yachtjim,

Firstly,,, Welcome to FTE...

I have never seen a Recon kit, but from what you're saying it sounds like you may only need the plug? I'm guessing you have the harness (wiring) you just need to figure out where to plug it in?

There is a plug inside the passenger side kick panel that the OEM units plug into. You can however just tie your + wire into most any circuit that is powered on when you turn your head lights/parking lights on. It's been awhile since I tackled my marker lights installation,,, but if you remove the passenger side kick panel you will find a wire harness plug. From there all you need to do is use a test light and find the live wire that gets power when your parking lights are on then simply tie into it. If you search a bit here (FTE) you should be able to find some photos of what I'm taking about.

Good luck and take your time.

 

yachtjim,

I'll suggest you just get the harness from ford or off of eBay.

Since there is already a plug (passenger side for '07 and older, driver side for '08 and later) it makes the wiring as simple as can be, and it doesn't cost very much.

 

I wish I would have seen this post at about 10AM! I put the lights on today, they came out great. Getting it complete was a major PITA. First, everything i have read says that the empty gray plug is on the passenger side (except for you post). I tore into the passenger side kick panel area for about 1.5 hours trying to figure out where this plug is. Then I went on the hunt to find out which wires are used for the parking lights. I finaly came across some iages somebody had uploaded from a shop manual. FYI - the parking lights use the Violet and White wires. So I hunted around trying to find a violet and white wire long enough that I could cut and tap in to. The wiring in my truck is so tight it was a major production trying to find one. I finally made my way over to the driver side, and read some other advice to just tap it into the ignition. Tore all the steering apart and finally got access to the back of the key switch. Forget that, I did not want to mess with what I saw there. So back on the hunt for a Violet and White wire. Low and behold I traced one right to a blank gray plug on the drivers side!!! Cut the wire off and tapped it to the harness that came with the recon lights. It worked perfect.

Now to mount the lights. The recon directions, which are literally copied from emotoman's website with some names removed, were not accurate when it comes to hole size. Emotoman did a great job on his lights, but I don't think he used the exact parts that come in the box. So the instructions say to use a 1/4" drill bit to make the holes for the screws. Weeelllll, one of the included screws would drop right into a 1/4" hole as the screw has a smaller diameter. Is recon joking? Their instructions say to use a drill bit that is too big on the roof of your truck! Crazy. I'm glad i caught that before drilling all the holes.

Complaining aside, here are my notes from a rough day to help the next guy do this easily on a 2009 F350.
1. Remove the grab handles.
2. Remove the visors
3. Pull down the front of the headliner to gain access to the roof.
4. Find the gray empty plug on the drivers side by the parking brake. It has a purple and violet wire going to it along with 1 other wire.
5. Measure for the lights. 5.5" back from the windshield rubber. 1 of them centered, the next two 8" out, and the final two 13" out from the previous 2.
6. Dril a 7/8" hole where you measured to mount the light. Or use a punchout, but I drilled, I actually used a 3/4" hole saw.
7. Trial fit the light to the hole, then use the light as a template to drill the 2 screw holes. I put the drill into the hole on the light on each side and just drilled enough to leave a mark, then removed the light and drilled all the way through. I forget the drill bit size I used, I think 5/32. Do this for all 5 lights. Lights should all be pointing straight forward, not slightly angled out towards the windshield as you get to the outer lights.
8. Get a foam brush and some primer paint. I used some primer fron rustoleum, and I dabbed it around the holes to completely coat the bare metal.
9. I put a bead of silicone sealant around the 7/8" holes and a dab on top of the screw holes.
10. Mount the lights. (see #12 about the middle light)
11. Connect the wire harness to the lights. (brown to black, red to yellow) Put a wire tie in between 2 wires on one side of the plug and wrap it around to the other side of the plug and go between the 2 wires. Then tighten it, this wil keep the plug from coming apart. I also wire tied the harness to the roof in a few places so it doesn't move around.
12. On the middle light I used a machine screw with a bunch of threads exposed under the roof. This is where I mounted the ground wire from the wire harness, then I put a lock nut on it.
13. Run the + wire (the one included with the kit was green) down the A pillar on the driver side and down to the Violet and Gray from step 4 above. Attach using a butt connector.
14. Turn on your parking lights and make sure all your new lights go on.
15. Re-assemble your interior.


I know this has all been discussed 100 times. I read about it for 3 days before tackling it today and was only able to obtain pieces at a time. Pieces that did not even apply to my truck. So hopefully when the next guy comes along with an '09 and Recon cab lights this post will help them.

I also got the recon mirror lights. I am overall happy with the quality of the recon lights, and their snazzy packaging. But am completely baffled as to how they didn't include instructions with the mirror lights and how they make such a major mistake in the instructions for the cab lights. They should spend less time on the packaging and take a few minutes like I just did to include some instructions.

Here are some daytime pics. Tonight was my first night with them and they look awesome!

Crap, just realized you can't include pics on this forum Anyway, they look awesome.

 

Here are the pics.



If the images don't load, here are links - http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/EmWflH5JHeWXX5cSDTIhsw?authkey=Gv1sRgCLD_uNHT2J2g_ gE&feat=directlink

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/lWF_gIlt5-2e184A8-0OPQ?authkey=Gv1sRgCLD_uNHT2J2g_gE&feat=directlink

 

yachtjim,

Now that you got it sorted out,,, It's generally a good idea to add some info/details about your vehicle to your posts (in your sig is easiest). If we knew it was a newer truck it probably would have saved you a little hassle.

Glad you got them installed. Looks good.

Rick...

 

When I registered on the site I had to add all that info. I can only assume that info would be used for profile info. I'll add it to the sig, thanks.

 

No worries, Jim. You cannot build a signature until about 24 hours after your 25th post. So just get busy with some posting. You'll be there in no time.

Welcome to FTE!

 

Still waiting for the "night" photos.


Rick...

 

hmmm, did you not find my writeup back in January in your search?

anyway, you EC and CC guys have it easy when it comes to measuring for those lights... you get to use your roof ridges... The RCs have no such reference!

 

Here are the night shots. Sorry for the shaky camera. You can also see my red LED lights behind the F350 Logo Vents.

 

I installed some lights on my truck over a year ago and the only thing I'd do differently next time is some blue loctite on the threads. One of the lights came loose (I'm assuming the nuts came off) and is crooked now. I ran silicon all around the foam gasket so that's all that's keeping it from leaking and coming off. Definitely a good idea to seal them up with some extra sealant.