The Best Light Bars for Jeep Wrangler of 2023

Light bars are a popular choice of auxiliary lighting among 4×4 drivers and enthusiasts. Their utility is indisputable, especially for those taking on night driving, off-road or in the countryside, on a regular basis. While picking a light bar for your Jeep should be a walk in the park, in reality, it is anything but, as the market is flooded with options.

If you’re meticulous about picking the perfect product and want to ensure that whatever you end up purchasing is worth the money, read on for my guide to choosing the best light bar for Jeep Wrangler. Also provided are my reviews of 10 of the most popular LED light bars I picked up on Amazon, to help narrow down your options.

To simply put, the best Jeep light bar for you is one that meets your needs, be it for performance, flexibility, longevity or budget.

Best Light Bar for Jeep Wrangler Reviews

1. YITAMOTOR 52” 300W Combo + 2 Spot LED Light Bars

With a lumens output of 27,000, this Yitamotor light bar lets out an extremely bright light beam, illuminating everything on and off my path. It is, quite inarguably, the best LED light bar for Jeep Wrangler you can pick up online for the price it costs. Despite the extreme weather conditions I have subjected it to, the housing remains solid, with no condensation issues and little else to complain about. In saying that, I have been rather good at providing proper care for it, at least more than I’m required to.

What I like about it most is its combo light beam pattern, composed of two flood lights and one spot beam, which allows for superior visibility at night. The bonus two spotlight bars provide me with more than enough concentrated light beam for my night-time expeditions. This system is a perfect substitute for my driving light when I’m alone on the road. This version also offers an upgraded lens glass, which is now able to withstand high impact while still allowing for high light transmission.

Bolts aren’t made of the best quality materials, so they’ve rusted quite quickly. But this is a minor setback and has easily been fixed with another stainless steel bolt kit I picked up at Walmart. With the amount of money it costs, this extra purchase hardly hurts my wallet. It can take some time and effort to install, but once everything is in place, it’s held steady.

Below is a summary of the pros and cons of the Yitamotor 52”.

2. OEDRO 52” 758W LED Light Bar + 2 Driving Light Pods

The OEDRO light bar emits a superb cool white light beam (6000K) for the daylight effect and helps increase my concentration on the road, which is much needed when driving at night. I particularly like the tri-row LED chips design. There’re no significant differences between triple and double row designs, as it largely depends on the wattage. Having an extra row of LED chips makes the light bar more reliable if some of the chips burn out and become less bright down the line.

Another great thing about this product is that it comes with two extra light pods, outputting 1600 lumens each, which is excellent value for the amount of money I’ve spent on it. The only downside to the current set-up is that I can’t operate the light pods separately from the LED light bar. There’s an easy fix for that though, which requires a minor modification to the power module. If you’re handy or know someone who is, it should not be much of a challenge.

Another shortcoming of this product is, and you’ll find many others who will echo this sentiment on the internet, that it makes a whistling noise as I drive, which can be a nuisance. This noise is created as the air got under the bar and sweeps through the cooling fins. There are several ways in which you can help prevent or minimise this issue, which I’ll touch on later in the article.

To summarise, below are some pros and cons of the OEDRO 52” light bar.

3. LEDKINGDOMUS 300W 52” Light Bar

The LEDKINGDOMUS 52” light bar produces a tremendous amount of bright light that really goes the distance (no puns intended). Designs For the purpose of increasing visibility during night-time driving, it’s hard to find faults in this product.

It is not without drawbacks, however. The combo of flood and spot lights housed under the one casing does not allow me to operate them individually. It has proved to be inconvenient on the campground, where I’m often surrounded by campers and rather self-conscious of running the intense spot light. In that case, the flood light would have been perfectly adequate for me to go about pitching my tent and setting up camp in the dark. In saying that, most LED light bars with combo beam patterns would present the same issue.

There remain a great many things to like about this product. But most of all is its stubborn resistance towards the elements, which has seen it outlast many downpours and dust storms. Condensation is hardly a problem. Given its relatively low IP rating (when compared to many others), this is a lovely surprise in and of itself.

The case has a few paint chips and scratches, though given the number of rugged terrains I have travelled and the great protection it’s offering the interior, it’s not much of an issue for me.

To sum it up, below are some advantages and disadvantages of the LEDKINGDOMUS 52”.

4. Rough Country 70504 Mounts

The Rough Country 50” LED light bar mounts feel strong and solid. Though not so handy myself, I find them surprisingly easy to install. Make no mistake, and they are still firmly attached to my Jeep, looking as impressive as ever.

The disadvantage of these mounts is that they’re powder-coated, which means corrosion and rust might be an issue down the line. Even so, I don’t particularly think it’s a big problem. There has yet to be any problems, paint chips or damages for that matter, me having had it for half a year now. I think we can safely attribute that to the rugged, durable coat casing the thick metals inside.

These are suitable for most Jeep Wrangler light bars I have purchased, leaving just enough room for wiring.

In summary, the Rough Country 70504 mounts present the following pros and cons.

5. TURBO SII 50” LED Light Bar + 2 LED Fog Light Pods

This is a considerable product pack that comes with a few extras and a complete wiring kit.

What I like about the LED light bar is its solid build and material. It has shown no signs of rust or corrosion, despite having been subjected to some harsh environments. Like most light bars with a combo beam, it provides a great amount of superb cool white light that leaves no stretches of road unlit. I can’t find any details online regarding its lumens output, but for the amount of money it’s worth, there’s barely a reason to complain about it.

I also like that it’s low-maintenance. Neither calcium buildup nor condensation has been an issue for the three months I have had it, even without regular cleaning. Heating is not a problem either. This doesn’t mean it does not heat up, but the heat dissipation design has undoubtedly delivered.

Mounting brackets are solid, holding the light bar firmly in place with no wobbles as I drive. The housing and lens are also reliable and have proved to be excellent at withstanding minor impact from low-hanging tree branches or even small hail. Nevertheless, I highly recommend covering your light bar with a plastic sleeve when it’s not in use. This will help increase its longevity and reduce the amount of maintenance.

Just like any other light bars of its length mounted above the windshield, it can make the aforementioned whistling noise, despite the retailer stating that it will be minimised. With some tricks up my sleeve, though, that’s not much of a concern.

The pros and cons of this light bar kit amounts to the points below.

6. 4WDKING 50” 250W Combo Light Bar

There’s much to like about this LED light bar, with its high-quality CREE® LED chips, one of the most reputable brands in the marketplace. They had lived up to their reputation thus far, emitting light still as bright as when I first bought it a year ago.

The downside to this light bar is that it has only a single row of LED chips. After having used dual and tri-row LED in the past, it’s hard to go back to basics. Nevertheless, its high lumens output and relatively low wattage still render it more effective than many of its double and triple-row counterparts.

The housing is certified IP68 and IP69K, which is next-level resistance. Downpours, dust storms and other extreme weather conditions have yet to pose a challenge. But in saying that, such exposure to the elements has not gone without taking a toll on this light bar. I can notice a subtle yellow tint on the lens, though this is common with many other light bars subjected to similar conditions for a length of time. Regular care and maintenance are all it has required me to restore it to its pristine stage.

Another drawback to this product, which has nothing related to its quality, is that it doesn’t come with its own wiring kit. I personally think such a component should be the minimum a good product pack can offer. While it’s not always a must-have for avid users, beginners may struggle to put a kit together on their own.

In summary, below are some benefits and disadvantages of the 4WDKING 50” light bar.

7. Northpole 52” 300W Combo Light Bar

The first thing about this Northpole LED light bar to come to my notice is its price. It costs so little I don’t even worry about its longevity, though of course the longer it lasts, the better. It doesn’t come with lots of bells and whistles, just the brackets and mounting hardware.

The lighting isn’t as effective as many other products I have used in the past, whose lumens outputs are often higher for the same wattage. However, it is perfectly adequate for what it costs.

This light bar doesn’t come with its own wiring harness kit. As previously discussed, this could be a deal-breaker for beginners who don’t often have the know-how to put it together without professional help. For handy Jeep owners, it should be a walk in the park. With its current price point, having to purchase a separate wiring kit elsewhere can hardly put a dent in your pocket.

An advantage of this product, though minor, is the stainless steel mounting hardware, which means rust is anything but worry. I have noticed a bit of condensation inside the light bar though, which is expected, given its relatively low IP rating, especially when compared to other products that have come into my possession.

In short, below are the pros and cons of the Northpole 52” combo light bar.

8. QUAKEWORLD 52” 300W LED Light Bar + 2 Driving Fog Lights

This Quakeworld LED light bar product pack includes a few extras and a complete wiring harness kit. It works perfectly as intended, letting out a great deal of cool white light. The combo light beam throws a focused light on everything on the road by a long distance, while also illuminating a wide area immediately in front.

The issue with the whistling noise is also prevalent, given the length of the light bar and its position, sitting just about an inch or so above the windshield. But then again, there are always quick fixes for the said problem, if it’s a big concern for you.

Another drawback lies with the supplied hardware, where the provided bolts aren’t long enough to hold the brackets in place. They aren’t made of stainless steel either, so rust might be an issue down the track. If you are going with this product, I highly recommend buying your own bolts so as to get the right fit and the best material for your Jeep.

This package includes its own wiring harness kit and while took me upwards of three hours to work it out, and it worked well when I finally got it right. The brackets are sturdy and strong, though they stick out a bit at the top.

In brief, the Quakeworld light bar kit comes with the following pros and cons.

9. Autofeel 52” Light Bar + 22” Combo Beam Light Bar + 4 LED Light Pods

This product comes with lots of ancillaries, which include an additional 22” light bar and 4 LED light pods. There’s not a lack of lighting to keep me safe during my night trips. With 123 lumens per watt, its performance is almost unrivalled. For such a reasonable price point, this Autofeel light bar package has gone above and beyond.

I’m very pleased with the amount of components that come with this package, though it does require a lot of time and effort to install them all. Foreseeing the struggle I may have, combined with the fact that it was stinking hot outside when I finally received the parcel in the mail, I decided to have them professionally installed.

By leaving it to the pros, I was also able to have the installation tailored to my needs. The light bars and pods were installed in a fashion that allowed them to be operated separately. This has offered me a great level of flexibility where I can use them for general driving, indicating as well as illuminating. The fish-eye type lenses help project a brilliantly bright and focused spot beam that also covers a larger area than most other products I have experienced.

In a few words, below are the main advantages and disadvantages of the Antofeel 52” product kit.

10. Nilight 25” 162W LED Light Bar

The Nilight 25” LED light bar is another basic product kit to have garnered some attention online. It’s a low-budget option that doesn’t come with lots of fancy bonuses, or a wiring harness kit for that matter.

The retailer has not been so transparent with its product details as there’s an obvious lack of information regarding the lumens outputs of its LED light bars. But based on my own research and calculation, the lumens output of this particular product works out to be approximately 9000, which indicates that in theory, this light bar doesn’t let out as much light and is not as effective as most other kits on the market.

In reality, it works surprisingly well for a light bar of its price. It’s also easy to hook up and feels sturdy once secured in place. I particularly like the cool shape and design of the housing, which lends my Jeep a rugged look.

Generally speaking, I consider this light bar as highly underpriced for the brilliant amount of lighting enabled by the combo light beam. It also meets the requirements for an effective safeguard against the elements, and offers me a small degree of flexibility through its adjustable angle.

All things considered, below are the main pros and cons of the Nilight 25” LED light bar.

What to Look For When Buying Jeep Light Bars

Today you can pick up just any light bar online for a fraction of the price of what it used to cost, but that doesn’t mean you don’t need to do your due diligence and shop around for the best product to suit your needs. Below are a few important factors you should keep in mind when choosing a Jeep Wrangler LED light bar.

LED Manufacturer

The quality of a light bar has a lot to do with that of its LED chips. Several manufacturers such as CREE® and OSRAM® are known to produce high-quality LED chips with high lumens output and long lifespan. It’s worth conducting your own research into this aspect to help you identify the intrinsic value of a light bar. It will also save you a great deal of time and money down the track if you go for more reputable brands.

Product Range

Product ranges are one way for you to work out whether a manufacturer is serious about its commitment. ‘One size fits all’ is often an overstatement and should be treated as such. A leading manufacturer understands that different customers look to fulfill different needs. It indicates that having a good product range offers them better chances of finding the right product, be it ready-made or custom.

The Product Package

Let’s face it, who doesn’t want the complete package? A good light bar product should come with mounting hardware, complete ‘plug and play’ wiring harness, an illuminating dash switch and a relay. Even if you don’t make use of the accompanying wiring kits, as most handy Jeep owners often don’t, they should be the minimum you could get in a package when purchasing your light bar. Once again, this will tell you the thoroughness and the thoughts that the manufacturers put into the production of these products.

Your Car Make and Model

This one is quite obvious. You need to consider your car make and model, to make sure that your purchase is compatible with it. Alternatively, you can purchase light bar mounts and brackets separately from retailers. This will afford you some flexibility in pairing the best light on the market with the most suitable mount for your Jeep.

Types of Light

There are several types of LED light bars on the market, the most common of which are spot light, flood light and combo. Spot light allows you to center or focus the light on one particular area, and by a long distance. It doesn’t have a wide spread, however. Flood light, on the other hand, allows you to illuminate a larger area within a short distance.

Lastly, as suggested by its name, a combo light includes both spot and flood lights, allowing for maximum lighting and multi-purpose applications. However, since a combo is made up of different beam patterns housed under the one casing, it doesn’t give much flexibility if you want to use those beams separately. The solution for that is to opt for several bars of shorter length, which can be installed separately and adjusted to your needs.

Lumens Output and Wattage

Lumens is a unit used to measure the visibility (or often brightness) of a source of light. The higher the lumens output, the brighter the source, thus the higher the visibility. Wattage indicates the amount of power it takes to achieve said lumens output. It’s worthwhile considering how much power a light bar is going to take up. If it requires a huge amount of power to run, it may put a strain on your system.

It’s also important to not compare lumens output and wattage independently. To compare likes for likes, lumens per watt (LM/W) is the recommended unit.

IP Rating

Where durability is concerned, IP ratings are what you should look at when purchasing your light bar. IP stands for Ingress Protection, which rates a product’s susceptibility to the elements such as dust, rain, etc. Higher ratings mean better and more protective housing.

Size and Number of Bars You Need

LED light bars currently available on the market come in different sizes, ranging anywhere from 8 to 52 inches in length. Depending on your preferences and needs, you can get away with one large light bar. Alternatively, you can opt for a set of smaller light bars, which is more versatile and can serve more than one purpose.

Warranty and After Sales Service

A good extended warranty program is a common factor to take into account when picking a light bar. While a good product should have good longevity, such a warranty helps provide you with peace of mind, especially when shopping online, and avoid extra costs of repairing in case of damages.

Other Important Factors To Consider

What is a Light Bar for Jeep Wrangler?

Light bars are auxiliary lighting that you can install to your Jeep Wrangler, or most other vehicles for that matter. They help increase your visibility when you travel off-road at night, as well as warding off wild animals.

LED light bars are designed to provide a great level of lighting, either as spot light, flood light or both, helping to light up the road and everything on it by a long distance. They are also made to cut through rainfall, snowfall or thick fog, increasing your safety should adverse weather hit while you’re on the move.

Light bars are a decent upgrade to your Jeep if you often find yourself wandering off the beaten track, providing a level of protection against obstacles. Also, depending on how good you are at choosing, light bars on Jeeps do lend them a rugged look and an embodiment of adventure.

The marketplace is flooded with choices of light bars for Jeep Wrangler. Each product marketed would serve a different purpose, but you will find that apart from your needs and budget, picking the right LED light bar for your Jeep would also depend on how handy you are.

How does It Work?

A light bar can be installed to the front bumper, to the A-pillar mount above the windshield or to the lower windshield (depending on the make and model), operated with an on/off switch wired to your vehicle. When switched on, it can light up pretty much everything on your path. This allows you better vision when working or driving at night, especially on routes with potential obstacles or wildlife that sporadically make themselves known just a little too late.

Light bars can come in a large size, ranging from 50 to 52 inches long. These types often provide a combination of spot and flood light beams, helping to project as much light as you need at once. Shorter light bars, which can be as short as 8 inches in length, provide a specific type of light beam. Opting for multiple shorter light bars will allow you to operate them concurrently or individually when necessary. You’ll find that most light bars come with a single, double or triple rows of LED chips with special designs of reflectors that allow them to project light beam in either a spot or a flood light pattern.

Who is This For?

LED light bars aren’t exclusive to 4×4 vehicles, but are also suitable for most vehicles including cars, motorcycles, boats, trucks and other heavy machines used in agriculture, mining, logging and so on.

Depending on your needs, there are several ways you can make great use of an LED light bar. As previously mentioned, they are most commonly used as a substitute for driving light during the night-time. In addition, you will also find them useful for illuminating your general surroundings to facilitate your work or various activities such as camping, hunting, fishing, etc.

If you’re a Jeep Wrangler owner who’s looking to upgrade your steel beast for more off-road travel, a light bar is worth considering.

What are the Different Types of Jeep Light Bars?

Light bars come in numerous types, sizes and shapes. The types of light bars are categorised based on the light beam patterns they project, which include spot, flood, fog, combo, driving light, diffusion and scene beam.

• A spot light is used to cast a highly focused light beam onto a specific area, often situated a long distance away. Its beam angle ranges between 10° and 30°.
• A flood light helps spread out a light beam that can illuminate a wider area within a shorter distance. Its beam angle ranges between 40° and 60°.
• A combo light, which is most common in large-sized light bars, offers a combination of spot and flood light beams, which allows for maximum multi-purpose lighting.
• A fog light is used to illuminate the path ahead, but is often installed lower on the vehicle so as to minimise the reflection of the beam from raindrops, dust particles, snowflakes or fog. Its beam angle ranges between 60° and 100°.
• A diffusion or scene light beam can be used to brighten a wider area within a short distance. Its beam angle is at 120° or more, which provides a brilliant daylight effect.

LED light bars come in two main shapes: straight and curved. It is believed that straight light bars let out better spot beams, whereas curved ones are better for flood lighting. Nevertheless, you may find that there’s not much of a difference between the two.

Size-wise, LED light bars are as diverse as can be. You will find a number of sizes available on the market, ranging from 8 inches to 52 inches in length. This is a perk if you have the know-how to combine various sizes of light bars to create a custom set-up that is truly tailored to your needs.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Using a Light Bar for Jeep Wrangler

If you’re still torn between whether or not you should invest in a light bar, the pros and cons listed below can help you with that decision:

Pros

• Lots of light in a large area
• Increase visibility, in most weather conditions including thick fog
• Easy to install, fool-proof wiring harness kit
• Can be used to ward off stray animals
• Cheap to get someone to install them for you if you’re not that handy
• Give your Jeep a new look and a fashionable statement of your identify
• Offering some type of protection for your pillars with their steel bodies

Cons

• Glare off the hood, if installed above the windshield. Different light bars have different outcomes with glare. Mounting on the bumper may reduce this risk.
• You can’t use a light bar to substitute your driving light if you’re not alone on the road. It will become a nuisance for other road users, on top of causing dangers.
• Whistling noise is a common happenstance for light bars that go over a certain length. There are fixes out there that you can try to minimise it.
• Some states in the US have laws that require you to cover your light bar whenever you’re on the road, which kind of defeats the purpose.
• They don’t always look good, but at the end of the day, that depends on your personal preferences.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the Most Trusted Jeep light Bar Brands?

Some of the most trusted and popular Jeep LED light bar brands on the market include Yitamotor, Turbo SII, Black Oak, Rigid, Whelen and Federal Signal, to name a few. The right brand for you, however, heavily depends on your needs, and of course, your hip pocket.

How to Stop a Jeep Light Bar from Whistling?

As mentioned above, whistling noise is a side effect observed in most light bars going over a certain length. The main cause of this noise comes from the design for heat dissipation, where cooling fins are implemented so as to increase the surface area that can diffuse the heat away from the light bar, thus providing proper cooling. The noise is created as the air seeps through these fins when you drive.

Below are several ways to fix this issue:

1. Applying silicone in between the cooling fins to block the air from rushing through. This method raises eyebrows as it defeats the purpose of having them in the first place: to prevent overheating.
2. Using rubber inserts designed to minimise the amount of air travelling through the fins
3. Installing a plastic sleeve that slides over the whole light bar, protecting it from impact at the same time
4. Loosening the purse string and investing in a more high-end model whose light bar and brackets are designed to work well together and minimise the noise

Alternatively, you can opt for a light bar that comes with a wind deflector that is designed specifically to eliminate whistling.

A set of multiple smaller-sized light bars is another option reported as having less of an issue with noise, compared to 50” light bars or longer.

How to Install and Use?

Before rushing to install your newly purchased light bar, you need to have these tools handy:

• Mounting bracket
• Mounting hardware
• Rubber lining to prevent paint chip or damage that bracket can cause to your car
• Light bar
• Wiring harness
• On/off switch
• Relay

The whole process may be simpler if you have the skills and knowledge, but do allow 1 to 2 hours to get something like this installed properly. If all else fails, you can always get a mechanic to do the hard work for you. It’s always a bonus though if you teach yourself how to work it, in case it’s broken when you’re out and about where no one ever ventures; not that you should by the way.

Each light bar or brand comes with slightly different installation instructions, but the general steps involve:

1. Remove the bolts on the A pillars and install the brackets
2. Place a foam or rubber lining on the bodies of the brackets before applying them to the pillars. This will help prevent paint chips or damages caused by the metal brackets rubbing against your car’s paint. Alternatively, you can look for mounting brackets that already come with padding.
3. Secure the light bar to the bracket using the provided mounting hardware or your own
4. Direct the main power wire to behind or next to the pillars
5. Route the wire to the fuse box on your Jeep

These instructions are general in nature. Make sure to follow the instructions provided specifically for your product for proper installation. There’s also a depository of videos on YouTube you can explore for more information.

Where to Buy?

Amazon is a great place to shop for LED light bars for Jeep Wrangler, not to mention its highly diverse product ranges and competitive pricing. Other retail outlets such as Walmart, Lowes and Home Depot are also perfectly adequate for those wanting to feel and test the product before committing to the purchase. Alternatively, if you’re a beginner or not so savvy, your best option might be specialty stores, where you can seek some one-on-one education and advice.

What is the Warranty?

Each manufacturer has a different warranty program for its products, but generally speaking, most brands offer somewhere between 12 months to a lifetime warranty. As mentioned above, a warranty program is one factor you should keep in mind when picking an LED light bar for your Jeep.

How to Care and Maintain?

The most common issue with light bars that have been used for a length of time is calcium buildup. Follow these steps for proper cleaning:

1. Detach your light bar from the mounting bracket
2. Rinse the light bar
3. Scrub lightly using mild soap and scrubbing pad
4. Rinse thoroughly to remove the soap
5. Dry the light bar completely before reconnecting it

To prevent or minimise this issue, make sure to clean and care for your light bar on a regular basis, as you would with your car. The aforementioned plastic sleeve is a good option to protect your light bar when not in use.

While a light bar should be able to withstand a large amount of water, depending on its IP rating, taking it through a car wash is not always a good idea. You may get away with touchless car wash, but caution is still recommended, lest things get caught.

Conclusion

A light bar is a worthwhile upgrade if night driving, off-road or in the countryside, is a regular occurrence for you. Picking the best light bar for Jeep Wrangler, however, depends heavily on your needs and budget. The reviews and buying guide provided above can be of great use when it comes time for you to decide which one should accompany you on the next trips.