Hardkorr lightbar

Anything Triton 2016+ related

Hardkorr lightbar

Postby BlueTriton59 on Thu May 05, 2022 4:14 pm

Considering installing a Hardkorr dual row lightbar under the factory nudge bar on my MR GLX+.

Intending to put in the same position they install the genuine lightbar using the mounting points in the nudge bar.

Anyone done this? My main questions are:

- is the position OK in terms of affecting the range of the light?
- any issues with affecting front clearances?
- happy with the quality of the Hardkorr lightbars?
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Re: Hardkorr lightbar

Postby BlueTriton59 on Tue Jun 21, 2022 8:53 am

An update on this. Sorry for the long post but there may be some learnings here for others doing this install for the first time like me.

I bought the Hardkorr Lifestyle 22” dual row lightbar and their “plug n play dual output harness kit” that includes piggyback adapters and switch.

Installation of the lightbar on the factory nudge bar was easy. Yes, it weighs slightly more than the 1.5kg that the label on the bar says is max, but I really cant see 400gms making that much difference.

The wiring installation was another story, something of a saga that even tested my retired auto electrician mate who helped with the job.

Firstly I had had a online message conversation with Hardkorr before purchase to try to make sure I wouldn’t need anything else and was told that the parts listed above was all needed.

Wrong!

As we discovered, the standard headlight piggy back adapters provided in the harness kit do not work with any MR Triton model because the headlight connections on the outside of the housing are large multi-pin connectors. The adapters provided in the kit are standard 2 or 3 pin adapters that are intended to plug in direct to the halogen bulbs. You can do that of course but that connection is inside the sealed headlight housing with no way to then get the wires to the harness out without drilling holes etc.

So we had to order the MQ/MR Triton specific adapter, which is very misleadingly described on their website as being for Tritons that have factory LED headlights. Which of course only the very top of the range have, not my GLX+. You would need this Triton specific headlight adapter for all MR models.

When that adapter cable came, the 2 pin plug to their own Hardkorr harness didn’t fit because the pins were a different offset… so off I go to Supercheap to get a 2 pin connector. Luckily the F connector I got fitted into the M connector on the HK harness so I just had to slide the pins out of the adapter plug and into the replacement. As I was doing this, I also noticed that even if the plug on the piggyback adapter had fitted, it was wired arse around. So fixed that in the process of replacing the plug.

Lastly, the HK switch didn’t fit into any of the blank switch positions in the Triton dash. I used the switch panel on the right side of the dash below the exterior mirror adjustment switch as it was closest to the firewall grommet we pushed the wires thru on that side. As a test, we connected up the HK provided switch and the lightbar worked as expected when high beam was selected.

So I got a Stedi short style lightbar switch that I knew would fit into the Triton switch holes and wired it up according to the guide….. but no luck! Lightbar was unresponsive. It turned out after speaking with HK support that some switches have to be wired differently, anyway I eventually got that sorted.

None of this was made any easier by the poor wiring diagrams on both the HK harness box and the flyer inside, which actually conflicted with each other regarding wire colours. None of the diagrams identify the wire functions, just their colours, and there were wiring intersections in the diagrams that didn’t show what wires went where. Just made it all harder than it needed to be.

I gave feedback to HK’s tech support guy about all of those issues and he seemed to take them on board so hopefully they will address them quickly.

Anyway with the install done I found a stretch of dark relatively quiet road and tested and aimed the bar last night. Very pleased with how well it lights up the road ahead and especially the sides. Turns night into day! If I could figure out how to post pics here I would put a couple up.
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Re: Hardkorr lightbar

Postby harmigera on Tue Jun 21, 2022 10:21 am

Glad to see you got it all sorted. Can be frustrating.
I installed a STEDI 22" light bar with headlight adapter and switch specific for MQ about 2 years ago. Installation was plug/play and fortunately didn't have any problems.
Great modification, turns night into day; they give you a better chance to see those country kangaroos about to ambush you.
My only problem are that they are so bright, the reflection from street signs are blinding; and when I turn them off, takes a while for my eyes to adjust to the dark.
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Re: Hardkorr lightbar

Postby NowForThe5th on Tue Jun 21, 2022 11:32 am

BlueTriton59 wrote:None of this was made any easier by the poor wiring diagrams on both the HK harness box and the flyer inside, which actually conflicted with each other regarding wire colours. None of the diagrams identify the wire functions, just their colours, and there were wiring intersections in the diagrams that didn’t show what wires went where. Just made it all harder than it needed to be.


I installed a set of this brand driving lights for a customer a couple of weeks ago. Agree 100% on the poor documentation which doesn't match reality at all. Had to sit and track every wire in the harness with a multimeter and then change the plugs, which were unsuitable. Fortunately I was able to use a switch that I'd installed a few years ago for his previous lights - because the one supplied was never going to work.

So, not impressed with their documentation and, although his car was a Jeep, they told him that what was supplied would fit, so it would seem that their sales advice is somewhat short of ideal as well.

I didn't have time to do any testing, so can't really comment on the lights themselves, other than to say that he selected the lower colour temperature and, just going from shining on the wall to aim, that looked to be a huge improvement on the usual for these Chinese LED lights. Mounting and aiming systems seem to be ok but rely on quite small screws that, in my experience, always rust out, making later removal difficult. Lenses look ok when new but will probably degrade with a year or two in the sun, like ALL the others except for the premium brands. You get what you pay for...
Chris

If work is so terrific, why do they have to pay us to do it?
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Re: Hardkorr lightbar

Postby BlueTriton59 on Tue Jun 21, 2022 4:06 pm

Yes the advice was lacking up front. Plus zero instructions in the box. Not a lot is required, but a basic set of instructions and a proper accurate wiring diagram surely isn’t too much to ask for, from a company that is locally owned and says they design it all here, even if its then made in China.

Its Ok for shops doing these installs every day because they have experience to fall back on. The rest of us dont.

The guy I spoke to seemed surprised that all MQ and MR models would need the specific piggyback adapter. Nothing to do with whether they are LED headlights or not. The back of the headlights has a sealed hatch so no way to get piggyback wires out thru that.

When I told him the plug on their Triton adapter wouldnt fit into the plug on their own harness, it was wired wrong, and it had cost me to buy a plug to replace it with, he just said sorry. I was kinda hoping he might offer me something to make up for those blunders but …… crickets….

As you noted the documentation was very poor. We went to their local stockist, a TJM store, who said straight away that you have to use the specific adapter cable, unfortunately they didnt have one in stock so had to order it online - but to their credit it only took 2 days to get from Yatala to Cleveland LOL!

Colour temp is stated as 6500k and 1 LUX at 645m on the box in the specs list, but says 600m on the online specs. Toss a coin I guess.

Its time someone in there sat down and went thru all their documentation and updated it properly without cutting and pasting anything from the old stuff.
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