I decided I wanted to get some lights UNDER the Excursion for when we are getting in and out of our vehicle out here in the country. We don't have any lighting outside of the moon and stars out here, and it can sometimes be a mystery what you are about to step on or in when getting in and out.

I was at Tractor Supply and found these for $25:


$25 at Tractor Supply in the trailer section.

You get this in the package:



6 round LED lights that are VERY durable in their design/build. They do have a beam pattern. Turn 90 degress to change it once mounted.



2 x 3/4 inch options on mounting them to the truck. I chose the rubber grommets.

Now, I mounted these UNDER the stock running boards like this:


I used a step drill bit that goes up to 7/8". You will be making 3/4" holes in the bracket on the BACK SIDE of the hump in the bracket. Use WD-40 while drilling to speed it up and keep the heat down. I used a hand drill, and it went quick and smooth. Continue just a tad into the 13/16" step to chamfer the hole. Then flip the bracket and chamfer the other side as well. This will make installing the grommet a breeze.

I installed the lights on the backside of the hump on each bracket to minimize dirt collecting on the lights. I used the #2, #3 and #5 brackets to install lights into. #1 and #4 were not modified/used.

You will end up with this, and the grommets fit the bracket PERFECT.


Like it was made for it...



Use silicone to ease install. If you chamfer the holes, it is super easy.



Now reinstall the bracket. 2x10mm nuts on the bottom and 2x13mm bolts on top.




Lay your wiring forward on the driver's side, and rearward on the passenger side. This is the driver's side looking toward the front wheel.



The air gap above the light is perfect.



On the driver's side, the harness comes in from the front of the truck with 12v and ground. There are 3 wires in the harness. One blk/light blue (12v) and 2 black (both GRND). Carefully cut open the plastic casing 6-8"and pull the wires out enough to splice into them. Space your splices out so they are not "on top of each other".

These lights use the black wire as positive, and the white wire as negative. REMEMBER this when installing, or they WILL NOT work.

Also, this point/location on the truck gets the worst conditions for electrical anything. Your connection MUST be waterproof and tight. No wire nuts, no standard butt connectors. Use heat-shrink butt connectors or solder. I used solder and heat shrink (first two light from the harness splice) and heat shrink "weather proof" butt connectors (only on the last light in the line). Remember to slide on your heat shrink before soldering the lights in line. I then wrapped each connection in rubber tape for good measure.




Rear most splice on driver's side. These are the heat-shrink butt splices, and the only place I used them.



Middle splice



Front splice closest to the harness. I wrapped in rubber tape after this photo.



View of my black (+) and red (NEG) wires coming out of the front of the running board and doubling back to connect into the harness. I would have used white, but I only had 14 gauge (too big). So red it was...




Driver side. Turn lights 90 degrees for a different pattern. I liked this one.



Passenger side



Under the truck while laying next to driver's side. Plenty of light to work under there on the side of the road if needed.

Passenger side is almost the same as the driver's side. Just run your wire to the rear, because that is where the harness is on that side (by rear wheel).

You might have to wipe them off occasionally to clear the lenses of dirt.

Now, enjoy knowing what you are climbing onto when getting out of your truck.

 

Awesome install and write-up. I'll look for these at my local farm supply store.

 

That is flipping AWESOME! Nice writeup, makes me kind of wish I still had that style running board

 

In case someone does not have a TS store local, you can get them here:



or here:

Blazer LED 3/4in. Round Light, Clear — 6 Pk., PC-Rated, Model# C534CK6 | Clearance Side Markers| Northern Tool + Equipment

 

Great job on the find and install. Looks like they put out enough light. Awesome write up as well....

 

Thats awesome If I take them apart again definitely will do this. Thanks great write up and pictures.

 

I took the brackets off one by one so I would not have to take the running boards off. Running the wires with the boards on the truck was easy. This was time consuming (working on my back), but not hard at all.

 

Nice job! I am a big fan of clean (hiden) installs You did very well!




Only thing I would add is some wire loom on the new wires especially where they pass over the reunning board brackets.

 

...great, now I'm hungry...

 

HAHA! I was waiting for someone to catch the "subliminal message" in there.

 

Started on this mod tonight on mine... I got lazy and chose not to remove the brackets and instead just used a regular 3/4" drill bit. I ended up putting the lights on the rear 4 brackets and am debating putting on the front bracket as well. I also went out to the end of the brackets but not sure it's going to matter that much. On my truck though, the harness is in the rear on both sides.

Overall I like the project. Thanks for the idea! Curious though, do your lights have 2 bluish lines shining on the ground from each light?

 

I would say the light has a blue tint to it, yes. If you look closely at my after pics, you can see a couple of "bluish lines" within the light pattern. Don't forget to turn the lights 90* to get the pattern you want on the ground. Post up some pics!

 

Texas78028,

How are your recon cab lights holding up? I have a set ready to install in my 2019. Just need the instruction sheet (haven't e-mailed or called Recon yet, but why wouldn't it come in the box? odd) and some courage.

 

Recon has a install guide on there web site