light bar silencer

If you’re a truck or Jeep owner who likes taking your vehicle off-roading or into difficult terrain, you’re probably familiar with light bars – the LED units that you can install on the front or roof of your vehicle with just a little mechanical know-how.

They come in handy when your headlights just don’t cut it and can be helpful on trails and in the woods. However, light bars tend to make whirring, humming, or even whistling noises, making some people wonder: how do I silence a light bar?

How to Silence a Light Bar 

Silencing a light bar can be as easy as installing a couple of small vibration dampeners. For greater efficacy, you should use a wind diffuser or a full wrap-around silencer, which helps redirect air flow around your LED lightbox.

If you’re sick of dealing with the annoying noises that come with putting a light bar on your truck or Jeep, you’ll want to keep reading. Here are the best ways that you can silence a light bar. 

1. Use Vibration Dampeners

Let’s start with the simplest option – the best for people who aren’t so mechanically inclined. The first option for anyone looking to reduce humming, whirring, or whistling noises caused by their LED light bar is to use vibration dampeners.

Vibration dampeners are small half-moon shaped pieces of plastic or rubber that attach to the back of your light bar to diffuse some of the vibrations that cause unpleasant noises from your light bar.

By attaching these vibration dampeners to the back of your light bar, you choose the minimalist option. Rubber dampeners such as these LED Light Bar Vibration Dampeners from Black Mountain (Amazon) are very easy to apply. All you have to do is adhere them to the back of your preexisting light bar and hit the road. 

They are great if you’re not so handy with aftermarket product installation or if you don’t want to add any more bulk to your vehicle – they hide behind the light bar itself and can’t be easily seen.

Although they’re super handy, these vibration dampeners may not be the option for you if you’re looking for something to completely stop the nasty noises that come along with installing a light bar on your vehicle.

They somewhat soften the noise but are best used in conjunction with another method to get rid of those whistling sounds that arise when you hop on the highway. 

Make sure to adhere them properly, so they don’t come undone while you’re hitting the trails or driving to the store. 

2. Use a Wrap-Around Silencer

Another option for silencing a light bar is to use a wrap-around style silencer. Wrap-around silencers are made of durable plastic, and (just as the name implies) are designed to wrap around the entire light bar circularly to redirect the airflow around the light bar. They cover the entirety of the box with thick, clear plastic. 

Almost all light bars are boxy in fashion, which prevents aero dynamism, meaning that the air whacks on and whistles around the light bar instead of flowing smoothly.

By installing a wrap-around silencer, you’re redirecting the air around the light bar to cut out as much noise as possible.

A wrap-around silencer is the right choice for you if you’re looking to seriously dampen the noise of your LED lights – this is one of the easiest yet most effective ways to keep those annoying sounds from bothering you trying to enjoy your time driving your truck or Jeep. Take a look at this AeroLidz Dual Straight UV Poly Carbonate Light Bar Silencer (Amazon).

Wrap-around light bar silencers are also a great option if you’re looking to help preserve the light bar. Especially if you’re frequently out on the trails or other muddy and treacherous terrains, you must keep your light bar in good shape.

Mud, dirt, and water can often splash up onto the light, not only obscuring the efficacy of the box itself but potentially making their way into the inner working of the device.

Light bars allow trucks and Jeeps to further illuminate the road ahead of you so you can keep an eye out for holes, ponds, and other obstacles. Adding a wrap-around silencer protects the bulbs inside your light bar as well as helping maintain the integrity of the unit. No need to put all your hard installation work to waste! Guard your investment.

A wrap-around light bar silencer may not be the best option for you if you’re looking for aesthetically perfect something. While the light bar itself can be a fun addition to many trucks or Jeeps, the circular silencer isn’t all that pretty for most vehicles. It’s an aftermarket addition that’s practical over beautiful, but it gets the job done. 

You’ll have to weigh out the options – would you rather your light bar look a little bulky, or would you rather have to deal with annoying noises? 

3. Use a Wind Diffuser

The final option of the big three options that you have for silencing a light bar on your truck or Jeep is to use a wind diffuser.

A wind diffuser falls somewhere on the spectrum between those simple vibration softeners and the encapsulating wrap-around silencer. Wind diffusers are generally made of one piece of plastic or rubber and attach to the bottom of the light bar. 

Like the wrap-around unit, diffusers are designed to make the light bar more aerodynamic, so the wind can flow freely without noise.

The installation of a wind diffuser is rather easy. You will only need a few common mechanic tools to install, and it should be easy for most car enthusiasts. 

One of the most popular examples of a wind diffuser that you can attach to your LED lightbox is the ZROADZ 52” Wind Diffuser (Amazon). This diffuser has the advantage of being discreet and aesthetically pleasing, much like the smaller multi-piece vibration dampeners. It uses the same technology as the full wrap-around silencer does.

This light bar silencer may not be right for you if you’re looking for total silence from your light bar. Much like the smaller vibration dampeners, you’ll want to use this in conjunction with another method to prevent those humming, whirring, and whistling noises we’re all trying to get rid of. 

This is a great first line of defense to try against those obnoxious noises. If this wind diffuser style isn’t enough to cut out the annoying noise, then you should consider switching to a full wrap-around unit. 

Summary

Silencing a light bar on your truck or Jeep is easier than you might think. For most styles of silencers or dampeners, you’ll only need a few simple tools that you’ll likely already have on hand if you’re a car aficionado and know how to DIY. Products can easily be ordered on Amazon for a good price.

You have a couple of different options for the devices you pick for silencing your light bar. The first, least-difficult option is to stick on a couple of small vibration dampeners to your bar’s back. These are the easiest option but only slightly reduce the buzzing sounds.

The second option is to pick a full wrap-around silencer, which is effective but bulky. The final option is to use a wind diffuser, which lands somewhere between the efficacy of the two options previously mentioned.

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