Thread: Cheap and Easy was to mount a light to your headliner....

intresting, anymore info on this

Originally Posted by MEVS06

intresting, anymore info on this

Its quiet simply actually, one of our town mechanics came up with the idea and our town has been using it on all of its cruiser because of its sturdy hold on the light and the no drilling or screwing into the headliner. You just take the talon or avenger headliner bracket (same thing) drill in the center (the side with 3 holes on each side....the other side has 2 rows or about 10 holes for the light do not drill that side!) fit your light onto the side with the rows of holes. take off the clip that holds the sun visor up slide the mount into position, put the clip back in, screw it tight back into position and voila your talons or avengers are outta sight and tucked tight up with the windshield

Pictures of this please? I would really like to get my dual TNs out of my line of sight with the suction cup bracket X__X

Take the suction cups off the bracket and use 3M tape to stick it to the windsheild on the glass right up next to the headliner. I have done a ton of them that way. No drilling and no special brackets needed.

Originally Posted by NHFD104

Take the suction cups off the bracket and use 3M tape to stick it to the windsheild on the glass right up next to the headliner. I have done a ton of them that way. No drilling and no special brackets needed.

Is that the same stuff they use on the EZ-Pass things?

Originally Posted by LawrenceM1993

Is that the same stuff they use on the EZ-Pass things?

I think he is talking about the super mount tape, or that grey tape.

I have personally used the same "clear super lock" velcro that 3M makes to mount lights and it works perfect. That is the same stuff they use with the easy pass.

Yes, the grey tape. Works like a charm, especially if you heat it up first with a hair dryer. Heat makes it s-u-p-e-r sticky.

My dash lights are mounted directly on the windshield using black 3M VHB tape. This is the same stuff auto manufacturers use to hold body moulding and trim to the exterior of vehicles. The lights have been through several -40C winters and +35C summers and never budged. When it comes time to take them off, a few shots of Goo Gone and voila, back to normal.

I want to try this wire hanger trick with my LS12. Can somebody please post a few pics of the entire mount BEFORE its mounted so I and everybody else can see how to do it? Words can't describe it as well as pictures. Thanks!

Slick idea! Definitely might have to consider this for future installs.

Excellent idea!

I have a surplus of the stiff wire used to mount drop ceilings in place and I bet that would work great; so I will be giving this a try.

Thanks for posting it.

Quick question, how long is the section of wire that you are inserting into the headliner?

I installed a SNM D12 today, using this trick. Worked quite nicely. I did take a few pics of the install process, which I will post up later.

I used the slightly heavier gauge (heavier than a coat hanger) wire which supports industrial / commercial drop ceilings. I cut two pieces, each about 6" long, and bent a loop into one end of each piece. Using a trial and error fitment technique, I adjusted the wire on the light's existing bracket mount to achieve the proper angle, and tightened the wire down with the light's bolts.

It took about half an hour to get the wire bent appropriately to snug the assembly to the headliner and to get the angle right so the LEDs were at maximum effectiveness. I did not pierce the headliner, but rather wedged the wire between the headliner and the steel roof of the car.

Depending on how snug you make it, the wire may be all that is required to hold the light in place. In my case, the wire was about 95% in this regard, there was still a very tiny amount of movement which aggravated me. I ended up using the rearview mirror to kind of assist in the holding up of the light. The mirror offering support from the bottom and the wire offering support from the top secured the light 100%.

Tools used were a hacksaw to cut the wire and a bastard file to flatten the sides of the loops, so the light's screws would better grip the wire loop. If you were going to pierce the headliner with the wire, the bastard file would also be useful for grinding down the end of the wire into a IV catheter-like point.

I'm quite pleased. The light is higher on the headliner than it would be using the OEM suction cup mount, and looks more "permanently professional". There is a small bit of wire exposed between the headliner and the light, but it is only visible from the interior and the photos make it look more noticeable than it really is. I'm pretty anal about neatness and symmetry in my installations, and it does not bother me, so it should be okay for other people, too.

Pics of above. 2007 Honda Civic coupe.

Wire cut and ready for installation. Extra piece was the leftover:



Installed to back of light using existing mount holes:





Interior:





Exterior / off:

Great idea! Had no classes today and my whelen avenger finally came in so i figured i'd give this method a shot. Visited the laundry room for a coat hanger and the maintenance yard for a couple of tools. Very easy project!
start one black coat hanger

after first bends

the shape of my headliner required me to get a little creative with the bends

this is what i ended up with

on light

mounted


from outside


all i can say is it's easy to do and seems to work well, thanks for the advice

I needed a no-drill way to mount a Slimlighter TIR6 to the back window of my 2011 4Runner Trail. Wandering around the hardware store with this idea in mind, I looked for brackets of some kind that I could slip in teh headliner. Then I thought, "What about magnets?". They had a few magnet options, but one of them had a belt clip that looked a lot like a belt clip for a tape measure. [lightbulb on!]

They had some Craftsman tape measure on close out for $4.99 a piece (I used this model Amazon.com: Craftsman 9-31025 25 Foot Tape Measure, 25 X 1 Inch: Home Improvement - but I bet almost any tape measure with a large clip will do.)

I bought a couple tapered head 6-32 x 3/8" screws and 5/16 x 6-32 nuts and connected the clips to each of the slots in the factory bail bracket. Then clipped the whole light to the headliner. Totally Solid! Doesn't wiggle at all. Success for about $11.00 in parts and absolutely no holes and no wire to bend. Took about 5 minutes to do this.

Position is PERFECT! With hatch up the light is very visible, with the hatch down it hangs right at the top edge of the window, and with the rear window rolled down a bit the light really pops since it doesn't have to go through the tint.





- DH

I wonder if you can find a supplier to sell you those tape measure clips in bulk...? that is a great idea and makes for real easy install with no holes. I'm sure some pros could use this trick. Great job!

Awesome trick..... going to look for hanger now...lol...
Out of curiosity what is the chrome housing with what looks like a strobe wire going into on your fender......???

its a spotlight. looks like a kc light

I saw this today While Looking for a No Drill Way to install my Single Talons in the Back of my Trailblazer, It worked like a charm and Looks great. Ill be Going tomorrow to pick up some black touch up paint to touch up the rest of the Wires.. Ill include some Pictures so you guys can See it in Actions...WOOT

I buy visor mirrors from walmart and use the clips from the back of them for some of my headliner installs

Originally Posted by tmonney

I buy visor mirrors from walmart and use the clips from the back of them for some of my headliner installs

Any Pics? Would love some Ideas for new installs.. Sounds like an interesting Idea!!!!

Heres a pic of one i just did for a 2012 charger, for added stability i place a strip of industrial strength velcro between the two clips , (when i say between the two clips i mean between the left clip and the right clip, not in middle of the clip, hope that makes sense) i always heat before sticking, makes it stick better like others have said. I dont peel off the protective cover on the velcro glue on the headliner side until i have the light positioned the way i want, then peel off cover and press. the light is solid and doesnt move. The velcro works well also when the headliner is rounded and makes the light point upward toward the sky, the velcro holds it in the right position for proper light angle. I will take an interior picture of it mounted and post tommorow. i have used this method for crown vic, buick lacrosse, ford explorer, with no issues. most of the lights come with suction cup mounts but by the time you mount them to the windshield they are halfway down the windshield and look terrible. I have found that the visor mirrors from walmart seem to have the sturdiest clips, i tried one from oriely auto parts and it would hold the light. Also the clips have two holes pre drilled in the clips, sometimes i have had to drill another hole in the clip to move the postion of the clip where it is mounted onto the light for a better fit to the headliner

The whelen pictured is in progress. Clips and velcro arent secured yet
Last two pictures are of the charger install

I have been meaning to reply to this thread for months. I used the thick coat hanger to mount four of my lights. 2 dash lights for side warning and on accident my 2 ls12s in the grill. I was just putting them in the grill to see where I wanted to mount the lights.. needless to say I found the spot where I wanted them. I bent the hanger to a point where I could not get the freaking things off on accident. It was sturdy and not moving so I decided to say screw it and to this day they are still in my grill holding up fine. I will take pics when I get a chance.

I wanted to add my picture to this. I have two 8 inch microman G3 3w in my front glass mounted this way... The tops of the lights are toughing the glass. On my car, the bars are the perfect size to nest up where the headliner meets the windshield, keeping them up and out of the way, and behind the upper glass tint so they can't be easily seen from the outside. It works very nicely... Now if anybody as any suggestions on an easy material to make a flashback shroud, champagne would rain from the heavens.

6803090839_f87c376df6.jpg

Edit: Fixed misspelled word

Brilliant ideas from everyone in here! Thanks again! I'm expecting a new dash light tomorrow and I might be able to pitch the suction cups already!