REVERSE AUX LIGHTING

[1BADRAMLIMITED]

About a year ago i installed some auxiliary reverse lights and they have been great up until 2 months ago when they stopped working.

these are the lihghts i installed (simple red and black wiring nothing crazy)

Amazon.com

My first approach at this i ordered the kurt harness as many have done this mod and planned on not splicing into the oem harness. When i got under the truck i seen the previous owner had 2 self tappers still in the tow hitch bars and the wires running into the 7 pin had been re-wrapped with electrical tape. So with that being done alreaday i simply made my own harness running to both lights and used the power from the 7 pin and used an already existing ground to ground the lights.

2 months ago backing into the driveway i seen they were not on so got out to check and i found that the lights were on but very dim. A few weeks later they quit working all together. So i ordered a new pair swapped them out and still nothing. I went back through all the wiring checked the connections and even did a bench test on the lights to eliminate that they were at fault. I checked fuses and they are all good. When i detached the 7 pin from the bumper i seen there was corrosion inside the plug and tried my best to clean up the contact points, still nothing. Would there be any draw back from me using dielectirc grease inside the 7 pin to help keep it dry or from corroding?

any help is appreciated.

 

[HSKR R/T]

Nothing wrong with using dielectric grease. How did you tap into the wiring?

 

[theblet]

What voltage are you getting at the 7 pin? Make sure grounds are good.

 

[1BADRAMLIMITED]

Nothing wrong with using dielectric grease. How did you tap into the wiring?

The owner before me just striped back the shielding so I soldered my wire to it.

 

[1BADRAMLIMITED]

What voltage are you getting at the 7 pin? Make sure grounds are good.

Ground was good never moved/changed from 1st install. I need to get my multi meter out and measure that.

 

[HSKR R/T]

The owner before me just striped back the shielding so I soldered my wire to it.

Okay, might not hurt to check the splice for corrosion

 

[1BADRAMLIMITED]

Okay, might not hurt to check the splice for corrosion

I did check that No corrosion there and connection is still solid.

 

[theblet]

I did check that No corrosion there and connection is still solid.

gotch. lets see what voltage you get

 

[1BADRAMLIMITED]

gotch. lets see what voltage you get

Refresh my memory what settings do I need to set the multi meter to for testing continuity??

 

[HSKR R/T]

Refresh my memory what settings do I need to set the multi meter to for testing continuity??

Ohms

 

[1BADRAMLIMITED]

Ohms

I know it’s a rookie question but no way to learn if you don’t ask.

 

[DeanM2]

I wouldn't worry about the Resistance (Ohms) as LED lights don't draw much Current, look at the Voltage, it must be 12+ volts.

Those "self tappers" are absolute JUNK!!!! They usually work at first, but frequently develop problems later.
Remove those self tappers. Strip the insulation away from the factory/parent wire (do not cut the wire) using a razor knife and wrap the new wire around that stripped wire. If possible, also solder it. Then wrap some electrical tape around it.

As for the plug, by all means apply die-electric grease.

 

[scottmoyer]

I have those exact same lights on my truck and mine are still working fine after 2+ years, so the lights themselves "should" be fine.

 

[HSKR R/T]

I wouldn't worry about the Resistance (Ohms) as LED lights don't draw much Current, look at the Voltage, it must be 12+ volts.

Those "self tappers" are absolute JUNK!!!! They usually work at first, but frequently develop problems later.
Remove those self tappers. Strip the insulation away from the factory/parent wire (do not cut the wire) using a razor knife and wrap the new wire around that stripped wire. If possible, also solder it. Then wrap some electrical tape around it.

As for the plug, by all means apply die-electric grease.

Don't use electrical tape. You need something that will seal it from moisture. Cut wires , slide on heat shrink, solder back together. If you can find the best shrink with glue in it, that works, otherwise put some RTV on the splice and slide heat shrink over and shrink it down so RTV seals the splice

 

[1BADRAMLIMITED]

Don't use electrical tape. You need something that will seal it from moisture. Cut wires , slide on heat shrink, solder back together. If you can find the best shrink with glue in it, that works, otherwise put some RTV on the splice and slide heat shrink over and shrink it down so RTV seals the splice

My splice was clean and soldered on well I used marine grade heat shrink and even used a little electric tape and the mesh/fabric tape on top of that to make it look oem.

It may have been the ground honestly.

I bought a vice design Kurt harness from a member and going to try that soon just need time off and for the heat to move out of OKLAHOMA.

 

[DeanM2]

It may have been the ground honestly.

Grounds are the most common reason for electrical problems!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[1BADRAMLIMITED]

Grounds are the most common reason for electrical problems!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I’ve got a few days off soon and will try the vice design harness and report back.

 

[1BADRAMLIMITED]

Well today I tested all the pins on the bumper while truck was running and cycling through the signals, brake, reverse all good at the bumper showing 14 volts

I installed the vice designs harness and wired up the lights and it’s a no go. I’m not sure what’s causing this issue?

 

[LaxDfns15]

You said there was corrosion on the harness plugs. Even if there's a little bit of corrosion left that can cause issues with LED lights. I have 4 lights in my pool connected to one light controller. One of the lights had water intrusion and two of the 4 contact points on the back of the light had corrosion. It caused light issues with the entire system.

Is the plug on the truck end corroded? Even 1 pin can cause issues with the lights while still showing power. If not, try only plugging that end in to see if you can get power. That may show that the bumper plug is at fault even though it's "after" the spliced harness.

 

[1BADRAMLIMITED]

I tried

You said there was corrosion on the harness plugs. Even if there's a little bit of corrosion left that can cause issues with LED lights. I have 4 lights in my pool connected to one light controller. One of the lights had water intrusion and two of the 4 contact points on the back of the light had corrosion. It caused light issues with the entire system.

Is the plug on the truck end corroded? Even 1 pin can cause issues with the lights while still showing power. If not, try only plugging that end in to see if you can get power. That may show that the bumper plug is at fault even though it's "after" the spliced harness

I tried to clean the plug coming from the truck best I could but still doesn’t look 100% after I cleaned it I put some dielectric grease on both the o.e harness and vice design harness and still no go.

While I had the vice harness on I ran through all the turn sigs, reverse, stop etc and all showed a consistent voltage.

I’m at a wall now I’m not the most electrical savvy.