Thread: Whelen Liberty Cruise Lights

Hey guys- I'm new to the site and have a quick questiion.
-My steady car is going to the shop this week for service, and the liberty light bar will be reprogrammed to have the cruise lights running at all times when the car is running. I'm wondering how to go about shutting it back off. (2010 Impala Police package, whelen liberty light bar, whelen control box) .
It's hard enough sneaking up on the drug boys now without the lights on !!!

Why are they setting it up to run at all times? That seems counter productive. At any rate, assuming the liberty isn't serial controlled it will be the white/red wire that powers the cruise lights.

absolutely have them wire it to a switch

More and more police cars (and wreckers, oddly enough) around me have been running around with cruise lights on. Nice on a marked patrol unit while doing the neighborhood patrols, but I agree - not very smart when you need to be "stealthy"

Yeah - counterproductive to say the least. The garage wont hook it to a switch- they said its "suppossed to be on all the time".
That's why I'm trying to figure out how to turn it off.

I just saw that Philadelphia is starting to do this also.
I do not like the idea either.
To be more visible are the lightbars available with red and blue lenses/domes rather than using the cruise lights?

Originally Posted by ColtDog

Yeah - counterproductive to say the least. The garage wont hook it to a switch- they said its "suppossed to be on all the time".
That's why I'm trying to figure out how to turn it off.

Depending on what type of bar, it may be as easy as hiding a little switch inline somewhere along a specific wire (often white and orange). Of course I can't recommend that you deface dept property.... My PC answer is that you should go up your chain of command with a detailed and concise complaint about how the lights negatively effect enforcement.

Doesnt seem like a good idea to have them on all of the time. What experience does the shop have to say this?

Originally Posted by theroofable

Doesnt seem like a good idea to have them on all of the time. What experience does the shop have to say this?

The shop probably gets an order on how the cars are to be/remain setup. They wouldn't have any say other than following the orders or instructions handed down to them.

Originally Posted by JohnMarcson

My PC answer is that you should go up your chain of command with a detailed and concise complaint about how the lights negatively effect enforcement.

Originally Posted by JohnMarcson

The shop probably gets an order on how the cars are to be/remain setup. They wouldn't have any say other than following the orders or instructions handed down to them.

+1 to both of these. I know around here, if the chief tells me to set a car up a specific way, best believe that's how it is leaving my shop. No ifs, ands or buts about it. Most departments have written policy about anyone modifying anything to do with the vehicles without written authorization and disciplinary action usually results when someone takes it upon themselves to do what they think is best. Just some friendly advice.

I'm not too worried about disciplinary action, as I assume that chaniging the cruise lights to go from on "on all the time" to "off" is an adjustment that can be made more along the lines of reprogramming and less along the lines of vandalism. I was just wondering how to go about doing that- I thought maybe some other guys on here might have encountered the same problem and would know how to go about it.

Originally Posted by ColtDog

I'm not too worried about disciplinary action, as I assume that chaniging the cruise lights to go from on "on all the time" to "off" is an adjustment that can be made more along the lines of reprogramming and less along the lines of vandalism. I was just wondering how to go about doing that- I thought maybe some other guys on here might have encountered the same problem and would know how to go about it.

Don't be surprised that most of the discussion was about the merits of the light instead of actually how to change it... that's what tends to happen around here.



There are two different kinds of liberty bars. One, as mentioned before, will have a dedicated wire to power the cruise light. Simply cutting or adding a switch in-line will solve your problem.

If your bar is "serial" controlled, the cruise lights will need to be reprogramed through software. If this is the case then you just need to track down someone with the equipment to do that. This may not be that hard, as I've found there are enough of us "amateur" light guys around, we are never more than 1 or 2 people away.

(while the serial bar may mean more work, it could be better... if you have a cencom controller it is very easy to program a new button to toggle the cruise lights)

Originally Posted by Zack

Don't be surprised that most of the discussion was about the merits of the light instead of actually how to change it... that's what tends to happen around here.



There are two different kinds of liberty bars. One, as mentioned before, will have a dedicated wire to power the cruise light. Simply cutting or adding a switch in-line will solve your problem.

If your bar is "serial" controlled, the cruise lights will need to be reprogramed through software. If this is the case then you just need to track down someone with the equipment to do that. This may not be that hard, as I've found there are enough of us "amateur" light guys around, we are never more than 1 or 2 people away.

(while the serial bar may mean more work, it could be better... if you have a cencom controller it is very easy to program a new button to toggle the cruise lights)

The reason he got more "should you" vs. "how to" replies is because people (including me) are reluctant to tell someone to alter their dept outfitted vehicle.... especially when the person asking seems to have less than expert level of tech knowledge. I'm not saying it's always a bad idea, but I feel a responsibility to at least get some background and give a disclaimer before telling someone how to alter their dept outfitted cruiser.

I know in my are MA all the new state police with liberties have there cruise lights on when the warning lights are on...I think it looks good so the bar is always lite but the lights are off when the warning lights are off..I don't like the idea of have the cruise lights on all the time for the same reasons everyone else has already said... Just my .02

Originally Posted by ryan81986

Why are they setting it up to run at all times? That seems counter productive. At any rate, assuming the liberty isn't serial controlled it will be the white/red wire that powers the cruise lights.

correct wire would be wht/org - assuming the liberty is a LC and the cruise lights are on the aux output.

Originally Posted by IslandFleet

correct wire would be wht/org - assuming the liberty is a LC and the cruise lights are on the aux output.

Yeah my mistake, was thinking white/orange while reading something else. Not sure why I wrote red.

Boneheaded idea from an administrator who's never been or has long forgotten what patrol is about. The lights being on all the time will merely confuse the motoring public. Once I learned my Liberty had the function, which our shop felt wasn't important enough to wire up, I fished the white/orange wire out and added a switch of my own.

I run my cruise lights whenever I'm doing business checks and neighborhoods. That way the presence is known and none of the residents can complain i'm not patrolling in my zone, b/c they don't ever see me.

Originally Posted by JohnMarcson

The reason he got more "should you" vs. "how to" replies is because people (including me) are reluctant to tell someone to alter their dept outfitted vehicle.... especially when the person asking seems to have less than expert level of tech knowledge. I'm not saying it's always a bad idea, but I feel a responsibility to at least get some background and give a disclaimer before telling someone how to alter their dept outfitted cruiser.

Appreciated and I totally agree with you John,

My point was just that we tend to enthusiastically get into these typs of discussions on the board because you, and I, and everyone else here have been talking about lights for a really long time, and it's nice to have some good old discussion about a slightly different type of topic. Plus, we feel a moral obligation to not police our board because we understand the potential negative consequences associated with emergency lighting.

For the OP however, he's brand new here and doesn't have the luxury of knowing all there is to know about lights like we do, and merely came here for a simple and direct answer to a question about his cruiser.

I just sensed some frustration in the OPs reply because it seemed like no one had actually taken the time to simply explain what the process would be for him, or his up fitter, to change things... instead we each took turns telling the OP why his idea was a bad one, and why he should do what *we* tell him.

Don't get me wrong, the warnings about going against department directive are certainly valuable, but I think that we should also be careful not to decide who is worthy of an answer and who isn't. (If the OP were a fleet guy trying to change/fix something he or she was handed from another department, I'm sure the answers would have been more immediately clear and forthcoming.)

Really, I was just trying to answer the OPs question in a manner he could understand, all while poking some fun at our propensity on the board to debate the merits of emergency lighting instead of the practical applications of them.

I know I have been guilty of it myself on more than one occasion.

Originally Posted by Zack

Appreciated and I totally agree with you John,

My point was just that we tend to enthusiastically get into these typs of discussions on the board because you, and I, and everyone else here have been talking about lights for a really long time, and it's nice to have some good old discussion about a slightly different type of topic. Plus, we feel a moral obligation to not police our board because we understand the potential negative consequences associated with emergency lighting.

For the OP however, he's brand new here and doesn't have the luxury of knowing all there is to know about lights like we do, and merely came here for a simple and direct answer to a question about his cruiser.

I just sensed some frustration in the OPs reply because it seemed like no one had actually taken the time to simply explain what the process would be for him, or his up fitter, to change things... instead we each took turns telling the OP why his idea was a bad one, and why he should do what *we* tell him.

Don't get me wrong, the warnings about going against department directive are certainly valuable, but I think that we should also be careful not to decide who is worthy of an answer and who isn't. (If the OP were a fleet guy trying to change/fix something he or she was handed from another department, I'm sure the answers would have been more immediately clear and forthcoming.)

Really, I was just trying to answer the OPs question in a manner he could understand, all while poking some fun at our propensity on the board to debate the merits of emergency lighting instead of the practical applications of them.

I know I have been guilty of it myself on more than one occasion.

Ok, I gotcha now. Thanks for the rewording...

I use them on my fire department grass truck when on night calls when stationary or in the woods so it can be spotted a long distance. Id be afraid to drive with them on here in FL since it seems even with no lights on people stop for you anyway.

Originally Posted by OTFD122

More and more police cars (and wreckers, oddly enough) around me have been running around with cruise lights on. Nice on a marked patrol unit while doing the neighborhood patrols, but I agree - not very smart when you need to be "stealthy"

It's a matter of public presence. People always complain in certain neighborhoods about not seeing the police around enough, so this is one way of solving that. People don't look for certain types of cars, they look for graphics and lights. If the lights are hard to see, it's hard to know if the cops are there or not.

We had an order on a CanTrol setup that specifically requested the whole entire Liberty bar (minus takedowns) go on to 20% intensity for cruise lights.

Originally Posted by factorone33

It's a matter of public presence. People always complain in certain neighborhoods about not seeing the police around enough, so this is one way of solving that. People don't look for certain types of cars, they look for graphics and lights. If the lights are hard to see, it's hard to know if the cops are there or not.

We had an order on a CanTrol setup that specifically requested the whole entire Liberty bar (minus takedowns) go on to 20% intensity for cruise lights.

and once productivity goes down.. they will remove it

Cant sneak up on burglars like that.

Originally Posted by chono

and once productivity goes down.. they will remove it

Cant sneak up on burglars like that.

you can if you turn them off

Originally Posted by chono

and once productivity goes down.. they will remove it

Cant sneak up on burglars like that.

However, you can deter them from becoming burglars in the first place if they see you're around a lot of the time. This street goes both ways. However, if you're really worried about catching somebody on the fly, you probably should be running in an unmarked vehicle in the first place.

Only took one night of people pulling over or being totally confused before I realized the idea of cruise lights is good for PR stuff, but doesn't really have a practical use.

I like cruise lights... in limited situations. I like having them wired to their own switch so they can be used as necessary.

I disagree with adding any feature to the warning system that can't be overridden by the officer/operator.

Originally Posted by got_ygurt

I like cruise lights... in limited situations. I like having them wired to their own switch so they can be used as necessary.

I liie them on some types of calls. Useful for marking my location.


Absolutely useless while patrolling. If folks want to see more patrols, they need to look oout the goddamn window once in a while.

I like the cruise light function on a switch, our dept. is set up this way. However it would be a mute point if the manufacture would go back to color lenses from jump street. Honestly it takes less than 20 seconds to i.d. a cop car driving around, 3 different manufactures and say 4 different models. Even when they're unmarked its easy to spot, just my .02