 

[wetdog]

The longer wavelength of the yellow light penetrates water droplets better than white. I’ve see it first hand in fog. When I showed my wife the difference she was impressed with how much better she could see.

https://ww2.motorists.org/blog/yellow-vs-white-fog-lights/

We have super fog where I live the yellow is easier to see on an oncoming vehicle.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

The longer wavelength of the yellow light penetrates water droplets better than white. I’ve see it first hand in fog. When I showed my wife the difference she was impressed with how much better she could see.

https://ww2.motorists.org/blog/yellow-vs-white-fog-lights/

I don't get the whole "blue" head lights fad.
There is NOTHING good that comes from the blue tinted head lamps.
As a matter of fact, they only bring bad issues to the table. More glare, eye strain which leads to head aches, less visibilty ...
Hell , I don't even care for the color temp of the new Broncos head lights, but the beam pattern looks half decent.

Then I saw where the Broncos headlights were one of two issues that kept it from getting top marks from the IIHS safety tests. The other being the insufficient head restraints, though the rest of the vehicle was excellent.

 

[JS Creek]

So before anyone jumps all over me, I know there are some really good kits and setups out there and I am all for quality and you get what you pay for. But... Paying $1000 for what amounts to some accessory lighting for me just wasn't in my budget.

I'm not finished yet, but I am happy with the results so far and thought I would share my project in case anyone else was in the same boat. I wish there was a middle ground between the $1000 setup and the China cheap but right now there isn't.

I thought about the $130 brackets and using my own lights but to be honest I wasn't sure if they would support any light. And I like to do things myself. I don't have any special skills or tools. Anyone here could do what I did.

Parts:
9x18 inch sheet metal 18 gauge (I had it laying around in my garage but it's like $15 at Lowe's... I looked for aluminum or zinc but couldn't find one so I will just painted it)

Two 3 inch Amber LED pods 50w ($32 pair)
Four 2 inch LED pods ($25 pair - I wanted 2x3 rectangles but couldn't find them. My only complaint... I wish they spread out a bit more.)

Total cost $97 (really $82 because I already had the metal sheet plus primer and paint I already had.)

I cut the sheet in half to make two 9x9 sheets. I drilled holes to attach the brackets at the 3 Torx bolts at the top of the pocket, then traced and trimmed the excess in front to match the bumper with my Sawzall.

Then I used a vice, 1x3 block of wood and mini sledge hammer to bend the bracket into the "S" shape. The second bend was tricky. I had to use 4" C clamps to hold it to the wood then made the second bend. Then I drilled the holes for lights.

The first bracket took me a little over an hour going back and forth measuring. Second bracket took about 15 minutes. All told I'm pleased with how it turned out. I primed them and I'm either going to just paint black or use rubberized undercoating on them.

Before I mount the lights I'm going to silicone the caps. The reviews are great but the biggest complaint is water intrusion. I have high end lights that have water too so... I figured at under $100 for all 6 lights I could replace them ten times and still be ahead.

This won't be for everyone but if you're just looking for something that looks good for a budget price I think this fits the bill.

I welcome any feedback or suggestions on how I could do things better. Thanks.

Awesome! This is exactly what I have been thinking about!
Don't have my BL yet, and I know there are other posts on the following, but for you, how was routing the wiring? Did you use the factory run AUX wire to the grill?
Did you ground the fog lights individually to the chassis, or run them up as well?
Cheers!

 

[My_2021_Bronco]

I felt the same way but I made 10" light bars fit with a simple bracket.
I'm not a fabricator but a guy with a garage full of tools.

 

[tongsun3717]

Is it possible to install it inside the bumper? Would look better w/o showing the edge.

 

[Mustang_75_99]

Yeah sure but please double check my measurements. Give me a few days. Using a brake would be much better than my Neanderthal banging with a hammer.

Thanks man!

 

[SigSauer226]

Awesome! This is exactly what I have been thinking about!
Don't have my BL yet, and I know there are other posts on the following, but for you, how was routing the wiring? Did you use the factory run AUX wire to the grill?
Did you ground the fog lights individually to the chassis, or run them up as well?
Cheers!

I only test for everything so I haven't wired it up yet. Hopefully this week I'll let you know.

 

[SigSauer226]

Is it possible to install it inside the bumper? Would look better w/o showing the edge.

I don't think you can there are no bolts inside I can see. Don't forget that was just test fitting everything and the bracket wasn't painted yet. I'll post pics when it's painted black and finished. I don't think you'll notice the edge.

 

[Los]

Nice job, looks functional and if it’s effective, you hit a home run! It’s part of the fun, messing around with different ideas and doing some fabrication!

Love it! If you tinker, it will work...

 

[IfIHMadeA2021Scout]

I welcome any feedback or suggestions on how I could do things better. Thanks.

Since you asked................................

You inspired me. I have some cheap flood lights coming in the mail. My goal is more side view lighting than true drive lights.

I climbed underneath mine to see how I would mount them and noticed a couple of holes on the backside of the bumper. They're covered in the photo above. Here they are.

I'm thinking a simple angle bolted there would provide a place to bolt the lights to. Thoughts?

 

[SigSauer226]

Since you asked................................

You inspired me. I have some cheap flood lights coming in the mail. My goal is more side view lighting than true drive lights.

I climbed underneath mine to see how I would mount them and noticed a couple of holes on the backside of the bumper. They're covered in the photo above. Here they are.

I'm thinking a simple angle bolted there would provide a place to bolt the lights to. Thoughts?

Honestly I didn't see them but can you access the other side? How would you attach the nut? I don't think that's a threaded hole is it? If so then yeah that might be easier lol.

 

[IfIHMadeA2021Scout]

Honestly I didn't see them but can you access the other side? How would you attach the nut? I don't think that's a threaded hole is it? If so then yeah that might be easier lol.

Those holes are not threaded. That might be a tube or it might be a channel. I didn't get that far yet. If it's too hard to get a bolt inside to stick out I would just use blind nuts. Search for rivet nuts, rivnuts, nut-serts, etc. Toggle bolts would probably work too but I did not check the depth.

Hell, here.

https://www.mcmaster.com/blind-nuts/

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