I want to hook up a pair of lights that go on when i put my truck in reverse..

Where should i draw my power from to get them to go on with my original reverse lights?

Thanks
-Alex

 

Do you have trailer wiring hooked up? If so, the blk/grn wire coming out of the connector is the trailer backup wiring feed. It is in the center pole of the 7-pole connector. It has its own fuse and circuit.

Since 99% of trailers don't have backup lights, that wire is rarely used.

If the lights exceed the amperage rating of the fuse, you'll have to run relay, which can be wired in from the orange wire of the trailer lighting plug, which I think is the upper right terminal.

 

Tie them in with your reverse light wiring. That'd be the simplest thing to do.

 

im wanting to do the same thing..

but my truck only has 4 wires for the trailer plug

would i still just hook up the power wire to the blk/grn wire and then just ground the neg wire to the frame?

 

ok well i dont really do that much towing so i think that i would be safe in that aspect.. thanks for the info CURTIS!!

 

You can hook it up to the existing backup light wiring as long as you're not adding too much wattage. If you just want to hook up a couple 7w backup lights, that's fine, but if you want to use something like utility lights or fog lights at 45w, it won't do. It needs its own circuit.

 

If you only have the 4 pin, you can take a look to see if you have the connector where the 7 pin connects to.



If you have this connector under the truck, the finding the trailer tow adapter reverse circuit is next, along with the relay and fuses for it, if not installed. Also, if you want to add the 7 pin for the heck of it, the part numbers for it is on the drawing for the 2001-2003 MY. Also you can check the hauling and towing forum for options.

You do not want to add any additional lighting to the reverse circuit for the normal tail lights, you will trash the DTR in short order.
It is only made for the 2 x 26 W lights. When I added my Truck lite backup LEDs, I did a quick test to the truck's BU circuit, and a 2 A draw ( 1 A each ) would not fully illuminate, and the truck's lights were dimmer.

 

thanks for the info sscully!

im going to try and work on this today

 

mounted the lights today, but didnt wire them

theyre 55W each so im assuming theyll need their own circuit?

so say i ran a power wire to them, then grounded them on the frame, is there a way to tap into the reverse wire or something so they will come on with my reverse lights?

 

55 watts @ 12 volts is a little under 5 amps, so no you should be fine with correctly rated fuse, wiring and relay on a single circuit

 

i know im gonna sound like a complete noob..but for the life of me i havent been able to figure out how to correctly wire a relay..or exactly what kind of relay i need :o

but if i understand right youre saying that i can tap into the reverse power wire and put a relay and a fuse on the wire and theyd work..?

 

If you are using the trailer tow adapter ( if you found that connector next to the spare tie, easier to drop the tire to get to it ) you have a reversing circuit in there that would take those lights no problem.

Trailer tow adapter install directions show 8 A allowable on the adapter. The BJB fuse #5 20A is for both the trailer running lamps, and the reversing lamps.

The connector circled in that picture is a square 12 pin connector, goofy pin out.

4 rows, 2 outside are 2 pins on each side ( 10 AWG ) and the 2 inside rows are 4 pins each ( 14 AWG ).
the Black w/ light green wire is in the 2 rows of 4 in the center of the connector.

If you would rather just run your own wire front to rear, here is an example of a relay wired for aux lamps. The source for turning the coil on / off can be anything you want it to be.

 

ah, i see

i did find that connector today so i guess i will try and use that, thank you

and just to clarify would i just ground the neg. wire of the foglights on the frame?

 

When you find the rear lighting connector, you will see where it is grounded to the frame. You can use any of the larger AWG ground wires, or a ground lug to the frame for it.

Been a while since I was under my 2001, but I think there is the ground lug at the frame where that 12 pin connector is at, and I think along the frame by the bumper for the rear tail lights ???

Any of those will work fine, avoid using just any frame bolt, as it might have rust around it, and make a poor ground.

The flat 4 pin adapter has a ground on it you can make an inline solder splice to.
( right from the tech articles here )

 

Don't forget to check the hauling and towing forum for the trailer tow adapter install directions for the relay and fuse locations. Without a 7 pin, you might not have gotten the directions.

If you want them, drop me an email via my profile and I can send you a pdf of the scans of the factory 2001 directions.