I am thinking about putting the "fixed mount" White Night Backup Lights on my truck. Does anybody have a set of these? How do they work? I'm thinking about running a wire to the #3 upfitter switch so I can control when it comes on instead of automatically coming on when I put it in reverse...is there any problems with that? Also, which wire on the 7 pin wiring harness is the 12 Volt power source? Thanks for all the help!

 

Several folks have the White Night lights, and every post I've read about them has praised them.

Just don't miss the ball when you're backing up to a trailer hitch cause you'll bust them.

 

I installed a set of cheap driving lights below my rear bumper and wired them into the back up wire on the 7 pin. Do a search and you will find some examples. I dont have a stock hitch and was unsure how I would like the white knights, plus they are expensive. For your 12 volts at the plug, it is hot only when the engine is running. Look at the cover and it will tell you which one is hot. If all else fails, use a voltage meter or test light, make sure the engine is running. Philip.

 

I have had a set of these for almost 2 years. Work great. I wired them directly to the trailer harness, the wiring scheme is on the flip cover BTW. There is also a seperate switch on the back side of the lights which allows you to turn them off or on manually or leave them in backup mode only.

The only real draw back is you can't use a plug in the hitch as they aren't long enough to reach the pin hole. I just leave the ball hitch in and have a locking pin to secure the lights.

Here is a pick of them.

 

What is the bulb wattage (each) on those?

 

Twin 55 watts halogon lamps

http://www.whitenight.com/

 

Here's a link to a mfg. who makes a set of mounting brackets for back up lights, that will bolt right up to our Super Dutys.

http://www.defianttruckproducts.com/...rt.php?prt=120

The nice thing about these, are the fact that the lights will mount higher than the hitch.

Makes a nice package!

Richard

 

You already have two holes under the bumper in the proper position to mount lights. For $20 bucks I did the same thing all of these expensive kits do. Philip.

 

I have the white knight on my 04 SD. The install was quick and easy. Yes they are a little pricey but you get both lights, three way switch, relay, wiring, and mounting bracket all in one package. All you need to do is connect the power and ground. With the three way switch you can choose constant on, constant off, or on w/ reverse.

On my old truck I used cheap driving lights. I cut square holes in the bumper and mounted the lights behind the bumper. I did not want the lights dangling down below the bumper. I did not want to take this approach with my new truck. If you decide to use cheaper driving lights, make sure you use appropriate gage wire and a relay. This will insure that all the voltage makes it to your lights and will keep you from burning up your wiring or switch. Getting all the voltage to the lights means brighter lights.

sportsmansguide.com did have the best price on the white knight. Around $70 for mine. Don't know if they still have them.

 

I've got the fixed mount White Knights as well.

You have two power wires for it: one to turn on the lights when in reverse and one for "manual" on when you just need light when doing something behind the truck at night.

Like LoneWolf says, the wiring scheme for the 7-pin is on the reverse side of the weatherproof flip-cover.

Can't remember which wire I used for "manual" power, but the reverse light power is the center pin wire.

Also, White Night makes a "relocating" bracket to move the 7-pin harness over to make room without drilling. However, I just drilled a new hole and moved it over myself. Took 5 minutes.

Love'em !

TX

 

Well, they worked great for awhile and then things started to go wrong.

All the wiring inside the housing corroded after 8 months but it worked great until then. I didn't know about the bad wires, just noticed that it stopped working which leads me to my next point of why I never took it off to inspect it.

I couldn't use my hitch pin with the light housing on without crawling under the truck and since I had an expensive multi hitch, I decided to put in a lock. Bad idea up here in new york. It corroded and had to be burned off... which toasted the lights.

The next light set will be regular aftermarkets with some serious wire sealant.

 

My experience was the same as dcf4x4, corroded in less then a year and useless. I won't buy them again....

 

they tell you in the directions to seal off the back of the hitch if it is open to help with corrosion.

 

Re Meatco1:

Defiant's set of reverse light brackets that get the lights up and out of the way of the hitch cost US$52; they bolt right on using factory holes and don't interfere with anything and won't get popped if you're aim's a bit off when hooking up a trailer. Paul Fox (owner) is working on a full length wire harness that will allow hook up directly to upfitter switches for those who don't want to tap into the hitch wiring.

The biggest problem I have is with (a) submerging reverse lights when pulling the boat in / out of the water and (b) road salt which combined is very bad for lights and wiring connections. In the winter with the short days it's nice to have the extra light when hooking up the sled trailer.

Has anyone got a set of the Hella Hydolux lights on the back of their truck ? I know they're pricey, but seem to be the only ones that are waterproof (only to 3 feet mind you). I've got PIAA 410 series that look a lot like the front fogs; they're 120 watt and throw lots of light.

For any Canucks on this thread, Defiant has a distributor up here that will save shipping and duty charges if you want to pick up a pair:

Craig Humphries
BAJA NORTH ENTERPRISES
615 Dairy Road
Kamloops, BC V2B 8N5
(250) 572-5654
bajanorth@telus.net
www.baja-north.com