When I first got my Defender one year ago set out to accessorize it as best I could with the limited budget that I had. One of the first things that most people seem to add to their machines is some extra lighting. Many people choose light bars of different length, and many others choose to upgrade headlights or add pods to direct light in different directions.
I chose to add a small light bar to my front bumper. The bumper that came with my machine had the perfect spot to fit a 20" bar. After a quick search I found that light bars can quickly break the bank if you let it. There's a lot of good quality lights out there that can quickly reach $600 or more. This is obviously way out of my budget for just an accessory, and lets be honest here, I'm not running a search and rescue and nobody is going to depend on my light in a life and death situation......at least I hope it never comes to that. I'm also not running my Defender in the Baja 1000.
So after a long 10 minute search on Amazon I decided to go with a Nilight brand 20" light bar. The one I chose came with the optional wiring harness which included the switch and relay. The wiring harness includes two sets of wires so you could wire in a second light bar or a set of pod lights as well. There's also plenty of wire to reach the back of any four place machine if you wanted.
Wiring was easy and straight forward. This post isn't a how to on that, but rather a quick review of the light bar. My first impressions were that it seemed well built. It had a heavy duty feel to it with a very nice aluminum body. The unit came with mounting hardware which seemed okay, but maybe on the cheaper side. The wiring harness is adequate, but the switch felt cheap, and has proved to be kind of cheap with lose contacts.
The light bar itself has been pretty good except after about two months 3 leds went out on it. One quick call to Nilight and I had a new one within a week. So customer service was awesome. The new one has not had any issues at all. It gets pressure washed regularly and has not had any water intrusion on it. It puts out a lot of light which I'm happy with.
So my overall impression is pretty decent. Could the light be better quality, maybe. However at $38 at the time I purchased I think it's a really good buy. I'd have to replace it a dozen times before I paid the same amount for a big name brand light. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a budget light that works well, the company stands behind, and doesn't break the wallet. If you want to buy one for your self you can click the Amazon link below:
Here's a quick video of an install I did on my father in laws ranger.