Wildcardz wrote: Hey, casperfun,
Where did you get the roof lights?
And how and where did you run the wires to get power?
Please give me some ideas and insturtions.
Thanks!!
(LOOONG SUMMARY) - skip to pictures after a quick peruse if you like!
So why did I put a roof lightbar on my Rogue? Well you might call it finding my inner truck/ off-road Suv/ rally-car side of me. It's tough enough trying to individualize the Rogue in it's present state, so I thought I put a lightbar on my Rogue to make it less of a mommy-mobile. Moreoever, I like the off-road look.
I actually get alot of compliments from strangers. At the drive-thrus they say the Rogue looks good and one guy even said I went all Safari on the Rogue. Never thought of that. At gas stations and local shopping centers, many people take a double-take wondering what kind of vehicle I have. Most do either a walk-around or point at my Rogue in amazement I guess. One guy was even inspired to put nerf bars on his Hyundai SUV after an encounter when he had time. People will just go up and talk to you and comment on the look. But enough of how people perceive my Rogue and off to some project tips.
First and foremost, anybody that wants to put a roof lightbar onto their Rogue, of course there is no OEM lightbar or anything for that matter to purchase that is specially made for our vehicle.
With that said, I just went with the flow and hopefully reaching my goal of attaching a lightbar onto my Rogue. Hopefully, you can learn a few ideas to go about your lightbar experiment.
My first stop was EBAY. I found a roof lightbar there about a year ago that was quite cheap at $91 with free shipping. I chose my lightbar that was approximately 39 inches at the base as memory goes. Make sure to meaure your roof and pick a look you desire. My lamps are 5 inches in diameter. You can also check other bidding sites too like iOffer. Choose the size or and shape of the lamps you are comfortable with. If you want more fancy or expensive, by all means get inspired and if your comfortable with drilling, go for it too. It's your vehicle and do what you think is best.
When I got the lightbar, the box was damaged and the base had a very miniscule 1 mm teeny weeny split on the base near the 3M tape. No biggie. Speaking of 3M tape, your probably saying no he didn't say that. Well yes I did, my lightbar is attached by 3M tape.
Do you think I am going to drill holes into my beautiful Rogue? Heck NO! The beauty of this really affordable lightbar is the 3M tape. That was a major requirement because if I didn't like it, I can easily remove the lightbar with fishing line and goo gone. Tada, back to normal if need be.
My objective was just to get a roof lightbar look. I always admired the Jeep Liberty and their roof lightbars that I see driving around my area.
In the beginning, the project was going to be real simple with just buying a stick-on roof light bar and adhere it on the roof without wiring it up. They were going to be my fake roof lightbar. But in the end I had it connected to my battery so it is fully functional.
I chose the lightbar you see in the pictures because I like the dull black look of the plastic. I didn't want the plastic too shiny and the lens not too toyish looking. As you can see, the lamps look more like headlights not flashlights. But in a way, the large size of the lamp housing makes them look toyish anyway like they belong on a toy if they shrunk my Rogue or in the annimation movie "Cars". LOL.
Remember, these were cheap and I am not a real LIGHT person like people who buy KC, PIAA, or HELLA'S. Brightness was not a factor just looks and I rarely go into the dark woods anyways. Mine are actually kinda big, but in a way that was good because I had to place the lights further back because of the sunroof.
Another point, you will not be able to place a lightbar near the front because of the curvature of the Rogue roof. Yah, I know life is not perfect. The lightbar needs a flat area.
In my situation, I also had a cheap 3M adhesive sunroof deflector. It is more of the high bubble look which in the end kinda complimented my roof lightbar because they kinda blended into one even though the sunroof is between them.
In the beginning, while trying to find the perfect placement for the lightbar, I realized there were gaps at both ends of the base not fully touching the roof. That was a big downer and letdown as I almost gave up trying to fit and smash this thing onto the roof. I even thought of heating it or leaving it in the sun to bend. Nothing worked. Mind you, a heat gun WOULD have most likely worked, but I have never really worked with one so I did what I knew best through my own creativity.
After a couple of deep breaths, I was undetered and removed the 3M tape and attached it 1 mm from my sunroof. If you have no sunroof, you will have more area to play with and make the final position to your liking.
As for the gaps at the end, I just used some malleable black leakproof type of tape I found lying around to cover the openings. Then I eventually placed some trimmed rubber pieces and some automotive side molding to make the area look better. During your lightbar project, you will have to McGuyver it and find creative ways to make your situation work. The back bottom base had a gap and I didn't want dirt to enter so I just placed some automotive seal to cushion the whole piece and to keep dust out. Here too I cut various rubber and side molding to get the job done also.
I actually changed one of the bulbs the other day. Thank god I was able to open the housing. I thought I needed some special fine screw driver but actually the dirt inside the screw made it seem that way. No special tool needed just a screw driver. I was scared that since it was so cheap and maybe made in China, that once the bulb went bad, I would have to throw away the lightbar or just live with a non-functional lamp.
As for the wiring, I went to a car accessory/stereo store and had a 12volt specialist install it. At first they were going to somehow wire all the way to the back and run under the roof near the hatch to hide the wire. In the end, they just went near the passenger door. No drilling of course. The wire sticks out the side, which I have no problem. You really don't notice it. It's my off-raod vehicle so wires stick out. No problem.
In everyday driving, I am lucky to say that I have no wind noise if any for that matter. Even with the sunroof open. I have gone 80-90 mph no problem and you don't have to worry about them falling off. This lightbar is really stuck, remember 3M adhesive, so this thing is going nowhere. Funny thing is I also used some tie-ons (attached to OEM roof bars) to reinforce them for peace of mind. Don't forget I have the gaps, but no need to worry, it still feels solidly on.
You know how people remove their crossbar to increase their mpg?
Well forget that, I got a freaking huge lightbar AND cushion on the back bar. They are far from aerodynamic, but with all the bars and lights on my vehicle, I still have been able to achieve as high as 31.7-31.8 mpg on my trip computer. I don't know if my bubble sunroof deflector helps deflect air over the lights and minimizes wind noise but I am sure it don't hurt.
As for inspections, just cover them and you will not be harassed. I bought KC cloth covers but I had to slit the bottom to make them fit. One time I was at a police station and a cop walking up told me to cover them. But on the road, cops all around never stop me because of the lights.
Ok, enough said. Now for a little pictures. Good luck on your Roof Light bar experiment/project if you wish to embark on this crazy idea. Once you finnished, I promise you will get compliments on your job well done from everywhere you and your Rogue goes. All in all, this is not for everyone just like bullbars do not seem to be very popular in this forum, but if I inspired one person, cool!
Ignore the tiedown, not really suppose to be there and it was also neatly in the well of the channel but it moved to it's present position which is ok because the wire loom is closer to the body now and the juncture where the two doors meet.
The tie-downs for peace of mind, not really necessary since the 3M is very strong.
Then again the bottom driving lights were covered with amber shields. Those are 100 watts and are high beam bright and those don't seem bright in the picture. I placed the amber so I could be seen better and to kinda make them less bright. I have them aimmed to the ground and I have never been stopped even though I drive with them on all the time. Even with cops on the road and once while a cop was exiting a part of the neighborhood I shined him while passing and nothing. I believe they are illegal actually for road use. Moreover, I guess cops here are more focused on illegal tint.
Of course I knew that. I also used them on a HARD rainy dark night while driving through rural farmland roads.
