Diode Dynamic 42” stealth light bar questions?

I’ve been looking at the DD 42" stealth light bar but after reading some comments that were posted awhile back has me wondering if it’s worth it. I haven’t read anything negative about the light bar itself but from what I’ve read the mounting bracket are not so great. Folks have said they have had trouble with the the light bar not staying locked in place after they have got it leveled. Also the light bar will sag and rest on the bumper because the brackets don’t seem ridged enough. I know some people have had to do some modifications to get it to stay in place. I wasn’t able to find any newer post talking about these problems. Did DD fix the problem with the brackets? I really like how this light bar looks but I don’t want it if it’s not going to stay in place. To me it looks like one of the problems, beside the thickness of the bracket, is that there is not enough surface area of the light bar in contact with the bracket to keep it from rotating from vibration. May be a simple fix by adding a fender washer between the light bar and bracket. I’d love to get some feed back from anybody that has this light bar before I make a decision. Thanks.

 

I don't believe any changes to the mounts have been made. Mine will 'bounce' and eventually be off level or pointed at the sky. It's less than a year old. I just started looking into how to compensate for this so I'm interested to see some replies. I've thought about adding a bracket to the top of the bumper support to help support the light.

 

Looks like DD would fix the problem. I guess they don’t care if their products work correctly as long as people still buy them. I did see were some people add a bolt to that other hole in the bracket. If you do a search about that light bar on here you should be able to find some people talking about how to do it.

 

It looks killer and produces great light, but as others have said, there are some issues with the bracket. Mine rotated, too, and is presently pointed too far up, and so I'm about to remove it (which is a bit of a hassle) so that I can put some Loctite on it. There's no room to get an Allen wrench in there once the bracket is in place.

 

Have you found how to fix the light bar from rotating? Mine keeps pointing up even after using blue loctite. I might try something with some black rtv silicone where the light bar ends meet the bracket/bolt

I’m using the diode dynamics 42” bracket with a Nilight 41” single row light bar

 

has that worked for you? i put some blue loctite on the m6 bolts before putting everything back together. My light bar ultimately ended up rotating upwards again

 

I chatted with memario1214 from Hotshot Off-road and he said they are working on a new bracket or a solution to the issues with this light bar. He said it should be out in about two months. You might want to contact him later to see what they come up with. I guess DD doesn’t care that there brackets sucks. One problem is that the light bar pieces that contact the bracket are tapered so there is very little surface area coming in contact with the bracket and the other problem is bracket it self is flimsy. I went ahead and bought the light bar but I’m building my own brackets and I’m going to come up with a custom bushing that will cause more friction against the light bar. Hopefully I’ll be able to make it work. I’m sure DD has to be aware of the problem but must not care. There is no way that this light bar would hold up to hard off roading. You might want to try adding a fender washer between the light bar and bracket to give a little more friction when you add the lock tite.

 

I have this light bar for 3 yrs now and that’s my only gripe is the bracket. I have stripped the screw that holds on to the bracket and I had to retapped it to a bigger screw, from readjusting them, but does nothing it still moves when im offroading. Hopefully they do come out with a new bracket so I can replace this flimsy one that I have.

 

This is the reason I held off adding a light bar. I want it but don’t want the hassle.

 

I was really on the fence about buying it too. I just didn’t see any other 42” light bar options. If I didn’t have a fab/machine shop so I could build a better bracket I’d definitely stay away from buying it. It’s still a hassle to have to build another set of brackets but it will be worth it for me if I works out. I bought it just for the light bar and just using their brackets for a template. DD could definitely do better.

 

I plan on buying one if they upgrade the brackets better.

 

I’m fixing to pull mine off and sell it since I am fixing to add my winch. It is the white/driving 42”. Still have box it came in and all hardware. It’s been on my truck for a year and hardly used since it points to sky most of the time hence the problems with cheap brackets. @Rangergillikin OP holler at me or anyone else for that matter if you want to buy mine for cheaper than a new one to play around with brackets. Maybe you can come up with a solution. I’m gonna put it on Marketplace within next two weeks.

 

I sure wished you would have posed this a couple of weeks ago before I got one. How much are you thinking about asking for it? You should contact DD and see if they would give you a refund since it’s never been usable because of the brackets.

 

That why I was thinking about going with the Cali light bar. Yes you need to remove the front bumper but the brackets hold the light straight. I had one on my Tacoma years ago and no issues. I had a bajadesigns on my 2020 Pro 4runner and no issues.

 

Bad timing for sure, my bad. I’m not sure how much I’m gonna ask but I believe new ones are running over $600 now which is crazy. As far as reaching out to DD, they are aware of problems and I was too when I purchased it. They have been good to me on other purchases so all is good.

 

paging @TRDFerguson

 

I’m close to being finished with my solution. I’m building a entire new bracket out of thicker metal and a two point mounting attachment using the second hole at the back of the heat sink. What I’m doing is definitely not a simple solution. I’ll post some pictures when I’m done.

 

Dang! No, I haven't gotten to it yet... crap, that's a bad omen.

 

I asked DD about this bracket and here’s what they said:

Thanks for reaching out! We have not updated the brackets used in the Tundra Stealth Bar kits since originally designed. One method for keeping that light bar from spinning on the bracket we have seen other customers use is to use a larger locking washer on both sides of the bracket; one between the light bar and the bracket and one between the bolt and the bracket. This should definitely assist in holding that bar from pointing up over time and having to adjust it.

We apologize for the inconvenience and the misinformation about the revision to the brackets. If you have any other questions, please feel free to let us know and we will be happy to help!

 

This the the problem with single bolt mounting setups. If DD cared about reputation for good products, they would spend the extra $5 per light bar and bracket to add a second (locking) bolt to each side.
The other option would be to drill and tap a second hole in each bracket to run a bolt through that will either fit between fins, or against the side cap of the light to hold it in place.
It really is a shame that a company sells a product that is a bad design for so much $, doesn't care that it is an issue that directly effects the use of their product, then tells the customer to figure it out themselves.
@Diode Dynamics

 

Do you know what size are the screws which close the sides of the bar into the heat sink? m8?

 

I can get a size for you tomorrow.

 

This is the finished bracket that I came up with. I’m going to get it cerakoted. It was a lot of work and I feel kinda stupid putting that much work into a something that should have worked from the factory. It literally took me 30 minutes to come up with this design in my head. Building it took a lot longer because I have manual machines. I made the main bracket out of some stainless that I had laying around. It’s twice as thick as the bracket that came with lights. The other pieces I milled out of aluminum. Two points on contact is the key to stopping rotation. This could have been done numerous ways. I did my brackets this way so I could lock the adjustment in and them mount to the bumper brackets. Hope this helps.

 

You would think they would stop selling it until the had the problem worked out. I really had to talk myself into getting their pod lights because of the pug in the back of the light instead of having a clean pig tail like everyone else. After seeing the mounts that came with the 42” light I really wished I’d gone with another brand all together. I have two cheap Amazon light bars on two other vehicles and their mounts are far superior than what came on the 42” light. I’m not just talking about the stealth bracket. The other bracket for the light is cheap looking too. A aluminum bracket will hold better against a aluminum light bar that a harder steel bracket like the one that comes with the 42” light. DD may have good lights but they fail in the bracket and pig tail market. Who wants to have a grey plug on the back of and nice looking light with exposed wires. Just not clean looking at all. I found a cover that goes over the plug to hide it but I’m starting to wonder why I just didn’t spend a few more dollars and buy something that doesn’t have to be dressed up. I really don’t know why they think that a plug sticking out of the back of a pod light is a good idea. At least they put a pig tail on the 42” light. But they screw you with a useless bracket on that one. Really makes me wonder what they are thinking.

 

This would be a easy fix with a design change. I don’t think they really care that there products work right. If that was my company I’d redesign the bracket and stop selling it until I did. I guess they are betting on most people will not return it. I could bent their bracket with my thumb it was so flimsy. Why they designed a tapered mount to limit surface contact to the bracket is another head scratcher. They need to let china know that they need to change the design because it’s not working.

 

That mounts legit!!! Did you get the screw size for the one in the back in the rear of the heat shield?

 

Not yet. I will measure it when I go out to the shop this morning. Got to drink some coffee first. Popeye needs his spinach.

 

Small heat sink screw is a 5mm x .8 pitch x 11.50mm thread Length and large main screw is 6mm x 1 pitch x 11.50mm thread length.

 

This is not a tough fix… the bar itself has a 2nd threaded hole behind the main one. Just drill another hole in the bracket where that would be and put in another small bolt… I picked up some small screws at Menards (5mm) if I remember right, along with a lock washer. I’ve had mine installed for a year now… doesn’t move at all.