Pre-runner lights?

jrmcafee

jrmcafee

TJ Enthusiast
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West Tennessee
Has anyone found a solution that’s made for our TJ gen for Pre-runner style grille lights?

I see lots of kits made for JK/JL because they have that honeycomb webbing behind the grille slots and it makes for a pretty easy install. Wondering if there is a kit made for us and, if not, if anyone has successfully retrofitted one of the kits for a newer model into ours.

F9C415CD-828F-4258-A42C-4B55BC5B2F09.jpeg
 
KennethS said:
Dunno what that means. Can you be specific on what you are wanting?
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I posted a pic. It’s the LED lights in the grille. The ones for JK/JL are designed to feed through the plastic honeycomb mesh behind the grille and secured with a nut on the backside. This wouldn’t really work with our grilles.
 
Buy some 3/4” marker lights and drill some holes. Cost you about $10 on Amazon.
 
jrmcafee said:
I posted a pic. It’s the LED lights in the grille. The ones for JK/JL are designed to feed through the plastic honeycomb mesh behind the grille and secured with a nut on the backside. This wouldn’t really work with our grilles.
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OK, apparently I am a dinosaur. What's the point of those lights?

I have the fog/driving lights turned on all the time and they would totally swamp those grille lights.
 
KennethS said:
OK, apparently I am a dinosaur. What's the point of those lights?

I have the fog/driving lights turned on all the time and they would totally swamp those grille lights.
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It’s mostly aesthetic but to answer the question, the original purpose was to warn off-road racers up ahead during a “pre-run” that they were about to be overtaken. Today they’re used to denote an over 80” width vehicle. So in both instances, they don’t apply to a TJ. Again, aesthetic.
 
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jrmcafee said:
Not sure I follow. Where would I be drilling? I want them in the slits of the grille…
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You’ll have to make a custom bracket and attach it to the bar in front of the condenser. Piece of sheet metal and a couple lights, shouldn’t be too difficult. TJ’s don’t have the mesh like newer Jeeps. I have seen some mesh grill inserts for TJ’s. Could attach the lights to those I guess.
 
Huh. When I think of prerunner lights I think of something usefull like this:
les-1000x700_NFAB_PreRunnerLightMountTabs_h500_q80.jpg


You know, lights that help you actually see the trail at night. Not those little amber fairy lights.
Amber chicken lights are required on trucks over a certain width. If you have a long-travel ifs it may put your car over that width and require those lights on road. They aren't needed off road and they wouldn't do much of anything for visibility in the desert. They're like putting stickers on and calling it a race car.
 
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You could use a couple cable clamps around the V support and attach a thin strip of sheet metal to it, then mount your light to the sheet metal.

I used cable clamps to mount my transmission cooler to the V support.

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KennethS said:
You and I are of the same opinion. I wouldn’t waste the time and effort to install something that is essentially useless.
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Agree, but still not our Jeep. Could be a lot worse, could be asking about which angry grill to install.

I'm sure there are those who don't like my build either. To each their own I guess.
 
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srimes said:
Huh. When I think of prerunner lights I think of something usefull like this:
View attachment 406962

You know, lights that help you actually see the trail at night. Not those little amber fairy lights.
Amber chicken lights are required on trucks over a certain width. If you have a long-travel ifs it may put your car over that width and require those lights on road. They aren't needed off road and they wouldn't do much of anything for visibility in the desert. They're like putting stickers on and calling it a race car.
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You mean like the set of 3 KC daylighters in my profile pic?

It was as much curiosity as anything else. I think they would look cool but wouldn’t bend over backward to make it happen. Just wondered if anyone had tried it.
 
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What you run into is the stock bumper is very close to the frame cross tube behind it and you don’t have the space unless you get a super thin LED- I was going for this look on my stubby and decided I did not want to bring the bumper forward plus the lights are protected.

Also in a jeep you don’t have much chance of over taking anything- Except a rock and it is sitting still.

I just concluded there are so many good LED options that I could get some additional light easier so many other ways and ended up putting some on the roof rack.

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it's for the aesthetic, they have no real world use other than look, that being said, id say your best bet is to use those plastic inserts, drill out to a 3/4 hole and use the lights someone else listed above. Or buy a Toyota, they make a lot of grills like that 😉
 
I enjoyed this video where a TJ guy shows how he used a piece of perforated steel post to mount these lights.

I don’t think I’m going the route he went because he covers some downside to it toward the end of the video. I like @Blake Stamper’s recommendation and I found some billet mesh inserts in black I think I’m going with. I think I’m also going to use some rectangular 2.5” trailer markers mounted vertically instead of the round ones that will fit more with the style of the grille. I think those will also not require drilling out the grille inserts. Should be interesting.
 
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