Okay cartalkers,
like it or not autumn and winter is coming. it is getting darker earlier and the back up lights on my truck are pretty weak.
I do have a standard 7 pin (flat blade) connector, and looking at the wiring diagrams i could connect 1 cable to the center
pin for the back up light and one to the bottom left for ground.
Now the question is how to connect the wires? I went to the parts store and almost bought a 7 to 4 pin converter and a
4 pin plug in with the wires hanging out but further investigation showed that the basic 4 pin plug would not support a
back up light. I do not want to cut the wiring harness going into the connector, it has to be an another way.
Any help is appreciated.
Polish the tail light lenses. It works for headlights. Maybe it will work for your tail lights, too.
@ jtsanders Sorry that is a no go.
The back up lenses, ( I would not even call those lenses, they more like whitish plastic covers) that are for the other drivers behind me.
They just lack of illumination.
I would imagine the backup light has plenty of amps available, so you only have choose what light goes on with the backup lights, and patch it into that circuit. I have a work guy with one of these, it is actually remote controlled. I imagine a standard spotlight would wok just fine.
http://www.basspro.com/Golight-GoBee-Remote-Controlled-Spotlight/product/10211927/
the trailer plug doesn’t have a tap for back up lights. here is an idea grab a driving light lite kit and wire it to your back up lamp crcuit with a 4 or 5 pin relay this way they only come on when you put the truck in reverse or put a swithch on the dash
It would be really nice to know the year, make, and model of the truck, as well as the bed type. There are lights sold that fit into the rolled edges on certain truck beds that can be easily spliced into the backup light wiring.
The spotlight is another great idea. You could even aim it, and you could mount it where it’ll also light the truck bed for unloading after dark.
Personally, if I were going to add on an addtional lamp for the rear I would use the existing backup light wiring to trigger a relay and have the main current source for the add-on lamp go through the relay instead of the factory wiring.
Sometimes those extra amps being pulled can do funny things to undersized wire and connector pins.
Thanks guys for the replying. I think I figured it out. I got a 7 pin connector for a trailer and just used the center pin for the back up light and the bottom left pin for ground. The connector’s plastic cover can be unscrewed and the wires can be attached to the inside with bolts. Now I have a trailer connector with two wires hanging out and connected to the lamp. The lamp itself is attached to the bottom of the tow assembly. Because the center pin is for back up light when the truck is in reverse the lamp lights up…
I did not put down what make and model because I did not think that information is relevant for this question, but it is a Dakota pu. with a factory tow package.
Thanks again for the replies.
Shoot, that disagree was mine and happened when I was scrolling down to post this message. Sorry, it was not intentional.
One of my co-workers had a similar need but decided to install one of those aftermarket backup cameras. It works like a charm! Even in very low light conditions, the truck lights provide all the light you would need. It has the added benefit of seeing anything right behind the truck and it works great for hooking up the trailer by yourself without the move,check,move,check dance. Sounds like you rigged up a good solution for your needs. Just thought I’d offer up that tidbit if you decide to take it to the next level. Wasn’t very expensive either…
Have you considered LED replacement lights for it?
I’ll also second the backup camera idea
I have a similar dakota,but dont know what bulbs it takes-there are brighter bulbs avialible for a lot of applications(just make sure they wont melt the lens-Kevin
Havent messed around with 7 wire connectors much-but isnt there an auxiliary hot wire in the mix?Had a junkyard Cibie driving light on the back of an old 60 F-100 for awhile it worked real well till I backed over a trash barrel and broke it-Kevin
@kmccune there is one for trailer electric brakes but using the back up light pin it will illuminate just when using reverse. This way I do not need to run a wire to the cab and wire in a switch as well.
In addition to upgrading the existing lights to LED bulbs, I’d consider adding rear-facing work lights like the ones on commercial trucks. They can be mounted on the sides or the top of the vehicle, and I’d wire them directly to a dashboard mounted switch, not try to wire them into the existing back-up lights.
You might consider adding rear facing fog lights under the rear bumper, but you should check into the legality of adding rear facing white lights to your vehicle before you begin work or buy anything.
Another alternative is to add red marker lights that are bright enough to illuminate the area behind you. I’d wire them to their own switch as well, although you might also integrate them into your parking lights.
Of course there might be a very simple solution involving no physical upgrades. If you back into your parking space while the sun is still in the sky, you won’t have to back out in the dark after the sun goes down.