Does anyone know if you can put a brighter bulb in for the reverse lights? I'm trying to stay away from putting extra lights on the back. It's 01 X if that makes a difference.

 

www.JCWhitney.com used to carry a halogen bulb that's supposed to be brighter.

 

jcwhitney is for people who want "slightly better then stock". For people who want "a lot better then stock" use www.google.com and look for websites that express themselves as show vehicle or emergency lighting equipment dealers. There are many sites that sell show vehicle lighting equipment. I know because I spend like $1,000 a year on the sites. lol

 

I put the brighter bulbs in my Ex, and it helped....a little. I got mine from my local auto parts store, and they were made by Design Tech.

I finally fixed the problem completely by installing a PIAA 1500 Reverse Light System. (I did not buy them here, but this is more info, http://www.autobarn.net/pi15baupli.html). These are a great investment.

I installed mine with a different switch, mounted with an LED on the side of the steering column not far from the tilt lever.

The switch allows, "On", "Off" or "Automatic", so they are automatic if the vehicle is placed in reverse. I also put in a relay so they only work when the parking lights are on.

The lamps themselves were installed under the trailer hitch with existing holes. I think there is a pic in my gallery.

 

Thanks for the info guys. Hey Matt where ya at in PA? And did those lights plug into the wiring harness?

 

01x7.3...nearest towns to me are Langhorne and Newtown.

About the PIAAs. They came with their own harness. It basically installed from the battery for power, inside for the switch/LED, then to the lights. There also is a connection to the factory back-up lights to automatically turn them on when the truck is placed in reverse. I think I found that wire in the passenger kick panel.

PIAA makes exceptionally good quality lights, and these made all the difference in the world.Again, I wired mine with a relay so they only work when the parking lights are on. They also are a help at night if you are hooking up a trailer as you can turn them on with the three way switch even if the truck is not in reverse. (Okay..one more warped note...at night the three way switch also allows you to display them to tailgaters at night.)

 

I have the White Knight lights. They work awesome, easy to install/remove and look pretty clean on the rear of the Exc

http://www.whitenight.com/

 

Probable .. which model did you go with, the 4199 Fixed Mount Unit? Did you have to move the 7-pin trailer wiring plug as mentioned on the Whitenight application guide for the X? Also are you using the Plug N' Go adapter for 7-pin trailer outlets .. which seemingly allows for plug and play operation?

 

I used the 4199.

They didn't have the plug and go adaptor when I bought mine, but it wired up VERY easily splicing into the factory trailer wire harness (keep in mind my wiring skills are remedial, at best). The adaptor looks easier but I think it would be an eye-sore sticking out of the plug all the time.

For the factory 7 pin plug on the Exc, I did have to move it (rotate actually) on my 2000 Limited. The lights mount on the reciever without moving the 7 pin, but I couldn't plug in trailer light into the 7 pin because there wasn't enough clearance.
So, instead of buying a relocator bracket, I got up under the truck, loosened the bolt holding the wiring bracket on, then bent the back corner of the bracket edge so I could rotate the bracket clockwise to gain clearance to plug in the trailer lights. <- that sentence made sense in my head and hopefully when you look under the truck it'll make sense to you too! If it's not clear I could take a pic of it.

Another thing, I don't ever remove my receiver tongue on my truck, I have it locked on there. But if you do remove your receiver tongue when not in use it could be a bit of a pain. Everything is very tight back there and you can't see what your doing behind the back-up lights when you put the pin in. Safety chain eye-lets are similar, you are hooking them up by feel since you can't see the holes anymore but it's not a big deal.

Hope that helps

 

Thanks for the tips .. much appreciated .. I don't keep a receiver tongue locked in since I change it our for other uses, bike rack, horse trailer hitch .. so good to know that I will have to get down on the ground to lock those in .. ugh...

BTW, do you have it configured with a separate on/off switch, i presume so .. and does it work when in reverse regardess of the position of the on/off switch (seems like that would be tougher to accomplish)

 

There is a 3 way toggle switch on the back of the light housing.

Off - completely
On - when truck is in reverse
Other On - light's always on when truck is running

I keep it the position that turns on when the truck is in reverse. But when I'm unloading the trailer or need light, just flip the switch to the 'other' on position. I kinda wish I could switch it on while driving for tailgaters, but I'd just get in trouble with the local revenuers so it's probably best that I can't!

As for the hassle of hitch pins and safety chains, it's not a big deal once you know where everything is by 'feel', but the first couple of times you may need to get down there to see what you're doing.

 

Great info .. Tks Probable!