magstar67

I just took delivery of a '13 Raptor and have an ARE Z-series shell for it, is there a wire at the back of the truck for to power a third brake light in the camper shell?

I have had other trucks in the past that have had this wire available behind the rear bumper and cant find any mention of this topic in the owners manual. I know I could tap into a tailight circuit but would rather find a dedicated wire if it's there.

Any suggestions? Thanks.

magblue10

I'm not sure. I know my guy always runs wires from under the hood but I'm not sure if that's because I get my inside light hot wired so I don't have to have any lights on. Then the cap and his wires have a 4 flat to unplug if I want the cap off

willieboy

You could make a pigtail and plug it into the trailer connector. When they did my shell last time, they took a 4 wire connector, ran the vehicle side wiring through the access hole in the bed, and then tapped on the trailer connectors for both the power and the brake. Wired the trailer side to the shell. It has worked flawlessly for 4 years. I did go behind them and seal/tape the wires taps they used.

BucketMan

The ARE dealer tapped into my brake lights and ran a wire into the quick disconnect.

Sweet truck, the Z Series is going to look awesome. I love mine, proven to be a huge benefit and added so much functionality to my truck. Post pics when you get it on!

Buck183

There is not a wire in the rear of the vehicle that will work properly for this. If you use the brake signal from the taillight you will also get a turn signal from it too. That's not the correct way to do it.

The wire that the factory installed for this purpose is under the hood on the driver's side in the firewall area. (don't ask me why they moved it there when it used to be at the rear of the truck).

On the 2009s the wire used to be green. They changed the color in the last year or two and I can't for the life of me remember what the new color is.
I usually just test the 3-4 wires that are there to see which one it is and jog my memory. They will be capped off and dead ended.

Buck

murf

So you tap into the Orange wire on the wiring harness for trailering. Then open up your hood and get into the fuse box by the hood latch. Look for the number 9 relay and pull it. Then jump the two slots that are parallel to each other. this will give the orange wire constant power.

Just don't leave your cap dome light on for weeks on end

Sorry that was for the dome light power. My bad. For brake light you will get a turn signal with any wire in the back. I believe you have to get the color wire that goes the third brake light that goes above the back window. Probably found in the kick plate.

Buck183

It's under the hood where I said it is.

EDIT... Here's a thread with some pics posted in it. The location is the same, but they changed the color on the 2012 to something different. I memory serves me right it's still green but now has a stripe on it now.

https://www.f150forum.com/f38/2011-c...e-light-83548/

Buck

magstar67

Okay thanks for the info. guys.

MPETE

iTrader: (1)

where's the link to the other thread? I am curious about this for mine as well.

Buck183

Sorry about that.
https://www.f150forum.com/f38/2011-c...e-light-83548/