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Tailgate light mod (Did this with my dad)

J

JSH

Full Member
Joined
Sep 7, 2005
Messages
392
I helped my dad do this mod (SamHouseIII)


We preped the truck. We removed the panels and removed the corner rain gutter
 

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We drilled a hole where we wanted the pin we prepped so we could run the cabel. Removed grab handel and the bolts holding the saddlebag.
 

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I removed the light and grommet to give us room to work. My dad stripped the wire.
 

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I soddered it tapped it up and then we tested it by grounding it out.
 

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We ran the wire back inside the hole and reinstalled the light.
 

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My dad said turn around and take a picture of that...
 

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We ran the wire like this and my dad glued it.
 

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I soddered the wire to the pin and I tapped it. drilled hole in here for a ground.
 

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made a little plate, My dad says it would have been better if we could have welded a piece of metal here, but we could not. he does not have anything to do this with.

here are some pics from the little holder he made

 

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he cut it down some more and made it fit better and then we drilled a hole in it.
 

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We attached a ring wire to it, stretched the rubber back over it and then we made it to ground and tested the pin.
 

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next we installed a switch. We cut the wire going to the ground and the ran it down to a hole we drilled for? a switch and connected the wires and glued the switch in place.

 

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we put the truck back together again.
 

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and then we tested it again to make sure it worked all ok.

 

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I had a great time teaching my son how to do some work and have a little fun, Sad to say this is the last mod for the AVA till I get back, I just wish he was there always and for every mod I did on the AVA. I hope he will come soon back to the states and see his old man.

I was also suprised how he knew about grounds and the circuits and how they work.

Love you son, Thanks for the great time today  :love: :love: :love: :love: :love: :love: :love:

Sam
 
OK.. let's pass the tissues around for those of us tearing up after reading this.

That was a GREAT "How-to" article.  Great pictures and descriptions.  To this day I love working on cars with my father.  Even though I'm doing most of the work and he's holding the flashlight. 

Great job!
 
Great idea and great detail on the mod.? Thank you. Great story too.? My son loves to work on the truck with me, too.? But he is only 3 and thinks its funny to put a running hose in the cab....? :E:

Quick question...the on/off switch is there to turn off the light while the tailgate is down, correct?
 
gatorray said:
Great idea and great detail on the mod.? Thank you. Great story too.? My son loves to work on the truck with me, too.? But he is only 3 and thinks its funny to put a running hose in the cab....? :E:

Quick question...the on/off switch is there to turn off the light while the tailgate is down, correct?
Click to expand...

My son is 13 going to be 14 in 3 weeks. I am glad his is getting into this and not other stuff. He is amazed at the "Pimp my ride" stuff we do here on the club, He wants a AVA and to one day be a CC or Mod. He is with the Ex wife here in Germany and will stay till his scholl is fininshed up, He says he plans to return and attend college in the states. I hope he does.

The switch is used to turn the light off when the tail gate is down, If you gotta hual something.

I will have to go in later and weld a piece of metal to the place I used for the push pin.

Sam
 
  very nice im working on this mod with hugz... how long is that pin switch i need to buy one the toggle switch
 
Great work there Sam, and an awesome son you can work with, mine I usually hollered at cause at that age he knew it all, and I knew nuthin, hehe

Didit
 
moosc said:
? very nice im working on this mod with hugz... how long is that pin switch i need to buy one the toggle switch
Click to expand...

I can check in the morning on the length and let you know.

Sam
 
Hey Sam and Justin,

30 min ago I looked at some older threads about this and thought I should do this when I install my saddlebag and tailgate lock kit. And then I saw this perfect instruction. Thank you very much!

Maybe I should ask Justin for help with my next mods?

It was nice to meet you today (or yesterday? Its 12pm now).


Schelbi.
 
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