# Back up lights



## Polarisrider (Sep 4, 2009)

So i went to Tractor Supply the other day and bought 2 small utility lights to mount on the back of my truck to throw some light back there when I'm backing up. Where is the better place to mount them. On the underside of the bumper one on each end. Or in the middle of the bumper where it has the 3 holes to mount a hitch ball. I plan on using 2 lights either way just want to know where they would be more effective. Also I would like to wire them in so they turn on when I shift in to reverse. How is that done.

Thanx, Aaron


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## firelwn82 (Feb 14, 2006)

I personally don't like them on the bottom. When you drive over snow piles after back bladeing or whatever they always get busted or un-aligned.... Just my opinion


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## BoyneCityGuy (May 7, 2009)

polaris: i have a set on the backrack that are either cargo or reverse depending on my switch position, and a set on a hitch step that are just reverse. personally i love having all of them, but if i were choose one or the other it would be on the rack. if you dont have a rack, i would put them in the middle with a little outward angle. as for wiring, if you just want un-switchable reverse you could tap into your 7 pin trailer harness right at the bumper. having them switchable for reverse, cargo, or off is a little more involved. you need a SPDT switch in the cab with a power wire to that from the battery, tap into a reverse wire below your fuse block and run that to the other side of the switch, and then your trigger to the lights...more wire, but its nice to have the options. you should also run a direct ground to the battery for best results IMO. an even better option for this it to use a relay, but it all depends how technical you want to get. my last truck was wired as above, no relay, and was fine, but my new one will have a relay. hope this helps! any questions, let me know!


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## show-n-go (Feb 5, 2009)

you can buy them already wired up in a hitch mount for 75-100 bucks on ebay and there is a guy on here that sells them too.


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## Polarisrider (Sep 4, 2009)

well i mounted those back up lights on my truck. They should be wired up and work on monday. decided to put them under the bumper.


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## RichG53 (Sep 16, 2008)

A couple of snow banks and you will either be deep sea fishing or star gazing.. Depending on which way they get pushed......
I think you should try some thing else .....


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## Greenery (Jun 23, 2007)

Yup I mouted some underneath farther back and higher up than yours and they lasted 2 snowfalls till they were destroyed. This year I'm mounting some up above.


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## MickiRig1 (Dec 5, 2003)

Listen to these guys on light mounting. Anything mounted below the bumpers on a plow truck will be killed some night! Use a fog light relay to switch the power to the back up lights.The park / backup switch is not designed for the extra amp flow of more lights. They are not easy to replace either. Trigger the relay with a positive lead off of the backup light circuit. Have it switch a fused positive supply off of the battery. Switch the negative side of the relay trigger circuit to ground. This way you can turn off the extra lights when you don't need them.


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## Burkartsplow (Nov 1, 2007)

THose things are going to shining striaght down after the first bank you hit. The screws that hold them level are crap. Believe me from experience. Unless you put some supports on the lights to keep them from moving then you are going to have the problems people have already talked about.


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## Harleychvy (Nov 24, 2008)

I mounted mine the same way as Polaris and wired them into the reverse wire in the trailering package, but I used heavy duty zip ties to mount mine. if you back into a banking all you have to do is pull them back down, mine lasted all of last season. The other day I mounted another set on my ladder racks, I used the exsiting strobe light wire. Looks like daylight behind my truck.


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## tls22 (Sep 30, 2007)

I love mine......i have them under the bumper......but salt/water always screws them up and sometimes i wack them with a snow mound....i leave them a bit loose so they dont snap......i just get cheap ones from pep boys....going to put better ones on my back rack. I have gone through 3 sets in 2 winters from the ones from pep boys.


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## The mayor (Oct 31, 2005)

I put my lights in the rear stake bed pockets.


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## grf_1000 (Sep 14, 2009)

here is mine,,, pat. pending  lol


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## RichG53 (Sep 16, 2008)

One eyed cyclops.....


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## grf_1000 (Sep 14, 2009)

yep. works great. not too low to get covered by snow and not high like on a backrack thats it causes shadows on the back glass


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## BoyneCityGuy (May 7, 2009)

grf_1000;857285 said:


> here is mine,,, pat. pending  lol


i like the idea, gets it up and out of the way, FWIW, i would put 2 up there though to get some more light and a better spread. cool though other than no opening of the tailgate.

good to see some northern MI guys, im from Boyne, and i could almost tell where u are without looking by all the sand you are parked in...haha...typical northern MI...


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## grf_1000 (Sep 14, 2009)

its easy, unplug it from the 7 prong plug and remove the hitch pin slides out like a regular hitch. could always make the top plate a bit bigger and put 2 lights on it. with the location of this single light, it works really well though. yes i have a lot of sand. just picked up a new place and have not had time to do anything with it. i hope it gets cold soon so the ground gets a little harder lol


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## ETMegabyte (Nov 11, 2009)

Polarisrider;854584 said:


> well i mounted those back up lights on my truck. They should be wired up and work on monday. decided to put them under the bumper.


Looks like you picked up the exact same lights that I did.

I chose to mount mine a little farther out than you did. What I did was to use two hose clamps per light, and mounted them to the outer edge of the factory trailer hitch.

I pulled power, ground, and reverse signal from the factory trailer connector, and ran the wires up into the left taillight area, where I put in a relay. I also used an on-off-on switch (which is mounted in a very small project box, which is mounted to my bedliner up underneath the bed lip so it won't get wet or destroyed)... I can either have the lights come on when I go into reverse, have them stay on all the time, or shut them off all the time. It works out perfectly for me so far.

I am a little concerned about backing into a snowbank and misaligning them, but this winter will tell me pretty quickly whether that's going to be a big problem or not. Guess I'll just have to be careful... I've seen many plow trucks around here with them under the bumper so it can't be that much of a problem.

And if it is, it's only a $15 light. Not like it would break the bank if I had to replace it...


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## BoyneCityGuy (May 7, 2009)

grf_1000;857580 said:


> its easy, unplug it from the 7 prong plug and remove the hitch pin slides out like a regular hitch. could always make the top plate a bit bigger and put 2 lights on it. with the location of this single light, it works really well though. yes i have a lot of sand. just picked up a new place and have not had time to do anything with it. i hope it gets cold soon so the ground gets a little harder lol


sure, i suppose it is that easy, and if you can get away with one, guess why waste the juice! lol...where in Gaylord are you?


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## grf_1000 (Sep 14, 2009)

just up the street from upper lakes tire. the one works great for me. 99% of my stuff is commercial and the lots have lighting. it even works well on the dark res. drives. also dont have to worry about it getting packed and covered in snow


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## BoyneCityGuy (May 7, 2009)

grf_1000;857621 said:


> just up the street from upper lakes tire. the one works great for me. 99% of my stuff is commercial and the lots have lighting. it even works well on the dark res. drives. also dont have to worry about it getting packed and covered in snow


good location, nice and close to town and hopefully work! glad it works well for you though! i just signed on with a plowing company here by school for some winter income as i wont be near home enough to work there. looking at their trucks i dont think i saw one with AUX back up lights, im a little concerned, but being all commercial it is well lit like you said. good luck to you this season!


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## mkwl (Jan 21, 2005)

Polarisrider;854584 said:


> well i mounted those back up lights on my truck. They should be wired up and work on monday. decided to put them under the bumper.


I have mine under the bumper but a little farther apart- so I can better see the edges of the drives when backing up.

I've had them mounted down there for 3 seasons now, and they're still there- the original 2.


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## Polarisrider (Sep 4, 2009)

well I hooked them up and I am was very happy. I think I am going to leave them where I have them maybe add some support. MegabyteET I got those lights at Tractor Supply Company. (my favorite store) I ran a wire up the frame and into the cab to a small rocker switch. I just dont understand how I am going to hit a snowbank and break them because the point of having the lights is to see the snowbank before I hit it. I dont know that's proably my inexperince showing right there.


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## ETMegabyte (Nov 11, 2009)

I finally took pics of my lights installed, as well as how I mounted them. I mounted mine to the outer edges of the factory tow unit. Since my tow unit is round, it seemed that hose clamps would be the perfect way to mount them without having to drill any holes in the truck.

I think this is a great idea. Solid and secure, but easily removable without drilling any holes... The light can be removed, and a replacement mounted in about 5 minutes using nothing but a cordless screwdriver with a socket at the end...

Also, for those that are interested. I wired mine all to the trailer wires. Pulled 12v constant, ground, and reverse signal from there. Ran the wires up into the left taillight area, where I wired in a relay. I also used a on-off-on switch to allow me to keep the lights off, switch them on with the reverse lights, or keep them on all the time, just to have as many options as possible...

I picked up mine at a local Napa dealer. I think they were $14.99 each, so not terribly expensive...

Anyway, here's the pics...

Picture of the lights on the back of my truck:









Closer look at the mount:









Much closer pic of the hose clamps holding the light in place:


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## ETMegabyte (Nov 11, 2009)

One other thing of note that I've noticed since the lights have been installed...

When I use my keyless entry to unlock the doors, the truck turns on the backup lights (I'd guess to shine some light so you can see). In my opinion, it's a stupid idea, since it also turns on the parking lights, so if you're in a parking lot, other drivers see your parking lights and your reverse lights on, and may sit and wait, expecting you to be backing out of that super-cool spot you managed to get into.. My personal opinion is that reverse lights let others know you are either backing up or about to back up. Turning them on for any other reason is stupid in my opinion... But that's another thought for another time...

Anyway, I wired my reverse light lead from the trailer harness, and it appears that turning on the backup lights when using the keyless entry does NOT energize the reverse-lights wire in the trailer harness (apparently they don't want the trailer's reverse lights coming on?)... Anyway, in my opinion, this is a GOOD thing.

Initially I wasn't sure if I wanted to pull reverse signal from the trailer harness or directly from the hot side of the reverse bulb (since I put my relay behind the left-side taillight it would have been dirt simple to grab reverse signal right from the bulb itself)... I'm glad I pulled from the trailer harness, because having those lights come on when I hit the keyless entry was a concern when hooking it up. On the off-chance that it did exactly what it did, I ran the extra 4 feet of wire to pull reverse signal from the trailer harness, and I'm now glad I did...

Just an FYI for those who aren't sure whether to pull reverse signal from the bulb or the trailer harness...


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## grf_1000 (Sep 14, 2009)

Very true that's part of the reason why I did mine with the 7 way plug.


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## ETMegabyte (Nov 11, 2009)

In reading through the forums, it wasn't something that I had seen mentioned anywhere, so I wired to the trailer harness hoping it would do it that way, and it did...

I just wanted to put it down in case anyone else was wondering...

In fact, I'm considering rewiring my actual reverse lights through a relay pulling signal from the trailer harness. It REALLY annoys me that the truck turns on the reverse lights when using the keyless entry... But that's a project for the spring, I think.


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## pushinsno (Oct 7, 2009)

*I*

I have had a pair on my avalanche mounted on the hitch frame and never have had them bend up twist or turn, just tack weld the bolts to the mounting fram they give you for the lights and they will never move again and as far as some one saying the factory switch doesnt have enough amps to hold the power of the lights by splice into he factory reverse lights is a bunch of crap it aint no different then slpicing the wire from you plow harness into the turn signal lights, the factroy harness has plent of juice and amps to hold it


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## larold83 (Jan 1, 2009)

i'm cutting my bumper and mounting them in square holes they are in the lmc magazine they have bumpers with them already mounted but i'd figure i would save a few hundred


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## ETMegabyte (Nov 11, 2009)

larold83;861680 said:


> i'm cutting my bumper and mounting them in square holes they are in the lmc magazine they have bumpers with them already mounted but i'd figure i would save a few hundred


I considered that briefly, however, it's very difficult to cut the hole in the bumper without ruining the chrome that's on it. Either the chrome flakes away making the bumper look awful, or it blues so bad that it looks like crap...

Plus it sort limits you in how much you can adjust the direction of the lights while keeping them flush with the new holes you just cut... I primarily wanted to light up the ground behind me, while getting some light for distance as well, so my lights are pointed slightly down. That wouldn't look right in a cut bumper.

The fact that my primary concern was lighting up the ground was the deciding factor on whether to put them above the bumper (under the taillights) or below it. I went with below it because that's where I wanted the light to be...

I suppose it's all in what you want the lights to do, I guess. And how good you are at cutting holes...


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## MickiRig1 (Dec 5, 2003)

A factory switch may be able to handle the amp flow for a while. It's not designed for the amp flow, more use then normal and heat generated.( On a plow truck ) 
How many times plow a lot do use reverse?
Watts are: Volts X Amps = Watts.
Say your regular backup bulbs are 100 watts then you add another set of lights at 100 watts. You now doubled the amount of amp flow. Turn signals are different they need a heavy duty blinker unit and are not used much.


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## pushinsno (Oct 7, 2009)

Well say what you want like i said they been on there for three years and they never have burned out nor the factory lights nor a short, and my buddy has four them intsalled on is f-350 the same way never have failed him and hes been plowing with this truck for ten years


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## BoyneCityGuy (May 7, 2009)

ETMegabyte;860526 said:


> One other thing of note that I've noticed since the lights have been installed...
> 
> When I use my keyless entry to unlock the doors, the truck turns on the backup lights (I'd guess to shine some light so you can see). In my opinion, it's a stupid idea, since it also turns on the parking lights, so if you're in a parking lot, other drivers see your parking lights and your reverse lights on, and may sit and wait, expecting you to be backing out of that super-cool spot you managed to get into.. My personal opinion is that reverse lights let others know you are either backing up or about to back up. Turning them on for any other reason is stupid in my opinion... But that's another thought for another time...
> 
> ...


i have an 07 2500HD and wired 2 of my backups to the 7-pin. like you say with the keyless entry the truck lights come on but on mine so do the trailer lights, its odd, and i agree that i dont like it. not sure of any way to fix it, but just a heads up to those of you with NBS trucks, they will come on witht he trailer harness wiring route too...


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## ETMegabyte (Nov 11, 2009)

BoyneCityGuy;864686 said:


> i have an 07 2500HD and wired 2 of my backups to the 7-pin. like you say with the keyless entry the truck lights come on but on mine so do the trailer lights, its odd, and i agree that i dont like it. not sure of any way to fix it, but just a heads up to those of you with NBS trucks, they will come on witht he trailer harness wiring route too...


One option you do have is to put another relay in-line to "switch" the "constant" power lead to only provide constant power when the key is turned on. That would eliminate your tractor lights going on when you hit the keyless entry (since your key will be off, there will be no power getting to the tractor lights)...

And, yes, I intentionally said "switch the constant power" that way on purpose 

Anyway, to be more clear on what I'm thinking, I'll try to explain it better (as reading my above paragraph almost confuses me).... You have your constant power and ground on the 7-pin. That's the source of actual power for your lights. You also have a reverse-light lead, which is your "switch" signal for the relay that turns on the tractor lights. If you added a second relay, between the 7-pin and the relay you have there now, you could "switch" the constant power wire getting to the second relay. Your switch for that added relay would be another wire run from the cab or under the hood that only gets power when the key is turned on. The result is that the newly added relay switches on every time you start the truck, providing power to the second (the one that's there now) relay that switches on when you put the truck in reverse. For the tractor lights to turn on, both relays would have to be on. So, the tractor lights would never turn on unless the key was on AND the truck was in reverse. This would not be the case if you're using the keyless entry, thereby resolving the problem...

And then, if you're like me and really want to avoid the factory backup lights from turning on with the keyless entry as well, you could then hook up your factory reverse lights to the second relay, making it so that your reverse lights will not come on unless the tractor lights are on, which will result in the same thing. I fully intend on doing this second part in the springtime on my truck, as for some reason, the idea of turning on my reverse lights when I'm not going in reverse rubs me the wrong way...

I guess it's just a logic thing with me. Why would you ever want your reverse lights to turn on when the key is off? I would only want the reverse lights to turn on when I'm either backing up or going to back up really soon, so in either case, the truck would be running, hence the key would be on...

-ET


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## Racer593 (Aug 20, 2009)

ETMegabyte;860537 said:


> In reading through the forums, it wasn't something that I had seen mentioned anywhere, so I wired to the trailer harness hoping it would do it that way, and it did...
> 
> I just wanted to put it down in case anyone else was wondering...
> 
> In fact, I'm considering rewiring my actual reverse lights through a relay pulling signal from the trailer harness. It REALLY annoys me that the truck turns on the reverse lights when using the keyless entry... But that's a project for the spring, I think.


I think you can get them to stop coming on by going into the DIC and reconfigure the perimeter lighting feature. Believe it is more of a safety light to ward off would be muggers and such.

Chris


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## 02DURAMAX (Dec 27, 2006)

RichG53;854653 said:


> A couple of snow banks and you will either be deep sea fishing or star gazing.. Depending on which way they get pushed......
> I think you should try some thing else .....





greenery;854700 said:


> Yup I mouted some underneath farther back and higher up than yours and they lasted 2 snowfalls till they were destroyed. This year I'm mounting some up above.


You guys need to learn how to drive if you hit snow banks!!!

Mine Burn out and Never hit one!


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## 02DURAMAX (Dec 27, 2006)

Racer593;865643 said:


> I think you can get them to stop coming on by going into the DIC and reconfigure the perimeter lighting feature. Believe it is more of a safety light to ward off would be muggers and such.
> 
> Chris


Go on you dic and turn them off!!


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## BoyneCityGuy (May 7, 2009)

ETMegabyte;865621 said:


> One option you do have is to put another relay in-line to "switch" the "constant" power lead to only provide constant power when the key is turned on. That would eliminate your tractor lights going on when you hit the keyless entry (since your key will be off, there will be no power getting to the tractor lights)...
> 
> And, yes, I intentionally said "switch the constant power" that way on purpose
> 
> ...


thanks ET, i may go that route, but more likely will go the DIC route. right now there are only 2 lights on the truck, but soon will be 4, and that would be a lot of extra light coming on. although the other 2 may be on a relay that is only powered by the key 

appreciate youur time explaining that though!!


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## Greenery (Jun 23, 2007)

02DURAMAX;867027 said:


> You guys need to learn how to drive if you hit snow banks!!!
> 
> Mine Burn out and Never hit one!


Thanks for the tip buddy. I don't think I ever said they were destroyed from a snowbank though. All the snow and ice and salt is what ruined them the snow would get packed up in there then turn to ice which led to their failure. And maybe an occassional snow bank but some of my stuff is pretty tight to manuever around.


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