Outdoor Adventure USA

I recently picked up a custom bumper for my Pinzgauer. It has 3 mounting tabs for auxiliary lights on top of a pre-runner style brush bar which are driving my crazy thinking of them being empty . I don't expect to do a lot of off road driving at night but I have been considering adding some additional lights.

I upgraded the headlights a couple of years ago with Hella H4 e-spec units. They have a similar beam patter to the OEM stock Hella head lights but are much brighter and it's much easier to find 24 volt H4 bulbs than the stock bulbs. The upgraded headlights are good but the few times I've been off road at night I've felt that I could use some additional illumination both close in and distance.

I'd appreciate any suggestions on a useful combination of lights to augment the headlights for night time off road driving. I don't expect to be running at top speed ralley style, probably only about 45 mph tops. I was thinking of two Hella 4000 cornering lights with a single Hella 4000 pencil beam light.

I don't think I'd be doing enough night driving to justify the price of HID or LED lights although power consumption is a concern since the Pinzgauer only has a 35 amp 24 volt alternator (equivalent power output to a 70 amp 12 volt alternator). 100 watt 24 volt H1 bulbs are relatively easy to find and 300 watts total matches my relay and wiring.

I'd appreciate any suggestions or recommendations.

Thanks,

I'm shocked Larry hasn't jumped all over this topic yet. Due to you power consumption issues I think HID's are the way to go. Ilook forward to seeing your Pinz on the 25th.

OLLIE wrote:I'm shocked Larry hasn't jumped all over this topic yet. Due to you power consumption issues I think HID's are the way to go. Ilook forward to seeing your Pinz on the 25th.

Actually, NotaMog and I have "talked" about this a bit.

Hella Rallye 4000s, one of the finest off road lights made, are available in 24v halogen models. Most other lights do not have 24v models available, but Hella does sell 24v bulbs to retrofit into other lights, so the selection increases a bit if you take that into consideration.

While HIDs are very energy efficient, they do require a high start up surge which can strain a low output system. Also, most HID ballasts work from 8-16V; Higher voltage ballasts are harder to find. Hella does make a 24v version of the Rallye 4000 Motorsport HID in a euro beam pattern, (great lens), but no pencil, driving, or fog version.

So, for a 24v vehicle, choices are limited, and most are larger, more expensive systems....so budget, and available space on the bar must be considered.

After researching lights on the Internet I finally decided to go with the Lightforce Striker 170s. These are great if you're not sure if you need floods or spots since the pattern can be changed by refocusing the light and/or using different snap on filters. They are available in a 24 volt version from the factory. It's easy enough to change the 12v bulbs to 24v but then I end up with a bunch of extra 12v bulbs I don't need. They are also upgradable to 12v or 24v HID if I decide I want to do that at a later time.

The lights are set up with 100w 24v bulbs which is an acceptable load for the electrical system.

The lights are just sitting on the bumper for these pictures and the back lighting was very bad but you get the idea of what they look like. I need to pull the bumper off to route the wires. I hope to get it done before the M&G. I'm looking forward to doing a night run after they are completely installed so I can see how they work out.

BTW - I did get the black covers to stay on the good side of the CHP while on the road.

The bumper and the lights look good!!

Bumper and lights look great, Bruce !!!

As for the CHP and sheriff, make sure the bars on the bumper don't block the headlights or turn signals...that's usually the first thing they pick on when they see a cool truck on the road....

Larry,

Your response peeked my curiosity. I haven't driven the truck at night since the bumper was installed. I went out and turned on the headlights to see if there was any interference from the bumper. The upper loop just barely touches the main beams from the headlights. I'll have to take it for a night drive this weekend to check it out and see if there is any noticeable interference. I don't think the turn signals will pose a problem.

Thanks for the heads up. I also need to get my front license plate mounted so it can help protect the front of the truck like before in the event I attempt to negotiate an obstacle that exceeds my approach angle .

I love the look. I'll bet there won't be any issues seeing at night now.