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How-To: Wire an LED Tailgate Light Bar.

GasHog369

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GasHog369 Senior Enthusiast

GasHog369

Posted
Posted

So about 8 months ago , right after I bought my truck, I bought a LED light bar. I mounted it right away, and since then have not found an easy way / no hacking way to make it work. After a bunch of searching I found a harness to go in between to make it work like plug and play, except for the reverse which was a 1- T tap job....

I took many pictures. Enjoy.

 

Here is the link to the bar I bought

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000R308RA/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

And here is the link to the adapter harness, (btw cheapest i could find with free 2 day on prime for me)

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001A1M1J6/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

To me, the easiest way because the spare tire was in the way was to take out the factory 7 way mound and all. It was as simple as getting a small screwdriver back there and pulling up on the tab that allows it to rotate. THen just spin it and pop it out. Heres what it looks like out.

 

Here u can see how I seperated factory 7 way and mount. and the new harness is to right

 

IMAG0595_zps4451fbcc.jpg

 

Factory mount ..

 

IMAG0596_zps430d8647.jpg

 

new harness end routed from behind and sticking through hole.

 

IMAG0597_zps0233795a.jpg

 

Now just push together and it will lock in. Next insert in hole reverse of how it came out , and twist in to lock

 

 

Next step is to go under bumper, hook other end of factory into left over new harness.

 

Heres how it looks. tight spot there to get a good pic tho.

 

IMAG0605_zps78678ab1.jpg

 

wrap your wires nice, and take the last plug, tie up excess, and plug light bar 4 way flat plug in the harness. I chose to tape harness together also as added protection.

 

IMAG0608_zps56b60800.jpg

 

IMAG0607_zpsd8e45a71.jpg

 

Looking at the last picture you will see that one white wire that is going up in the taillight hole access. THis wire is your power for reverse LED's (wht). Route it up there and tape it up.

 

Last step is to tap into the reverse positive wire. You will be looking for the Lt . Green wire in warness. Simply open loom, pull a little slack of wire and use a T tap to tap the wire.

IMAG0599_zpsdd180396.jpg

 

IMAG0600_zps584b71f3.jpg

 

IMAG0601_zps8e0dd2a8.jpg

 

And tape up your ends and loom to keep tight.

 

IMAG0603_zps15601431.jpg

 

And here is the final result. No video yet.. soon tho.

 

IMAG0604_zps2a6f92d6.jpg

 

 

  • 3 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...
LaserBlueZ71 Enthusiast

LaserBlueZ71

Posted
Posted

Thanks for posting this.

 

I have been wondering for a while what the best way is to add lights to my truck without hacking up my factory wiring. I always wondered if there was a connector one could put in-between the trailer harness plug to grab power from it. Nice to see it can be done!

StinkyCheese Senior Enthusiast

StinkyCheese

Posted
Posted

Interesting. If I ever start towing I'll have to figure out how to hard wire mine since right now it just plugs into the factory trailer harness. Don't want to drive with the wire flapping in the wind. Nice job on yours.

  • 3 weeks later...
Blue2500CC Enthusiast

Blue2500CC

Posted
Posted

Great job! Only suggestion I would make when tapping into the reverse lights, solder a wire into the reverse wire in connector you bought. Not sure which wire it is, but adding a lead on a work bench would be pretty easy. Solder it, then use liquid tape to try to seal it up from the elements!

 

Great job again! How much more light has the reverse lights on the bar added at night? I have thought about adding a set of reverse lights to the truck again.

 

Chris

  • 1 year later...
Jackseric Enthusiast

Jackseric

Posted
Posted

Here is the link to the bar I bought

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000R308RA/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

And here is the link to the adapter harness, (btw cheapest i could find with free 2 day on prime for me)

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001A1M1J6/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

 

So @GasHog369, it's been almost 1.5 years since your post. I'm curious how the lightbar has faired with the weather. Is it still working 100% functional? Any issues? That's one of the cheaper light bars I've seen and would love to know if it's holding up. Also how bright is it? I've seen some that look great, and some that were a huge waste of the owner's time to install... so dim you can barely see it.

 

Thanks,

Eric

GasHog369 Senior Enthusiast

GasHog369

Posted
  • Author
Posted

 

So @GasHog369, it's been almost 1.5 years since your post. I'm curious how the lightbar has faired with the weather. Is it still working 100% functional? Any issues? That's one of the cheaper light bars I've seen and would love to know if it's holding up. Also how bright is it? I've seen some that look great, and some that were a huge waste of the owner's time to install... so dim you can barely see it.

 

Thanks,

Eric

Hey Eric, sorry bout the late reply. I dont get on here as much as i use to.

Anyway, great question! And unfortunately the original light bar did NOT hold up! at least 5 leds went out and some were flickering.. Not the fault of the harness or my wiring but the actual light ba itself was not good. After research and reading reviews from others, i founf it was common with that bar. The good part was Rampage was extremely forgiving and replaced the bar for me even after owning it for almost a year.

I actually had to wait for it to become back in stock tho which was like a month or 2. Me being impatient i bought a different bar off amazon with a much better reputation. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003BL1H0M/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

When i got the free replacement in my buddy got it..

 

The new one has been awesome now for just going on a year of owning it . Here are some pics of this one and you can even see my led license plate bulbs i swapped in. This truck cant be misse at night, lol.

 

20141205_171647_zps0kfngfjl.jpg

 

20141205_171710_zpsr0eywvvy.jpg

 

This last one is with reverse on.. They dont give off much light for backing, but the look is great on the bar. My tailights with the led and my aux under bumper take care of all the light i need for backing.

20141205_171728_zpsxm93vdgb.jpg

 

Heres the under bumper lights..

 

received_m_mid_1386266970008_59cb56844c5

 

20140419_212503_zpspgagylut.jpg

Jackseric Enthusiast

Jackseric

Posted
Posted

The new one has been awesome now for just going on a year of owning it . Here are some pics of this one and you can even see my led license plate bulbs i swapped in. This truck cant be misse at night, lol.

Awesome post and review! Thanks for taking the time to give honest feedback and posting all those pictures. It's greatly appreciated! BTW, your plate lights look great. Would you mind sharing which bulbs you bought?

 

Thanks again.

DaDude Enthusiast

DaDude

Posted
Posted

Were you able to get the light bar to light up half way for the turn signals too using this harness and everything?

GasHog369 Senior Enthusiast

GasHog369

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Yes, laft half blinks with left turn signal and same with right, and the whole thing flashes for hazard.

  • 1 year later...
AskMeAboutMySilverado Enthusiast

AskMeAboutMySilverado

Posted
Posted

Hey Eric, sorry bout the late reply. I dont get on here as much as i use to.

Anyway, great question! And unfortunately the original light bar did NOT hold up! at least 5 leds went out and some were flickering.. Not the fault of the harness or my wiring but the actual light ba itself was not good. After research and reading reviews from others, i founf it was common with that bar. The good part was Rampage was extremely forgiving and replaced the bar for me even after owning it for almost a year.

I actually had to wait for it to become back in stock tho which was like a month or 2. Me being impatient i bought a different bar off amazon with a much better reputation. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003BL1H0M/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

When i got the free replacement in my buddy got it..

 

The new one has been awesome now for just going on a year of owning it . Here are some pics of this one and you can even see my led license plate bulbs i swapped in. This truck cant be misse at night, lol.

 

20141205_171647_zps0kfngfjl.jpg

 

20141205_171710_zpsr0eywvvy.jpg

 

This last one is with reverse on.. They dont give off much light for backing, but the look is great on the bar. My tailights with the led and my aux under bumper take care of all the light i need for backing.

20141205_171728_zpsxm93vdgb.jpg

 

Heres the under bumper lights..

 

received_m_mid_1386266970008_59cb56844c5

 

20140419_212503_zpspgagylut.jpg

I know this post is old, but i am really curious how you mounted those reverse auxiliary lights!!!

  • 1 month later...
Eddie 70 Senior Enthusiast

Eddie 70

Posted
Posted

I know this post is old, but i am really curious how you mounted those reverse auxiliary lights!!!

 

 

I made a paper template and used that to mark holes in factory hitch. I drilled and tapped my hitch to mount my lights. Very similar to those in the pic.

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