# Cargo/3rd brake strobe REVISITED!!



## grec-o-face

some of you may remember my post from a long way back about my 3rd brake light mod. Well, I've updated my mod with an LED flasher and the results are great!!!

Here's a day time vid.

http://static.photobucket.com/player.swf?file=http://vid63.photobucket.com/albums/h126/grecoface/Car%20Pics/RRstrobeDAY.flv


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## grec-o-face

I'll get a night video soon. That day-light crap just doesn't give it any justice.


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## cubanb343

it still looks good


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## grec-o-face

cubanb343;1043234 said:


> it still looks good


Thanks Cuban!!


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## Bruce'sEx

Can you also show what it looks like when you are on the brakes too?


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## grec-o-face

Bruce'sEx;1043251 said:


> Can you also show what it looks like when you are on the brakes too?


I wired everything through relays -

with the strobe switch OFF, the normal functions (brake / cargo) work without interuption. 
with the strobe switch ON, the power is routed through the LED flasher and NOT through the stock paths, it dissables the factory functions (there's no chance of blowing anything up this way).


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## Morrissey snow removal

where did u get it????


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## swtiih

looks very good. I'm curious how did you do this? wiring,lights and flasher part #'s


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## grec-o-face

It's a Recon LED 3rd brake light. (like $90-ish)

I cut the stock wiring and re-routed the power for the cargo and for the brake lights. I ran them through relays (standard bosch 5 pin - I already had a few). When the relays are NOT energized, the power just flows through them and works the normal cargo & brake light functions. When the relays ARE energized, the power is instead sent through a NOVA Electronics LED flasher (like $30-ish), then the flasher provides output via power/flash patterns to the Recon light assembly.

I plan on doing a similar set-up to my LED roof lights. I've seen aftermarket LED roof lights that have a strobe function, but they're too pricey for me. Plus, I'd rather do it myself.


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## oh8chevy2500

on my old truck i cut the harness on the under the tailgate LED brakelight with the reverse LEDs that was sick although it took a few trial experiments to figure out how to get the left blinker right blinker full brake and reverse lights to rotate and sync up the way i wanted but a few hours later me and my wiring guru friend got it done... looks sick even in the day light


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## grec-o-face

oh8chevy2500;1043398 said:


> on my old truck i cut the harness on the under the tailgate LED brakelight with the reverse LEDs that was sick although it took a few trial experiments to figure out how to get the left blinker right blinker full brake and reverse lights to rotate and sync up the way i wanted but a few hours later me and my wiring guru friend got it done... looks sick even in the day light


That's what I'm talkin' bout. I dig all that custom wiring stuff. It's just cool.


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## oh8chevy2500

custom wiring sucks at first ... the way i do it atleast...i have a bunch of leads that have the wire punchin alligator clips on them and i figure out everything then go to the bench and do the complete wiring then back to the truck to solder heatshrink and loom it up and away nice and clean but everything is worth it when its all said and done and knowing you only spent the money on pieces and not a plug n play is a nice peace of mind and chunk of money saved ...


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## swtiih

thanks for the info


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## flatlander42

Way Cool! just subscribing so I don't miss the Night Video!


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## EGLC

masternate42;1043884 said:


> Way Cool! just subscribing so I don't miss the Night Video!


ditto! plus i wanna do this to my truck now


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## Dissociative

where did you get the led flasher idea?


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## oh8chevy2500

Where did I? Because I remember shooting you a pm asking if it was possible and what I would need


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## Dissociative

ahhh yeah....


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## oh8chevy2500

I will give credit when its due just haven't seen you on in months


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## Dissociative

yeah...i just been poking around...running my new construction company...not a lot of time..

i keep seeing your light wishing i had no camper shell....look badazz


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## grec-o-face

The white strobes appear very blue through the video... trust me, there's no blue anywhere on my truck.

http://static.photobucket.com/player.swf

http://static.photobucket.com/player.swf


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## grec-o-face

*LED mirror strobes*

I rewired my stock lighted mirrors just as I did my cargo.

http://static.photobucket.com/player.swf


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## THEGOLDPRO

sweet, i like the mirrors like that


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## swtiih

One day when I get the time I'm gonna look into doing this


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## swtiih

by the way looks great, When are you gonna do the clearance/ roof lights.


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## grec-o-face

swtiih;1053212 said:


> by the way looks great, When are you gonna do the clearance/ roof lights.


It's next on the list. I just have to find the time to drop the headliner (disconnect & remove the visors, remove the overhead console, remove the grab handles, the weather stripping.. ect.)


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## swtiih

When you get it done, post some more video


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## grec-o-face

Of Course. Next time the wife takes off for a while - - I'll tear into the headliner/cab lights.


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## wizardsr

grec-o-face;1053188 said:


> I rewired my stock lighted mirrors just as I did my cargo.


Did you run new wiring in the mirror or flash on the "hot" wires? I tried doing that with mine, but the whelen flasher flashes the ground, and it didn't work since the lights are finding ground through the door...


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## grec-o-face

wizardsr;1053968 said:


> Did you run new wiring in the mirror or flash on the "hot" wires? I tried doing that with mine, but the whelen flasher flashes the ground, and it didn't work since the lights are finding ground through the door...


I used this flasher (actually two of them - one for fronts [mirrors and soon to be cab lights] , and one for rear mounted lights [cargo and maybe bumber mounted LEDs on each side of the plate someday] ) http://www.strobesnmore.com/nova-universal-led-flasher.html

It's super easy to wire. It's limited though, it only has two outputs, and it doesn't offer all that many patterns.

It's really not too difficult to wire. 
I used standard 5 pin Bosch relays for it. (4 of them - 1 per light circuit)

**[whether it's blinker or parking light] Run the power "or feed" from the truck's harness to the normally closed pin 87a

** pin 30 will run back to the light and work normally when the relay's coil is NOT energized

**pin 87 will have a lead from an LED flasher running to it.

**pin 85 is ground

**pin 86 it your switched 12v

The 12v switched power will also be used to turn on the LED flasher

That make sense?


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## grec-o-face

wizardsr;1053968 said:


> Did you run new wiring in the mirror or flash on the "hot" wires? I tried doing that with mine, but the whelen flasher flashes the ground, and it didn't work since the lights are finding ground through the door...


To answer your 1st question; I added the mirrors because they didn't come stock on my 02. So, I had to run all the wiring anyway. I had to add 3 wires to each door & connect to the correct wires in the stock harness under the dash - or kick panel.


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## wizardsr

grec-o-face;1053992 said:


> To answer your 1st question; I added the mirrors because they didn't come stock on my 02. So, I had to run all the wiring anyway. I had to add 3 wires to each door & connect to the correct wires in the stock harness under the dash - or kick panel.


Ok, looking at the link in your post, they flash on the + side, not ground. I have 30 some light heads running off a Whelen flasher. Works good because I can use the upfitter switches to turn them on in "groups", and they're all synced because the Whelen flasher is flashing the ground. I had them hooked up to the flasher about a week ago, but it didn't work, because the mirror is grounded through the door, even though I had isolated the mirror ground inside the door, it's still grounding through the mirror bolts. I've since given up it, because there's no way I'm tearing the mirrors down just to run another wire... I could run another flasher, but then they wouldn't be synced with the rest of the lights...


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## plowguy43

Maybe check out the Sho-ME LED flasher, not sure if there is much difference, but I think there are more than 2 outlets. Awesome setup Greco!


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## grec-o-face

I didn't realize the whelen flashers (or at least the one you have) flash through the ground. That adds some difficulty for sure. hmmmm. 

Thanks for the props PlowGuy!


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## grec-o-face

plowguy43;1054151 said:


> Maybe check out the Sho-ME LED flasher, not sure if there is much difference, but I think there are more than 2 outlets. Awesome setup Greco!


I originally was looking for a flasher with at least 5 outlets so I could make the cab lights chase eachother. I've given up on that idea, and already invested in the cheapest flasher I could find - So I'll just split the cab lights into two channels - 
Channel 1 will be lights (1) - (3) - (5)
Channel 2 will be lights (2) - (4)


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## plowguy43

That would be cool to do (chasing). Instead of replacing the entire light assembly, could you just replace the bulbs with LED (I'm not sure it would be more cost affective)?


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## grec-o-face

plowguy43;1054454 said:


> That would be cool to do (chasing). Instead of replacing the entire light assembly, could you just replace the bulbs with LED (I'm not sure it would be more cost affective)?


Chasing would've required much more wiring and a more expensive flasher. Maybe on the next truck I'll try it.

I already have some hi-po amber LEDs in there. Also, I had my paint guy spray the stock amber cab lenses to black them out. They really look good day/night. I'm excited to wire 'em up to the flasher.


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## wizardsr

grec-o-face;1054461 said:


> Chasing would've required much more wiring and a more expensive flasher. Maybe on the next truck I'll try it.
> 
> I already have some hi-po amber LEDs in there. Also, I had my paint guy spray the stock amber cab lenses to black them out. They really look good day/night. I'm excited to wire 'em up to the flasher.


A whelen ULF44 could give you a rotator pattern, that would look sick! The ULF44 is $50 which is what I paid for the ULF28 4 years ago... If I didn't already have my whole truck wired up with the ULF28, I'd grab a ULF44 and wire up the mirrors while I was at it, but I'm not interested in rewiring the whole rig to flash hot instead of the grounds...


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## grec-o-face

I thought the ULF44 only has 4 channels. I'd need something with at least 5 but with all of the other benifits of the ULF44.
It really is a high quality flasher.


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## wizardsr

grec-o-face;1054465 said:


> I thought the ULF44 only has 4 channels. I'd need something with at least 5 but with all of the other benifits of the ULF44.
> It really is a high quality flasher.


Yeah, it's 4 "channels", so 2 (each end maybe?) would have to be together, but it would still look great! Not sure if there's anything out there with more than 4...


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## wizardsr

By the way, I converted my taillights to LED's in the stock housing (Oval LED's) plus I've got 3157 LED's in the front. I took your idea with the cargo light and ran with it, hooking it into my Whelen flasher. The cargo/brake lights and taillights are all wired up to the flasher and I'm thinking about wiring the front turn signals in tonight. I'll have to get a video of it when I'm done...


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## grec-o-face

wizardsr;1054469 said:


> By the way, I converted my taillights to LED's in the stock housing (Oval LED's) plus I've got 3157 LED's in the front. I took your idea with the cargo light and ran with it, hooking it into my Whelen flasher. The cargo/brake lights and taillights are all wired up to the flasher and I'm thinking about wiring the front turn signals in tonight. I'll have to get a video of it when I'm done...


ABSOLUTELY!!
I like it man! I hop you ran everything through relays or diods -- don't wanna run flash pulses through the system, just the lights.


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## wizardsr

grec-o-face;1054656 said:


> ABSOLUTELY!!
> I like it man! I hop you ran everything through relays or diods -- don't wanna run flash pulses through the system, just the lights.


Oh, for sure. 2 relays on each taillight, 4 for the cargo/3rd brake light, 6 for the front signals, and that's just for isolating them between stock functions and flashing. I could have eliminated a good number of them if the flasher flashed on + instead of ground. Oh well, what do you do... I've been using printed circuit boards and soldering on 10amp smt relays. Much cleaner and more compact than using 30 amp automotive relays. Only place I used 30 amp Bosch-style relays was on the back of the taillights since they were easier to glue on and are more weather resistant.

Once I'm done I'll video the truck in "summer dress", so it will be minus the 4 light heads on the light tower and the 4 light heads on the salt spreader. The whole reason I'm doing all this is I'm not using a light bar on this truck this year, as I used it on another truck that I've been working on. This will end up being much much cheaper (and way cooler) to do than spending the coin on another $400 LED mini-bar.


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## grec-o-face

Alright... I've finished my wiring of the mirrors and cab lights. Just gotta have a dark enough night to capture some video. I'll post a fresh thread with vids as soon as I can. Stay tuned!!


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## maelawncare

Subscribed for more videos. Cant wait to see the cab lights.


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## Dissociative

you guys are some smart dudes...wheres all the pics and videos.


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## grec-o-face

Dissociative;1070592 said:


> you guys are some smart dudes...wheres all the pics and videos.


I tried to take some video, but my camera hates the strobe flashes. I'll figure something out.


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## wizardsr

Dissociative;1070592 said:


> you guys are some smart dudes...wheres all the pics and videos.


Thanks George. I'll try to take a vid tomorrow, too late tonight, don't need the neighbors any more irritated with me than they already are... 

Greco, have you popped any of the resistors on the recon LED cargo/brake lights yet? I was working an event a couple weeks ago, and they had a total run time of about 2 hours, and one bank of LED's on the left cargo light stopped working. I ohm'd the resistor and she's popped. May be due to flashing them, maybe not, hopefully it's just coincidental...


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## grec-o-face

wizardsr;1070765 said:


> Thanks George. I'll try to take a vid tomorrow, too late tonight, don't need the neighbors any more irritated with me than they already are...
> 
> Greco, have you popped any of the resistors on the recon LED cargo/brake lights yet? I was working an event a couple weeks ago, and they had a total run time of about 2 hours, and one bank of LED's on the left cargo light stopped working. I ohm'd the resistor and she's popped. May be due to flashing them, maybe not, hopefully it's just coincidental...


Actually I haven't. BUT.... This is my second unit. My first unit was just some cheap knock off and it did spit a resistor resulting in the same thing - an entire strip of LEDs failed. Also, I was running it through a homemade flasher and that may have had something to do with it. So far, with this Recon unit and the Nova flasher, all has been good.


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## maelawncare

Have you guys tried switching out the regular lights with some good leds? THe recons might be ok, but their not that bright and will wear out quickly like wizardsr is already seeing.


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## wizardsr

maelawncare;1070813 said:


> Have you guys tried switching out the regular lights with some good leds? THe recons might be ok, but their not that bright and will wear out quickly like wizardsr is already seeing.


I have TMI Powertower bulbs in my front turn signals that also flash with the others. The taillights have been converted to LED using 2x6 oval LED's and 3 LED clearance lights per side. These of course also flash with the others. :redbounce


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## maelawncare

wizardsr;1071042 said:


> I have TMI Powertower bulbs in my front turn signals that also flash with the others. The taillights have been converted to LED using 2x6 oval LED's and 3 LED clearance lights per side. These of course also flash with the others. :redbounce


I meant for the 3rd brake light.


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## wizardsr

maelawncare;1071044 said:


> I meant for the 3rd brake light.


Gotcha. The housing on the recon is good quality; so if I continue to have issues after I replace the resistor, I'll replicate the board on the back of it with some good quality, higher power LED's versus the Chinese 3 volt ones on it now. Should be easy to make a new circuit board as the existing one is flat and just attaches to the housing with 2 screws.


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## grec-o-face

*mirror / cab clearance / cargo LEDs*

Here's a daytime video of my strobes...
I'm planning on adding two clear LEDs on the rear bumper near the license plate - then I'll chill out for a bit.

http://static.photobucket.com/player.swf


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## Dissociative

damn...finally someone who i want to show ME somethings.....nice work man...i like the discrete stuff.


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## grec-o-face

Dissociative;1079467 said:


> damn...finally someone who i want to show ME somethings.....nice work man...i like the discrete stuff.


Thanks man!
Alot of the undercover state troopers like to wrap their windshield LED's with black pantie-hose. It hides them better and still allows them to shine through -- I think I'll give it a try.


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## wizardsr

Looks good man! My camera made it into the truck, but now for the last few weeks I've been driving my F250, and the truck with all the lights has been parked... One of these days...

Here's one of my others for a teaser though...


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## rb8484

grec-o-face;1079405 said:


> Here's a daytime video of my strobes...
> I'm planning on adding two clear LEDs on the rear bumper near the license plate - then I'll chill out for a bit.
> 
> http://static.photobucket.com/player.swf


I so want to do this to my mirrors now!! I need to learn how to wire up with the relays! What hideways do you have?


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## grec-o-face

rb8484;1080059 said:


> I so want to do this to my mirrors now!! I need to learn how to wire up with the relays! What hideways do you have?


My hide-a-ways are STL - and I'm NOT happy with them. They were cheap - and I got what I paid for.

WHEN they fail, I'll be replacing with a brand name.


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## rb8484

grec-o-face;1080108 said:


> My hide-a-ways are STL - and I'm NOT happy with them. They were cheap - and I got what I paid for.
> 
> WHEN they fail, I'll be replacing with a brand name.


I am trying to decide if i should keep my 90 watt tubes or go led's for hideways. 
Do you have a write up on how you did the mirrors?


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## grec-o-face

rb8484;1080112 said:


> I am trying to decide if i should keep my 90 watt tubes or go led's for hideways.
> Do you have a write up on how you did the mirrors?


I didn't take pics or record any of the install - wish I did. It's really pretty simple though -- WAY easier if you added the power/lit mirrors yourself. The stock wiring is tough to access, but if you wired them yourself (like I did) it's much easier to access the lighting feeds.


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## rb8484

I installed the mirrors myself, so the wires are easily accessable. What kind of relay did u use. Is there different sizes? Thanks in advance!


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## grec-o-face

grec-o-face;1053990 said:


> I used this flasher (actually two of them - one for fronts [mirrors and soon to be cab lights] , and one for rear mounted lights [cargo and maybe bumber mounted LEDs on each side of the plate someday] ) http://www.strobesnmore.com/nova-universal-led-flasher.html
> 
> It's super easy to wire. It's limited though, it only has two outputs, and it doesn't offer all that many patterns.
> 
> It's really not too difficult to wire.
> I used standard 5 pin Bosch relays for it. (4 of them - 1 per light circuit)
> 
> **[whether it's blinker or parking light] Run the power "or feed" from the truck's harness to the normally closed pin 87a
> 
> ** pin 30 will run back to the light and work normally when the relay's coil is NOT energized
> 
> **pin 87 will have a lead from an LED flasher running to it.
> 
> **pin 85 is ground
> 
> **pin 86 it your switched 12v
> 
> The 12v switched power will also be used to turn on the LED flasher
> 
> That make sense?


Here's an earlier post.


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## rb8484

grec-o-face;1081018 said:


> Here's an earlier post.


HAHA, I was just reading it as you reposted it! Thanks
Will these relays work, or are they to high of amperage?
http://cgi.ebay.com/10-pcs-12-Volt-...889?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f02a61e99

Thanks again!


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## grec-o-face

rb8484;1081175 said:


> HAHA, I was just reading it as you reposted it! Thanks
> Will these relays work, or are they to high of amperage?
> http://cgi.ebay.com/10-pcs-12-Volt-...889?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f02a61e99
> 
> Thanks again!


YUP!! 
Those are perfect.

MAKE SURE YOU GIVE ME CREDIT FOR THAT MOD.


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## rb8484

grec-o-face;1081190 said:


> YUP!!
> Those are perfect.


THANKS! Gonna order them right now, I may be back asking questions once I get them, but it seams pretty clear cut. I assume you used 2 relays on the 3rd brake light? One for the cargo and one for the brake?


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## grec-o-face

rb8484;1081192 said:


> THANKS! Gonna order them right now, I may be back asking questions once I get them, but it seams pretty clear cut. I assume you used 2 relays on the 3rd brake light? One for the cargo and one for the brake?


Exactly. 
For the Cab lights, I just split them into two groups - and tapped into the relays the run the mirrors.


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## whitee989

grec-o-face;1053990 said:


> Run the power "or feed" from the truck's harness to the normally closed pin 87a
> 
> ** pin 30 will run back to the light and work normally when the relay's coil is NOT energized
> 
> **pin 87 will have a lead from an LED flasher running to it.
> 
> **pin 85 is ground
> 
> **pin 86 it your switched 12v
> 
> The 12v switched power will also be used to turn on the LED flasher
> 
> That make sense?


Does the 12v switched power from the upfitter run to the relay and also to the LED flasher? (two seperate wires??)



wizardsr;1054011 said:


> Ok, looking at the link in your post, they flash on the + side, not ground. I have 30 some light heads running off a Whelen flasher. Works good because I can use the upfitter switches to turn them on in "groups", and they're all synced because the Whelen flasher is flashing the ground. I had them hooked up to the flasher about a week ago, but it didn't work, because the mirror is grounded through the door, even though I had isolated the mirror ground inside the door, it's still grounding through the mirror bolts. I've since given up it, because there's no way I'm tearing the mirrors down just to run another wire... I could run another flasher, but then they wouldn't be synced with the rest of the lights...


I'm also confused by this. If someone could draw up a quick wire diagram in paint for a seet of strobing cab lights that turn off the running lights when strobing, I would really appreciate it. For the life of me I can't figure out the wiring to get the running rights to shut off. I am using a Whelen ULF44 flasher with the atomic cab lights.


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## grec-o-face

whitee989;1387395 said:


> Does the 12v switched power from the upfitter run to the relay and also to the LED flasher? (two seperate wires??)
> 
> Yes.
> You'll be turning on the flasher AND energizing the relay which will close the circuit and create a path for the flasher outputs.
> 
> I'm also confused by this. If someone could draw up a quick wire diagram in paint for a seet of strobing cab lights that turn off the running lights when strobing, I would really appreciate it. For the life of me I can't figure out the wiring to get the running rights to shut off. I am using a Whelen ULF44 flasher with the atomic cab lights.


I haven't wired the Atomics, so I can't say for sure --- but I know many people have - hopefully somone will chime in.


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## Dissociative

I have done em.....
And i also have a way to do the mirror mod with only one relay......

Stay tuned for a write up or email me


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## grec-o-face

Dissociative;1387468 said:


> I have done em.....
> And i also have a way to do the mirror mod with only one relay......
> 
> Stay tuned for a write up or email me


I'm not going anywhere. I'd like to see/hear about the single relay install...Thumbs Up


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## Dissociative

Building one harness for my rig later today......this would be a one flasher, one relay, two diode, drop in harness that the end user only has to make four connections inside each door and apply power to it. 
Very simple install with all the work already done......drop in and your done. 

Last one i installed took me ten min. from start to finish using my harness


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## NickT

Subscribed


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## OC&D

Dissociative;1387478 said:


> Building one harness for my rig later today......this would be a one flasher, one relay, two diode, drop in harness that the end user only has to make four connections inside each door and apply power to it.
> Very simple install with all the work already done......drop in and your done.
> 
> Last one i installed took me ten min. from start to finish using my harness


Alright. I'm interested in doing this mod on my mirrors and modding the 3rd brake/cargo light as well.

Earlier in the thread some of you talked about issues with diodes burning out, has this continued to be a problem? If so, have you determined a solution?

Dissociative, I'm not sure if you're interested in building another harness I could buy from you, or if not, would you be willing to post a wiring diagram?

I'm looking to complete this mod on my 2012 F350, and I'm not sure if Ford has changed much in the last few years when it comes to wiring the mirrors, but I'm sure it's much more complicated than my 2006 was since the mirrors on the 2012 have power slide and fold.

Also, specifically, which LED replacement bulbs have you had success with in the mirrors and 3rd brake/cargo light?

The other thing I've noticed is that under the dash on this truck, there is customer access blunt wires for the entire lighting system of the truck, has anyone utilized this when wiring any mods?


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## whitextreme

Sorry for digging up an old post but this was the most instructive that I have found. Would it be possible to tap in/out at the multifunction switch for the left and right turn and flash the whole side of the truck? Assuming the bulb are all led of course. Then wiring the parking lights in the mirrors separately? Thank you.


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