Aux back up lights

alright so i got a topper for the winter months here in colorado and i love how it turned out but i cant see jack shit out the back so i was gonna install some aux back up lights when i move my yakima rack onto the topper. My plan i to wire lights to the top and then run it to a 3 way switch so it can turn on when i put the truck in reverse or just have them on or off. How would i do this? lol im pretty good at mechanical stuff but when i comes to electrical am as good as dirt so how would i be able to wire this?

thanks, Ben

 

bumpity

 

hey i want to do the same thing but on the bumper so let me know when some one hits you up thnx

 

haha might be a while...

 

SO I BLACKED OUT TAIL LIGHTS AND NEED TO MAKE IT BRITGHTER WAS THINKING ABOUT MOUNTING EXTRA LIGHTS ON BUMPER BUT NOT SURE ANY SUGGESTIONS? ? CANT SEE SH.. WHEN BACKING UP TRAILER

 

did you really think that blacking out your tail lights wouldnt affect the brightness?? lol wow....

I cant afford a new HU and camara

 

remote 2 button control on key chain

 

ok.... i want to know how to wire some lights to a switch no back up cameras, remote buttons or magical voodoo. sorry to be a hard ass just had to clarify some things

 

I put light's on the back of my shell. I put a diode in line to my backup light's. & wired up a switch in my cab that only is hot w/the key on so I don't run down my battery. It helps a lot.

 

LOL! Either add lights, deal with it or unblackout your tail lights.

 

Can you still turn it on and off without being in reverse Layne?

 

When you buy your lights they should come with a wiring harness. Make sure the harness includes a relay, if it does not then my method won't work for you. While you are at the parts store, buy a "single pole, double throw, center off switch" The switch will not be lighted. In the past I have used a seperate pilot light to show when the aux reverse lights are on.

Follow the instructions to hook everything up. When you get to the part about the switch, use your three way switch instead and connect the wires as follows:

The wire from the center terminal of the switch goes to your relay, just like the cheap switch in the wiring kit. If you want to use a pilot light to indicate when the lights are on, connect that to this terminal also.

One of the other terminals on your three way switch gets connected to your factory reverse light circuit. On a second gen truck, this is readily available in the driver's kick panel. Not sure on a first gen, but there are links on this site to factory service manual information.

The remaining terminal gets connected to your factory parking light circuit. On a second gen, there is a fuse in the interior fuse block that is hot only when the parking light circuit is on. I tapped that fuse, not sure on a first gen truck.

The end result should be that the aux reverse lights do not come on with the switch in the middle position. When the switch is flipped one way, your lights should come on with the factory reverse lights. Flip it the other way and they should come on anytime the parking lights are also on. Should you forget to turn them off, they will go out with the parking lights instead of running the battery down.

This has worked great on the last three trucks I have owned.

Good luck!

Edit: Looks like you have a second gen. On my truck I believe the reverse light wire was red with a white stripe. Not completely sure on that. If you have any doubts about your abilities don't fool around in there, lots of wires to choose from including airbag wires. A digital volt meter is safer than a test light to id wires.

 

i wired my 4 55w driving lights into the reverse lights. i just spliced the wires and when you put the truck in reverse, they automatically come on with the reverse lights.

 

I want to do this and turn on through a switch, anyone have tips?

 

I wouldn't put them up high, thow a few under your rear bumper, and just tap into the reverse light wires. then wire up a switch in the cab.

 

if you used an SPDT switch, wired to the tow package wires, could you turn it on if you werent in reverse to say flood the area behind the truck with light while loading the bed?

i have a single spare wire run from my cab to the rear bumper at the moment...

 

oh man, thats like Greek

would you mind PMing me when you tackle this project so i can lend a hand and see what you do? im in brick...

 

If I wanted to tap into my reverse lights could I just use one of these




And connect to this red wire




Then to the lights?

 

No. It might work for a short period of time, but you are running the risk of blown fuses, burned out reverse light switch on the transmission, and possibly overheated wiring (fire).

Correct way to do this is to run a new, fused wire from the battery, to a relay, then to the lights. You CAN use the existing wire there in the picture to activate the relay.

 

OP, Anyone who said "just tap onto your reverse wire, thats what I did..." is clearly not electrically savvy. No offense to those who did this, but is not smart at all. I will make an idiot proof diagram right now... give me a few minutes and ill post.