Question about tapping into reverse lights

Mine was yellow

 

I bet the 3rd gen section would know...

 

I don’t believe the trailer harness has a reverse wire. I could be wrong though

 

Thanks

 

Here's a diagram for the plug pin layout if you have a 7 pin connector. It may be possible to chase it back from this (or find it with a continuity tester/multimeter).

https://www.ajtnt.com/7-way-rv-plug-diagram/

Hooking up a manual switch to the trailer harness might have the result of also lighting the reverse lights on the truck which could cause trouble on the road. If you're just connecting extra rear lights, consider just having them on an independent switch since that's easy enough to use when you shift into reverse at night anyway.

 

Backup lights for the trailer run on the same fuse as the truck backups. Center pin in the factory 7 pin socket.

 

I like the independent switch idea for the extra lights on my rear bumper. I just a installed a set of Rigid Industries SAE and Flood in a new Warn Ascent front bumper. I purchased a 3 switch blank panel made to fit into driver side coin holder and look like OEM push buttons. I have another set of Rigid floods to install in the matching Warn Ascent rear bumper. Stupid question but I’m a newby to tapping into wiring. If I tap into the BackUp/Rev wire, my Rigid extra lights positive wire goes to the BackUp/Rev wire and negative ties to which wire? Also, I chose An OEM push button switch, will it always be hot tying to the Backup/Rev wire so I can flip it on when I’m not in reverse? If so, How do I wire the independent switch to control the extra lights? Thanks for the help.

 

Quite a bit to unpack there, but I'll take a shot and hope I'm taking your intentions correctly. If you're unsure and have the $$$ for all that rigid gear you might want to just consider having a pro wire them up for you.

If you're tapping into the factory wiring, and just want your additional lights to go on/off with the reverse lights, then the red wire for the rigids should tie to the power circuit for the "reverse" lights and the black should either tie to the ground line in the harness or be wired to a body ground (any unpainted bolt that's screwed to the frame would do, on the 2nd gen there's one in the driver's side wheel well).

If you use an independent switch, you'll need to run wires from the cab to each bumper, or use some relays. For just a pair of 6W (I'm assuming) pods, most switches can handle the load involved, but I personally consider it a good practice to use relays anyway because it keeps all of the cab switch wiring in a common harness and all of the light/accessory wiring outside of the cab entirely but that does complicate the job a little bit for someone that isn't familiar with electrical work. It's also possible to wire the lights to come on either with the reverse circuit or on the switch, but that would probably cause your factory "reverse" lights to come on with the switch as well, and it's really unnecessary.

Unless you have some particular need to have something come on when the truck isn't "on", you should have your switches drawing power from a "switched" circuit in the fuse block (I think I use an add-a-fuse on the "stereo" circuit in the cab fuses which also powers an additional pair of 12V outlets I added). It's also a good practice to use a relay run from the switch to control the lights (or other accessories) but for anything drawing less than 80W it's not strictly necessary (a 10A switch could technically handle a 120W load on a 12V circuit, but it's rarely a good idea to push these kinds of components to or near their limits).

If you were to power your switch off of the "reverse" circuit, then you'd only be able to turn your additional lights on when the truck is in reverse since that wire will be cold at all other times. Powering it off of a "switched" (meaning the circuits which are hot when the key is in the "ON" or "ACC" position) circuit in the fuse block will allow you to turn those lights on any time the key is on. You could also power it directly from the battery, and be able to turn the lights on at any time but I wouldn't recommend that for any exterior light other than maybe a work light (on the side, in the bed or under the hood).

I know that's a big data dump, and it gets a bit techincal, so I can try to explain better if you have any follow-up or further questions. If after a couple rounds on here, you still don't feel like you understand then I'd definitely recommend getting a local radio/off-road shop to do the wiring for you instead of trying to splice into factory harnesses yourself. I'm fairly comfortable with wiring and still screw it up about 1 in 10 times.

 

I tapped in to the revers wires at the taillight in my Tundra. No problem at all. I used a weatherproof inline wire splice. I also have auxiliary reverse lighting on the boat trailer and have never blown a fuse. I did replace the factory back up bulbs with LEDs.

 

I bought a trailer harness extension that came with a 4-wire tap, therefore connected both left and right lights to that and mounted them inside the bumper using brackets.

https://a.co/d/29IEqLH

 

Of the three wires, which are used and the other (which one) is taped off?