Has anyone installed on their own? Do I need to remove the whole front fascia?
How to Install Illuminated Bowtie?
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Electricky44
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Curious. Can you get to the connector by removing the the wheel well?Finally, the coup de grâce:
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Followed by a couple of tests
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Test the car make sure all the marker lights, parking sensor, front camera, etc are all working. I used this as an excuse to drive around for a bit.
Interestingly, the bowtie lights up as part of the welcome lighting (which I never see, because my car doesn't wake up until I'm next to the fender). It also lights up during the shutdown animation, and when the headlights are on.
Surprisingly, it does NOT come on during daytime driving or during charging.
This was a fair sized job. I'm embarrassed to say I have about 9 hours in this project, at least a third of it puzzling out what is still holding what on, like that stupid lightbar, or sneaking up on the hole size of the trim tool, etc. I was content to go slow because I didn't want to break anything that I couldn't see. I did a lot of pulling and analyzing what seems to be stuck and where. I also am good at losing tools I JUST had a moment ago, and spent a long time looking for a missing screw. After getting the benefit of my experience, this could be done much faster, by me or by someone who followed along. But like I said in the beginning, consider letting the dealer do it if you aren't confident in fooling with this much painted plastic.
I think it looks awesome. The bowtie is a couple of hundred bucks even if you shop around, and the installation was a lot of work to do yourself or several hundred in labor at the dealer. It's a fun accessory, but totally unnecessary. I care not
I hope this helps somebody! Have fun!
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From what I remember, yes it should be possible.
Yeah, I saw an Equinox EV do that before I bought mine, and thought wow that is stupid, and thought maybe it was a lower trim. Then when I got mine, I checked against a window I was parked in front of, and sure enough. 
Yes, you can do the wiring mod without tearing everything apart, just need to move the front half of the drivers side wheel liner away,and the connector is right there.
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There are a few other wires for the light bar, but those are the two that control which side is on or off under normal conditions.
I have a few pics of the area where the light bar attaches to the fascia:
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I don't have the "service manual" I use Alldata, which takes the official info and puts it there.
Yes, you can do the wiring mod without tearing everything apart, just need to move the front half of the drivers side wheel liner away,and the connector is right there.
There are a few other wires for the light bar, but those are the two that control which side is on or off under normal conditions.
I have a few pics of the area where the light bar attaches to the fascia:
I don't have the "service manual" I use Alldata, which takes the official info and puts it there.
Thanks DarkDan72
Honestly I do believe the harness is the same for all trims. I doubt GM will bother on having a separate harness and Part # just for the LT model, the 4 or 5 wires and 1 connector is too little to cause a dollar impact. But who knows? Maybe economically it makes sense to GM to eliminate the copper wires and connector for the lightbar on that harness when considering the amount of LTs they think they will produce.
I want to avoid removing the fascia and going through all the process just to find out my car does not have the harness/ connector for the lightbar, can you imagine? reassemble everything back, search for part #, locate it, hope it is in stock, order it, wait and re-do the removal of the fascia and lightbar installation.... yikes!
I think it will be best to find the harness from a place that accepts returns, so if the connector is there, I would just have to return the harness, if connector is not in the car, then replace the whole harness and problem solved.
I was hoping I could just unscrew the 4 top T 7 and pull the filler panel, but I see you mention some hard-to-get clips at the bottom. I wish there was a way to check if the connector is there without having to remove too much stuff.
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I have an AllData account also, but they don't list the EEV, at least not a la carte.
Did you email the admin or something? Or by chance do you have one of the expensive professional accounts?
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There's a bunch of stuff in the front fascia harness that a base LT won't have. Lighting, parking sensors, possibly the cruise control radar is different, who knows. It's very possible GM has at least 2 different harnesses on the line.
Since @LurchCamaro has figured out that the Blue/Green and White/Yellow wires are for the LED bar, why not pull the forward drivers fender liner back and put eyes on the big connector and see of those wires are there? If they are, they probably go up to where the LED bar will go. If not, at least you'll know what you're in for.
Getting an OEM harness will probably take forever, and in a lot of cases, electrical parts are not accepted for returns.
Someone used rope LED in another thread to make a pretty decent looking DIY lightbar, perhaps consider doing that.
DIY: Front light bar / under hood light bar for LT base trim | Chevy Equinox EV Forum
I saw a few Equinox EVs on the road this morning. I think only the early model Equinox EVs turn off half the light bar when the turn signal is on... I saw both where one didn't turn off and on
Could it be related to whether the vehicle has lighting animation--2LT/RS vs. 3LT/RS? My 2024 2LT (built 4/24) does not turn off the light bar when the turn signal is on.
Sounds like they decided against and changed it, I'm glad, it is dumb. Mine is a May '24 3RS build.
GM might have noticed this as a dumb idea or perhaps received bad feedback about it, either way that might be the reason why the lightbar was replaced. The original part number was: 86597381 and the new replacement part number is 85023318 and it seems the replacement took place at end of 1st Qtr of 2024
i need to replace my driver side headlight and am curious if anyone has the official instructions to do this job... does Alldata have these instructions? how much is the cheapest Alldata account that will let me access those headlight instructions?
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LurchCamaro did say that he used AllData but I cannot find the EEV available a la carte.
It's possible he has a professional account that costs thousands but covers all vehicles; that point has never been clarified.
I would say you can expect no inexpensive official instructions.
It's possible he has a professional account that costs thousands but covers all vehicles; that point has never been clarified.
I would say you can expect no inexpensive official instructions.
@DarkDan72 - I had the front illuminated bow tie installed today at my dealership. I noticed there is some play in the emblem; it’s not super tight to the light bar (?). How is yours, and others who tackled this?
It may be worth noting, the dealer did replace the plinth.
It may be worth noting, the dealer did replace the plinth.
I haven't done mine. But if a dealer installed it I would expect it to be as tight as the OEM Gold one originally it came with. If there is play or little lose sounds like the Plinth got some damage and wasn't replaced (?)
I have been looking for the part and haven't found the part number and / or place where they sell it, but it might be just me not putting much effort on it (yet).
Hope it is not too bad for you, but Dealers charge considerably for this installation so I would take it back to them, most probably they will glue it. A good dealer will disassemble the fascia again and replace the Plinth if that is indeed the root cause of the issue.
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Mine is nice and tight, and I did NOT replace the plinth, instead choosing to lock the emblem to the plinth with wedges of rubber I happened to have.
But it's not just the plinth. From the factory the emblem is also secured with some pretty strong double-sided tape. The tape prevents any movement.
The tape did not come with the kit, although any dealership body shop would have it available. If it's omitted, well, you're at the mercy of the play between the plinth and the emblem.
But it's not just the plinth. From the factory the emblem is also secured with some pretty strong double-sided tape. The tape prevents any movement.
The tape did not come with the kit, although any dealership body shop would have it available. If it's omitted, well, you're at the mercy of the play between the plinth and the emblem.
Curious.
Why does the whole front bumper section have to come of?
Looks like you can get to the front fascia connector just by removing tire and wheel well.
Removing whole front fascia looks like it's just for routing? No?
Why does the whole front bumper section have to come of?
Looks like you can get to the front fascia connector just by removing tire and wheel well.
Removing whole front fascia looks like it's just for routing? No?
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And mounting...read my experience above to see how it's attached to the car.
The VERY detailed how to posted above by DarkDan plus the GM install instruction PDF answer that and a lot more. If you are considering doing this, you really should go through those first to understand the scale and scope of the job. Some really important details are in there. The wiring may be the least of your concerns.
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