Connecting to existing wiring.

Gdetrailer wrote:

Boomerweps wrote:
Do an Amazon search for LED backup light bulbs. The people that bought them on the Jeep forums swear by them. ~ $15 a pair. The comparison pictures they posted appear twice as bright.

^^^THIS!!!!^^^

Before you go spend money on a light bar and before you start hacking away at your wiring harness, TRY UPGRADING THE BULB TO LED!!!

For the third time:

Bobbo wrote:
My tail lights are a sealed unit. I can’t replace the reverse bulbs. If one of the bulbs dies, I have to replace the entire tail light unit.

I can not replace a bulb. I can only replace the entire tail light assembly. THESE BULBS ARE NOT REMOVABLE.

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:



Coolkun 10W 12V LED Flood Lights, Daylight White AC/DC IP65 Waterproof ,1000lm Outdoor &Indoor Security Floodlight
by Coolkun
5.0 out of 5 stars 1 customer review
| 8 answered questions
Price: $9.99 & FREE Shipping

https://www.amazon.com/Coolkun-Daylight-Waterproof-Security-Floodlight/dp/B076H35SF1?keywords=10+watt+12-volt+led+waterpoof+outdoor+security+floodlight&qid=1540669567&sr=8-6-spell&ref=sr_1_6


Unless you do your backing up at 80-mph these waterproof lamps are light-years superior to any LED light bar. They offer incredibly wider and taller light dispersion because they are hot-spot-free FLOOD LIGHTS. They are about 50 times as bright as the brightest factory backup lamps I have ever seen. And they draw SEVEN watts not the boastful 10 watts as claimed. This isn't a "step up" from back up lights -- it's like 10 stories up.

And

They are tiny.

Might even blind someone for 60 seconds backing down a dark parking lot!

I also can't figure out how adding such lights are re-engineering backup lights. I'd call it enhancing backup lights.

Nice find Mex

Bobbo wrote:

Gdetrailer wrote:

Boomerweps wrote:
Do an Amazon search for LED backup light bulbs. The people that bought them on the Jeep forums swear by them. ~ $15 a pair. The comparison pictures they posted appear twice as bright.

^^^THIS!!!!^^^

Before you go spend money on a light bar and before you start hacking away at your wiring harness, TRY UPGRADING THE BULB TO LED!!!

For the third time:

Bobbo wrote:
My tail lights are a sealed unit. I can’t replace the reverse bulbs. If one of the bulbs dies, I have to replace the entire tail light unit.

I can not replace a bulb. I can only replace the entire tail light assembly. THESE BULBS ARE NOT REMOVABLE.

Sorry, I missed that part..

However, you obviously have to have LEDS if they are really "sealed".

Perhaps, go another route?

Buy aftermarket NON SEALED standard lens fixtures THEN put your choice of LED bulbs in the fixtures.

The owners manual for your vehicle DOES LIST 3156K as a backup bulb so they DO OFFER non sealed tail light assemblies.

OEM Ford is expensive, most likely there is some aftermarket replacement options, but in your case it is a fast and non intrusive way to fix your light issue.

I am not a fan of recklessly cutting up wiring harnesses because it REALLY is difficult to make the splices 100% moisture proof.. Which is extremely important when you live in the rust belt like I do..

Not to mention trying to find a good place to mount extra lights and or light bars that won't get damaged is not easy to do.

Near 180 degree absolute light dispersion. Meaning no hot spots. Standard chips have been around a long time. Best driven at 10.8 volts if temperature is >80F and chip is lit for more than 15 minutes. I have purchased several hundred of these for rural ranch lighting. I am familiar with them. The IP67 housing is nice, the hardware is Panda grade stainless and the lens is glass not plastic. These are good little lights half the size of a paperback book.

Bobbo wrote:
For the third time:

Bobbo wrote:
My tail lights are a sealed unit. I can’t replace the reverse bulbs. If one of the bulbs dies, I have to replace the entire tail light unit.

I can not replace a bulb. I can only replace the entire tail light assembly. THESE BULBS ARE NOT REMOVABLE.

Are you quite sure about that?

We have several 2017 F150’s in the fleet, one is a ‘beer can’ mechanics truck without the fancy lighting package. The mechanic that drives it swapped out ALL the marker / reverse / brake / signal bulbs for better visibility while stopped on the side of a dark road.

Lots of auto parts places show listings for the reverse light bulb and there’s several YouTube videos on how to swap them out.

Other than those sealed lights that snap into the rubber boot / grommets on semi’s I’ve never heard of a bulb that couldn’t be replaced.

JaxDad wrote:

Bobbo wrote:
For the third time:

Bobbo wrote:
My tail lights are a sealed unit. I can’t replace the reverse bulbs. If one of the bulbs dies, I have to replace the entire tail light unit.

I can not replace a bulb. I can only replace the entire tail light assembly. THESE BULBS ARE NOT REMOVABLE.

Are you quite sure about that?

We have several 2017 F150’s in the fleet, one is a ‘beer can’ mechanics truck without the fancy lighting package. The mechanic that drives it swapped out ALL the marker / reverse / brake / signal bulbs for better visibility while stopped on the side of a dark road.

Lots of auto parts places show listings for the reverse light bulb and there’s several YouTube videos on how to swap them out.

Other than those sealed lights that snap into the rubber boot / grommets on semi’s I’ve never heard of a bulb that couldn’t be replaced.

My F-150 has BLIS. All BLIS tail light assemblies are fully LED and sealed units. I am willing to bet that your fleet trucks don't have BLIS. (I do have LED head lights (high and low) and LED fog lights coming, but this thread is about the LED tailgate light bar I am installing to augment the reverse lights. (I am not going to wire in the tail/brake/turn signal lights, just the reverse lights.)) The F-150 trucks without BLIS do have removable bulbs.

It's interesting. Someone asks a simple question, like, "How do I do A?" and about half the people here respond by telling him how to do A, and the other half insist on telling him "Don't Do A! Do B!"

Human nature, I guess. But kind of funny . . .

OP here. Actually, I like that. About 10 years ago I asked a question here about how to do something, and someone suggested an alternative that was immensely better. I ended up doing what he suggested. However, when the same thing is suggested 3 times, after having it explained why that won't work, and someone even points out that HIS truck does it, it does get a little old. (I got kind of snippy when responding that third time. :))

If the light is too bright you can cover it or add a second switch to mostly keep it off.
Enjoy the project.

Bobbo wrote:

My F-150 has BLIS. All BLIS tail light assemblies are fully LED and sealed units. I am willing to bet that your fleet trucks don't have BLIS. (I do have LED head lights (high and low) and LED fog lights coming, but this thread is about the LED tailgate light bar I am installing to augment the reverse lights. (I am not going to wire in the tail/brake/turn signal lights, just the reverse lights.)) The F-150 trucks without BLIS do have removable bulbs.

Your FIRST POST should INCLUDE IMPORTANT INFORMATION LIKE THIS.

BLIS IS AN OPTION that comes in SPECIFIC "PACKAGES" of options, sometimes only offered in HIGHER TRIM LEVELS, it does not automatically come with all vehicles or trim levels..

I INTENTIONALLY WILL SKIP OPTIONAL PACKAGES THAT INCLUDE THIS KIND OF GARBAGE WHEN BUYING VEHICLES.

It is also why I am not a fan of ANY factory LED lights, when a LED fixture goes out, gets broken or damaged you end up spending $400-$1200 just for that fixture.

Sometimes you just can't beat the old school methods for cost effectiveness.

Now that you KNOW that the LED OEM backup lights are not all what they are cracked up to be, make sure your next vehicle doesn't have them or the BLIS..

The named BLIS half correct, we have a whole new generation of folks driving around even more "BLISfull" than ever.. Totally relying on electronics to babysit them while on their smartphone texting..