How To Install a Light Bar on a Nissan Xterra/Frontier/Pathfinder

Today we have a fun project! We install a 22 Inch light bar into the bumper of the Xterra! I bought the harbor freight 22 In. Spot/Flood Combo LED Light Bar. I am installing it on a 2005 Nissan Xterra but the process should be very similar to the Frontier and the Pathfinder. Thanks for watching!
Here are the links to the items I use in the video:
Light bar: www.harborfreight.com/22-in-s...
H11 Extenders: amzn.to/35rdr7m
Body Clips: amzn.to/3ILHqWD
Find the parts used in this video here: tinyurl.com/ybpbsznj
Check out the Official RTCG website! rtcg.tv
Support the channel and get a cool t-shirt: represent.com/store/ry-the-ca...
**This video is being performed by an experienced individual. Any attempt to repair automotive parts or its systems carries risk of personal injury. Always follow safe practices when working on vehicles such as using safety glasses, jack stands, not wearing loose clothing, etc. No guarantee or warranty is implied by these videos. Use the information in this video at your own risk. If you don't think you can perform the job then do not attempt it.
***Any purchases you make using the links provided help to support the channel at no extra cost to you! As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Timestamps:
Intro: (0:00)
Fitting the light: (2:02)
Drilling the holes: (5:50)
Installing the light: (15:48)
Wiring the light: (18:39)
Plugging it into the X: (20:05)
Testing it out: (22:48)
Outro: (24:03)
#howto #diy #auto

[@RandomRunRiot]

I appreciate all the videos, Ry. They've all helped quite a bit. I appreciate you being real and not making things seem easier than they are.

[@Rythecarguy]

My pleasure Jerimiah, thank you so much for the super thanks! :D

[@mikemorgan4670]

Good diy follow along. Recently installed driving lights on my Frontier in the same location (in Canada we are required to have a front license plate). I removed only the grill and using a very long bit drilled through the plastic bumper and steel bumper structure. Bolted lights on. Nice Saturday project.

[@thomascarpenter5536]

Awesome video. I added a lightbar and pods in the same area. I wired them to a switch mounted where the blanks are near the drivers knee. I mounted mine to the plastic and not to the metal bumper. I will be redoing it now following your video. Mine move around a lot as the whole bumper cover is floppy.

[@gunny6517]

I added a light bar (with DTRL) to the same area via a bull bar and luckily my fog lights are still fully functional…. 2010 Xterra.. Great Video…. 🇺🇸

[@Rythecarguy]

Nice choice! Thinking about bringing back my fogs. Thanks Gunny!

[@gray_citizen]

You are the man!! I bought 2 4" yellow spot beams to go down there.

[@Rythecarguy]

Awesome! Are you going to tie into the fog lights?

[@4549tinter]

I installed fog lights on my X , and they cracked shortly after. The cracks were from the heat of the bulb and not an impact. No water into light, and still work fine after 1 year. I also used aux switch so I can use them without the headlights on. Your channel has been great information for working on my X.

[@slimtimmy1981]

Have you tried LEDs instead?

[@CoachCole71]

Hey first! This was one of the first mods I did to my X. Wired to its own switch panel but did use your prior video to get my fog lights going.

[@Rythecarguy]

Awesome! Where did you put the switch?

[@CoachCole71]

@@Rythecarguy I relocated the mirror switch and used the two blank slots on the left side of the steering column. 4 Switches (bumper bar, ditch lights, light bar and 6 roof rack lights) Funny enough I just flipped brackets upside down and mounted it in to the plastic. 2 years and no issues. May go back and mount it how you did when I repaint my front bumper for some extra piece of mind.

[@AlienBmxican]

I been waiting for this video 😃

[@Rythecarguy]

Hope its everything you wanted it to be :D

[@kaybeane7196]

Love it thanks.

[@JesseDKangas]

Was really hoping to see a while wire with the extra switch. Either way, great video! I’ll be installing mine soon.

[@Rythecarguy]

Aww sorry. I am a lunatic for super clean installations. The less extra stuff the better. If need any help with that I have wire tapped new things in the X. Check out my seat heater video for tapping into he fuse box and my front facing camera video for feeding wires through the firewall.

[@DNG1966]

Awsome job u made that look easy ,have the 06 nismo frontier gonna have to look into that 😁🤘

[@Rythecarguy]

Thanks you should! The amount of light is insane.

[@DNG1966]

@@Rythecarguy thank u I'm from Florida but a truck driver it's hard for me to find time

[@manishsakrudkar2624]

Nice video as always 👍

[@Rythecarguy]

Thanks man!

[@SergeiWhobichakokov]

Good video. That's pretty much what I had to do to install a light bar on my X a year ago. Slightly off topic here, but with your style of grille, I bet orange led lights would look good where those dimples are located.

[@Rythecarguy]

Thanks, good suggestion.

[@sponger1054]

Hey Ry! Great video. Did you need to buy the wiring kit from Harbor Freight or was the pig tail it comes with long enough to meet the H11 extenders?

[@Faisalalamri6]

nice job and thank you for sharing..i fix led bar in my xterra same place but with different brackets (modified). but im just wondering if you need an electrical relay to avoid the high current pulled by led bar?? did you ithink it will not effect car ecu in future ?? hope you get my point. thank you for sharing again

[@Rekees96]

So helpful thanks

[@Rythecarguy]

My pleasure 👍🏻

[@keithjackson1180]

I have a similar light bar that I want to install on my 06 but unfortunately I am required to have a front license plate, so I will need to find some way to relocate the plate before I put the light in. I also have the stalk for the fog lights so that would be a cool way to control it instead of running more wires.

[@CoachCole71]

If you have the plastic mold holding the plate that size bar fits snugly on top of it. Might have to modify the brackets that hold the light bar. I’ve since added a bull bar so I just relocated my front plate there.

[@itsjustfuhrman]

Nilight sells a "L" shape bracket to have a light bar and your license plate on it. Its what I plan to use when I add a light bar in the same location and you wont have to drill any holes.

[@Rythecarguy]

This sounds cool. Link?

[@geoffdrussell]

Hi Ry, great video. The light looks great, but does it reduce air flow to the rad? Now that you've had the light bar on for a few miles, have you noticed any difference in engine temperature?

[@Rythecarguy]

Everything operates perfectly. In fact, I just drove it 1000 miles straight across country in 90+ degree weather. Ran like a champ other than dying on the side of the road from the crank sensor lol. But that's unrelated..

[@collapsenprotect]

Thanks!

[@Rythecarguy]

No, thank YOU! I really appreciate this.

[@collapsenprotect]

@@Rythecarguy I've been a long time viewer and love your content man. You do great work!

[@Rythecarguy]

Thanks! That means a lot. I'll keep going if you guys keep watching!! 💪🏻🤘🏻

[@ronrussell1077]

So, question Ry?! If you wee going to try to tow my Camaro to races with your 2010 Xterra S, what would you do to it first ? Thanks for any input 👍

[@JPzaSniper]

you're awesome dude, link us those body clips so i can buy about 50 of them lol

[@Rythecarguy]

Thanks, here ya go! amzn.to/3ILHqWD

[@darkgreener]

Thank you very much, awesome job, I will definitely install it on my 2010 Xterra, but I do have fog lights on mine and I don't know if the wiring connection will be easy, can I join the fog light wire and this bar's wire together into one by using the same extender that you used, what is your advise for me please, by the way I appreciate all your videos that you post about working on Xterra because you helped me a lot working on mine, God bless you and thank you again.

[@Rythecarguy]

You’re welcome. I would recommend an H11 splitter if you want to make the wiring a little easier. You can do the same thing I did. All you need to do is plug the splitter into the fog light connection, plug the fog light in with one wire and cut the other one off to wire it up to the light bar.

[@darkgreener]

@@Rythecarguy May God bless you and thank you again, I'll try my best

[@creativeaccents5752]

Ty, could you demonstrate this? How would you use the light bar and your existing fog lights?

[@creativeaccents5752]

Ry, Sorry phone changed spelling

[@martywood9299]

ry the car guy YOU ARE A BAD ASS !!!!!!!!

[@Rythecarguy]

Thanks Marty! 🤘🏻

[@ncimson5318]

Nice tutorial as always Rye. Question is Do you think a 24 or maybe a 26" would fit?

[@stevenshumate3430]

Wondering your thoughts of wiring a 42 inch light bar on the top of my xterra tapping to the fog as you did with your smaller light. Hope to hear from you

[@desolatetree]

I wanted a temporary attachment for my lightbar just to make sure I liked it and that I really wanted it where I put it. I used the 3m doublesided tape, and honestly it's held on better than I expected. I'll probably keep it mounted that way!

[@Rythecarguy]

Oh nice! You must have taped the entire bottom of the light right? Not just them mounts?

[@desolatetree]

@@Rythecarguy I catch a lot of flak for it, but I taped the mounts. It's a 14" bar and it's taken a lot of highway miles and some spritited gravel road driving and hasn't moved in the slightest! It was also the cheaper Walmart one haha so if I had a pricier one I would absolutely bolt it in!

[@kmack282]

Maybe swap those headlight assemblies. My set has dual h1 led fan units. The lightbar is great but those street lights need about 4x the lumens!

[@Rythecarguy]

Those are the new ones lol. I would like new bulbs though.

[@mattyt96]

Ry. Do you have a video about the roof off road lights and where the fuse and circuit are for that?

[@mattyt96]

Or can you tell me where the fuse is for those light?

[@creativeaccents5752]

Hey Ri, thank you so much for the videos! Just bought an Xterra and want to install the light bar. I bought the same one from Harbor Freight. I already have the existing fog lights that I want to keep working. How do you tap into those preexisting lights and so they will work with the steering wheel control. Do you still need the extra wiring harness that you linked? Or Is there another harness that would work? Thanks so much.

[@Rythecarguy]

You would need the same adapter but as a Y connector. It would split out one of the connections of the fog lights.

[@mastershocks6916]

Great

[@Rythecarguy]

Thanks!

[@stevenshumate3430]

What do you use to tap into fog light plug in bar if there are already fogs and you still want them to light up? Thanks hope to hear from you

[@micah3532]

Hey Ry, how many miles does your '05 xterra have on it now? Its looking great!

[@Rythecarguy]

Thank you! I think it's at 148k now.

[@gunny6517]

RY, I couldn’t find the “Body Clips” you used for the bumper cover (under the hood area).. Could you provide a link? Thanks! 🇺🇸

[@Rythecarguy]

Hey Gunny, nice to see ya! Hope things are going well. Here is the link. I will put it in the description too. amzn.to/3ILHqWD

[@gunny6517]

@@Rythecarguy Awesome, thank you so much for doing your FANTASTIC channel.. You have and continue to provide a wealth of knowledge for ALL of us Xterra owners out here…. Thanks for the link as well.. PLEASE keep the Xterra videos coming! 🇺🇸

[@AgentAmador]

@@gunny6517YUT

[@rafiktunangler6190]

Hi, the bolt used to fix the light is a regular one or what? How you call it ?

[@rickwhitfield7617]

Nice patience you had on that project. What sounded so simple turned into a full on PIA for an fog light 😇. I think a side 90 degree drill would have solved your main issue?

[@Rythecarguy]

Maybe, I needed a lot of pressure

[@davidmaclean3255]

Hey Ry, Awesome video. Really appreciate it. Pardon my ignorance, but if I tap into my fog light wires, will the LED come on whenever I turn on my fog lights? Thanks!

[@Rythecarguy]

That's correct! I took my fog lights out but if you left them in then yes, they would all turn on.

[@stevenshumate3430]

​@Rythecarguy how would you tap into preexisting fog lights?

[@angelahighwolf]

Can I have both fog lights and the light bar?

[@michaeloneil3239]

Did you ever end up having issues with cutting out the vertical fins in the bumper cover mouth? Was thinking they probably prevent flutter and oscillation from the cover at higher speeds. Trying to decide whether to go the route you went, or leave the fins and use 3 smaller bars/pods

[@Rythecarguy]

No issues! Even at highway speeds.

[@Paramedicpr835]

Hello Ry the car guy, sorry to post it on this video but, do you have a video or can point me to a video that shows how to replace the a/c expansion valve on a R51 (2010) Pathfinder ? Any help will mean a great deal.

[@aisandavila4799]

Hey man i need help with my 3rd light stop brake😢. Would like some recomendations Thanks!!

[@Rythecarguy]

Whats going on with it?

[@benladin626]

Hey ry! What's the biggest light bar you can fit in the xterra bumper?

[@Rythecarguy]

Honestly I would think you could not go any bigger than I did without cutting up the bumper.

[@ronaldoamil3385]

Hello, I having issue on my Nissan xterra 2008 all interior lamp not working. I check all fuse was OK I did use diagnostic tool BCM no trouble code. You could help me with my issue?

[@NCrdwlf]

Could tou splice them into the existing wiring if you have the fog lights and switch on the stalk. ?? So they all come on ?

[@Rythecarguy]

Yes, I would just pick up the y adapters though. That way you don't need to splice.

[@Leatherkid01]

Nice instal....whose titan is that?

[@Rythecarguy]

Thanks! That's my Titan! I make videos on it! 🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻

[@illeagle8041]

How has the bed liner paint held up on the bumper and grill?

[@Rythecarguy]

So good. It still looks new.

[@TheBryanrobertjones]

Hi, where did you get your external gas cap holder?

[@Rythecarguy]

Huh? Where did you see that?

[@richbanister]

Does the reduced airflow to that area concern you?

[@Rythecarguy]

I thought about that but I think it will be ok since I have the whole the grille above it that is unobstructed. I will let you guys know if I run across any adverse affects.

[@thomascarpenter5536]

I have a 20" bar and two pods in there for 3 years now with no adverse effects.

[@richbanister]

You are probably right. My front license plate partially obstructs that area now.

[@user-lt2yf3hz5c]

Красота

[@Rythecarguy]

👍🏻

[@jivkopetrov7049]

Best to learn what to use the bits for ...

[@DIY_AUTO_PHOTO]

Haha isn't that ture things alot of time don't go as plan and we have to improvise as we good. When I was installing my roof light bar so many things .. went different . BTW good thing that this light bar is 6amp so it's save to use on stalk switch otherwise if it was stronger prob would need wire harness with relay and high Amp fuse

[@Rythecarguy]

Right on! There is always something to deal with. Lol

[@DIY_AUTO_PHOTO]

@@Rythecarguy ha sure is... but hell man that weather that you have is not fair lol ! we have barely mid 30s here with snow and freezing rain not fun not fun lol

[@ks.o.p.3438]

Great but what do I do with the license plate?

[@Rythecarguy]

Move to a state where you don't need one on the front.

[@ks.o.p.3438]

Gonna try to find a solution because I really want to put those lights on but have to display the plate.

[@richaneesh]

Can you replace all the headlamps, fog lights and turn signal lights with leds?

[@richaneesh]

I mean is it possible to replace the conventional lights with leds?

[@Rythecarguy]

Absolutely! the H11s for the fogs and the headlights all come in LED.

[@richaneesh]

@@Rythecarguy thanks ! :)

[@martywood9299]

I did ........ no problem at all and 10X brighter!

[@user-si9og1ym8t]

Can I buy one for a 07 Nissan titan

[@Rythecarguy]

I don't see why not. Not sure where you would put it.

[@KGX470]

where did u get the black out headlights for your year?

[@Rythecarguy]

Good ole Amazon.

[@LeahBelle.]

Link!!!

[@Dabulewicz]

Would be better to relay into the fog light system and have it pull power directly from the power system on its own fused connection

[@Rythecarguy]

The fog lights are already fused and relayed. What's the difference?

[@dehartenatorplays9844]

A trick with finding the center of things that aren't easy to halve is do it just how you started with the tape, estimate half and measure that from both sides. Should make 2 lines pretty close to each other, and in between them is the center.

[@jroscon3003]

How to reduce the 25 % air flow from you radiator.

[@Rythecarguy]

You're right dude! As soon as I put that in I started over heating.

[@jroscon3003]

@@Rythecarguy I just sold my xterra 2000 now i got 2006 and i love it thank you Ray for sharing your knowledge and make xterra's owners life easier god bless you.

[@michaeloneil3239]

The air doesn't simply dissapear, it flows around the light and into the radiator. Any issues may have been coincidental