LED Tailgate Bar

So if you ever need to tow a trailer, you'd have to undo all that if you wanna hookup the trailer lights?

 

No not at all. the entire point of the T-harness is so you can split the signals and not have to unplug stuff to use the 2 or more devices that need it. Such as a light bar and trailer.

Here is how to install it.

Where the wire harness from the truck goes to the bumper is a plug connecting the harness to the 7 pin and 4 pin plug that is mounted on the bumper.

The Curt T-harness round plugs plug in BETWEEN the truck wiring harness and the bumper trailer plug module.
*if this part seems to be confusing, look up at the bumper from under the truck, you will see a wiring harness with a round plug plugged into a black module exactly where your trailer plugs are on the other side of the bumper.
This will give you either an ADDITIONAL trailer plug ALL the time.
You can leave the added plug under the bed.
Pull the light bar plug down between the bed edge and bumper.
Connect the bar plug to the newly added trailer plug that is under the bed.
Use zip ties to secure extra wiring under the bed to the frame or something.
Now you still have BOTH the stock trailer plugs (7 pin and 4 pin) available to use anytime you tow WITHOUT removing any wires or plugs.

If your light bar does not have reverse, plug in the light bar leaving the 5th hole empty.
If you have another wire for reverse, just put a bullet end of that single wire and plug in in the last hole

This is the one I have on my truck. it has reverse on a separate wire, so an added bullet connector allows me to plug it into the 5the pin of the T -harness.


I hope this helps!!

 

What a great post. Very educational and helpful. Could you elaborate on the bullet connector ?

 

At bottom of page "Products Discussed In:" section for this thread.

They can be purchased at any parts store as well as most general merchandise stores as well.

 

Great explanation! Really helps a lot. So I guess there's something called "USCARS" which is some sort of a standard protocol for the connector shape/size & the wire colors.

So which 2 wires get connected together inside the bullet? Do we need to cut any wires and remove insulation, and then I guess you twist 2 wires together inside the bullet?

 

And am I right that Tacomas come standard with the so-called "Tow Package", or is that an extra thing $$$ you gotta order?

 

Thanks to everyone’s posts in this thread, it was all super super helpful. Also, first post here! Long time lurker, first time poster lol

I just wanted to post what I did for any like-minded taco owners. Let me know if you want more photos/videos I’m happy to post them up. Here is a quick video I took of the 4 way flashers after installing: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1v4OTVPM2bVQhfcyuh6MsXUqy9KHa3txV/view?usp=sharing. Bear in mind they have both the amber flasher option as well as red flashers.

I wasn’t a fan of covering the spare tire access hole in case I needed it. Last thing I want to do is have to remove the lights (even when using the nice Velcro solution) in crummy weather here in CO or out on a dirty trail. I came across

MICTUNING Triple Tailgate Light Bar Waterproof Plug-and-Play Aluminum Frame with 4-Way Flat Connector - Amber Sequential Turn Signal, Red Brake/Running, White Reverse Lights for Pickup Truck

this Mictuning lightbar that’s actually 2 bars connected by a cable. The cable aligns perfectly with the spare tire access hole and leaves room to lower the tire. It’s very reasonably priced, and has excellent reviews.

Along with that I got the 5 pin harness (

$42 CURT 56584 Replacement Vehicle-Side Custom USCAR 5-Pin Trailer Wiring Harness , Black

here) and a pack of male bullet connectors (

$10 Vinyl Insulated Male Bullet Connectors 22-18Ga 100pcs - Red

here) so I didn’t have to run the reverse light wire up into the tail light. You’ll need a wire crimper and electrical tape for sure. Either the harness or the light bar came with zip ties which came in handy so no need to get those separate.

The plug for the light bar is 4 pin, as per one of the other posts here I crimped a bullet connector to the reverse light cable (on the light bar) and plugged that into the 5th pin on the harness and gave it a solid electrical tape job. All this was SUPER easy to install, took me maybe 30-45 mins total (spent some time fiddling with removing the tailgate). If you’re having trouble removing the tailgate definitely check out the owners manual (~pg 118) and feel just as silly as I did. The bar does come with screws to secure it to the bed, but I didn’t use them. The sticky stuff is pretty great, and with just a little pressure I got it to stick all the way across even though it may not look like it was going to at first. After some time with it on there I’ll come back to update this post with how it’s performing without screws.

All-in-all I spent around or less than $120 on the whole setup and am very happy with it. That extra light in reverse is killer and the signals are all really cool looking. Nobody will miss me on the road now. The very best part is all of it is 100% removable so if I sell the truck I can keep the gear and use it on the next one.

 

Is this confirmed, If I was to tap into my Meso taillight harness then the sequential will be more in sync?

 

No... the delay is caused by a chip IN the light bar not by the wires themselves.

It is not as simple as just getting the turn signal on a separate wire from the truck. I did not mention in my previous post that the manufacturer would also have to change the bar design to receive 3 separate signals (Left, Right, and Stop). They designed it the way they did to allow the bar to work on ANY vehicle that has a 4 - 5 pin trailer plug or can be fitted with one. That is the bulk of all cars, SUVs and trucks. Which as I said is the most cost effective way to fit the most vehicles.

IF you were to tap a wire from the Meso blinkers ... where would it be attached to the light bar??
In order to eliminated the delay that is PART of the light bar you would have deconstruct to rebuild the light bar removing the chip that processes the signal to distinguish a brake signal from a turn signal. The trailer plug already supplies a blinking signal. The light bar is designed to receive that signal on the same wire as the brake signal and process the signal to determine if it is constant (brake) or intermittent on a single side (blinker) then send to to the correct series of LEDs to display.

It would be FAR more cost effective both in time and money to make a light bar from scratch. Unless you have the skills necessary to do that you can not eliminate the delay.

 

Does anyone know if I’m able to run the opt7 60’ light bar for the tailgate or is it to big? Play it safe with the 48’?

 

You will not fit a 60. I have a 48 and have only a couple inches on each end.

 

Same

 

We might be able do a custom harness for 2nd and 3rd gen tacoma.

Nothing wrong with the 7 pin trailer T of course.

 

Consider this a vote for opt7. Sequential, 5 function. With this and the meso total tails, its like daytime in reverse. Noone can ever say they didnt see a turn signal.
Been on for a year and through a winter of daily commutes and is like brand new. Attached with 3m hook/hook tape for easy removal should the spare be necessary.

 

great info. do you have any pics?

 

well my light bar finally partially died last winter…sequential Amber turn signals only only lighting part way in either direction. Tried to diagnose to no avail. Broken.

Has anyone else ever attempted to remove this light bar from their truck? The super-adhesive Redline has on them new is as tough as nails.

 

You will need a little patience. Just like removing badges or emblems, use monofilament fishing line. Take you time using a sawing motion and it should slice right through the tape. Once the bar is removed, the remaining tape residue can be removed with googone, or another adhesive remove.

 

How has this bar held up for you so far?
It's on sale now for $56 so I think I'll pull the trigger.
Don't wanna block my spare tire access.
Thanks for the great post!

 

Is that link still correct? Looks like each bar is 27" long and you have like a 4-5" gap between yours.

 

what size bar did you get 48 inch?