Light bar in grill

I have a few mod projects I would like to do this Christmas. One of them is a cree light bar behind the grill. Going skiing means really dark roads on this side of winter. Prius 2010 basic Europe.

I'll put up some pictures later.

There is a wire coming down behind the grill.
I suspect this is for lights built into the grill, which we don't have.
So I thought I could use that.

Question 1:
How will lights connected to this plug be turned off and on?
Is this wire connected to the fog lights already installed outside the grill?

Question 2:
How much power can I pull?

The car has LED bulbs in front so wattage is already reduced with 50%
Normal should be about 300w with all lights on.
Now it is about 150W.

Hopefully someone can tell me something here.
Thanks for all the help I have received before.

Paul

 

Thank you,

Yes, but it wouldn't be enough
The car already has a pair of fog lights.

I was looking for as much light as I can get for a reasonable price.
I do some off road biking in the darkness and see what a small cree can do.
I was wondering what a 12 x 10 watt cree/led spot light bar could do on the car.

I was thinking to make it as little visible as possible.
I don't think the grill is going to obstruct the light too much.
I see there are lots of other people putting it behind the grill.
I dont think you would even see the shadows from the grill.

But, I don't know yet
If it poses a problem I'll figure something out.

Hopefully the car can deliver 120 watt to the bar now that it doesn't give as much to the other lights (led).

Here is a guy with a 108 watt flood/spot combo bar.

Something like this would be nice... maybe a bit more spot beam.

 

Daniel Stern Lighting Consultancy and Supply

Let us know what he says.
Thank you.

If it is not in service it probably has no switch on it. It may not go anywhere useful.
I have not checked yet.

You have told us nothing about the wire. No pictures, little description. You are asking us to guess blindly.
Sorry, it is a wire with a standard light connector at the end. Like for the head lights.
I though a lot of cars had this connector coming down. This is a European version though.

Depends on how long it is, how thick it is, and what else it shares a fuse with.
Yes, the fog lights are 2 x 50 watt. I was assuming an additional set of fog lights
(if that is what the connector is for) would be another 2 x 50 watt.
But of course, I don't know.

Turn on every light on the car. Then check if that wire has power. If yes, start turning things off and see what it is switched with. If no, it would probably be better to install your own wire rather than chase it through the wiring harness.
Yes, I will do that. Lets just order it and see what happens. The bar doesn't cost that much.
And if it is a failure, I'll be sure to put it up here.

What headlights do you have now?
The headlights and fog lights are all cree "bulbs". About 25 watt each. 6 "bulbs".
Normal wattage 300w. Now 150w.

The high beam does not work so well because the reflector is kind of open.
It is ok, but it does not reach far enough. Enter 120 watt spot light bar.

These new lights. Do you want them to:
Shine as far down the road as possible, but they don't have to shine to the end of the world.
There is very little fog around these parts. Turning the light bar on when there is a fog
would probably just make a wall of white. The bar is for driving outside the city. Fall/winter. No fog.

Thank you

 

Hi again,

Good thing you asked.
The connection only looks like a light connector (I think) and the wires are too tiny.
I did not notice this the first time I looked. So back to clamping on to the road lights, but thats fine too.

Do you have a link to the bar?
Yes, something like this..
120W LED Light Bar Work Light 4x4 Lamp Offroad Ute 10 60V IP67 Spot Beam 20inch | eBay

Have you checked the current alignment of your headlights?
Yes, it is the way the "bulb" is constructed. It only emits light on two sides, not like an ordinary halogen bulb.
It works fine in the low beam compartment, but not in the high beam compartment as you can see. There is
not enough reflector above it I think. But the light is so bright it goes a long way anyway.

Could you clamp off road lights onto the hood? That would be a quick easy fix.
I think this would be the best solution. It will also allow for quick off/on when there is traffic.

Now lets order the beast and see how it turns out

Thank you

 

Most people say the aftermarket LEDs put out plenty of light, but the shape and focus of the beam suffers because, as you mentioned, the light only comes out from each side of the panel in the bulb.
Yes, they do. The throw is not the way you would like it to be. Especially for the high beams. I am sure the car makers could just make a different reflector, but since there is no standard for these kind of LED bulbs yet, that is not going to happen anytime soon.

55w HIDs would be a better way to go for your lowbeams. You could put the LED bulbs in your foglights.
There are LED bulbs in the fog lights. They work fine. Maybe a bit on the strong side.
And when it comes to HIDs, I have fallen for LEDs

 

Ok, the LED bar is here

I am still waiting for a wire harness, but I'll use another one I have on the shelf.
I am not an expert installer of any of this, but I think it will be ok.

The LED bars light output is almost a bit too much.
I'll put up a picture soon.

If a LED uses 20% of a halogen bulbs energy to output the same amount of light,
one of these 10w LEDs should equal about 50 watt of halogen light. And there are 12 of them.



Now how do I sequre the LED bar behind the grill?
After a little bit of thinking I have decided to fixt it under the reinforced bumper, upside down.
The LED bar looks water proof enough, but upside down there will be cavities that can fill up with
water. I will make it a little bit extra waterproof.



I will have to drill 4 small holes for the brackets in the reinforced bumper. Hopefully it will be possible
to do this and enough space to tighten the bolts. I also hope it will come down far enough to be
visible in the front. If not, I will have to replace the bracket screws with longer ones.
I'll get some better pictures soon.

Problem:
I see there are lots of DIYs for fog lights in the forum. Great reads for me. Still I have not found anyone for
extra "off road" lights. How/where can I tap into the high beams so that the LED bar can be turned off and on with
the high beams (as long as the LED bar rocker switch is on)?

Great if anyone could steer me in the right direction
sdf

 

And I figured out (or actually someone else did in the forum) what the little cable coming down behind the grill is. It is the temperature reader.

 

Thank you!
I will follow your instructions.
Hopefully I will not need to ask any more questions

Paul

 

sorry for the late reply. Yes.
120W LED Light Bar Work Light 4x4 Lamp Offroad Ute 10 60V IP67 Spot Beam 20inch | eBay

Think I have got most of the wiring done.
I am no expert, but will put up a drawing later.
Now I am waiting for some free time to fasten the bar

 

Hi

Thanks for your help. Led bar is mounted. Pictures coming

Do we know which cable in the steering wheel harness is for the high beams? I thought maybe I could tap into that instead.

Brown is apparently for the parking lights.