2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission $30 tail light bomb...

[Gary - K7GLD]

After installing upgraded Sport Lights at the front of my '02, I figured I needed better lights at the rear as well - if for no other reason, to give the Ford and GM drivers something of interest to watch disappear ahead of them... :-laf



Here's what I ended up with:



-



Those really improve both the appearance of the rearend of the truck, as well as providing FAR better backup lighting than the OEM ones do.



Here's a closeup:



-

In the process of this mod, I noticed that the backup light fixture is arranged so that only 1 filament of the 2 filament bulb is lit - within the next day or so, I'll mod the bulb holder so that both filaments are used for better backup lighting.



The light assembly itself came from Ebay, for $29. 95, and is a simple 5 minute swap that uses the OEM bulbs and harness.

 

[Joe Mc]

Cool! I like the tailgate too. If both filaments are lit things could get hot? Although not for long since it's for reverse lighting anyway. . . but isn't that what those big bolt on's are for - other than informing the driver that pulls up behind you with their brites on? lol

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

Cool! I like the tailgate too. If both filaments are lit things could get hot? Although not for long since it's for reverse lighting anyway. . . but isn't that what those big bolt on's are for - other than informing the driver that pulls up behind you with their brites on? lol

Heating with both filaments lit shouldn't be an issue -as you point out, they are normally only lit for a few seconds at a time. In fact, depending on how all this turns out as far as the reverse lighting is concerned, I might even move up to the same 50 watt bulbs as used in the accessory backup lights seen mounted below my rear bumper...

 

[Matt42]

Cool! I like the tailgate too. If both filaments are lit things could get hot? Although not for long since it's for reverse lighting anyway. . . but isn't that what those big bolt on's are for - other than informing the driver that pulls up behind you with their brites on? lol

Yup, backing is normally a short term enterprise. A few years ago, driving a brand new Jeep J-10 (OK, many years ago), I had to back about a mile down a dead-end mountainside two-track mine road, and a bad angle. I didn't give the filaments a second thought. I had lots of other thoughts. . .

 

[DMannon]

Gary,

Those are nice... can you supply the link for the auction?



I've found them for $35, plus $25 shipping! I think a lot of the ebayers make more on shipping than product :-laf



Mine's an SLT that somebody put sport tailights on. I'd like to go back to the black frames.

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

Gary,

Those are nice... can you supply the link for the auction?



I've found them for $35, plus $25 shipping! I think a lot of the ebayers make more on shipping than product :-laf



Mine's an SLT that somebody put sport tailights on. I'd like to go back to the black frames.

Here's the pointer for my particular lights - they have a couple of other types usually listed in that section as well:



http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...atrefZC6QQfromZR4_W0QQfviZ1&item=200051668538



And I certainly agree on the excessive shipping - it was only because the total price, including shipping, was low enough that I bought them - about $30 for each light is still WAY less than DC gets for their OEM equivalent.



I had bought another set prior to these - and the outfit I bought those from sent the wrong ones - I'm still waiting for my refund after nearly a month - and am out nearly $35 in shipping charges - they charged $25 "flat rate" shipping, and I paid UPS $8 for the return trip...

 

[JGK]

For what its worth, I hear some ebay-ers are jacking up shipping charges to offset purchase prices because ebay sets their fees based on purchase price. So they lower the price to save on fees and make it back on shipping charges.



But a little more to the point, Gary, have you by chance measured the voltage at the backup light bulb when its on? I was doing that the other day and found mine read about 9 volts! I checked a friends '98 truck and his was 10 volts or a tad below as well. Still trying to figure out why the voltage is low. Could you check and let me know?



Nice lights, by the way.



Thanks,

-Jay

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

For what its worth, I hear some ebay-ers are jacking up shipping charges to offset purchase prices because ebay sets their fees based on purchase price. So they lower the price to save on fees and make it back on shipping charges.



But a little more to the point, Gary, have you by chance measured the voltage at the backup light bulb when its on? I was doing that the other day and found mine read about 9 volts! I checked a friends '98 truck and his was 10 volts or a tad below as well. Still trying to figure out why the voltage is low. Could you check and let me know?



Nice lights, by the way.



Thanks,

-Jay

Jay, I haven't measured the voltage to mine, but the relatively yellowish light from them lead me to believe yours is not an isolated reading - probably due to voltage drop from insufficient wire size to the bulbs.



I'm not sure at this point whether to correct the problem or not - I have a dual 12 gauge wire pair running to my other added backup lights direct from the battery, and running thru a relay to those lights - the relay is controlled off the OEM backup light circuit.



I can easily also run the OEM backup lights off that same heavier added circuit and larger power lead by cutting the OEM connection to the lights amd then hooking them to the added backup/relay circuit using the unused terminal off the relay - I'm just not sure if the extra light over what I already have is needed or not.



As I mentioned further above, I have modded the backup light bulb in the new lights so that both filaments in each bulb light - probably aggravates the apparent voltage drop issue even more... :-laf

 

[MYeary]

Gary,

Those are nice... can you supply the link for the auction?



I've found them for $35, plus $25 shipping! I think a lot of the ebayers make more on shipping than product :-laf



Mine's an SLT that somebody put sport tailights on. I'd like to go back to the black frames.

( Whats the difference between reg. lites & sport lites)

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

( Whats the difference between reg. lites & sport lites)

If you mean the HEAD lights, here's what my new ones (DEPOT brand) look like:



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The clear lenses and dual bulbs make a HUGE improvement in lighting!



IF you mean the TAIL lights - just look at what you have now on your truck, then the pics I have posted at the beginning of this thread...

 

[MYeary]

Im talking about factory sport & reg tail lights, when ordering new ones they say there is a diff.

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

Im talking about factory sport & reg tail lights, when ordering new ones they say there is a diff.

Yes, there IS a difference - and I assume you are referring to what is available thru a Dodge dealership - the OEM sport light package as to head and tail lights, is generally similar to what you can see pictured here in this thread, and was part of the package on what was called the "Sport" version of these trucks in the later 2nd generation trucks - not sure exactly what years.



The "Sport" model trucks are the ones with painted grilles and (I think) bumpers instead of chrome - if your local DC dealer can't show you pictures from a parts catalog, watch for one on the street or in parking lots...

 

[DMannon]

On the sport model tailights, the frame around the light is painted the same color as the body. The regular one's are painted black; some are chromed?



The Sport's also have no trim on the tailgate, where the standards have a rubber molding strip.



Can't tell that from Gary's truck, though :-laf

 

[J Shocik]

Gary, I clicked on the link you supplied in reply #6, and see there are no bulbs in the assemblies shown. Will the OEM bulbs & fixtures fit these w/o any problems?

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

Gary, I clicked on the link you supplied in reply #6, and see there are no bulbs in the assemblies shown. Will the OEM bulbs & fixtures fit these w/o any problems?

YUP - a perfect fit, and NO wiring mods to make!



Took me about 5 minutes to make the complete swap!

 

[JGK]

Jay, I haven't measured the voltage to mine, but the relatively yellowish light from them lead me to believe yours is not an isolated reading - probably due to voltage drop from insufficient wire size to the bulbs...



... As I mentioned further above, I have modded the backup light bulb in the new lights so that both filaments in each bulb light - probably aggravates the apparent voltage drop issue even more... :-laf

Gary,



I've traced the wiring back to the PCM on the driver's fender and it's still under 10 volts. But I think where I measured is after the backup light switch on the transmission, so the problem could be the switch. I've heard it can be the bottle neck but I haven't had the time to check it out. Ensuring you're getting a full 12 volts to the lights would make a difference, particularly if you run 2 filaments!



Let me know if you learn more.



Thanks,

Jay

 

[DMannon]

Here's the pointer for my particular lights -



http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...atrefZC6QQfromZR4_W0QQfviZ1&item=200051668538

Love your ebay handle... bsintollerant

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

Love your ebay handle... bsintollerant

AH - then you'd love the avatar I sometimes use when the situation seems to call for it:



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:-laf :-laf