What every car needs...somewhat....

[texkid]

Well, I was bored one night and figured I shared something that I believe every car or truck should have.

I have noticed that some members wire up a GPS system, radar detector, and whatnot. But no one carries something essential to every vehicle.......a flashlight. I have been in many situations where I had a flat tire, dead battery, and even a squirrel stuck under the hood; and all of these moments occurred at night. Or if you do carry a flashlight, the batteries are dead or the bulb is dim from sitting in the trunk for a long time.

I carry what some cops believe are essential to their gear. Not every cop carries it, but those who do really love it. I have a Streamlight Stinger. 140 lumens, 18,000 candle powered, rechargeable torch! Woo-hoo!!

Anyway, figured I showed my setup. Its not perfect, but it gets the job done and the battery charged. Plus, I am not sleepy and have nothing else to do.

It sits under the steering screwed to the panel.


I have it grounded to the metal cross bar.


I don't know what the hell that connection goes to. But it gives me 12v and is easily accessible. I also attached a 2amp fuse as per instructions.


In the end, I run the connector over the panel and into the cradle.


The cradle is designed to trickle down power consumption when the flashlight has reached full power so not to run down my battery. So far after a month, my car battery is going good and no problems with the flashlight. The charge indicator is so bright that I had to put a piece of tape over it and color it with a black marker just enough to allow a very small beam of light.

I like it...so far it has come in handy once at a friends house when we were trying to find his daughters ring in the back yard. Woo-hoo!

[Terrorize]

That's an amazing mod...

And you are right...very essential and useful...wish i had one when i dropped my head unit remote...had to fumble around with my hand in the dark to feel where it was...i do have a flashlight in the car..but small one in the glove..this would be so much better..and guaranteed to have power all the time!!

I'm going to do this later!! Thanks for the idea!!

[texkid]

Originally Posted by Terrorize

That's an amazing mod...

And you are right...very essential and useful...wish i had one when i dropped my head unit remote...had to fumble around with my hand in the dark to feel where it was...i do have a flashlight in the car..but small one in the glove..this would be so much better..and guaranteed to have power all the time!!

I'm going to do this later!! Thanks for the idea!!

Sweet, glad I made a difference. I must warn you, the Streamlight Stinger is a freaking bright flashlight. I can shine a light on a fence over 100yards away in a dim environment. Also, if you do decide to get the Stinger, be careful to look at the serial number stamped right on the flashlight. The newer, upgraded models have C4-xxxxxxx stamped on the head. I am just saying because there are some dealers trying to sell the older models at the same, higher price as the upgraded models.

Also, if you want something less bright and still rechargeable, there is the Streamlight Strion. That boasts 12,000 candles with 116 lumes and uses the same charging cradle.

Streamlight makes great flashlights, all come with lifetime warranty. The cool thing is IF your local police department carries Streamlight as their duty flashlight, you can take your flashlight to their local police supplier/dealer for parts and repairs.

[eTiMaGo]

smart!

[NonStopTuning]

Excellent idea!

[thebarber]

i have a crank LED flashlight in my glovebox....but it not as pimpin as that....

[Chupacabra]

Pretty cool and yes, useful. AAMOF, a flashlight is something overlooked that can save your life in certain situations. That's one of the more useful mods I have seen for a daily driver.

[auxmike]

I have a powerful LED light built into my CASIO Gz'One cell phone. I use it all the time when I'm working under the car. It's a cool phone that is waterproof too.
Those Streamlights get REAL hot, be careful! I knew a Sheriff's deputy who melted the carpet in his vehicle with one. You never want to use a light like that when working on fuel lines. Streamlight makes an LED flashlight for use in explosive environments.
Also,That's a bad spot to mount it. If that heavy light falls off that bracket and rolls under the brake pedal.....

[Snyprwlf47]

I just bought a cheap little flashlight from wal mart that fits in my cigarette lighter to stay charged.....and it blue to match my neons

[texkid]

Originally Posted by auxmike

I have a powerful LED light built into my CASIO Gz'One cell phone. I use it all the time when I'm working under the car. It's a cool phone that is waterproof too.
Those Streamlights get REAL hot, be careful! I knew a Sheriff's deputy who melted the carpet in his vehicle with one. You never want to use a light like that when working on fuel lines. Streamlight makes an LED flashlight for use in explosive environments.
Also,That's a bad spot to mount it. If that heavy light falls off that bracket and rolls under the brake pedal.....

I do agree on the not-so-great location. But that is best spot I could find that would still be in reach. It does have an LED bulb and has never been hot....so far at least. Like just today, I have used it all night on my father-in-laws property in Brenham. After driving home, I did check the cradle while it was charging and never was it warm. I do keep an eye on it periodically because I have experienced that before with a Strion. However, I believe it was an isolated incident. I have three of these Stingers.

If there is one flashlight that I avoid for prolonged use, that would be Surefire. Especially those small, pocket models such as the E-series. My E1L would heat up in 5 minutes. One time, while sitting in my pocket, I felt like someone put a lighter to my butt. Turned out that the switch inadvertently got locked in the "on" position. It was so hot to the touch that I had to "hot potato" it until it cooled off.

[k2vitz]

It is great, smart

[IsLNdbOi]

I have a small LED flashlight that slides right into my cigarette lighter port. Whenever the car is turned on, the flashlight is charged. I also have an INOVA X0 in my passenger side glovebox.

[andries]

Nice idea, but watch out, some have a knee airbag there like me

[talnlnky]

I carry a small 5, or 7 LED (not sure which it is) Flashlight in the lil hidden pockect on the left of the steering column on the underside of the dash. Keep a leatherman in there too.

[TinyGiant]

i found at walmart a small cig lighter rechargeable LED flashlight..its about the size of the normal cig lighter and has an on/off button.. its super bright and was only like 5 bux

[darthbauer]

That's pretty bad ass but I already carry a flashlight on me.

[MadMax]

All my vehicles have several flashlights in them, and I have tons of different ones all over the house. Years in the military taught me that you never want to be without a quality flashlight. Like the quote from the Three Kings, "That's what makes SF so badass...we've got the best flashlights!"

Cheers! M2

[slvryaris]

I have a Streamlight Scorpion myself and a friend of mine is a security supervisor and also has one of the rechargeable ones. I like the color of the LED version but the distance on the standard one beats anything I ever seen. My small Scorpion reached just as far and was only $40 at Bass Pro Shops