Flux Geare Hoodbeam Install

[JIMFOUNTAIN]

Planning to install:

https://fluxgeare.com/products/light

Trying to decide where to tap power... I prefer these LEDs are on.. and off.. at the same time as the LED DRLs around my headlights on my 2021 Platinum.

Good or bad idea? Anyone have a wiring diagram so I know which wire(s) to tap?

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[travisN000]

Planning to install:

https://fluxgeare.com/products/light

Trying to decide where to tap power... I prefer these LEDs are on.. and off.. at the same time as the LED DRLs around my headlights on my 2021 Platinum.

Good or bad idea? Anyone have a wiring diagram so I know which wire(s) to tap?

Just a guess, but I bet its the same as used here:

https://www.f150gen14.com/forum/thr...roper-wiring-colors-inside.13675/#post-279941

Just wired up my ambient side vent lighting. Terrible instructions for F150Leds, they had no instructions for the led headlamp wiring. Thankfully I found a guy on here with the proper wiring colors. See attached.

 

[travisN000]

I would love to see some pics / video of the finished install.. maybe from a bit further away than the website shows

 

[JIMFOUNTAIN]

I would love to see some pics / video of the finished install.. maybe from a bit further away than the website shows

Got the bug from this thread.... there are some good photos.

https://www.f150forum.com/f129/what-did-you-do-your-14th-gen-today-498112/index237/

 

[FrankThompson]

I kinda like it and with that low price it's easy to try and if it doesn't work out no biggie.

Thanks for bringing this too my attention.

 

[Kodiak]

IMHO if it is on with the DRL, and off normally that would look outstanding. I not a big fan of the "dancing" lights. Good luck with it and for the price you can't really go wrong giving it a try.

I hope they make one for the BAP Tremor hood.

 

[JIMFOUNTAIN]

IMHO if it is on with the DRL, and off normally that would look outstanding. I not a big fan of the "dancing" lights. Good luck with it and for the price you can't really go wrong giving it a try.

I hope they make one for the BAP Tremor hood.

It seems that it will fit the Tremor hood. The claim is that if fits all makes/models. Held on with double sided tape. And the dancing is boot up.. not operational.

Thinking about the install (while awaiting shipping) I do wonder if hooking to the DRLS will work...
I know the hoodbeam example in the "what I did today" forum hooked into the fog light circuit.. so 12 volts for hoodbeam and color/brighness were very close to the DRLs.

From other threads I know you can use Forscan to change the DRL brightness. I am assuming the Forscan settings tweak the actual voltage being sent to the DRLs. So with the factory DRL setting of 60ish % brightness will the voltage be enough to drive the hoodbeam (since they are engineered for 12 volts)? Will the hoodbeam brightness and color temp match the DRLs? I am pretty sure the DRLs are NOT gettting a full 12 volts at the factory settings.

And what impact will tweaking DRL brightness with Forscan have on the hoodbeam? Can't wait to find out. But I have to. Grandkids visit until after Thanksgiving. Will post what I discover...

 

[JIMFOUNTAIN]

Back from Tennessee/grandkids and what I discovered....

I layed out the hoodbeam temp to check out install, etc. Hooked the hoodbeam to the 12 battery. Found that the hoodbeam is quite a bit brighter than the LED DRLs on my 2021 Platinum. I was pretty disappointed in this result given that in the guy that prompted me to start this journey just wired into the fogs.

https://www.f150forum.com/f129/what-did-you-do-your-14th-gen-today-498112/index237/

So maybe his fogs are not full voltage... and what effect on hoodbeam?

I then bench tested the hoodbeam with varying DC voltage. 13ish volts and the hoodbeam is very bright. Slowing turning down the voltage seems to show a very linear reduction in light output to around 8 volts.. by then it is pretty dim. SO it should be possible to add some resistance to drop the voltage and get the hoodbeam light levels matching the DRLs.

I pulled the wires going to the drivers fog light/DRL combo in the bumper. I was expecting 4 wires and found 5 (2 for fogs and 2 for DRL). Here is a photo of the wires. Anyone have access to a wiring diagram? I am going to check voltages but want to avoid wire damage where I can.

Once I figure out which wires are DRL I will test voltages at stock DRL brightness and probably use Forscan to tweak and see if I can match the brightness with doing electrical engineering.

Stay tuned but don't hold your breath... I am on Xmas decorating duty... and "she who must be obeyed" work orders come first!

 

[JIMFOUNTAIN]

Back from Tennessee/grandkids and what I discovered....

I layed out the hoodbeam temp to check out install, etc. Hooked the hoodbeam to the 12 battery. Found that the hoodbeam is quite a bit brighter than the LED DRLs on my 2021 Platinum. I was pretty disappointed in this result given that in the guy that prompted me to start this journey just wired into the fogs.

https://www.f150forum.com/f129/what-did-you-do-your-14th-gen-today-498112/index237/

So maybe his fogs are not full voltage... and what effect on hoodbeam?

I then bench tested the hoodbeam with varying DC voltage. 13ish volts and the hoodbeam is very bright. Slowing turning down the voltage seems to show a very linear reduction in light output to around 8 volts.. by then it is pretty dim. SO it should be possible to add some resistance to drop the voltage and get the hoodbeam light levels matching the DRLs.

I pulled the wires going to the drivers fog light/DRL combo in the bumper. I was expecting 4 wires and found 5 (2 for fogs and 2 for DRL). Here is a photo of the wires. Anyone have access to a wiring diagram? I am going to check voltages but want to avoid wire damage where I can.

Once I figure out which wires are DRL I will test voltages at stock DRL brightness and probably use Forscan to tweak and see if I can match the brightness with doing electrical engineering.

Stay tuned but don't hold your breath... I am on Xmas decorating duty... and "she who must be obeyed" work orders come first!

 

[JediNut]

My Hoodbeam kit arrived today... of course, no instructions. I have my DRLs cranked up all the way so I was waiting until this came in to figure out the right level to turn them down to (I get quite a few complaints when I am following friends... so I am sure that they would really complain if the Hoodbeam is as bright as you say.)

Hopefully the rain will stop and I'll get to play with it some this weekend.

 

[JediNut]

Actually... I just threw it on there for fun and touched it straight to the battery... and it's actually a bit dimmer than the DRLs (cranked up all the way)... the Hoodbeam appears a little warmer too, but that might be because the DRLs are so obnoxiously bright.

Since I was going to turn down the DRLs anyway, they might actually match up pretty closely. But I have to find the proper connection for the Hoodbeam so it'll come on with the DRLs and match them in warmth and brightness.

 

[JIMFOUNTAIN]

CAUTION. Earlier picture was NOT the wire for the DRL/foglight!!!

Taking 2 small screws and 1 plastic nut off my left front wheel liner gives easy access to the DRL/foglight connector. Now that I know where it is I can easily (with wheels turned full left) reach in and plug/unplug to do testing.....

I have yet to find a good way to hook up the hoodbeam. The connector to the driver DRL/Foglight has 4 wires. #4 is Ground. #1 is Hot. #3 is a DRL control wire and #2 is a foglight control wire.

The DRL only reads 1.8-2.0 volts when my DRLs are on (stock brightness). I think Ford manages DRL brightness by cycling the control wire on/off. As such there isn't enough voltage to have the hoodbeam work.

The fog lights on my platinum also work as turn illuminators. Turning the wheel will trigger the fog on one side. So will the turn signal. So neither wires are workable right now for the hoodbeam.

I would be very curious as to the drl control wire voltage when the DRLs are turned way up. What BCM values are you using for DRL brightness? Can up put a volt meter on the connector?

 

[Blue22]

CAUTION. Earlier picture was NOT the wire for the DRL/foglight!!!

Taking 2 small screws and 1 plastic nut off my left front wheel liner gives easy access to the DRL/foglight connector. Now that I know where it is I can easily (with wheels turned full left) reach in and plug/unplug to do testing.....

I have yet to find a good way to hook up the hoodbeam. The connector to the driver DRL/Foglight has 4 wires. #4 is Ground. #1 is Hot. #3 is a DRL control wire and #2 is a foglight control wire.

The DRL only reads 1.8-2.0 volts when my DRLs are on (stock brightness). I think Ford manages DRL brightness by cycling the control wire on/off. As such there isn't enough voltage to have the hoodbeam work.

The fog lights on my platinum also work as turn illuminators. Turning the wheel will trigger the fog on one side. So will the turn signal. So neither wires are workable right now for the hoodbeam.

I would be very curious as to the drl control wire voltage when the DRLs are turned way up. What BCM values are you using for DRL brightness? Can up put a volt meter on the connector?

Would this work? I think it says it won't work for projector headlights, but quad beam LED and halogens should.
https://customautoworksstore.com/product/f150-super-duty-plug-and-play-y-adapter/

 

[JediNut]

CAUTION. Earlier picture was NOT the wire for the DRL/foglight!!!

Taking 2 small screws and 1 plastic nut off my left front wheel liner gives easy access to the DRL/foglight connector. Now that I know where it is I can easily (with wheels turned full left) reach in and plug/unplug to do testing.....

I have yet to find a good way to hook up the hoodbeam. The connector to the driver DRL/Foglight has 4 wires. #4 is Ground. #1 is Hot. #3 is a DRL control wire and #2 is a foglight control wire.

The DRL only reads 1.8-2.0 volts when my DRLs are on (stock brightness). I think Ford manages DRL brightness by cycling the control wire on/off. As such there isn't enough voltage to have the hoodbeam work.

The fog lights on my platinum also work as turn illuminators. Turning the wheel will trigger the fog on one side. So will the turn signal. So neither wires are workable right now for the hoodbeam.

I would be very curious as to the drl control wire voltage when the DRLs are turned way up. What BCM values are you using for DRL brightness? Can up put a volt meter on the connector?

I added some grill LEDs that have a nice Y-cable and connect in with the DRLs. I was going to try leveraging that connector or just splice into the power for those lights for the Hoodbeam.

I really have to turn down my DRLs though, my daughter said that they really are blinding at night. Hopefully I’ll will still have enough juice to power the Hoodbeam and grill lights to the point that they are the same brightness.

i am going to work on turning down the brightness of the DRLs later today. I’ll make note of the BCM values to get full brightness. When I changed them originally, the only values in the Forescan sheet were off, default setting and full bright.

Unfortunately, I don’t have a multimeter handy to check the output.

 

[Jimi]

Planning to install:

https://fluxgeare.com/products/light

Trying to decide where to tap power... I prefer these LEDs are on.. and off.. at the same time as the LED DRLs around my headlights on my 2021 Platinum.

Good or bad idea? Anyone have a wiring diagram so I know which wire(s) to tap?

I just viewed them, and I think you will enjoy the attention. I plan on ordering them also. Thanks for sharing. Please post some pics.

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