pooch

I've always been envious of the orange reflector side mirrors on the 2009-2012 F-150s, and have been looking for them on ebay, etc. While I continue to look for a deal on some OEM units, I decided to add some home made puddle lights to my current 2007. This should work for almost any year (other than the wiring).

I wanted a white LED puddle lamp, and it turns out that the standard household low voltage bulb called a MR11 is perfect for the job. It is 12V and is just the right size. You can find LED versions on ebay and even your local Home Depot. I choose a 24 LED unit like the one below:



They cost me $11 for two, which is a lot cheaper than the OEM units.

My mirrors didn't have the knock-out for the puddle lamp like the current models, so I had to drill a 1" hole at the bottom of the mirror. The MR11 lamp I bought didn't have a lens, so to create a lens, I just took some thin clear plexglass and lightly sanded it with fine grit paper on both sides. This creates a clouded translucent look for the lens. I then glued the lens and lamp to the inside of the mirror, as seen below:

Yes, gluing it in makes changing it out a pain, hence the use of LEDs, which should last the life of the vehicle. Depending on the size of the lamp you buy, make sure you check for clearance on the inside of the mirror housing. I then globbed it up with black silicone to prevent any light leakage on the inside to the signal lamp:

The wiring is pretty simple and it appears every truck with power mirrors should have the illumination light wire on the plug. For my year, it is the Black/Light Blue wire. It is present on my mirror plug, but there is no connection inside the mirror so you have to hook up to it on the door side. I just tapped into it as seen below:

The yellow wire is threaded through the bottom of the mirror into the housing, where it is terminated on a plug connector:

The ground wire is tapped from the ground wire of my signal lamp (black wire), but it could be any ground wire. I used plug connectors so I could still remove the mirror housing easily.

So, that's pretty much it. This is how it looks:

I like the whitish glow, which kinda sets it apart from a standard warm light. This night shot doesn't do that great a job, but you can see the ground lit up with a white light:

It took less than 3 hours of actual working time, and cost me less than $15 in parts. Now, if the reflectors from the 2011 mirrors could be made to fit on my mirrors, I might add front signal lights to the mirrors as well......

pooch

Hmm, is this ever going to move out of "Submissions"?

bobkyle2

Yep.. Approved and moved.. Thanks for taking you time. Sorry about the slow response. I just realized no one has been moving any of these :O

rigrat2011

i will if you let me lmao.

Old Bessie

I used all of your information but altered the plans by using a 3 led lamp assembly from Ebay. Worked like a charm and are almost too bright. Just an Old Phart's 2 cents to add to a great post. Thanks for the info and all the best!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-White-Clea...item3f1a2979b6

pooch

Nice find! Looks like they come with the grommet housing as well, which makes it easy to pop into the housing.

Old Bessie

Yes. Simply remove the cover plate, drill a 3/4" Hole and pop them in. Once in the hardest part was turning them to glow along the running boards ( And that was not difficult at all!)....

360Screw

Pretty cool. Do the lights turn off when you are driving or do they stay on whenever the headlights are on?

pooch

They are connected to the courtesy lights, so only come on with those lights.

Teamramrod46

I put a 4' strip of white LED strip lighting on each side above my running boards. I pulled the wire for the puddle lamp out in each kick panel, and connected to them. Works just like the puddle lamps would. Lights up the rear door area too!