How to install an LED Tailgate Light Bar for 2016 F150 with BLIS & Tow Package without splicing 

I need to make it shorter and more to the point but thanks. My light is still going strong and one of my favorite upgrades. Thanks for the comment.

Did it match? I have same year.

Sorry to so long just got notification of a “like” never got a notification of comment. No, setup is basically the same but part number starts with a JL and ends with KAF but all #’s are same. I have a lariat so maybe that’s why.

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absolutely do not waste your time or money on the curt55384 because that patches directly into your trailer harness which absolutely will tell your truck you have a trailer connected which you don't. That the reason I showed which connector to use next to the spare tire so it's like connecting to both taillights but in the same spot. If you were close by the little Rock Arkansas area I'd enjoy just helping you install it to see if it was the same as mine. It's not hard to do yourself though.

To be honest I'm not sure about the extra red wire unless it's their way of fixing the hyper flash issue with led headlights. My video shows you 2 white wires and one is the reverse and the other is ground. Really watch around the 8 minute mark for wire explanations.

Actually my tailgate was a 1/4" out of level from the factory from one side to the other so I lowered the high side. When you space out the light to miss the bracket the tailgate comes really close to touching the light. The larger gap also lets you see all three rows of lights better. It's the 2nd best upgrade on my truck after the Alpharex nova headlights. FYI I ordered my truck with a bench front seat which made the LED headlights not available as crazy as that sounds. The reason I say that is because that may be the reason others are having to use the adapter. The LED'S don't use as much power so they may put a lower resistance relay for the blinkers so adding the light bar may draw just enough amps to cause the hyper flash. May not though because only 2 guys has had that issue. Mine is still flawless and I love it.

@@dougd7714 On my 2016 F-150, it doesn't look as if there is enough room for the light bar to mount below the hole for the tailgate harness and not be obstructed by the bumper. I think that's what Larry was asking perhaps?

www.f150forum.com/f118/tail-light-wire-colors-340426/

I'm guessing your truck has the led headlights and not the halogen. My had halogen so I'm assuming the relays are different. If you look through the comments there's a guy that add a resister that may have worked. It's weird that yours works on accessories and not when it's turned on. I'm really not sure how to help except to youtube it and see if anyone else has solved the problem.

I had the link in the description but here it is again. www.lowes.com/pd/Hillman-2-Count-0-500-in-x-3-8-in-Nylon-Standard-SAE-Flat-Washer/3012448 thanks for watching

I believe it's worth the extra money to buy the amber turn signal for safety reasons alone. It helps distinguish the change between a red break light and a caution turn signal. The opt7 has the aluminum extrusion housing and has held up extremely well. I still think this is my favorite mod I've done.

@@dougd7714 So, on this bar, the turn signals are amber, but the brake lights are red, correct? Running lights? Emergency flashers?

@@dougd7714 I just checked my wiring harness and my tag reads: GL3T 13A409SA Yours is KA I wonder what the difference is?

I did this to keep from tapping into wires. It would work but I don't like cutting into stock wires. Thanks for the comment.

@Doug D Thank you for replying. I agree. I don't like cutting into stock wires either.

Hey Doug, thanks again for the awesome video. I decided to do my install like you did yours. Pulling the pins and soldering the connection was much easier than I thought and it's a lot cleaner than using wire taps.

logically it's the same concept on any vehicle. Both taillights will combine to a main harness somewhere. I'm sure the f150's would stay the same except the pins may have changed so you would still have to check that out. The best point of my install is I don't run wires to both taillights. I'm grabbing everything from the same plug except the ground. If I were you I would pull one taillight out and test the plug to see if the pins are in the same order as the diagram I showed for the taillights. Unplug the light stick a small wire in each pin hole with the blinker or break on to see if th order is the same. If the truck goes crazy thinking the lights out you'll have to plug it back in and push the wire in from the back next to each wire. The problem with that is you don't know if you made a good connection to check it. Your next challenge will be to make sure the pins are the same from the taillights to the plug on the harness but that's what I did in the video. Let me know how it goes and if it's still the same so others will know. I still think it's the cleanest install out there.

@@dougd7714 ya it is i am gonna try your way after i ask my dealer if it will void the warrenty on anything but your was is so clean you would have to look for the mod to it

Look at 5:28 and 9:10 in the video to see the 2nd white reverse wire location. If you plug into the trailer pigtail it will think you have a trailer plugged in and drive you crazy in the dash warning.

I actually tried to find those molex mx150 connectors and do just that but they are not available. Also I pulled the connector between the bumper gap and soldered it on top of the bumper. Sorry I didn't say that in the video.

Does your truck have both bliss and the trailer package? just wondering if that makes a difference. If you read raptor s responses he had to purchase the adapter to make his work. you can still grab the wiring from the central pigtail but it's like you don't have enough power which causes the truck to think there's a light out. I would be curious if you have a different year model if the pins are in the same order. so you're not tapping into the taillight out wires.

@@dougd7714 yes I do have both and it’s a 2016 Lariat. The pins seem to be in the same place may have to look into the adapter. I went into the ForScan and disabled the blinker out hyper flash but need to see if the lights still cut out.

Did that work? I just replied to another guy and I just thought about my truck didn't come with front LED headlights because I ordered it with a bench front seat so it deleted that option to order. I wonder if that means that use a lower resistance relay if you have front LED lights? Just a thought but only you and one other guy has had an issue. it's just weird. Thanks for the feedback. I love my lightbar though.

@@dougd7714 it did seep to work. No one has flagged me down or mention that the lights or out.

I don't have a good answer except the time it takes for signal to close the relay and latency of the lightbar CPU. I'm sure it has an led circuit board it's going through. I still think it's the best looking and quality I've found for a tailgate light bar. Sorry that's all I got for an answer.

@@dougd7714Yes it’s a bright solid light bar for sure . I have another 60in I mounted on my 30ft snowmobile trailer - forgot the brand name - has turn single flash and reverse also ,but it is not as bright and does not have delay when I hit the brakes ?! The delay bums me out .

My truck came with halogen headlights and incandescent front turn signals but led taillights. I ordered the bench seat so there was several options I couldn't get. Now I say this because if you have LEDs all the way around you may have to change the flasher relay. The other thought is maybe you connected to the trailer harness? The only way to check is to remove a taillight and find the turn signal and brake light with an ohmmeter and then double check continuity to the plug by the spare tire. The main point is to make sure your using the wires from the taillights and not the trailer.

@@dougd7714 I will check the taillights tomorrow they look like yours so I am hoping they are the same. I am not connected to the trailer harmess. I tapped into the tail light itself. I had the undercarriage coated and they covered all of the electronics so I couldn’t get the connector off.

So I have both LED tails and headlights. I did some research and one guys said that there isn’t a relay on these models. It is all controlled by the BCM. Not sure where to go from here.

I have a very identical connector but the numbers on tag are a little different. Mine reads FL3T 13A409AF. yours is GL3T 13A409KA. Do you know if there a difference in the pin wiring?

I'm sorry kay, I don't know. You can look to see if there's one at the spare tire but I would guess it probably does have a plug there too. Now the pin out may be different. You'll have to meter them out to find the louder or Google the diagram. Good luck.

1/2 inch. The link says 1 inch so I might have cut the in half with a hacksaw.

That doesn't make sense does it? So, if you unplug the truck harness connector and use your multimeter on the male pin connector with the blinker on do you get 12v off and on with the left blinker pin?

Maybe you're soldered connection come loose too.

I'd like to hear what was wrong when you find out. I'm still thinking it has to be like the pin didn't get pushed all the way in or something small.

I'm thinking it might be a power delivery issue, it blinks once and then once the bar receives power, it blinks the light module out but keeps the front on. So I might just add that opt7 constant power device to it and see if it's fine after that.

Well, it would seem I was correct. If your vehicle does this, you require the opt7 4 pin module they have with their other listings. The moment I installed it and ran the power wire. It was running smoothly and bright. Everything works as it is supposed too and not even the blind spot system acted up, almost as if it was never there.

I'm sure it has a similar connector. You would have to find the diagram or ohmmeter them out to know which ones are what. There's no reason it shouldn't work.

Look at 8:14 to see the diagram. The first pin is from the LH light #2 which is the stop & turn signal. The second pin is from the RH light #2 which is the stop & turn signal from that light. The fifth pin is from the RH & LH light #3 pin which is your park/running lights. The sixth pin is from the RH & LH light #4 pin which is the reverse light. Hope that clears it up. It's really an easy clean install doing it this way.

Yes I removed the tailgate. You just unplug the tailgate harness and tilt the tailgate about 30 degrees and it comes right off.

@@dougd7714 i don't have to remove the step

There in the special fastener drawer aisle. They're actually spacers and you can buy them in plastic or aluminum.

@@dougd7714 Hello Doug, I talked with you just before Christmas about your video installing the OPT 7 taillight bar on a F150. I started installing the light today following your instructions. I found the connector under the truck and my numbers matched what you had in the video however at the end I had PA instead of KA. Have any idea if there is a difference in the connectors ? Or if this all cause a problem ? Example 13A409-PA Thanks, Larry

@@dougd7714 Hello Doug, I talked with you just before Christmas about your video installing the OPT 7 taillight bar on a F150. I started installing the light today following your instructions. I found the connector under the truck and my numbers matched what you had in the video however at the end I had PA instead of KA. Have any idea if there is a difference in the connectors ? Or if this all cause a problem ? Example 13A409-PA Thanks, Larry

Sorry Doug , I tried ti send you another question about the connector for the OPT7 tailgate bar but think it got posted in the wrong place please let me know if you can see the question. Thanks, Larry

Hey Tim, you can definitely still us the same plug but you'll just have to use your voltage meter to find out what each wire goes to. The best part is all of the wires except for the ground are in that same plug by your spare tire.

Thanks. I ended up splicing into my driver's side taillight in basically the same fashion. Wanted to keep it as high up as possible with all the salt we have around here.

It's pretty tough the first time but it's only an o ring seal.

Make sure to release the catch by pressing on it and wiggle it side to side.

Go to 8:14 in the video and I show each connection.

@@dougd7714 Soo I connected everything already straight from the light and it starts rapidly flashing the turn signal and the back lights cut off

I have a 2016 lariat. It seems to me if you have a different model or even the Raptor your wires may be in a different order. In the diagram for taillight pin #10 is the right turn signal out. It really sounds like you and the other guy that was having a problem the pin order is different. Make sure to find the tail lights diagram for your truck and you may have to pull the tail lights off to find the right connections the same way I found them. It's a lot of work but not hard.

the lightbar diagram is at 4:34. At 8:27 I show where each of those wires go including the white ground to the frame. Thanks for watching

When I say there's 2 white wires I mean 1 is the reverse and the other is the ground. I'm curious to the year model of your truck and did you have the same harness part #? I'm thinking that you need to ohmmeter the tail lights to the connector to make sure the wires are the same. See the diagram for a 2018 images.app.goo.gl/9kPL1syZeBTqdXVZA The wire orders are different so I think that's a possibility for the blis issues.

@@dougd7714 yeah I see what you did

@@zieske98 see how on the diagram 10 is the turn signal out return. I'm wondering if that's what you connect to to make it go crazy. This has to work because it's no different than hard wiring directly to the tail lights.

@@dougd7714 mine should be the same it's a 15 with all the options It works like yours. 👍 But before I did it the way you did yours, I used that curt adapter right before the factory connector in the bumper, that's what made mine go goofy

In taillight connector

#3 shown in the taillight diagram which is the same as the parking light.

I have 12 pin connector in tailight connectr f150 2021

If that's the case you can either ohm out the connector like I did at the end of the video which takes a lot of work to find each light or find the diagram on Google or see if the dealership would be so kind to print it out for you and then you could post it here for others to have.