LED light bar

[randy60]

I want to set up some led lights on the roof of my 2017 450i for snow plowing. What is the best way to wire them in? Can I just plug them into the 12volt power outlet or do I need a separate circuit? Thanks!

[airshot]

The easiest way would be to just plug them into the 12v outlet, but be sure to add an inline fuse.  When I added mine I bought a wiring kit with a rocker switch for the dash, wiring kit was optional and included a starter relay.  Had to drop skid plate and run harness from battery down under frame up in to underhood area.  Works well but lots of work (4hrs) just to add lights and a switch. Wiring harness was cheaper than getting individual pieces.  How much work you want to do?

[pa-outdoorsman]

Geez guys, it's not that much work to wire up LED lights, and you certainly don't have to go under the machine. I mounted my light bar to the roof and ran the wires along the side of the roll cage and down through the opening where the roll cage bars go down into the front end of the machine. Once the wires were down through, I just took them into the battery box. I also have my lights connected to a rocker switch that is in the dash. The rocker switch has an in-line fuse. All the exposed wires are held securely in place with black zip ties. Once installed on the roll bar and with the excess trimmed off, they are hardly noticeable. I don't think it took me more than a couple hours to do the whole job, from drilling mounting holes in the roof and installing the light bar to running the wires and getting the terminals hooked up to the battery.

If you have a light bar with a plug that goes into the 12V outlet, I am sure that is the "easiest" way to do it. But if you are looking for a more permanent install and don't want wires floppinig around inside the cab every time you are using your lights, a permanent installation hard wired into the battery box is a much preferable method, IMO.

[airshot]

What are you using your light bar for??  I added mine to the front for trail riding and plowing so my light bar is mounted in front just above the black trim around the grill.  Slightly higher than original headlamps but high enough to be over the plow blade.
I also wanted a permanent wiring job but some folks are only using the light bar on ocassion so a quick plugin is just an option.  I cant mount my light bar on the roof as it would get ripped off going thru wooded trails, so on the front was a safer option.  The rest of the wiring for the machine goes down along the frame and up into hood area, so yes it was a pita, but keeps everything look factory. I also have a winter enclosure that I add then remove during warmer weather which attaches to the roll bars, wires along those roll bars would cause issues with my enclosure and its removal. Either way, a fixed mouting for the light bar is a lot more work, all depends on what your gonna use it for and how often....

[randy60]

I want to use them for better lighting while snow plowing. I never really thought about the trail riding part of it. May have to rethink where I mount them! Thanks for all your comments!

[airshot]

Some folks ride in wide open spaces, but I ride thru fairly thick wood most of the time with low hanging branches.  Lights on my roof would not last very long.  I tried various places at night finding what worked best for me. You also need to consider glare off your windshield if you have one. Luckily my plow blade does not raise up real high and does not block the factory headlamps . 
By adding my 12" light bar slightly higher than headlights works great for my applications.  I also added "silver star ultra" bulbs to replace the stock 35w bulbs. Dark trails are not an issue anymore as the wide view of the light bar lights up where regular headlamps will bouce up and down while traveling rough trails, however, long range lighting is greatly improved with the silverstar bulbs. Do experiment with where you mount your lightbar, while it may look cool, make sure it functions the way you need it to.

[randyo]

  I also added "silver star ultra" bulbs to replace the stock 35w bulbs.

are they higher wattage ? if so, keep a careful eye on your wiring & bulb sockets, they are designed to handle 35w, not 55w or 60w or higher, the extra heat will melt wiring, bulb socket and light housing, not immediately, they will burn out when yer off into nowhere in the middle of the night

[airshot]

Guess I didnt think of that, might have to reconsider that, would be my luck to have a failure in the middle of nowhere!

[randyo]

Guess I didnt think of that, might have to reconsider that, would be my luck to have a failure in the middle of nowhere!

an extreme example:
my son bought a mid 80's BMW 325i used, it had 100w bulbs, bright as sh!t, about a month later, the headlamp housings disintegrated from heat, not sure how long the PO was running the 100w bulbs,  new replacements of the bulb housing (one piece, lense, reflector unit) was over $1200/ea, luckily he found em used for $500 for both

[airshot]

are they higher wattage ? if so, keep a careful eye on your wiring & bulb sockets, they are designed to handle 35w, not 55w or 60w or higher, the extra heat will melt wiring, bulb socket and light housing, not immediately, they will burn out when yer off into nowhere in the middle of the night

Update here....took Randyo advise and reconsidered the heat issue with the 65 watt bulbs.  Found some true plug and play LED headlamp bulbs on Amazon buy the same company that made my lightbar.  Thse bulbs are " bright" without a doubt...draw only 30 watts max and run 30% cooler than stock bulbs. They have that same silver/blue color as the light bar, which allows me to see much better than the yellow color of the halogen bulbs. For 40 bucks they aopear to be a good buy. At night, there is nothing I cant see and the low amp draw will allow use of stock battery.  Cant wait to get on some night time trail rides..