jdyates
Ghetto Racetruck
Hey guys! As all of you know, our trucks only light up the middle bulbs in the circuit boards for the brake lights and turn signals. This could cause potentially dangerous situations (bulb goes out, no turn signal), and should have been fixed by GM.
Also, some of you may have seen the other How-to floating around for this mod, but it had very blurry pictures, wasn't very clear, and required a soldering iron (which not all of us have access to). These instructions can be followed very easily, and in 30min, all four of your taillight bulbs will light up with the brakes/turns.
I should also note that this was done on a '92 truck, and the 88-89 trucks have different bulbs (circular base) than the '90-98 trucks. Same procedure, but you will need to use a test light to find the proper contacts.
First off, remove the taillights (two phillips screws per light), unplug them, then remove the circuit boards from the taillights (two small hex screws, forget the size). Get a small strand of wire (5in. at the most) and strip the ends to about 1cm of bare wire per end. Below are the instructions for the INDIVIDUAL CIRCUIT BOARDS. They have different contact points! So pay attention very carefully!
DRIVER'S SIDE:
First off, take both running bulbs out (you can remove the reverse bulb if you want, but we will not be modifying it), and look at my diagram below.
It is pretty much straightforward what you need to do. For the middle bulb (between the top, and reverse bulbs) Place the wire (or better yet, thread it through the correct little "contact rod") so it stays in place as you install the bulb back in place. The bulb can be facing whichever direction, as long as the bare wire end is in the correct place. Install the bulb with the bare end of wire touching/threaded through the BOTTOM-RIGHT contact.
Now look at the top bulb. You will notice that i wrote "BRIDGE" for the ground contacts. The circuit board does not have a ground for the "High filament", so what i did was take a SMALL strand of bare wire (think 1cm at the most, you don't want to touch another contact point) and thread it through the "contact rods" on the ground end of the bulb by wrapping it around the base. This is NECESSARY. Then carefully install the "High filament" wire in the designated spot, and install the bulb.
At this point, with both bulbs installed, you can plug the circuit board in and have some hit the brakes to test. Both bulbs should light up when the pedal is pressed. If nothing happens, you popped the 15amp brake light fuse. If only the middle bulb lights, you wired something wrong, or the wire/ground slipped off the contacts. Re-apply and try again. Here is how your tails should look so far:
-------------------------------
PASSENGER SIDE:
Same procedure as above, but the contact points are a bit different. Again, pay CLOSE attention to the diagram below:
When you're done, it should look like this:
Here are both bulbs lit up for brakes on the driver side.
That's all there is to it. I apologize if it seems confusing, just follow my instructions step-by-step and you'll be fine. Also, if you happen to wire it wrong and short the lights out, DON'T WORRY. You simply popped the fuse for the brake lights. Replace, and try again.
Any questions, feel free to ask.
Obligatory, i am not responsible if anything bad DOES happen to your harness/circuit board (not likely, that's what fuses are for), but some trucks may be different than others, some may have their wiring set up a bit differently, i encourage you all to use a TEST LIGHT to verify everything, even though this was a successful procedure on my truck.
Happy wiring!
Also, some of you may have seen the other How-to floating around for this mod, but it had very blurry pictures, wasn't very clear, and required a soldering iron (which not all of us have access to). These instructions can be followed very easily, and in 30min, all four of your taillight bulbs will light up with the brakes/turns.
I should also note that this was done on a '92 truck, and the 88-89 trucks have different bulbs (circular base) than the '90-98 trucks. Same procedure, but you will need to use a test light to find the proper contacts.
First off, remove the taillights (two phillips screws per light), unplug them, then remove the circuit boards from the taillights (two small hex screws, forget the size). Get a small strand of wire (5in. at the most) and strip the ends to about 1cm of bare wire per end. Below are the instructions for the INDIVIDUAL CIRCUIT BOARDS. They have different contact points! So pay attention very carefully!
DRIVER'S SIDE:
First off, take both running bulbs out (you can remove the reverse bulb if you want, but we will not be modifying it), and look at my diagram below.
You must be registered for see images attach
It is pretty much straightforward what you need to do. For the middle bulb (between the top, and reverse bulbs) Place the wire (or better yet, thread it through the correct little "contact rod") so it stays in place as you install the bulb back in place. The bulb can be facing whichever direction, as long as the bare wire end is in the correct place. Install the bulb with the bare end of wire touching/threaded through the BOTTOM-RIGHT contact.
Now look at the top bulb. You will notice that i wrote "BRIDGE" for the ground contacts. The circuit board does not have a ground for the "High filament", so what i did was take a SMALL strand of bare wire (think 1cm at the most, you don't want to touch another contact point) and thread it through the "contact rods" on the ground end of the bulb by wrapping it around the base. This is NECESSARY. Then carefully install the "High filament" wire in the designated spot, and install the bulb.
At this point, with both bulbs installed, you can plug the circuit board in and have some hit the brakes to test. Both bulbs should light up when the pedal is pressed. If nothing happens, you popped the 15amp brake light fuse. If only the middle bulb lights, you wired something wrong, or the wire/ground slipped off the contacts. Re-apply and try again. Here is how your tails should look so far:
You must be registered for see images attach
-------------------------------
PASSENGER SIDE:
Same procedure as above, but the contact points are a bit different. Again, pay CLOSE attention to the diagram below:
You must be registered for see images attach
When you're done, it should look like this:
You must be registered for see images attach
Here are both bulbs lit up for brakes on the driver side.
You must be registered for see images attach
That's all there is to it. I apologize if it seems confusing, just follow my instructions step-by-step and you'll be fine. Also, if you happen to wire it wrong and short the lights out, DON'T WORRY. You simply popped the fuse for the brake lights. Replace, and try again.
Any questions, feel free to ask.
Obligatory, i am not responsible if anything bad DOES happen to your harness/circuit board (not likely, that's what fuses are for), but some trucks may be different than others, some may have their wiring set up a bit differently, i encourage you all to use a TEST LIGHT to verify everything, even though this was a successful procedure on my truck.
Happy wiring!
Last edited:
