additional rear lighting
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Senior User
Joined: Jan 2002
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additional rear lighting
I need to get some additional rear lighting going on my truck...I moved onto a street with no street lights and backing is just a little tricky at night with the shell on the bed. I see lots of truck driving around with fog lights mounted under the back bumper....are they spliced directly into the wires going to the reverse lights or is some sort of relay involved?
Or do most people hook them up to a switch in the cab?
thank you,
ackus
Or do most people hook them up to a switch in the cab?
thank you,
ackus
Posting Legend
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 30,255
Likes: 37
additional rear lighting
Don't splice them directly into the wiring going to the backup lights, it can burn up the switch. Use a relay triggered off the circuit that powers the backup lights. Fog lights or regular old "tractor" lights work great. The tractor/utility lights are a lot cheaper and better than most fog lights. A swith set up to trigger the relay with an indictor light that it is "ON" is a "usefull" addition. Just remember that it is ILLEGAL to show a white light to the rear while the vehicle is in a forward gear. When you get the relay set up you might want to set it up to power your existing rear backup lights also. Make sure that your wiring is adequate to carry the current to the lights with minimal voltage drop. Fuse the relay power circuit properly near the battery.
#16 AWG = 10 Amps
#14 AWG = 15 Amps
#12 AWG = 20 Amps
#10 AWG = 30 Amps
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#16 AWG = 10 Amps
#14 AWG = 15 Amps
#12 AWG = 20 Amps
#10 AWG = 30 Amps
Thanks for using FTE!
[font color=red]As a Moderator I do not "Subscribe" to most topics,
please send email/pm if you need a reply -Thanks![/font]
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Thread Starter
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Senior User
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 154
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additional rear lighting
very cool, thanks for the info....do you by chance have any kind of schematic? What about the relay...What kind should I get? I *think* I could pull it off with what you told me, but I have a nasty habit of blowing things up...especially when it comes to electrical...Any websites I could hit...I tried doing some searches, but I could not figure out phrase to plug into the 'ole search engine...best I could get was for a newer Dodge.
Posting Guru
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 1,214
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From: Minneapolis, MN
additional rear lighting
Check out this link for headlight relays.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/articles/delanty/brighter_lights.html
Should also work for backup lights.
Greg
'77 F-250 Camper Special 400ci driver
'76 F-250 Supercab 360ci current project
'71 Mach I 429CJ in storage
'79 F-150 for parts
huct on foniks wurkt fer me
https://www.ford-trucks.com/articles/delanty/brighter_lights.html
Should also work for backup lights.
Greg
'77 F-250 Camper Special 400ci driver
'76 F-250 Supercab 360ci current project
'71 Mach I 429CJ in storage
'79 F-150 for parts
huct on foniks wurkt fer me
