

| Subject: | Idea for removable backup light wiring |
| From: | Jim Felder |
| Date: | Fri, 17 Jun 2011 18:03:23 -0500 |
I have a nice 3.5 x 7 inch Hella driving light that I would like to use as a backup light when camping, loading boats in the dark, etc. I have mounted in a Harbor Freight welder's magnet so I can stick it wherever I want to, but my only real intent is to mount it on the bumper. But not permanently: I don't want to drill a hole in the bumper, I want to be able to stand on the bumper to load boats on the westy top, and I don't want anyone to steal it. Also, I may get into a situation where I want it somewhere else on the car. My brother and I were talking about how to wire it and we came up with the idea to wire it into the trailer pigtail backup light. But, it turns out, there isn't a backup light wire so that is not an option. The idea was to get a trailer-side connector for when the light was in use. I suppose I could tap into the running lights, but that could be awkward in some situations where you wanted to be able to turn the light on and off. I also thought about running a wire from the backup light switch, and having some kind of a pigtail available cable-tied to the hitch bar, say. It would suit me fine if, say, the light was on when the car was in reverse and the light was plugged in. I don't see operating it with a dedicated switch. I was also just thinking about taking a spare driver's side tail light and drilling out and fitting some kind of through-the-lens plug that was sealed and wouldn't get water into the electrical part, and also would not be susceptible to road dirt and water. That way I could wire the plug to the backup light and simply plug into the reflector part of the left rear lamp when it came time to back down a logging road. The Hella is not conveniently enough to adjust the aim to think that the lamp would be useful in a lot of different places. It takes a wrench to change it. I spend about a month or five weeks a year driving and sleeping into this thing. I am into simplicity and dependability. I just want to stick this on a rear bumper so I can see where I am backing, though it might be interesting to have an adapter to plug into a cigar lighter socket to have light elsewhere around the car, but I digress. Any thoughts or ideas on types of connectors that would help or where they would be wired? I only have one switch slot open on the dash (it's a diesel westy, 83) and I am reserving that for something else. Jim
Have something to add on this topic today? Revive this thread in the forum »