Light wiring question- Reverse/Auxilary Rear Bumper Lights

fsflip13

Well-known member
Aug 31, 2005
157
1
Nashville, TN
I'm replacing the lights on my rear bumper on my D2. Has anyone tried to wire their reverse lights and their auxilary lights together. I've got led spotlights that I want to come on when shifted into reverse, and also be able to push the rear bumper auxilary button on my dash for them to turn on. If I wire them together and push my auxilary button, will it make anything on the truck think power is being run to the reverse system on the transmission (screw with the computer/trans somehow). This is my main concern. I think I could wire in a diode to prevent power going to the reverse light circuit, but I am looking for input if anyone has tried this. Let me know your thoughts and opinions.
 

K-rover

Well-known member
Jan 15, 2010
2,163
62
Raleigh, NC
When I went to a Greg Davis rear bumper I tried making my 2 LED pods my reverse lights.. They were too bright for everyday use, and would give people behind me epilepsy when going from Park to Drive with that quick flash. I ended up putting smaller LED lights in factory housings for reverse and put my big pods on a switch.
 

fsflip13

Well-known member
Aug 31, 2005
157
1
Nashville, TN
I'm installing a Greg Davis rear bumper at the moment, and planning to put two led spotlights up in the bumper (mounted forward near the wheelwell) using the bumper to create a brightness horizon to avoid blinding people. The plan is to have them angled and installed so that they are effective reverse lights and also able to be switched on to aid in general vision without blinding anyone.
 

best4x4

Well-known member
Mar 1, 2015
595
72
Beaumont, TX
You can easily just use the 12v signal from a reverse lamp to trigger a relay to make the aux rear lights work when R is selected. I had that setup on my 05 Rubicon when I added a pair of Aux reverse lights on the swing out tire carrier.
 

fsflip13

Well-known member
Aug 31, 2005
157
1
Nashville, TN
I got it wired up over the weekend. No ill effects having the rear aux/ reverse lights connected together at the new lights. Only funny bit is when shifting into/thru reverse the rear aux switch on the dash lights up showing that the lights are on.
 

Blue

Well-known member
Mar 26, 2004
10,043
856
AZ
Did you wire them into the "rear fog light" switch on the dash binnacle? I have some small LEDS that I want to install under my rear GD bumper area very similar to what you did. Would be ideal to have them auto-on with reverse and also be able to turn them manually on by pushing the rear fog button. Would be a good general lighting for nighttime camp setup.
 

fsflip13

Well-known member
Aug 31, 2005
157
1
Nashville, TN
Blue, this is exactly what I did. I was worried turning these lights on with the "rear aux/rear fog" and also having power through the reverse light wiring would have ill effects, but it works fine. When you shift from Park thru to drive, the aux/rear fog switch on the dash lights up because these are powered together, but the resulting usefulness of having dual purpose reverse lights is great.