Auxiliary Tail, Turn, & Stop Lights

Having been rear-ended twice in the past by inattentive drivers, I firmly believe in "lighting up" the back of my truck, in an effort to get people's attention. I've added auxiliary lights to the last 2 trucks that I've owned. Friends would make comments like "I can't miss when you're turning or stopping for sure." That means that it's worth it.

So naturally I have made the same addition to my new 2019 Tacoma. Essentially what they are is a pair of LED trailer lights, plugged into the 4-way connector.

I used a pair of electrical box covers:



To make a pair of brackets:


To mount a pair of these:


Here:


Do you think that they'll be seen?


By using the 4-way plug, they can be completely isolated from the truck's wiring in seconds, for ease in troubleshooting. The truck's wiring was not altered in any way.

 

Here's what they look like in operation.

https://youtu.be/isuOE3UoI4k

 

Well, they work!

 

Looks like they work pretty well

 

You're missing the full C for stop n turn...
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...ed-as-brake-and-signals.471450/#post-14221944

 

I've considered that full C modification, and haven't ruled it out yet. But one of my objectives was/is to minimise any changes to the truck's wiring. What I've done so far can easily be "removed" in seconds just by unplugging one connection.

 

Well the very expensive harness in that thread is very quick to detach without cutting anything...if you can ever get it. There are other plug and play that also are easy to install and remove, not as quick but doable.

 

Meso plug and play kit for full-C.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/meso-total-tail-light-kit.594535/

Also, you may want to change out the stock bulbs to LED, I assume the auxiliary lights are LED. The LED will fire up faster to match the add on lights. Also the faster they light up, the sooner the person behind you sees you braking, which is your original intention.

 

I am hesitant to convert to LED bulbs for a couple reasons.

The hyper flash serves a very useful purpose. It lets you know when you have a bulb out. If you add load resistors to make having LEDs mimic having real bulbs, you've lost that functionality. If a light goes out it no longer lets you know. I happen to think that's a nice thing to have.

I really don't want to hack up the wiring to add resistors. Even if it's done correctly, and neatly, the trucks wiring has been hacked. I don't care what someone else does to their truck. I just don't want to do it to mine.

Good LEDs are fairly expensive. I've not seen where LEDs are enough of an performance improvement to justify the cost.

I'm going to hold off on switching to LEDs for now.

 

I decided that installing this unit would do a good job of being seen from behind. Actual install pic to follow.

 

Love it. A fellow paranoiac.

I've only been in 3 "accidents" in my life (and I'm old), and every time it was someone hitting me from behind.

I've got a Putco Blade light bar I'll be putting on next time we get a warm day (goes where you've got reflective tape). It, too, can just be unplugged when necessary:


red stop, amber turns, white reverse

My tailgate letters are reflective, and I've got the Meso Stage One LED kit for the full C treatment.

I also tap the brake pedal once or twice before actually braking to flash the brake lights. Got in the habit of doing this on my motorcycle (drivers don't see motorcycles).

 

Please post close up pictures when you get the light bar installed. It'll be interesting to see how you deal with the camera wiring harness and the spare tire crank access hole. If it works out, then I can add more lights.

 

Not sure about the camera wiring, but the light bar does cover the spare hoist access hole. There are wide clips that one sticks to the bumper, then the bar goes in the clips, so the bar can be unclipped if one needs to get to the spare. I'm adding an extension air hose to the spare so I don't have to lower it to check the pressure. Still wouldn't hurt to work the hoist occasionally though, those things get rusted and freeze up.

Here's a generic install video:



There's one for the Tacoma but...

Here's how the bar connects to the trailer light harness:



Unplug harness from the back of the trailer receptacle assembly in the bumper, and insert the above "T" harness.

 

Update :

When I originally added my auxiliary lights, I "temporarily" had them plugged into the trailer connector next to the license plate. When messing around with license plate lights, I realized that this was casting a big shadow.



Not liking that shadow, I used one of these to relocate my connection behind the bumper:



Result, no more shadow:

Plus it just makes for a cleaner look. It's the little things . . .

 

So just to confirm,this harness plugs into the back of the trailer harness receptacle that is in the bumper?

 

Yeah, the factory harness plugs into the back of the receptacle that is in the bumper. I must confess that it took some head scratching to figure out how it unplugs.

Studying the Curt harness for a little while revealed the answer. The receptacle can be popped out of the bumper to make it easier.

You unplug the factory harness from the bumper mounted receptacle, and plug one of the round connectors of the Curt harness into the factory harness, then the other one into the back of the receptacle. It's like a "T" with the 5 way flat on the long leg.

BTW, they offer a 4 way flat plug and a five way flat plug version of the Curt harness. The difference being that the 5 way flat includes the backup light connection.

The 4 way on my auxiliary light harness is plugged into the 5 way of the Curt harness. The unused (for now) backup light pin is left open out to the side.

The Curt harness comes with a pretty long "leg".



I shortened it considerably by opening up the loom and doubling the wire back over itself. I did not cut the wires, only the plastic split loom. Just in case I want the extra length someday.



I dabbed a little dielectric grease on all of the pins to help avoid future issues.

 

Thx for the info. I have just added it to my wish list on Amazon. Now just have to wait until the snow starts melting to order and get it installed.