Off-Road Lights

Yeah, they don't want people to be tempted to turn on their spotlights on while running down the highway. The old style spots would just melt through the covers if they were turned on lol. I've wondered how the light bars get away with no covers though.

yes it seems as if no one follows or enforces that regulation anymore

I bought the amber lens covers for mine, I did it for aesthetics but I guess that makes me legal now :D

Are you installing them yourself?

Yeah, they aren't "fog" lights, so they are not SAE approved for highway use. They need opaque (not amber) covers. Some companies do make SAE approved lights, and they will usually point that out. Otherwise, that's why you see those old school KC smiley faces, or the hard plastic white covers a lot of times.

Around here, almost no one covers their lights. There's even a guy that has a light bar on 24/7, during the day or night. He drives near the town where I live, so I see him once or twice a month. It's blinding. I wish local law enforcement would enforce it, even though I don't want to always have my lights covered, because someone with a 30" light bar driving in the opposite direction completely distracts and blinds people.

Anyway, one of the off road lighting companies has a page or at least calls out the SAE versus "off road" versions of their lights, might be KC, so you can learn more about it.

SlashRacer

I picked up a set of pod lights to put on the bronco. While I was looking over the directions, I noticed this. I did not know the lights are supposed to be covered when on a highway.

View attachment 40973

LOL - if I am getting pulled over, a ticket for exposed off road lights would be the least of my worries! I have owned Jeeps with exposed off road lights for 20+ years and have had the pleasure of meeting various LEOs in several states and this has never been an issue for me!

Anyone ever get a citation for this?

Highly doubt this is something that will get you pulled over. They might add it onto your speeding ticket tho lol. Check out my squadron pro’s they are very subtle:

A number of years ago, someone in Florida (I think) challenged the requirement based on the fact that SAE is not a government entity, and therefore states could not require SAE approved lights on public roads. The driver won, but I don't know where that stands.

Check your laws.
CT is pretty strict with number of lights and heights.

I did get pulled for having lights uncovered...cop even said the wires needed to be cut...but did not get a ticket? ...I think the guy just wanted to screw with me for some reason...like not having a front plate it gives cops an excuse to pull ya over....

My guess is that it depends on what state you live in, and whether the lights are on or not. People roll around my part of the country with lights exposed all the time.. and sometimes with them on (though that usually pixxes me off when I encounter them because I have cataracts and it blinds the heck out of me). My guess is that if an officer encounters you with them on, you might get a ticket, but they would run autozone out of business if the ticketed people just for having them installed and uncovered. I mean, for one, they'd have to prove they even WORKED.

They wouldn't have to prove they work if the statute states they must be covered. If you're not in compliance with the statute they don't have to take it any further.

Check out KC Hilites website, hit "Shop". The drop down includes "street legal". You'll see they include this language on the page, "KC's Street Legal performance based LED lights also meet and exceed SAE and ECE on-road standards."

CJ Pony Parts put this list of state laws together:
https://www.cjponyparts.com/resources/are-light-bars-legal#state
Michigan:
http://www.legislature.mi.gov/(S(eh...eg.aspx?page=getObject&objectName=mcl-257-696

Indiana is fortunately pretty lax on their rules... doesn't seem to be any requirement for them to be 'covered' as has been noted here.

IC 9-19-6-13
Spot lamps
Sec. 13. A motor vehicle may be equipped with not more than two (2) spot lamps. A lighted spot lamp must be aimed and used when approaching another vehicle so that no part of the high intensity part of the beam will be directed to the left of the prolongation of the extreme left side of the vehicle or more than one hundred (100) feet ahead of the vehicle.
As added by P.L.2-1991, SEC.7.

Bschurr

LOL - if I am getting pulled over, a ticket for exposed off road lights would be the least of my worries! I have owned Jeeps with exposed off road lights for 20+ years and have had the pleasure of meeting various LEOs in several states and this has never been an issue for me!

Anyone ever get a citation for this?

I didn't get a ticket, but I had a motorcycle fail a safety inspection in Virginia because of off-road lights. They didn't like the output or how they were switched (on a toggle). I went home, pulled off the lights, went back, passed, and then put them back on.
I kept my lights cover on the CJ, but that was mainly because I like the KC smiley covers when I'm not off-road. That's how I will run them on the Bronco too, but that's just cause I like the look.

$500-1000 is crazy money for a few lights. Just saying...

tlowell01

Are you installing them yourself?

Sorry for the delayed response. Yes….I installed them myself.

SlashRacer

Sorry for the delayed response. Yes….I installed them myself.

How was the process? Were there good directions?

I'm looking to get some ditch lights for mine, and I've never tried to install anything like that, so I'm curious how easy/difficult it would be for a novice...

tlowell01

How was the process? Were there good directions?

I'm looking to get some ditch lights for mine, and I've never tried to install anything like that, so I'm curious how easy/difficult it would be for a novice...

Piece of cake.

The hole in the bracket that the mounting bolt goes through to mount it to the bronco is rather large. I added a fender washer to the mounting bolt.

Other than that, it’s 2 ground wires to ground, connect the two red wires together with the supplied red wire and wire it to the switch you want.

I wired to Aux 3.

I am a maintenance electrician at a large pharmaceutical company and play with wiring and machines almost every day. ;)

just orderd these bad boys!