Having seen a number of posts on this site regarding LED strip lights on the headlamps I thought I’d give this a try, and do the set-up in a way that would be easy to remove if it proved unsatisfactory.
First, for this application you must have waterproof side-emitting LED strips.
My initial goal was to figure where I wanted to place the strips. At first I thought I’d outline the nice curved shape under the headlamps. As the length of this area is about 36 inches I quickly discovered that none of the suppliers of LED strips, save one, make them long enough for this location. Neither SuperBright Leds, Oznium, or any of the other vendors sell strips longer than about 23” (the actual length of the strip with LEDs embedded, not including the leads for wiring the strip to power). Some include the power leads in the length advertised, which I think is deceptive.
But I did find one vendor in China that sold the strips in custom configurations and lengths. That’s LEDLightsWorld.com. You can order by the foot and the strips are top quality, better than all the other samples I tested from other vendors. I ordered two 48” lengths of the 6000k white. And they arrived in only two days, very sturdily packaged and wound on a plastic reel.
So with my custom LED strips in hand, I attempted to fit them under the lower lip of the headlamps. Forget it – it can’t be done without removing the headlamps, which requires removing the bumper. I tried everything to slip them in the gap between the bottom of the lamp and the bumper. It worked in some areas but in others the gap is just too narrow. So I gave up on this idea.
The only alternative was running the strips along the top of the headlamps. This approach has the advantage of being easily removable if you don’t like the results, so in the end I was pleased that the under-the-headlamp approach didn’t work. I aligned the strip with the lip of the hood so they are barely visible when off. However, when they’re turned the effect is marvelous.
When I wired them up powered them from an always-on empty fuse slot in the engine bay fuse box. I also included a wireless switch, a Logisys RM01 - Power control from Amazon, that enables me to turn them and off remotely from as far as 60 feet or more.
I’m pleased with the results. With the strips set on the clear part of the top of the headlamp at night the light outlines the lower edge, a nice effect shown in one of the photos below.
First, for this application you must have waterproof side-emitting LED strips.
My initial goal was to figure where I wanted to place the strips. At first I thought I’d outline the nice curved shape under the headlamps. As the length of this area is about 36 inches I quickly discovered that none of the suppliers of LED strips, save one, make them long enough for this location. Neither SuperBright Leds, Oznium, or any of the other vendors sell strips longer than about 23” (the actual length of the strip with LEDs embedded, not including the leads for wiring the strip to power). Some include the power leads in the length advertised, which I think is deceptive.
But I did find one vendor in China that sold the strips in custom configurations and lengths. That’s LEDLightsWorld.com. You can order by the foot and the strips are top quality, better than all the other samples I tested from other vendors. I ordered two 48” lengths of the 6000k white. And they arrived in only two days, very sturdily packaged and wound on a plastic reel.
So with my custom LED strips in hand, I attempted to fit them under the lower lip of the headlamps. Forget it – it can’t be done without removing the headlamps, which requires removing the bumper. I tried everything to slip them in the gap between the bottom of the lamp and the bumper. It worked in some areas but in others the gap is just too narrow. So I gave up on this idea.
The only alternative was running the strips along the top of the headlamps. This approach has the advantage of being easily removable if you don’t like the results, so in the end I was pleased that the under-the-headlamp approach didn’t work. I aligned the strip with the lip of the hood so they are barely visible when off. However, when they’re turned the effect is marvelous.
When I wired them up powered them from an always-on empty fuse slot in the engine bay fuse box. I also included a wireless switch, a Logisys RM01 - Power control from Amazon, that enables me to turn them and off remotely from as far as 60 feet or more.
I’m pleased with the results. With the strips set on the clear part of the top of the headlamp at night the light outlines the lower edge, a nice effect shown in one of the photos below.