Light question

Ok so I am a absolute novice when it comes to electrical so maybe someone can help. I need to change the lights for my license plate and need to wire them in. How do I tell which is the hot wire? In my ignorance i used a cheep volt meter and blew the fuse and only have one spare so would like to avoid that if possible as kragen does not carry the fuses that fit the taco.
Reason for change I have a bumper that wont accept stock lights. Also its a 05.
Thanks

 

Also no wiring diagram included and the new led lights have a red and black, I thought there was usually a white wire as the neutral and either the black or red was usually hot?

 

and for future reference. Red is always hot in electrical.

Also how are you wiring these? use this for reference.

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/technical-chat/6525-diy-wiring-after-market-lights.html

 

Thanks!

 

No just some LED license plate lights, long story short old ones were to dim in the eye of the law and after a fix it ticket and wiring help from you guys I now have the brightest
f-ing license plate lights in California!

 

That was a hunting license.

RZ Rob

 

Just take the two wires from each existing stock light and connect them to your new lights. You won't hurt anything if you reverse the polarity on a light bulb. Since yours are LED, they just won't work if they are wired backwards. If they don't come on, just reverse the wires.

Not sure why you blew a fuse unless you shorted two wires together or shorted the hot wire to bare metal? Kragen should have the fuses. They will be longer than the stock fuses but the same width. I have used them, other than the length difference, they work fine.

 

You're thinking of AC, like in a house. House wiring has white as a neutral and usually black or sometimes red as a hot wire, with the bare wire being the ground.

In DC vehicle wiring, there is no neutral. Ground is typically black and red is typically hot. In a factory wiring harness though it's anybody's guess because they use every colour under the sun and combinations of stripes and dashes to go with them. Oftentimes though on something like a clearance light or license plate light there will be like a blue and black, or blue and blue/black stripe, with the black or black striped one being the ground.

 

x2..A cheap 12v test light should confirm which factory wire is 12v. The red wire from the new led is usually 12v, black goes to the factory ground wire.

 

Yeah it was for sure. But once he figured out I was sober and just on my way home he just issued me a ticket and went on his way. Can't really say I blame him it was late at night, lifted black truck with tint ( rolled windows down when he stopped me. He did comment I needed to drive with them down for that trick to work so he at least had a sense of humor ). Anyway problem solved and thanks for the help. I have decided home wiring is much easier with only a few possible color choices.