[joshrad]

So I was at my local Ace Hardware looking for batteries and I noticed right next to the batteries were Mag Lites and such. I found a pair of black clips for a D cell Mag for about 6 dollars. I used to just have my Mag on the floor in between the seat and the door and it slid around which got kind of annoying so I bought them and installed them on my driver door. The screws the clips come with I didn't use and instead I used some nuts, washers, and bolts my dad had in the garage. While you're at the hardware store you could get these if you don't already have any and use the clips as a reference for size. The bolts I used were an inch long.

I forgot to take pictures of certain steps as it was starting to rain and I was stuck working on it in the driveway. First you need to remove the three Philips head screws on the handle and the armrest as well as the one in the center of the indented part of where the handle is (the screws will be marked in a following pic). If you have manual windows you will need to remove the knob as well. Once you remove the screws use either a trim removal tool or a putty knife to carefully pry the trim away from the door. I suggest starting at the side above the latch first and work down to the bottom and across to front. Once you get to the speaker you should be able to fit your hand in to pop it out right where the hinges are as it's too small an area for a tool. Once you get it loose pull out and up slowly as the rods for the door latch, lock, and wiring harness are still connected. For this part I lowered the window into the door so I'd have more room. Then slide the retaining clips on the metal rods off and slide the rod out of the clips, and disconnect the wiring harnesses. At this point the door trim will be free for you to move to a work space, I just used the cargo area.

First a pic of my driver door before I started:


A pic of my 3 D cell Mag and the clips:


Once you have the door trim off, you can put the clips on your Mag and position it how you want. I then took the clips off and using a piece of wood I marked for the distance between the clips I made a dot with a sharpie where each hole (two per clip) would be drilled. I used a 3/16" drill bit which was slightly larger just in case I could slightly adjust the clips so they'd line up right. Once I drilled the holes I put the clips on. I used a washer between the head of the bolt and the clip as the head of the bolt was rather small. When I drilled the holes, the drill ended up pushing the felt away from the glue holding it on in the spots which if you want you can cut it away from where the bolts come through. I also put three washers of increasing size as to help it be a little stronger, as well as a second nut to tighten it on as I didn't have any lock nuts.




Once you get the clips on and make sure that it lines up and you can put your Mag Lite in them and the clips are tightly secured, you're ready to put the trim panel back on. For this you reverse how you took it off, starting with the wiring harnesses then the rods for the latch and lock. The top part of the panel slides into the piece of weather stripping, which is kind of hard and took a few minutes to get it back on. Then go around the perimeter of the panel and push all of the retaining clips back into place, and put back the screws that were removed.

The finished clips will look something like this:



There was plenty of room to not worry about the Mag Lite hitting the seat when the door is closed:


In the near future I also plan on doing the same to the front passenger door. I really like the way it turned out and hope this helps someone out there.

[connor0770]

wow that is awesome.. how sturdy are the clips?

im tempted to go do this right now!

[Curt41]

yeah x2 on getting them right now. Looks handy, easy, and cheap.

[joshrad]

They're actually pretty sturdy. The only thing is if you have the door open and you try to put it back you have to have one hand on the door to keep it steady as the clips are really strong. When you pull it out the door panel flexes slightly but not enough to worry about but I wouldn't go trying to rip it out of the clips as that would be when it would get damaged

[Tarukai]

I'm going to have to do this now, since I've been meaning to get the clips, but wondering where to mount the thing.

[Ronron2112]

Thats where I had my Mag on my previous XJ. I loved it there! quick easy access.

[Nick]

I've had my set of bracket for almost a month now, and have yet to determine where I want to mount there. I like this idea, though. .

[the6nightmares]

ha, I did this to mine a coupke years ago, same spot and everythinig. worked out quite well.

[Kevin108]

The factory Mag Lite clips are very tough. I've never broken a set and for me that's really saying something.

Here's where I put mine. I had one in the same place on my first rig.

[joshrad]

Originally Posted by Kevin108

The factory Mag Lite clips are very tough. I've never broken a set and for me that's really saying something.

Here's where I put mine. I had one in the same place on my first rig.

that pic didn't work for some reason

[Spokes]

that is a good idea!!! i like it! easy to get too... i have the feelin if i did that i would probably end up using the mag light as a weapon lol

[kboyts]

I have the same clips but I mounted mine on the plastic trim around the bottom of the drivers seat. Between the seat and the door, pretty much right under where the OP put his except on the seat instead of the door.

[BIG_J]

I just stuff my mag light between the passanger seat and the center consol. I guess i could look into doing something like this, but i use my mag all the time for work cause ***holes don't know how to turn the porch light on.

[Curt41]

I'm probably mount several in my XJ. One how the OP did. Maybe one back on the D pillar, and maybe one in the back seat somewhere. Maybe a little overkill but whatever.

[el_pedro]

Originally Posted by Curt41

I'm probably mount several in my XJ. One how the OP did. Maybe one back on the D pillar, and maybe one in the back seat somewhere. Maybe a little overkill but whatever.

it's better to have too many than not enough, especially if you are looking for something at night