utility lights

[CMcauliffe]

i am going to add two utility light to see better when backing up can some explain the correct way to wire these lights so that they come on when the truck is in reverse . thanks in advance for any help.



Gerard.

 

[ToolManTimTaylor]

I gave mine a seperate switch with a audiable alert so I know when they are on. That way if I need to see back there at night fooling with the trailer or whatnot without sitting in reverse I can.

 

[JBlock]

White Knight fromGenos

I got white night from geno's garage and like them quite well, they have a switch at the back of the car and you turn them on off, or auto with regular backup lights.



My wife loves them, had me purchase a set for the Suburban too.

 

[Thomas]

Any decent add-on backup lighting needs a power source other than the OEM backup-light wiring. You have several choices for adequate wiring: a new large gauge wire from the battery to the rear of the truck or tap into the tow package wiring harness. In either case, you can use the existing backup light wire to trigger the relay.



The Hella 90601 work lamps (shown below on my son's rig) give 110 watts per lamp of rear lighting, a significant improvement to the factory design.





#ad

 

[Ted Constantine]

Gerard,

I used tractor lights with a trap. beam. My mounting system looks about the same as thomas but I used a metal tab. They have worked great for a couple years now. I wired them to a realy controlled by a dpdt switch. One input is constant live power. I have never hooked up the other side fo the switch but still intend to hook it up so they come on with the reverse lights. If you do not want to have a manual switch on the lights you can run a power line to they back of the vehicle and hook up a relay siganled by one of the stock back up light power wires.
HTH
Ted
#ad


Can't beat tractor lights. The truck has been rear ended twice without hurting them at all. Plus they only cost $9 to begin with.

 

[CMcauliffe]

UTILITY LIGHTS / RELAY HELP !!!!

Well i am half way home when i ran into a snag , i installed the tractor lights ,wired it ( i thought was the correct way ) using a fuse and relay . the problem is the relay ( if i connect the utility lights directly to the truck lights they work fine however when i connect using the relay only the truck lights work ) i do not know if i have the correct relay or if it is a bad one . i connected them in the following way.

the relay came from radio shack on it it was labeled

#87 12v in ( i connected the wire from the truck light to this)

#85 ground (i grounded this wire to one of the ground i used for the utility lights

#30/51 12v out (i connected the hot wires from both utility lights to this terminal)

#86 on/off switch 12v ( there is nothing connected to this since i want the lights to come on only in reverse



i appreciate any help given



Gerard.

 

[CMcauliffe]

Ted , Thomas i guess i should have read your posts ( thanks for the help ) i guess my problem is i must have a constant power supply to the relay if not it will not work even when there is power from the truck back up lights when in reverse.

hopefully i understand this correctly all i need to do is hook into the harness from the trailer hitch get the supply from there ( i believe its the same color wire as the truck back up lights?? ) connect it to the switch side of the relay and i should be home free ???

forgive me i am not a electrician, and again thanks for your help.

 

[wlowe]

Try this link for more info:



http://dodgeram.org/tech/mods/electric/backup_wire.htm



Good luck,

Bill

 

[Thomas]

Simple wiring diagram.



Pin 86 of your relay should be hooked to the existing backup lamp wire.



Pin 87 of your relay should be attached to a fused source of 12 volts (trailer harness, your added wire, etc. ). I don't know what color the +12 volt wire is in the trailer harness.



Note: the diagram linked above and the instructions you posted for your relay have interchanged pins 30 and 87. This should not be a problem with your relay.

 

[CMcauliffe]

UTILITY LIGHTS

I got them working this morning ( what a relief ) thanks to everyone for their help.



Gerard.



Oo.