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Light Bar Question

Posted: Mon May 30, 2005 8:37 pm
by baggers
G'day,

I'm tempted as hell to chuck 4 spotties on a bar on my roof to get some decent night vision, and also because it looks pretty sweet too. Cheap Narva's on Ebay are making the decision easier, but is there anything that I should know before running so many lights?

Is a decent battery enough to run 4 X 100watt globes, would it be better to run dual, or upgrade my alternator to 90amps?

I dont want to end up buying all these lights if I cant afford to power them.

Any comments would be appreciated.
Thanks,

Baggers

Re: Light Bar Question

Posted: Mon May 30, 2005 8:46 pm
by bogged
baggers wrote:but is there anything that I should know before running so many lights?
1) its illegal to run them on the roof

2) Buy a pair of GOOD spotlights run them on the bullbar, you dont need 4.

Posted: Mon May 30, 2005 9:07 pm
by baggers
Yeah, just remembered about the whole legal thing.

But I remember reading somewhere on here that you can pull it off as long as they have covers over them, or that they are not functioning (if thats the same thing?).

Maybe i'll save up some cash money and go the nitestalkers then when the 4X4 show comes to town. They get pretty cheap there by the last day.

Thanks

Posted: Mon May 30, 2005 9:11 pm
by toughnut
Is it illegal to have spotties up there or to use spotties on the roof like NSW. In QLD all you have to do is have them evenly spaced and have them connected to your high beem switch. If you still want to do it you could have a bar that is easily removed and a plug for the lights and only run them when you go wheeling at night. On normal roads I find I don't use them much anyway.

Posted: Mon May 30, 2005 10:41 pm
by chimpboy
Mine fold down.

A tip - set them back from the front of the roof couple of feet, otherwise they will shine directly on the bonnet and windscreen and you'll get a lot of glare, making them basically unuseable. You need the roof itself to cast a shadow so that the light actually misses the front of the bonnet.

Jason

Posted: Tue May 31, 2005 9:11 pm
by mickyd555
toughnut wrote:Is it illegal to have spotties up there or to use spotties on the roof like NSW. In QLD all you have to do is have them evenly spaced and have them connected to your high beem switch. If you still want to do it you could have a bar that is easily removed and a plug for the lights and only run them when you go wheeling at night. On normal roads I find I don't use them much anyway.
are you sure you can have them connected in QLD, i thought that driving lights had to be lower than 1200mm, by ADR's. and that the plug in idea was the way to go about it????????

Posted: Tue May 31, 2005 9:48 pm
by toughnut
Mine went straight through a roadworthy check at QLD Transport depot here in Townsville with 4 lightforce 240's on top of the bar. I guess it has to do with the person checking and how you approach them as well. I know that big red was pulled over cause one of his 6 lights broke and he was told to evenly space them across the bar...... :roll:

Posted: Tue May 31, 2005 9:56 pm
by Big Red Toy
Legal smegal :roll: :roll: :roll:
Live in victoria :armsup: The Land of Roof lights :D

I bought XGT's today to go on my roof along side my already in place IPF 800's
Ontop of Hella rig lamps & hella 100's on the bullbar, all you need is dual batteries & a big arse alternator, you can burn the skin off a cat no worries :D :D :D

roof lights

Posted: Tue May 31, 2005 9:59 pm
by RN
Ok, you are in Melbourne not Townsville or anywhere else.
Illegal as they may be too high and illegal because they will shine on the bonnet and blind you. Thats why the ADR's allow you to place them in FRONT of the vehicle, not because they want to shit you because they are are safer.

Also do you want to rip them off your roof when you go under a branch or under ground parking lot.

RN

Posted: Tue May 31, 2005 10:59 pm
by baggers
Thanks Big Red.

But do you need both dual batt's + bigger alt, or is one sufficient? I know its a bit hard to say, but 400watts seems like a bit of a drain, but then again I dont know enough so thats why i'm asking!

I am aware that they are not that great around town, and i'd prob remove them so they dont get stolen anyway. I can imagine that they would be very handy on a night drive though, especially being able to light up to the side of the vehicle, which I could have done with the other week stuck on bloody blowhard at 11pm.

Posted: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 pm
by Big Red Toy
well dual batteries on a 4b is always a good thing, ie for winching / fridges etc...
I run a 85 amp alternator but instead of the usual 14.2v output mine puts out 14.8v's. the little extra helps.
I run 8 sets of driving lights + headlights (130watts) and the voltage doesn't drop an inch ;)

My roof lights run on a large plug under the bonnet for quick removal, like when day driving & don't want to smash them off

Posted: Tue May 31, 2005 11:11 pm
by Big Red Toy
pics

Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2005 5:06 pm
by GQTrav
I had some on the roof of my patrol for a while with duel batteries but the standard altinator, and that seemed to run them no worries. However i have since taken them off. I found they were more hasle than what there worth, kept on hitting them on low overhanging branches and things. Sometimes i found myself concentrating on watching low hanging branches than the track itself. They also pretty much eliminate you from any underground carpark.