Light bar installation

Ok I’ll admit I’m not good at working on cars or wiring.

Say I buy a light bar

What connection parts and tools am I goin to need?

Probably comes with some but I’m guessing they suck

What year, made and model of vehicle?

If you buy one off Amazon they will usually include what you need to connect. It consists of the wires to connect to the battery, a relay, and a switch. They're not hard to hook up at all. Make sure you have the right bracket/mount.

Tractor supply will have the wiring harness as well, if you want to see it first.

I watched a YouTube video on how to install, which was very easy, especially in the 2005 GMC they were showing. Trying the same thing for real on a 2020 Tundra proved different, as the gaping holes in the firewall on the GMC where you could snake the harness through didn't exist on the Tundra.

I ended up paying a shop $150 to install the light using my parts. The Tundra has a double firewall, so I'm glad I did sub the installation out.

Mentioned above but you'll need the wiring harness, switch and a relay. You can build your own but it's too easy, much cleaner, and not much more expensive to just buy one where everything is included.

If you're putting this into a Ford with the upfitter switches then most everything you need is already there. You just need to ground it and run a wire to the correct upfitter wire that is already there from Ford.

It’s just a utv

Mainly looking to know what the best and easiest connectors are

For a UTV, you can buy prewired blocks with the fuses and relays in them. I bought mine from Hester's Motorsports in New Mexico.

Makes things a lot simpler, especially if you're planning on wiring up multiple things. For example, I've got a lightbar on front, a small one on the rear, and I ran a switch for my road feeder.

Buy the whole kit on Amazon...comes with everything you need. I've done it several times myself and I'm not a whiz at that sort of thing, but it was pretty easy.

https://www.amazon.com/Nilight-Offroad-Lighting-Harness-Warranty/dp/B07PGXRM92/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=curved+light+bar+kit&qid=1634757292&qsid=136-4838608-8324428&sr=8-4&sres=B0818RPRML%2CB07X86TQ8B%2CB07PGXRM92%2CB075NZ9ZN6%2CB0711QGZZ6%2CB07QVXFPHM%2CB078BNZJCF%2CB01M2AEQNA%2CB0834XW7GZ%2CB01LG04EBI%2CB0818RKPPC%2CB01J92X8H6%2CB08GKCYG26%2CB07SH41PR4%2CB07BTTVX9M%2CB089LH11CX%2CB07TDJP5W3%2CB07DXXQYML%2CB0721Q1N4D%2CB087TW9QFW&srpt=VEHICLE_ACCENT_LIGHT

This is the one I got.

Hopefully you have a full car sized battery as they pull a good bit of power.

The reason for all the fancy wiring is due to the large power draw most switches are not made for the power so a relay is needed to manage. Most will have instructions that are pretty reasonable.

I installed one on my Mule and just wired it directly to the battery. Zip-tied the wires to the roll cage and that's where the on/off switch is located.

I have 2 bars on mine and ran switch wires through the big wire grommet. Also have 4 gauge running to my amp. I am not sure about Fords but I bought a switch for the Tundra that fits a blank in switch panel.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^THIS ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^


If it is an ATV just zip tie the wiring to the roll cage with black wire ties instead of drilling holes in anything.
I have 5 of the 18" bars on my side by side on 4 switches (front, each side, & back). I installed the switches that came with the wiring harnesses into the plastic dash and wired the harness directly to the battery.

The only other thing I'd recommend doing is sealing the light bar really good by using a high grade clear silicone and putting it all the way around the lens as well as any other joints on the light bars. By doing this I've never had one fog up or get any kind of moisture within it at all.

The only issue I've had is a dead battery one morning as one of my barn cats must have jumped up on the dash and hit one of the light switches. lmoa

I drilled the roll cage and ran wires inside. I can't stand all those zip ties and exposed wires everywhere. Not hard at all to do.