Tailgate light bar

[Rammin BtoS AF]

Most people use the Curt adapter lifted above. It tee's into the factory trailer connector on the back of the bumper. It unfortunately causes a slight delay initially turning on, about 1/2 second, some folks don't like this so have opted to tap directly into taillight harness.

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So does the 4 pin adapter in the bumper just pull out the back and you plug the Curt into that and back in the bumper? And you still need to connect spare wire for the backup lights correct?

 

[Jako]

So does the 4 pin adapter in the bumper just pull out the back and you plug the Curt into that and back in the bumper? And you still need to connect spare wire for the backup lights correct?

This style curt fits in between the plug on the bumper and the wiring harness. With this particular one you are left with the 5 pin. You can cut off the 5 pin and wire directly or buy a 5 pin that connects and leaves you with the wires. Curt also sells a similar version that leaves you with 7 wires which I recommend as it will give you a positive wire if you would like to add something else.

 

[dts828]

So does the 4 pin adapter in the bumper just pull out the back and you plug the Curt into that and back in the bumper? And you still need to connect spare wire for the backup lights correct?

You pull out the factory harness connector out of the back of the trailer connector (one connector for the 4 and 7 pin connector. One end of curt t-harness plugs in to factory harness connector and the end plugs into rear of the trailer connector. The t-harness now gives you new 4 pin while preserving the 4 and 7 pin on the front of rear bumper.

Sent from my GM1917 using Tapatalk

 

[Ram Man 727]

So I went about putting my Putco bar on. I just like how the Putco bar actually looks like a solid bar of light, due to how many LEDs and how they mount them, Vs the Opt7. But, to each is own!!! They all look great guys! Good work!

Few things I will be doing, and noticed... Couple tips for some.
1. I found the measurement for spacers to be right, but have forgiveness.. yet you want to do at least 1/4 on the out sides.. or about 4mm. The inside spacers 1/2 or 8mm.
2. Kit comes with 4 plastic snap-in mounts (this alone was enough for me to purchase it, over the Opt7 metal ones I’ve seen) Now, I’ve put one on my buddies 2017 Danali using just the 3M tape, no drilling. The 3M tape is strong! Make sure you clean the body, and the mounts or light bar. Heat them up good! Stuff was like glue! ***Important note, the plastic mounts/clips MUST be on the inside of each edge on the light bar, DO NOT TRY AND CLIP OVER THE PLASTIC ENDS. They don’t fit, and this is where I learned how good the 3M tape really was. But, you own a RAM! See below

3. With the RAM, you won’t be anyplace close the the end, so no worries! Also, using 3 mounts is plenty enough! Like mentioned, make sure your bottom clip edge is just below the lip of the bumper. This will give an even look! But, measure from the top of the metal bed, to the top of your mark for the hole! in each location to make sure your in-line with each other. So, my middle mount was about dead center with the truck. Using a 1/2 spacer, I made my hole. Now I have 3 spots for my mounts. Drill small first, use a long drill bit so you don’t mark the bumper. Not a fan of self tapers, and seen them fall out. I used 10-32nd x 3/4 and 1 inch. Plus nuts with washers and blue Loctite to secure.
My tailgate was removed to make it easy!

4. When putting all back together I put the light-bar tucked down under the bumper, and wires ran under the bumper for now. So, it’s there but hidden. I installed my gate, made my wire connections for the camera and latch (remember, no tailgate latch when disconnected, so make sure your gate is down) and then reached down between it all with the gate shut and snapped the bar in to place. You’ve got a center line on Putco’s bar to make it easy to center.
5. Used the Curtis harness, middle pin is reverse. Box mounted under truck, with isolater pad under it (kills some vibrations, lessons the shock) ran the harness over to the 7-pin... made some changes to the Curtis harness to shorten it out with out cutting. Put it all together. I’ll take photos later to show.
Zip tie it all up. Did not take to long

what I notice.
4-ways or Hazards are not coming up Amber, they are red stop lights flashing. But it works. Brakes work good, reverse works good. My signals are working.. Have a very very small delay! I’m going to think about how and why to get rid of. Might not be able to. Was considering just hooking up signals to the tail lights, and then grabbing rest as it is for brakes and such.
Don’t for get to use dielectric grease. Keep a clean work area. Have fun!

again, This was just some **** to add to everyone’s help and information for others.

have to edit some photos and videos to bring down size and I’ll post.

Shives, thanks for the great write up! I just ordered my 60" Putco Blade and look forward to the install. Did you get some photos to show? Also, did you install the Putco Red Blade or just the Putco Blade?..just trying to figure out why your signals are red.. I ordered the Blade which is supposed to have the amber signals..I hope .

 

[Dodgeramfan]

Ok...please bear with me. I'm looking to add the OPT7 60" to my 2021 Big Horn. In addition to spacers (if I decide to hard mount it), I would buy the following, correct?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00Z8TGR4G/ref=ewc_pr_img_2?smid=A2L77EE7U53NWQ&th=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007EA6WQU/ref=ewc_pr_img_1?smid=A2L77EE7U53NWQ&psc=1

I am a but confused if (and how) the white wire from the OPT7 gets connected to the 5 way flat output connector on the Curt or the plug and play connector. I've read through many comments but, unfortunately, I got lot a bit lost on the connection. I sense it is not simple a matter of connecting without some customization. Thanks for your patience!

 

[dts828]

Ok...please bear with me. I'm looking to add the OPT7 60" to my 2021 Big Horn. In addition to spacers (if I decide to hard mount it), I would buy the following, correct?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00Z8TGR4G/ref=ewc_pr_img_2?smid=A2L77EE7U53NWQ&th=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007EA6WQU/ref=ewc_pr_img_1?smid=A2L77EE7U53NWQ&psc=1

I am a but confused if (and how) the white wire from the OPT7 gets connected to the 5 way flat output connector on the Curt or the plug and play connector. I've read through many comments but, unfortunately, I got lot a bit lost on the connection. I sense it is not simple a matter of connecting without some customization. Thanks for your patience!

Yes that is correct. You will attach a bullet type crimp connector to white wire and then insert into empty slot. Once you plug 4 wire connector from opt7 into 5 wire of curt you will have empty hole to plug white wire with bullet connector into. It will make sense to you once the 2 plugs are plugged together. You may want to also consider opt7 redline triple light bar. It gives you separate amber turn signals and dedicated row of reverse led's.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HUJW75O/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_Obj9Fb28713T1

 

[Ram Man 727]

So I went about putting my Putco bar on. I just like how the Putco bar actually looks like a solid bar of light, due to how many LEDs and how they mount them, Vs the Opt7. But, to each is own!!! They all look great guys! Good work!

Few things I will be doing, and noticed... Couple tips for some.
1. I found the measurement for spacers to be right, but have forgiveness.. yet you want to do at least 1/4 on the out sides.. or about 4mm. The inside spacers 1/2 or 8mm.
2. Kit comes with 4 plastic snap-in mounts (this alone was enough for me to purchase it, over the Opt7 metal ones I’ve seen) Now, I’ve put one on my buddies 2017 Danali using just the 3M tape, no drilling. The 3M tape is strong! Make sure you clean the body, and the mounts or light bar. Heat them up good! Stuff was like glue! ***Important note, the plastic mounts/clips MUST be on the inside of each edge on the light bar, DO NOT TRY AND CLIP OVER THE PLASTIC ENDS. They don’t fit, and this is where I learned how good the 3M tape really was. But, you own a RAM! See below

3. With the RAM, you won’t be anyplace close the the end, so no worries! Also, using 3 mounts is plenty enough! Like mentioned, make sure your bottom clip edge is just below the lip of the bumper. This will give an even look! But, measure from the top of the metal bed, to the top of your mark for the hole! in each location to make sure your in-line with each other. So, my middle mount was about dead center with the truck. Using a 1/2 spacer, I made my hole. Now I have 3 spots for my mounts. Drill small first, use a long drill bit so you don’t mark the bumper. Not a fan of self tapers, and seen them fall out. I used 10-32nd x 3/4 and 1 inch. Plus nuts with washers and blue Loctite to secure.
My tailgate was removed to make it easy!

4. When putting all back together I put the light-bar tucked down under the bumper, and wires ran under the bumper for now. So, it’s there but hidden. I installed my gate, made my wire connections for the camera and latch (remember, no tailgate latch when disconnected, so make sure your gate is down) and then reached down between it all with the gate shut and snapped the bar in to place. You’ve got a center line on Putco’s bar to make it easy to center.
5. Used the Curtis harness, middle pin is reverse. Box mounted under truck, with isolater pad under it (kills some vibrations, lessons the shock) ran the harness over to the 7-pin... made some changes to the Curtis harness to shorten it out with out cutting. Put it all together. I’ll take photos later to show.
Zip tie it all up. Did not take to long

what I notice.
4-ways or Hazards are not coming up Amber, they are red stop lights flashing. But it works. Brakes work good, reverse works good. My signals are working.. Have a very very small delay! I’m going to think about how and why to get rid of. Might not be able to. Was considering just hooking up signals to the tail lights, and then grabbing rest as it is for brakes and such.
Don’t for get to use dielectric grease. Keep a clean work area. Have fun!

again, This was just some **** to add to everyone’s help and information for others.

have to edit some photos and videos to bring down size and I’ll post.

Hi Shives, when you connected the wiring did you cut the red wire on the putco bar and connect it to the black on the harness as per option 3 in the directions? ( LED taillights )

 

[Gitter]

So I came across this thread while looking for lightbars and have been hesitant to commit to one because of the delay with the turn signal. I know, I will likely never see it, but it still would irk me from time to time.

From what I've read in this thread, it looks like it can be fixed when wired directly to the turn signals in the tail lights. However, it then causes the brake lights to not work on the lightbar because the tail lights separate the brake and turn signals. Am I on track so far?

If this is the case, has anyone tried combining both the brake and turn signals into a single line for the light bar? I have been successful combining the separate turn signal with a brake signal in past use the Diode Dynamics "Turn as Tail" modules with my previous truck...but I wasn't using the output for a light bar like these. In theory it should work, but I was curious if anyone else has tried this yet.

https://www.diodedynamics.com/tail-as-turn-module-diy.html

Following up on my own question...and I'm happy to report that these Diode Dynamics "Tail as Turn" modules worked!

I tapped into the turn signal and the brake light behind the LED tail lights and combined them with a TaT module (one for each tail light) so that a single wire with a combined brake/turn signal is coming from each tail light. I then connected those wires from the TaT modules to my Christmas present, the Putco 60" bar (yellow for left and green for right), and both the turn signal and the brake lights worked and the delay is virtually gone! It does seem to miss the first flash of the turn signal, but at least it's now in sync with the other flashes and it looks a lot cleaner.

I left everything else still tied to the trailer harness in case anyone was wondering.

Let's see if I can get this video uploaded to show the results.

 

[cjh0702]

Following up on my own question...and I'm happy to report that these Diode Dynamics "Tail as Turn" modules worked!

I tapped into the turn signal and the brake light behind the LED tail lights and combined them with a TaT module (one for each tail light) so that a single wire with a combined brake/turn signal is coming from each tail light. I then connected those wires from the TaT modules to my Christmas present, the Putco 60" bar (yellow for left and green for right), and both the turn signal and the brake lights worked and the delay is virtually gone! It does seem to miss the first flash of the turn signal, but at least it's now in sync with the other flashes and it looks a lot cleaner.

I left everything else still tied to the trailer harness in case anyone was wondering.

Let's see if I can get this video uploaded to show the results.

Gitter,

This is awesome work! I had one question for you. This may sound dumb, but I'm ignorant when it comes to electrical. I was wondering if you could use these diodes to eliminate the delay when using the OPT7 triple LED light bar. I've read this entire thread, and my initial gut feeling is that the delay for the OPT7 triple LED light bar is caused by something entirely different from the delay of the Putco light bar, so the diodes you used wouldn't solve the issue for the OPT7 triple LED light bar. But I am "electrical illiterate" so I figured I would ask.

Great work btw!

 

[Gitter]

Gitter,

This is awesome work! I had one question for you. This may sound dumb, but I'm ignorant when it comes to electrical. I was wondering if you could use these diodes to eliminate the delay when using the OPT7 triple LED light bar. I've read this entire thread, and my initial gut feeling is that the delay for the OPT7 triple LED light bar is caused by something entirely different from the delay of the Putco light bar, so the diodes you used wouldn't solve the issue for the OPT7 triple LED light bar. But I am "electrical illiterate" so I figured I would ask.

Great work btw!

Thanks.

From what I can see in other people's posts when installing their OPT7 lightbars, it should have the same results. I say this because it looks like both bars are using the same standard inputs (4 pin trailer connector plus reverse). So if you wire the left and right brake+turn wires to the TaT modules, and then wire those modules directly to the tail lights, it should start the OPT7 turn signal sequence slightly sooner than what we have been seeing in the videos in this thread!

 

[Str8Ripon]

Just got the Putco harness and the Split light bars. My quick connect harness has a clip/connection on it for the reverse lights but my light bar from Putco only has a bare wire with no other hardware. Is this typical? Can I use a bullet connector to attach the harness’ connection to reverse lights/white wire on the light bar?

 

[Gitter]

Just got the Putco harness and the Split light bars. My quick connect harness has a clip/connection on it for the reverse lights but my light bar from Putco only has a bare wire with no other hardware. Is this typical? Can I use a bullet connector to attach the harness’ connection to reverse lights/white wire on the light bar?

That's not right. You must have a Lightbar that someone tried to install but returned. My Putco bar had a barrel/bullet type connector at the end of the the reverse wire.

 

[davidn0021]

I'm about to install my Putco bar. I opted for the 2x18" bars since that's what they recommended. I also opted to get the Putco quick connect harness. For those of you that installed this version, did you have to get spacers and drill/screw or were you able to make it work with just the 3M tape? Or a combination of tape/spacers?

 

[Ram Man 727]

I'm about to install my Putco bar. I opted for the 2x18" bars since that's what they recommended. I also opted to get the Putco quick connect harness. For those of you that installed this version, did you have to get spacers and drill/screw or were you able to make it work with just the 3M tape? Or a combination of tape/spacers?

You should be able to install without any spacers.. unless you want the bars out closer to the sides or the truck. The spacers are to get over the bump in the plastic trim which is at the outside ends. The 18" bar should fit easily between these bumps and the plate for your tailgate wiring harness. I too went with the Putco harness.. very easy to install. I found it easier to pop the truck trailer plug out to add the Putco harness. To pop it out there are 2 metal tabs that you can reach behind the bumper.. just push them tabs in and push the plug out from behind. Pops out (and back in) very easy.

 

[davidn0021]

You should be able to install without any spacers.. unless you want the bars out closer to the sides or the truck. The spacers are to get over the bump in the plastic trim which is at the outside ends. The 18" bar should fit easily between these bumps and the plate for your tailgate wiring harness. I too went with the Putco harness.. very easy to install. I found it easier to pop the truck trailer plug out to add the Putco harness. To pop it out there are 2 metal tabs that you can reach behind the bumper.. just push them tabs in and push the plug out from behind. Pops out (and back in) very easy.

Did you have to route the wiring for the lights towards the side or the center of the truck? There's a white wire on the lights that don't have a connector, and I believe it's supposed to be connected through a male bullet connector to the harness? Reading the Putco instructions is veeeeery confusing...

 

[saylor]

ok i didnt do the lightbar like yall but its the same thing
unhook the 7pin from underneath the bumper. its a plug. the piece stays in the truck, just unplug the end of it. notice the lock tabs to undo, then wiggle it and pull it just like, well, you know.
stock 7 pin

then click in the curt adapter harness


then put the other curt end back into the bumper connector like what you removed


then you will have the 5 pin available to you

take a 5pin cable and bust one end off and wire it to your lights. then you have a plug n play harness.

 

[Ram Man 727]

Did you have to route the wiring for the lights towards the side or the center of the truck? There's a white wire on the lights that don't have a connector, and I believe it's supposed to be connected through a male bullet connector to the harness? Reading the Putco instructions is veeeeery confusing...

I put a quick connect on to join the white wire in the trailer wiring harness to the white wire on your light bar (controls the reverse lights). If you dont have a quick connect you could also use a butt connector. Just use shrink tubing or good waterproof electrical tape to seal it and keep moisture out. The rest of the wiring simply connects to the 5 pin on the harness. My instructions (60" LED version) also mentioned that you MAY have to cut the red wire on the LED, cap the one end and connect the other end of the red to a positive wire.. (the black wire on the trailer harness). I would leave it as is and try it first.. if you dont get an error message on your dash you are good to go.. mine was fine
You will have lots of extra wire.. simply bundle it and use cable ties to secure it up out of site.
I know the instructions suck but its a really simple install.
Hope this helps

 

[Ram Man 727]

ok i didnt do the lightbar like yall but its the same thing
unhook the 7pin from underneath the bumper. its a plug. the piece stays in the truck, just unplug the end of it. notice the lock tabs to undo, then wiggle it and pull it just like, well, you know.
View attachment 80799 stock 7 pin

then click in the curt adapter harness
View attachment 80803

then put the other curt end back into the bumper connector like what you removed
View attachment 80804

then you will have the 5 pin available to you
View attachment 80801
take a 5pin cable and bust one end off and wire it to your lights. then you have a plug n play harness.

Yup... same idea.. I couldn't get the wire separated from the back so I just pushed in on the tabs, pushed the whole plug and wire through and worked at it from the rear of the truck. Once I plugged the new harness in I just poped the plug assemble back in place.

 

[davidn0021]

I put a quick connect on to join the white wire in the trailer wiring harness to the white wire on your light bar (controls the reverse lights). If you dont have a quick connect you could also use a butt connector. Just use shrink tubing or good waterproof electrical tape to seal it and keep moisture out. The rest of the wiring simply connects to the 5 pin on the harness. My instructions (60" LED version) also mentioned that you MAY have to cut the red wire on the LED, cap the one end and connect the other end of the red to a positive wire.. (the black wire on the trailer harness). I would leave it as is and try it first.. if you dont get an error message on your dash you are good to go.. mine was fine
You will have lots of extra wire.. simply bundle it and use cable ties to secure it up out of site.
I know the instructions suck but its a really simple install.
Hope this helps

Ok got it mounted, wired up and working... except the turn signals are waaaaay out of sync. Gonna call Putco tomorrow and see if maybe I didn't do something correctly or missed a step. The instructions they sent were for the 60" blade and mine are the 2x18" set. Not sure if that makes much of a difference.

 

[Gitter]

Ok got it mounted, wired up and working... except the turn signals are waaaaay out of sync. Gonna call Putco tomorrow and see if maybe I didn't do something correctly or missed a step. The instructions they sent were for the 60" blade and mine are the 2x18" set. Not sure if that makes much of a difference.

It doesn't matter if you are using the 18" or 60" bars. It also doesn't matter which brand. It's a problem for any of the LED lightbars that use the brake/turn signal wire from the trailer harness.

To get the turn signals more in sync, you need to use the turn signal wire directly from the tail light. The throuble is, the turn signal and brake signal use separate wires for the new Ram tail lights. So you have to combine the signals with a module before sending it to the ightbar. Otherwise you will only get the turn signal, but no brake lights.

See my post earlier with the video for more details.