Brawlee Light Bar

[ScenicRoute]

Not sure where to put this…interior? Lighting? Somewhere else? If wrong location I apologize.

I never give rave reviews but this thing is a deal. Ordered for 60 bucks off Amazon and installed so clean the IRS couldn’t find it. Does what it says how it says it does it and doesn’t skimp on product or packaging. I seriously wonder what the profit margin on this thing is and congratulate these folks for providing an honest to god fabulous product at a great price. It lights up the back, it changes color ( if you wanted a low red while camping or something) it strobes ( if you gotta get your camp disco fired up), provides enough light to cook by and has a slow rainbow feature if you picked the wrong mushrooms.

anyway, salute to the manufacturers.

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[Suffolklou]

I have that on my JK and JL. Love it. I dont use the color changing part or the remote. hard wired it to the dome light and left the disconnect piece near the hard top harness so i can pull it apart when removing the hard top. Mine also came with a cigarette lighter adapter so I can plug it in when camping.

I can dim it with the remote and it remembers the setting next time I open the doors.

My only issue is that the VHB tape has let go a few times and had to be replaced. I just found out a few days ago that 3M makes a VHB adhesion promoter. i will use it next time the light falls off.

https://smile.amazon.com/3M-Adhesio...628477278&sprefix=vhb+adhesion,aps,226&sr=8-2

 

[ScenicRoute]

I did the same tie in on dome light.

 

[rcadden]

Installed the same last weekend - pics and a video are in my build thread: https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/joyride-hydro-jlusa-build-thread.76001/post-1599918

Overall, yes. SUPER easy (once you figure out a few things) and a great price. I made a small notch in the plastic housing at the top of the back windshield so it goes in nicely. Looks super clean.

I also wired into the dome light, but kept the connection available so I could switch to/from the 12V adapter if I wanted.

The only thing I'm considering now is how/where to mount a little pouch for the remote and 12V adapter. I'd like to keep them in the back somewhere, but haven't decided if I want them attached to the hard top itself (so when I go topless, they're safe at home) or if I want them just in the back somewhere.

 

[brewski]

I really like the Brawlee light. One of the first things I did on my JL (had one on my JK). Excellent product. I ran mine to a switch next to my air compressor switch in the back. That way it won’t turn off after an allotted time, and I don’t need it on every time I open the boot.
I fed mine thru the roof and out the connection port. Looks super clean and almost like it’s OEM.

 

[AvengerDog]

I really like the Brawlee light. One of the first things I did on my JL (had one on my JK). Excellent product. I ran mine to a switch next to my air compressor switch in the back. That way it won’t turn off after an allotted time, and I don’t need it on every time I open the boot.
I fed mine thru the roof and out the connection port. Looks super clean and almost like it’s OEM.

I just ordered the same thing on recommendation from a friend.

How did you run the segment from the disconnect to the roll bar? That section gets fuzzy in the install videos I watched.

 

[ScenicRoute]

i ran mine nearly identical to rcadden...and he is correct in that that way you can unplug from dome easily and run 12 volt direct from plug if you want. I just tuck excess under the lip of the hardtop and tub and let wire run into the seatbelt well (prior to where it runs up the roll bar under the plastic cover). That also makes for easy disconnect when swapping hard and soft tops, etc.

 

[rcadden]

I just ordered the same thing on recommendation from a friend.

How did you run the segment from the disconnect to the roll bar? That section gets fuzzy in the install videos I watched.

This was the part I struggled with, also. The key part that's not mentioned is that you're not running it *inside* the roll bar - you're running it in the space between the metal roll bar and the plastic caps/pieces that screw *onto* the roll bar.

Once I figured that out, the included printed instructions made MUCH more sense. There are detailed pics in the post I linked above, hopefully those will help you see where I ran mine.

 

[rcadden]

I really like the Brawlee light. One of the first things I did on my JL (had one on my JK). Excellent product. I ran mine to a switch next to my air compressor switch in the back. That way it won’t turn off after an allotted time, and I don’t need it on every time I open the boot.
I fed mine thru the roof and out the connection port. Looks super clean and almost like it’s OEM.

1. This was so easy and clean, it really *SHOULD* be OEM. The amount of light for this space OEM is kinda ridiculous, tbh.

2. How hard was it for you to run it into the outlet at the top/center of the inside of the hard top, and then out the side where the other plugs are? I wanted to do that, but couldn't figure out how to route it through. That would be much more clean than mine, and would allow my weatherstripping to sit correctly.

I *will* note that I used a car wash (not a drive-thru, but one of the coin-op ones with the handheld wand(s) on Saturday and didn't have any issues with leaks, so my weatherstipping is functional the way it is now, but it bothers my OCD to know that it's slightly off, lol.

 

[AvengerDog]

This was the part I struggled with, also. The key part that's not mentioned is that you're not running it *inside* the roll bar - you're running it in the space between the metal roll bar and the plastic caps/pieces that screw *onto* the roll bar.

Once I figured that out, the included printed instructions made MUCH more sense. There are detailed pics in the post I linked above, hopefully those will help you see where I ran mine.

Yeah, sorry I should have been more specific. It’s between the roll bar panels.

I wish there was a way to hide it cleanly between the disconnect and the seatbelt well. Might have to play with it.

 

[brewski]

1. This was so easy and clean, it really *SHOULD* be OEM. The amount of light for this space OEM is kinda ridiculous, tbh.

2. How hard was it for you to run it into the outlet at the top/center of the inside of the hard top, and then out the side where the other plugs are? I wanted to do that, but couldn't figure out how to route it through. That would be much more clean than mine, and would allow my weatherstripping to sit correctly.

I *will* note that I used a car wash (not a drive-thru, but one of the coin-op ones with the handheld wand(s) on Saturday and didn't have any issues with leaks, so my weatherstipping is functional the way it is now, but it bothers my OCD to know that it's slightly off, lol.

It was a lot easier than I thought it would be to run it that way and there was justbarely enough cord. My worry was the cord would be too short, but wasn’t. Ideally I would have wanted 4-6 extra inches to make more slack and a bit of a service loop.
I have a fish tape (~$25 at Home Depot) which I (and electricians) use to feed wiring in walls. It’s firm but flexible. I started at the port above the windshield and ran it to driver side and then with some manipulation it went down. I retrieved it from the connection port after I pulled off plastic trim piece and pulled it out. At this point I tied string to it and pulled it back thru with the feed string attached. I feed the string thru the plastic trim piece, not the fish tape.

this plastic piece comes out pretty easy, just pull it down some and then pivot the top out. No tool was needed on my jeep. Fiberglass has a pretty loose tolerance so some may have more trouble than I did, but in my pic you can see the latches so it will help someone push them if needed.

Connector fits pretty loose in the plastic trim piece, so easy release of the latches. Make sure to run the string thru the hole.

this shows where I run the Brawlee cable, on the underside of the connector. There is some gap there which will just allow the Brawlee cable.

I pulled the Brawlee cable out here and then slid it over into a capture position (wedged) that the next photo shows. This cap comes off really easy too. On mine I just pushed it up and pivoted the bottom out and it came out w/o tools.

Final position

this shows the difference in slack on my jeep OEM cable/tubing and the Brawlee cable

At first I used Brawlee supplied split loom, and it fits great into that plastic trim piece hole. I didn’t really like the look or how spilt loom flexes and gets brittle over time. So I redid it with fabric cable wrap and that kept it a smaller size that looks nice s and flexes more naturally.

this is the Fish Tape I use.

and I just hooked up my light to a toggle switch (rigid industries switch) and used a 3amp fuse. I don’t find I need the dimmer and just want to be able to switch it on or off when I want. I personally don’t like it hooked up to my OEM interior lights.

 

[Cyber_Jeeper]

I just installed this light. It was my first time removing trim on any vehicle, so it was a bit nerve wracking not knowing what pieces I could yank on and expect it to come off nicely, and which were more securely attached and would simply just break.
I kept mine simpler than others. I looked into wiring it through the plastic cover with the washer tube, but I felt like there wasn’t enough space for both wires so I just used the supplied clips. I thought about fishing it through the top too, but without fish tape I didn’t think I could do it.
Wiring it through the frame and interior to the dome light went ok. I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to try to fish it through, or peel back the trim pieces and tuck it through. I ended up tapping the wire into the dome light, and then worked backwards and tucked it in as I went.
I don't have any special car trim tools, but my bike tire lever did come in handy.
It gets dark too early these days to really see how well it works, but in a couple months I should start getting good use out of it.
I put the cigarette lighter adapter and remote in the car so that if I’m camping and want only this light, I can quickly disconnect it from the dome light and plug it into the cigarette lighter socket.

 

[Suffolklou]

I keep my cigarette lighter adapter in the rear cubby so I can use it if I am camping. My dome light turns off after a couple of minutes.

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