Rigid LED bars on the truck

[SOCOMech]

S....S.....SiiiiiiiiiiicccK.

 

[zaherachour]

hey ryan, is it possible to add the WARN PowerPlant dual force on this bar

 

[Addictive Desert Designs]

Yes it is. We have set up a few bumpers with that and have been told from our customers that they perform great. Give me a call if you have any questions or want to set that up.
480.225.5887

 

[zaherachour]

yes of course. well let me get first the truck, and i will give you a call.

 

[Addictive Desert Designs]

Sounds good.

 

[Triheart7]

OH MY GOD...

That is amazing!

I would chomp on that if i had dough and if they had light covers... (stupid California law...)

Sorry am am new to truck related issues. What is the law in Calif? I assume they need to be covered?

 

[AndyR]

Someone needs to read the Vehicle code but.....here's my experience. If the lights are below the side mirrors then they are OK, so long as they are not wired to come on with the stock high beams. I got a Fix-It ticked for having 4 Hella Black Cats mounted on the roof of my old F350 (In Death Valley of all places) w/o covers.

 

[MarkT]

Here's what I know... The law in California allows "auxiliary driving lights" and "passing lamps" without covers.

24402. (a) Any motor vehicle may be equipped with not to exceed two auxiliary driving lamps mounted on the front at a height of not less than 16 inches nor more than 42 inches. Driving lamps are lamps designed for supplementing the upper beam from headlamps and may not be lighted with the lower beam.

(b) Any motor vehicle may be equipped with not to exceed two auxiliary passing lamps mounted on the front at a height of not less than 24 inches nor more than 42 inches. Passing lamps are lamps designed for supplementing the lower beam from headlamps and may also be lighted with the upper beam.

So this means you can have 4 extra "long range" lights... 2 of which can come on with the high beams only ("driving lamps") and two of which can come on with low or high beams ("passing lamps"). These light are NOT required to be covered.

You can also have 2 foglamps which brings the total to 6. (section 24403) Fog lamps are not allowed to shine further than 25 feet from the vehicle... if they do, then they are either "driving lamps" or "passing lamps".

One caveat... under section 24405, you can only have 4 lights on at any time (and two of those are your headlights). So wire the lights in pairs!

Off road lights are also in the California vehicle code... section 24411. They are required to be covered. This is where the confusion comes in.

24411. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a vehicle may be equipped with not more than eight lamps for use as headlamps while the vehicle is operated or driven off the highway. The lamps shall be mounted at a height of not less than 16 inches from the ground, or more than 12 inches above the top of the passenger compartment, at any place between the front of the vehicle and a line lying on a point 40 inches to the rear of the seat occupied by the driver, shall be wired independently of all other lighting circuits, and, whenever the vehicle is operated or driven upon a highway, shall be covered or hooded with an opaque hood or cover, and turned off.

Amended Ch. 149, Stats. 1986. Effective January 1, 1987.

The CHP and local police often arbitrarily decide that lights are "off road lights". Sometimes they have said that lights not needing covers must have DOT markings or be under a certain wattage. NOT TRUE. This is not in the law! If you have lights mounted and wired per section 24402, 24403,and 24405 you do not need covers!!

Side note: the Federal DOT does not "approve" anything. They simply set standards for certain items like factory headlights. Then it is up to the manufacturer to certify that their products meet the standards... and I don't believe DOT standards for "supplemental lights" even exist.

In summary, if you ever get stopped for no covers in California and your lights are mounted at legal height and wired correctly, tell the officer they are not "off road lights" but a pair of "auxiliary driving lights" and/or a pair of "passing lights" as authorized by Section 24402 of the vehicle code. (remember that "driving lights" can only come on with the high beams, so you need to wire them that way... instructions here:http://www.svtoffroad.com/showthread.php?577-Headlamp-dimmer-controlled-foglamps post 14)

P.S. There is case law in California that supports the above... There was a guy about ten years ago that fought the "no covers" ticket he got for lights on his Jeep bumper. The Superior court overturned his ticket because his lights met 24402 and he proved there is not a Federal "DOT" requirement or standard for auxiliary lights nor is anything mentioned in California law about auxiliary lights needing "DOT" approval... I read the case summary once but can't find it now...:sad:

Hope this helps clear the confusion.

 

[bstoner59]

The problem is that when you are running HID or LED lights on an offroad vehicle, like the Raptor, in California you'll be hard pressed to get the cop to believe they are not offroad lights. I was cited (2 times) for CVC.24411 and there isn't much arguing that my lights were't meant for offroad. I have decided that I will cover my "offroad" lights because the law says they need to be covered.

Not many cops in this area pull people over for lights they just use it as probable cause to stop someone. If you are frequenting bars and driving intoxicated or doing something illegal...cover your lights. You could also have a quick disconnect on the lights and leave them unplugged. When the cops pulls you over show the lights have no power and you should be ok.

 

[MagicMtnDan]

If you are doing something illegal...cover your lights.

Hmmm

You could also have a quick disconnect on the lights and leave them unplugged. When the cops pulls you over show the lights have no power and you should be ok.

The light switch is a quick disconnet :mrgreen: