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

MeefZah

Member
Oct 6, 2011
123
New Philadelphia, OH
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?
 

MeefZah

Member
Oct 6, 2011
123
New Philadelphia, OH
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.
 

MeefZah

Member
Oct 6, 2011
123
New Philadelphia, OH
Pics of above. 2007 Honda Civic coupe.


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


[Broken External Image]:http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q189/MeefZah/Miscellaneous Stuff/IMG_1891.jpg


Installed to back of light using existing mount holes:


[Broken External Image]:http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q189/MeefZah/Miscellaneous Stuff/IMG_1892.jpg


[Broken External Image]:http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q189/MeefZah/Miscellaneous Stuff/IMG_1893.jpg


Interior:


[Broken External Image]:http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q189/MeefZah/Miscellaneous Stuff/IMG_1901.jpg


[Broken External Image]:http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q189/MeefZah/Miscellaneous Stuff/IMG_1904.jpg


Exterior / off:


[Broken External Image]:http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q189/MeefZah/Miscellaneous Stuff/IMG_1900.jpg
 

nightwolf

Member
Oct 26, 2011
241
US Northeast
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


ai828.photobucket.com_albums_zz205_nw242124_2011_11_14132303.jpg


after first bends


ai828.photobucket.com_albums_zz205_nw242124_2011_11_14132657.jpg


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


ai828.photobucket.com_albums_zz205_nw242124_2011_11_14133155.jpg


this is what i ended up with


ai828.photobucket.com_albums_zz205_nw242124_2011_11_14133147.jpg


on light


ai828.photobucket.com_albums_zz205_nw242124_2011_11_14133940.jpg


mounted


ai828.photobucket.com_albums_zz205_nw242124_2011_11_14141515.jpg


ai828.photobucket.com_albums_zz205_nw242124_2011_11_14141521.jpg


from outside


[Broken External Image]:http://i828.photobucket.com/albums/zz205/nw242124/2011-11-14142640.jpg


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

DarkHelmet

Member
Jul 21, 2011
32
Boise, ID
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.


ai8.photobucket.com_albums_a18_resqman2398_7e2b7251.jpg


ai8.photobucket.com_albums_a18_resqman2398_aa983829.jpg


- DH
 
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NH3520

Member
Aug 18, 2011
66
U.S.A., New Hampshire
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!
 

StEaLtH2

Member
Mar 3, 2011
2,159
New England
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......??? :undecided:
 
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Jarred J.

Lifetime VIP Donor
May 21, 2010
11,580
Shelbyville, TN
its a spotlight. looks like a kc light
 

Orderbychaos

Member
Jan 18, 2012
31
South Carolina
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

P1202245.jpg

P1202247.jpg

P1202248.jpg
 

baileym9

Member
May 24, 2010
47
Chicago, Illinois
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

IMG-20120124-00047.jpg

IMG-20120124-00048.jpg

IMG-20120126-00055.jpg

IMG-20120126-00056.jpg

IMG-20120126-00054.jpg

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backdraft51

Member
Sep 29, 2010
411
Tennessee
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.
 

bshockme

Member
May 26, 2010
60
Missouri
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
 
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JPolston

Member
Mar 27, 2012
512
Indiana, USA
After searching for ways to get lights high, tight and out of the way, up pops this post. Once I get the rest of my money saved up for new lights, I will be able to mount them where I want, how I want. Thanks to several people who posted some of these methods. LOTS of stress relieved.
 

theroofable

Member
May 23, 2010
1,379
New Jersey
For those who want to use the clip method and are stealing the clips off of tape measures and other items, search on amazon for a spring belt clip. They can be had for under 3 bucks, and saves you from having a garage full of tape measures.
 

mjMIff

Member
Jun 2, 2010
296
Mid-Michigan
theroofable said:
For those who want to use the clip method and are stealing the clips off of tape measures and other items, search on amazon for a spring belt clip. They can be had for under 3 bucks, and saves you from having a garage full of tape measures.

You can never have enough tapes!


BTW............. THECLIP.COM - Better,...
 
Sep 13, 2010
761
Holland, Michigan
This is what I did with mine. Brackets are acutally for a 07 NBS Tahoe, but I clamped them to my drill press and used my hole saw and made the holes to fit for my 04 sierra.

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tritan

Member
Dec 6, 2010
32
MI
Orderbychaos said:
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


so how is that mounted around the inside linear of the truck seal? I have a trailblazer and don't see how that is held in place.
 
Jan 20, 2011
1,264
Lake of the Ozarks
Took an ordinary coat hanger and bent it by hand, and then used a screw driver to make the loops for the screws. I removed the screws from the sun visor brackets to let the head liner sag a bit, and then fitted the coat hanger to where it would fit good. I then attached the coat hanger to the light AWL L18 and put it up to the headliner to see where I liked it best. After I found where I wanted it I screwed the visor back in place, and viola! There is no flash back, and it is tucked up nice and tight to the headliner. Video to follow...


FYI: Light is tinted, did not come like that from factory.


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blb6d

New Member
Aug 4, 2013
1
Tennessee
RBRONKEMA GHTFD said:
This is what I did with mine. Brackets are acutally for a 07 NBS Tahoe, but I clamped them to my drill press and used my hole saw and made the holes to fit for my 04 sierra.

Since you used "Chevrolet" series brackets, if I wanted to mount similar lights in my '99 explorer, what kind of brackets would I need to get to fit like your do?
 

NiftyX

Member
Jan 20, 2012
59
Oklahoma, US
I found some tape measures on sale at a local Sutherlands (hardware store) for $1/each.


diy bracket 1.jpg


Removed the belt clips and put a screw in them to mount to the light (MicroStarBar XPs).


diy bracket 2.jpg


diy bracket 3.jpg


diy bracket 4.jpg


Just slid the belt clips onto the headliner. So far they have been on there for a few months and have stayed right where I put them.


diy bracket 5.jpg


diy bracket 6.jpg
 

dusty

Member
Jan 9, 2012
342
Little Rock, Arkansas
Ok, so it's been around a few years, how's it holding up long term?


I have a cheapo split Visor bar with no mounts that I'd like to install in my Ranger. It would be rather heavy compared to the lights I'm seeing so far.
 

tuckerm

Member
Sep 4, 2014
444
Wisconsin
I would just like to add a Thank You for this thread. I tried this over the weekend with my POV and some small side lights in my truck and it really worked out slick.
 

BLUELIGHT

Member
Jul 7, 2018
118
Hendersonville NC
Friends, be aware coat hangers come in different grades, from flimsy to heavy duty. If you really wanted to go heavy duty, a length of uncoated welding road would work, but you might have to overlap two sticks to get enough length.
 

StEaLtH2

Member
Mar 3, 2011
2,159
New England
Bumping this thread to the top.....

with patience and trial and error, you can get a high and tight mount accomplished. For larger lights, use one on each end. Loosen your headliner to allow for fitment and aid in the “creative” process.
one last thing that wasn’t mentioned yet is that black nail polish can be used to color the exposed hanger if you wish.
 

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