Reverse lighting upgrade

[Dookie]

I ended up adding the Oznium Flush Mount LED Bolt Lights for up-close lighting a few weeks ago and forgot to post it here, works well. Now I can see far away and up close right behind the truck.






I have owned this truck since Dec 2019, and never seen this on the 7 pin cover until the other day I found this little nugget.

 

[Dr. Jim]

^^^^
That's a great find. Very helpful!

 

[MoreOvalteenPlz]

Here’s my setup. Bolted the lights directly to the bottom lip of the bumper. Used a 7 pin extension harness to tap into the reverse signal on the trailer harness instead of tapping into the factory harness.

 

[MannyN]

That lights up the neighbor hood. Looks good.

 

[teamroper60]

The Curt 56070 is the 7 wire adapter. This will add auxiliary power.

Do you happen to know which colors Curt uses for the backup, constant 12v and the ground? Im wanting to solder up my connections on my work bench before I crawl under the truck to rig my lights.

 

[CMil527]

lots of good options!

 

[Rlaf75]

Do you happen to know which colors Curt uses for the backup, constant 12v and the ground? Im wanting to solder up my connections on my work bench before I crawl under the truck to rig my lights.

Not from Curt but this is how everything is run

 

[teamroper60]

Not from Curt but this is how everything is runView attachment 120131

Yeah, I knew that part, what I didnt know was what color the wires would be to each post. I ended up plugging the extra hitch pieces together and cutting them off and then ran continuity tests to verify the wires. The orange wire is the backup, black is the constant 12v and white is ground.

 

[kapinallinen2]

Yeah, I knew that part, what I didnt know was what color the wires would be to each post. I ended up plugging the extra hitch pieces together and cutting them off and then ran continuity tests to verify the wires. The orange wire is the backup, black is the constant 12v and white is ground.

Those are the wire colors on the OEM connector, no orange, unless I am miss understanding what you are asking about.

 

[teamroper60]

Those are the wire colors on the OEM connector, no orange, unless I am miss understanding what you are asking about.

What I was inquiring about was the colors on the Curt harness, not the colors of the OEM connector. I have since figured it out.

 

[kapinallinen2]

What I was inquiring about was the colors on the Curt harness, not the colors of the OEM connector. I have since figured it out.

Oh, OK.

 

[gmcadams]

So I had an Idea to fab a bracket out of flat stock to fit the back of my hitch so the lights are under the truck.
I will get a pic of the output and follow up on this post. the lights are under the truck and so so visible from outside the truck. mounted to the existing holes in the hitch.

 

[MValdez]

Finally finished. And my wife said they actually work!!!

View attachment 115509

Wow!

 

[cjerman617]

So I had an Idea to fab a bracket out of flat stock to fit the back of my hitch so the lights are under the truck.
I will get a pic of the output and follow up on this post. the lights are under the truck and so so visible from outside the truck. mounted to the existing holes in the hitch.

I bought something very similar to this on Amazon for $35!

Amazon.com

 

[gmcadams]

I bought something very similar to this on Amazon for $35!

Amazon.com

lights are from amazon, I made the bracket.

 

[drumminj]

Wanted to say thanks to the OP for this. Finished the install today (first set of lights had issues - one LED didn't light up, so had to do a second install) and it's great.

Picked up some of the recommendations others made:

* Used the Curt 56584 adapter to split off a 5-pin connector so I could avoid cutting into factory wiring at all.
* Bought a 5-pin patch cable which I cut one end off, and connected the lights to the blue and white wires via crimp/heat shrink connectors. Perhaps overkill, but makes it easy to disconnect the lights if I ever want to
* Bought some rubber sheeting to make a gasket, as someone suggested. Unfortunately, the 1/25" thickness I bought isn't quite thick enough vs the contour of the plastic where I mounted it. Better than nothing, but I'd try 1/16"

Install was clean. Only thing I'd add to what others have said is around the wire lengths -- you'll need some of your own wire to be able to reach to the lights, as the wires attached to the lights are short. I just cut up and spliced in an old power cord for a phone charger.

 

[cjerman617]

Wanted to say thanks to the OP for this. Finished the install today (first set of lights had issues - one LED didn't light up, so had to do a second install) and it's great.

Picked up some of the recommendations others made:

* Used the Curt 56584 adapter to split off a 5-pin connector so I could avoid cutting into factory wiring at all.
* Bought a 5-pin patch cable which I cut one end off, and connected the lights to the blue and white wires via crimp/heat shrink connectors. Perhaps overkill, but makes it easy to disconnect the lights if I ever want to
* Bought some rubber sheeting to make a gasket, as someone suggested. Unfortunately, the 1/25" thickness I bought isn't quite thick enough vs the contour of the plastic where I mounted it. Better than nothing, but I'd try 1/16"

Install was clean. Only thing I'd add to what others have said is around the wire lengths -- you'll need some of your own wire to be able to reach to the lights, as the wires attached to the lights are short. I just cut up and spliced in an old power cord for a phone charger.

Any pics of install steps and/or finished product?


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[Maritimer0021]

Spent some time last night cutting out the holes in the filler panel below the bumper. Mounted the lights into the panel with epoxy. Now, just need to install these on the truck and wire them in.

I plan on filling the gap between the lens and the filler piece with a black RTV or caulking. The light lens is angled from the base to visual part, so unless I cut the opening with an angle to it, I wouldn't get a tight fit. That was too much work to get perfect, so I just did a straight cut which is leaving me with a small gap between the filler piece and the lens.

Hi All -

Brand new to the forum, and you guys are awesome. So much great info. I’m currently awaiting on my 22 Ram Red Edition to show up and starting to gather up equipment and instructions for mods.

[mention]scottmoyer [/mention] , great install! I’m going to do this. How did you cut the holes so perfectly, any hints before I start the project?

Many thanks all, really appreciate the great insights on here.


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[scottmoyer]

I created a template the exact size of the lens portion of the lights. I used painter's tape on the plastic and transferred the template to the tape. I then used a dremel cut off wheel and very lightly cut the plastic along the straight lines. I was careful not to apply pressure with the cutoff wheel because too much heat melts the plastic. I then used a step drill bit on the ends to connect the cut lines. I finished the work with a dremel sanding disc and very lightly cleaned up the cuts and the opening.

All cuts and drilling were made to the inside of my template lines so that the sanding disc could be used to fine tune the fit to perfection. I also used the sanding disc to shape the inside of the plastic as there were areas that needed to be sanded smooth for the best fit. Then I used 80 grit sandpaper to scuff the back side for the glue to have some teeth and hold the light in place.

 

[JC4041]

Love the Rebel EcoD and it's 25mpg around town, but one glaring (pardon the pun) inadequacy is the reverse lighting. Looked at the cube addons that some have used and the hitch receiver frame mounted lights, but wanted something less conspicuous. Settled on these and decided to mount them on the inner bumper valance adjacent to the sensor. If for some reason wanted to return to stock appearance, these valances are like $17 apiece so not a big deal.

View attachment 112308

Pair of these on Amazon for $22: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B087JMB616?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details

Tied into the hitch harness reverse wire with Posi-tap for the 12v and grounded each light locally to a bolt which fastens the valance to the bumper.

View attachment 112311

Mounted along with before/after from rear camera.

View attachment 112312 View attachment 112313 View attachment 112314

Finally got around to doing it on the 2500. They angle down more than yours, the plastics are a different shape.....but I like it, should have done it last year when we first started talking about it lol