Tailight relocation woes
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New User
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 4
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From: Carrollton, OH
Tailight relocation woes
Hey all you electrical geniuses out there, I've got an 88 superduty, long wheelbase with a 10 foot dump bed. I recently acquired a tailgate spreader for it which will allow me to spread limestone and gravel the easy way without having to "tailgate" it. Anyways, my spreader box covers up my existing taillights. Right now, they're the kind that sorta look like the 'universal' truck/trailer/etc. kind of lights. I'm thinking of just getting a different style of generic taillight to mount on the side of my dump bed up where they can be seen. My wiring harness looks kinda messy back where my lights are now, can I simply just cut the wires off going into my existing lights and just splice some jumpers on them up to the new ones I'm going to install? Is there a harness connection somehwere down there that I could just undo and plug a new set of lights into with just a longer connection? sorry for the long post, but electrical isn't my game most of the time 
. THANKS!!!!!
. THANKS!!!!!
Moderator
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 56,965
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From: Virginia
can I simply just cut the wires off going into my existing lights and just splice some jumpers on them up to the new ones I'm going to install?
The best way to do this, that will last for years, is to solder the extension wires onto the wires you cut, and then use shrink tube to cover the joint. This will look good and last a long time.
You can use butt splices, but water will tend to get into them and after a few years you might start losing your connections, unless you seal them really well with tape.
You might also consider bolting a small jumper wire near the hinge point of the bed to the frame of the truck. This will make sure the bed has a good ground for your new lights, instead of relying on the hinge pins for the ground.
Senior User
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 455
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From: Alaska
Get a trailer wiring harness and plug it into your existing wiring harness, this way you won't have to chop up the wiring, both sets of lights will be operational and if you remove the spreader, all you have to do is unplug it.
