Freelander 1 FL1 facelift LED lightbar

Nodge68 said:

It's all arranged to return it. I've just got to print off the returns note and postage label.
Amazon are good for returns that don't meet expectations or performance stated.

I've now ordered one of these.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/20Inch-12...196453?hash=item1a231c23e5:g:Uw4AAOSw241YbLnT
I paid £33 all in, which I'm happy with. It looks ok in the listing. Time will tell on that though.

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How spooky. No sooner than I posted my last post, there was a knock on the door. It was the new LED bar being delivered.
First impression are good. It's well made and quite heavy.
It's claimed to have CREE emitters, but I doubt it has. I did measure the current consumption, which is lower than stated at 58 Watts. However it's over twice as bright as the one I'm retuning, which is what I was after. It was also slightly cheaper than the one from Amazon, if the postage is factored in.
So I'll stick with this for a bit. I may decide to upgrade it with proper CREE emitters in the future.
Some pictures of it.

Nodge68 said:

How spooky. No sooner than I posted my last post, there was a knock on the door. It was the new LED bar being delivered.
First impression are good. It's well made and quite heavy.
It's claimed to have CREE emitters, but I doubt it has. I did measure the current consumption, which is lower than stated at 58 Watts. However it's over twice as bright as the one I'm retuning, which is what I was after. It was also slightly cheaper than the one from Amazon, if the postage is factored in.
So I'll stick with this for a bit. I may decide to upgrade it with proper CREE emitters in the future.
Some pictures of it.
View attachment 117545 View attachment 117546

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Ok, a little update. I've tested the power on my bench power supply. At 12 Volts, it comes out at 77 Watts consumption. That's obviously well under the 126 Watts advertised, but still not bad.
I've been doing some research on the emitters used. I can't guarantee they are Cree emitters as advertised, but they do deliver a good light output. And if they are being well under driven, they should last well.

The other light I'm retuning to Amazon did use Cree emitters, these in fact. http://www.cree.com/LED-Components-and-Modules/Products/XLamp/Discrete-Directional/XLamp-XBD

Looking like this.

However they are being so under driven that light output from this bar is pathetic and nowhere near the emitters theoretical 5500 Lumen output.

Right. I just tested the light output of my new Ebay £33 42 X 3 Watt "Cree" bar. This thing is really bright. Easily 3 X the light output of the Amazon bar. This is to be expected however. The new bar is using over twice the power and has over twice the number of emitters. For the current consumption, I can't think of a brighter light.
Very impressed so far. It has good range and a good spread of light. It illuminated the whole garden in bright light.
It has a 200+ yards range too, which is perfect for my needs. It illuminated right to the bottom of the 30 acre field at the bottom of my garden and 1/2 the fields width too.
So I'm happy with it.

I hope you don't have any problems with the light Nodge, I just checked the sellers feedback and it is very poor. Fourteen negs and ten neutrals in only 1500 sales.

Alibro said:

I hope you don't have any problems with the light Nodge, I just checked the sellers feedback and it is very poor. Fourteen negs and ten neutrals in only 1500 sales.

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I didn't use that particular seller. He's just selling the same light.
All these sellers appear to be from China. They just have UK distribution centres. They all seem to have lots of negative feedback. However it was paid by PayPal which offers good protection.
The light is working well and is very bright.

Nodge68 said:

I didn't use that particular seller. He's just selling the same light.
All these sellers appear to be from China. They just have UK distribution centres. They all seem to have lots of negative feedback. However it was paid by PayPal which offers good protection.
The light is working well and is very bright.

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Good job.
Have you ever heard of 'drop shipping'? It's where someone here sells an item but they don't actually have it themselves. They do the listing on ebay, take your money then send the order to the manufacturer who ships it directly from the factory. It's legal but I feel a tad dodgy as they are using their local address to make the whole thing look more legit.

Alibro said:

Good job.
Have you ever heard of 'drop shipping'? It's where someone here sells an item but they don't actually have it themselves. They do the listing on ebay, take your money then send the order to the manufacturer who ships it directly from the factory. It's legal but I feel a tad dodgy as they are using their local address to make the whole thing look more legit.

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It happens. This arrived in just 4 days from the order day, so definitely came from the UK.
I must admit, I'm impressed with it, especially for £33 all in.

I almost always look for items that are physically in the UK when shopping on ebay or amazon. I don't fancy the shipping costs back to China if they fail.
How are you connecting you light bar Nodge? I assume through a relay but are you fitting a switch so it is operated directly or will always be on with full beam?

Alibro said:

I almost always look for items that are physically in the UK when shopping on ebay or amazon. I don't fancy the shipping costs back to China if they fail.
How are you connecting you light bar Nodge? I assume through a relay but are you fitting a switch so it is operated directly or will always be on with full beam?

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To be honest Ali. If it came from China and it failed. It wouldn't be worth sending back. I'd just repair it myself, or buy another.
Having tested this new one. I must say that I'm impressed. Considering some light bars of the same size cost 5 to 10 times as much. I wonder just how much extra you get for the extra cash.


I'm going to wire it up on two switches. One so I can turn it on independent of other lights and another switch to make it come on with main beam. This gives the most flexibility. I have a genuine harness and switch panel to fit my 05 SE. Adding an extra switch to make them come on independently will be easy.

All I need is the time to get it done.

Nodge68 said:

To be honest Ali. If it came from China and it failed. It wouldn't be worth sending back. I'd just repair it myself, or buy another.
Having tested this new one. I must say that I'm impressed. Considering some light bars of the same size cost 5 to 10 times as much. I wonder just how much extra you get for the extra cash.


I'm going to wire it up on two switches. One so I can turn it on independent of other lights and another switch to make it come on with main beam. This gives the most flexibility. I have a genuine harness and switch panel to fit my 05 SE. Adding an extra switch to make them come on independently will be easy.

All I need is the time to get it done.

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Sounds like a good plan, I was wondering if it would be an issue for MOT if it always came on with high beam.

Alibro said:

Sounds like a good plan, I was wondering if it would be an issue for MOT if it always came on with high beam.

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I wouldn't have thought it an issue for the MOT. But being able to switch it independently, gives most flexibility.
I'm not 100% sure where to mount it yet, but the grille space looks most promising.
The mother in law is after one for her V6 too.

Nodge68 said:

I wouldn't have thought it an issue for the MOT. But being able to switch it independently, gives most flexibility.
I'm not 100% sure where to mount it yet, but the grille space looks most promising.
The mother in law is after one for her V6 too.

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I always thought the grill on my last car looked good with the chrome strip so maybe cutting out the middle bar for it would work well. Replacement grills should be easy to get if you wanted to go back to standard.


That is if yours is pre facelift of course, the better looking version I think.

Alibro said:

I always thought the grill on my last car looked good with the chrome strip so maybe cutting out the middle bar for it would work well. Replacement grills should be easy to get if you wanted to go back to standard.

That is if yours is pre facelift of course, the better looking version I think.

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My 05 SE is a face lift

Here's a couple of pictures of it's possible mounting positions.
Any opinions welcome.
Mounded forward on the A bar.
Mounted in the grille space behind the A bar.

Another little update on my cheap Ebay bar.
Here's a picture I took this evening, using it like a torch. It's a little misty, but the light shines well down our lane. It's lighting the bank a good 200 yards down as well as the sides close up. It's got a much better spread of light than standard headlights. So yes, it is well worth the tiny amount of money it cost.

I have the same A bar as you, planning on fitting one in the lower grill........if possible.
Will need a slim line one

Nodge68 said:

Another little update on my cheap Ebay bar.
Here's a picture I took this evening, using it like a torch. It's a little misty, but the light shines well down our lane. It's lighting the bank a good 200 yards down as well as the sides close up. It's got a much better spread of light than standard headlights. So yes, it is well worth the tiny amount of money it cost.View attachment 117714

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Jeepers, that's good. I might go for one myself.

pardec said:

I have the same A bar as you, planning on fitting one in the lower grill........if possible.
Will need a slim line one

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I've decided to mount it in the inset position. It looks odd when viewed from the side, when mounted forward on the A bar. I am making some brackets to mount it in the grille space.

I did hold the light at both lower and higher positions. The higher grille mount gives a good spread of light down the road. The lower grille mount limits ultimate range by quite a margin.

Alibro said:

Jeepers, that's good. I might go for one myself.

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The picture doesn't do it justice Ali. It's very bright when viewed with the naked eye. I was very impressed. Even if these LEDs aren't the advertised Cree emitters. They still produce huge amounts of light, especially for the 6 Amps of power they consume.

i prefer inset aswell

pardec said:

I have the same A bar as you, planning on fitting one in the lower grill........if possible.
Will need a slim line one

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Read back a bit in this threa mate and see the one I fitted. It will fit in the smaller, lower grill area if you remove the grill... you would need to sort out mounting though.