Wiring Rigid D series Flood lights to reverse lights HELP!

[Sirois2018]

I recently installed the LOD destroyer rear bumper along with RIGID D-Series Pro Flood lights in the bumper. I'm wanting to use the new lights to enhance the stock reverse lights. I've installed the light red wire to the reverse lights wire in the right tail lamp and grounded the black wire to the rear cross member of the frame beneath the Jeep.
However, the lights will not work. The lights will "flicker" on for a split second when I initially put the Jeep in reverse but, nothing more than that. I have the halogen package and not the LED. I not sure if that could be part of the problem.
Any input is greatly appreciated.

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[trainsafe]

I'm just guessing, but it sounds like you might have a poor ground. The paint might be interfering with the conductivity.

Maybe try temporarily running a ground jumper back to a good grounding point and see if that helps.

If that doesn't work, then we know the problem is on the power supply side.

 

[Dan S]

I ran a line from the reverse lights to a relay coil and let the relay with a fuse power the D Series lights off of the battery. I was concerned, with reason, the additional draw would flip out the computer.

As a side note, also ran a separate line from an aux switch to light them up at will. Requires 2 diodes and a bit more wire.

 

[Ldybug]

Wish I'd found this thread 3 weeks ago. I've also got the LOD shorty bumper with tire carrier. I just got a set of rigid d series pro pods for the bumper. My goal is to splice the pods into the reverse lights so the pods come on when in reverse. But I also want to be able to control them them manually from my oem aux panel. So I also bought some diodes that will be spliced into the oem reverse wire. I had two friends guide me on this whole diode thing, cause it's above my head. I had a third guy say I don't need the diodes, but I'm not listening to the third guy. The diode prevents backflow...sounds kind of important.

@Dan S, I thought videos for this dual purpose wiring would be all over youtube, but i can't find any videos. I found people using the diodes for towing jeeps behind RVs, but no one is posting videos of how to use them to make reverse lights multi-function.

Here's the pile of stuff I bought. Just waiting for the rest of the parts to arrive. That wiring harness in the pic is what was inside the rigid box. I won't be using the little switch, but I can probably reuse the red/black wire

 

[Dan S]

Wish I'd found this thread 3 weeks ago. I've also got the LOD shorty bumper with tire carrier. I just got a set of rigid d series pro pods for the bumper. My goal is to splice the pods into the reverse lights so the pods come on when in reverse. But I also want to be able to control them them manually from my oem aux panel. So I also bought some diodes that will be spliced into the oem reverse wire. I had two friends guide me on this whole diode thing, cause it's above my head. I had a third guy say I don't need the diodes, but I'm not listening to the third guy. The diode prevents backflow...sounds kind of important.

@Dan S, I thought videos for this dual purpose wiring would be all over youtube, but i can't find any videos. I found people using the diodes for towing jeeps behind RVs, but no one is posting videos of how to use them to make reverse lights multi-function.

Here's the pile of stuff I bought. Just waiting for the rest of the parts to arrive. That wiring harness in the pic is what was inside the rigid box. I won't be using the little switch, but I can probably reuse the red/black wire

I found the draw for the Rigids to be too high to be fed by the back up light wiring, so I used that as a trigger for a relay coil. The relay then is connected to the battery, with a fuse in between, and then to the lights. I also didn't want to damage the factory wiring, so I bought the kit to connect between the connectors in the taillight. That way I tapped into a removable wire and there is zero damage to factory in case of electrical issues requiring warranty service. Be sure to get some wire loom for running everything through the frame rails and up to the front.

 

[Thinman]

another reason to always get the tow package.

run them into the tow harness if available

 

[Dan S]

another reason to always get the tow package.

run them into the tow harness if available

The way I did it is far cleaner. I don't have any wiring outside of the vehicle.

 

[Ldybug]

Okay, so what i'm hearing is that the rigid d series pods draw too much power to splice them into the reverse light wire. And I hear that a good work-around is to splice them into the tow package wires. Good thing i have the oem tow package. I just found a thread where @Rhinebeck01 was talking about splicing into the trigger wire of the 6 pin connector located near the hitch. He made some good points as to why it's better to use the tow wires than the reverse wire. It was kind of above my head though. @Rhinebeck01 would you be willing to share the exact steps for this project?

edited to add the link where rhinebeck shared his view: https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/backup-lights.10763/page-38#post-1179586

 

[Ldybug]

And now I'm reading further on where @Rhinebeck01 already shared his steps. Here's what he said:

 

[Ldybug]

i read that whole 38 page thread....wow good info, but it took me all day

@Dan S, if the rigid lights drew too much when you spliced into the wire behind the tail light, does that also mean the draw will be too much if i splice into the white/orange on the 7 pin by the hitch?

 

[Dan S]

i read that whole 38 page thread....wow good info, but it took me all day

@Dan S, if the rigid lights drew too much when you spliced into the wire behind the tail light, does that also mean the draw will be too much if i splice into the white/orange on the 7 pin by the hitch?

I don't know. I don't know how many amps the wiring for trailer lights are rated for.

Sorry.

 

[Rhinebeck01]

i read that whole 38 page thread....wow good info, but it took me all day

@Dan S, if the rigid lights drew too much when you spliced into the wire behind the tail light, does that also mean the draw will be too much if i splice into the white/orange on the 7 pin by the hitch?

@Ldybug --- Dani

I'd say the wiring you find at the tail lights is less capable so to speak then the wire you will be dealing with at the 6 pin.

Look at the your LED, tail light wiring harness and then look at that wire at the 6 pin. Notice the wire at the 6 pin is a much larger gauge.

I'm not going to try to find all your old posts..... How about telling me here, what you are trying to do... also, have you calculated total watts, and know amps of your goodies?

 

[Ldybug]

I want to install these rigid d series pro lights onto the jeep rear bumper. I want to use them daily as reverse lights, but I also want to be able to manually turn them on with my oem aux panel. The lights are 2.14 @ 14VDC (30 watts) per light. I have two lights. Dan was saying that he tried this exact same set up by tapping into the reverse wire behind the taillight and he couldn't get enough juice to make the lights work properly. So, I am hoping to connect my lights to the tow hitch (as you suggested years ago). I just want to make sure that the white/orange wire on the tow hitch is beefy enough to power the lights. Hope this makes sense.

 

[Rhinebeck01]

I want to install these rigid d series pro lights onto the jeep rear bumper. I want to use them daily as reverse lights, but I also want to be able to manually turn them on with my oem aux panel. The lights are 2.14 @ 14VDC (30 watts) per light. I have two lights. Dan was saying that he tried this exact same set up by tapping into the reverse wire behind the taillight and he couldn't get enough juice to make the lights work properly. So, I am hoping to connect my lights to the tow hitch (as you suggested years ago). I just want to make sure that the white/orange wire on the tow hitch is beefy enough to power the lights. Hope this makes sense.

@Ldybug

Your two, 30 watt lights will draw 5 amps or 5,000 milliamps total. You will have no issue at all wiring to the 6 pin. For all the reasons I gave in past posts, saying to avoid the factory tail light harness ,(especially if you JL, has LED light option) DO, tap into the 6 pin and not the tail light harness.
You must use 2 diodes. I would go with the Roadmaster diodes as they hold up well to water, vibration and such.

 

[Ldybug]

@Ldybug

Your two, 30 watt lights will draw 5 amps or 5,000 milliamps total. You will have no issue at all wiring to the 6 pin. For all the reasons I gave in past posts, saying to avoid the factory tail light harness ,(especially if you JL, has LED light option) DO, tap into the 6 pin and not the tail light harness.
You must use 2 diodes. I would go with the Roadmaster diodes as they hold up well to water, vibration and such.

I'll follow back up and let you know how it goes. thanks

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