Keep your LED light bar shining bright by learning how to properly care for and maintain it.
Here at Parts Via, we know the fun part of owning a 4x4 is personalization, adding aftermarket accessories, and tackling the trail while looking good doing it. But we also know that to consistently get to that last part, preventative maintenance must be completed.
Some of us love turning wrenches, but many more of us would rather take a deep breath, mutter a few Hail Marys and hope nothing goes awry. This seems to hold doubly true for aftermarket parts. Sure, we’ll get our oil changed, filters swapped, and tires rotated faithfully, but what about those upgrades you keep adding? When was the last time you unspooled and respooled your winch? Or tightened the bolts on that fancy roof rack?
One accessory that may be the least maintained is that LED light bar on your hood, roof, or grille.
It may not get used an awful lot, it’s probably cumbersome to get to, and to be honest, what is there to maintain? It’s a simple row of efficient LEDs with no moving parts that aren’t constantly being fiddled with. Well, as it turns out, light bars need a bit of love too. But no need to fret, it’s not complicated and we’re here to guide you through what we think is a solid checklist.
To keep your light bar operational and running at maximum performance levels, we suggest doing the following…
Reading the Manual
We know you’re not stupid, but you’d be surprised how many people just toss that little booklet out with the packaging cardboard. Keep it, read it, and store it somewhere you can easily reference it. Not all light bars, LEDs, and materials are the same. Your manufacturer will have specific instructions and suggestions that will be instrumental in keeping your unit functioning for a long time.
Cleaning
The most obvious light bar care tip is to clean it. For some this is easier said than done, as a roof-mounted unit isn’t the easiest to get at. But for maximum performance and longevity, we recommend giving it a good cleaning every few times it goes out uncovered.
Consult your specific lighting manual as they will most likely have the recommended cleaning procedure for the unit you have. Additionally, specific LED cleaners do exist and aren’t a bad option, although they will be a little more expensive. Most will recommend a mild soap or 50/50 vinegar to water mixture.
While it may be tempting to try and clean the light bar while it’s on the vehicle, we recommend removing the bar from its harness to ensure a comprehensive cleaning. Give it a nice rinse to remove excess dirt, then go over every inch of the bar with your solution. If your lights are looking a little hazy or foggy, it probably means you have calcium buildup on your lens – which isn’t uncommon. To remove, you’ll need something just a touch more textured to scrub with, but certainly not abrasive. Once finished, wipe your bar clean and let it dry. (It is recommended to let your light bar dry completely before operating once again.)
Covers
They’re simple, inexpensive, and as we’ll touch on later, keep you legal. Light bar covers are just as they sound – a cover, usually made of plexiglass, hard plastic, or fabric that protect your lights. Frankly, they’re just a smart way to prolong the life of your investment. Light bars often sit at very prominent and exposed areas of your vehicle, making them easy targets for rocks, sticks, debris, and weather conditions. Trust us, you’d much rather replace a cover that gets damage from a low hanging branch than an entire light bar.
While many varieties are available, and may even come along with your bar out of the box, we’re partial to the covers offered by AeroLidz. Not only are they constructed from high-grade UV polycarbonate, but they’re also teardrop shaped, which adds a bit more aerodynamics to that big box-on-wheels shape that 4x4s tend to be. Plus, even more appealing is that the shape helps cut back on the pronounced wind noise that comes with adding a light bar. In addition, AeroLidz allows for customized graphic inserts, so you can personalize or match the existing style of your vehicle.
By the same token, try to make sure your light bar isn’t getting consistently beaten down in the sun, rain, cold, or other harsh conditions. For some that may not have private parking, this may not be completely possible. This is when light covers are not just a nice suggestion, but imperative.
Care for the Battery
If you’re running any combination of electrical accessories – whether it be amps, winches, lighting, or something else – we trust you’ve made a wise decision regarding your battery. The extra draw these things can pull may just force a stock battery to its knees.
Generally, stock batteries in modern 4x4s are fairly robust and accessories have become more and more power efficient each passing year. But even so, hooking up a bunch of stuff creates additional electrical mouths to feed – mouths your stock battery probably wasn’t optimized for. If this is you, for the sake of your vehicles and components, upgrade your battery or add an auxiliary unit.
Of course, once you do that you’ll still need to properly care and maintain the battery system by performing the following:
- Watch your battery terminals closely, especially after installing new items. A birthday cake-looking mound of corrosion is a sign you may have a problem.
- Even if your battery terminals seem fairly clean, getting in the habit of disconnecting and cleaning contact points a few times a year is a good practice.
- If you can’t do it yourself, go to a trusted mechanic to perform a load test every couple of months.
- While you’re at your mechanic, ask them to check the acid levels as well.
- Don’t let your vehicle sit for too long. Start it up at least a few times a week to ensure the battery and alternator are consistently getting usage.
Maintain Wiring
It’s an afterthought for many of us. Once you wire up your light bar and everything appears to work just fine, all the thought from there on out generally goes toward the light bar. (Heck, we’re even putting this as the last point in our article.) But the fact is, when it comes to any automotive wiring, there are generally two types of people: those who meticulously plan every angle, neatly stow and zip-tie every foot, and cut themselves the perfect amount to get the job done, and those that are so concerned with getting whatever thing they’re installing powered on that they forget about cable management and shove it wherever it fits and cross their fingers.
While the second person can get away with that (at least in the short term), if something fails, good luck untangling that rat king to isolate the issue. This is why we always recommend allotting yourself extra time to get that wiring done right during install.
Plan your route to the battery, find secure mounting points instead of letting anything dangle freely, and don’t run wire next to anything that gets too hot during operation. We also recommend checking your wire path for the following every few months after install:
- Wiring is not getting frayed/cut/pinched by anything on your vehicle.
- The shielding (outside tubing on the wire) is intact and in good shape – no cuts, punctures, or melted spots.
- No wiring has come loose from its intended spot.
Most importantly, many lighting solutions have wiring that needed to be run through tight windshield/roof channels, or require drilling a hole(s) into the vehicle itself to get to the battery/relay. If these access points are not sealed or seated correctly when buttoning everything back up, or come loose down the line, moisture will find its way in. Make sure you’re checking these areas for dampness or any signs of water entry. And if necessary, resealing/fixing them immediately.
Laws
Whenever we talk about auxiliary and off-road lighting, it’s always important to know the local and state laws that need to be followed. Many areas require any lighting above your headlight level to be covered when driving on public roads. While we mention this at the end of our article, this should absolutely be the first thing you do before purchasing – or even researching – lighting you’re considering installing on your vehicle.