Hello everyone:

Pretty much every time I get in a "Get 'r Done Now" situation when I have to remove the tailgate, I forget about the 2 wires that provide juice to the tailgate marker lights, and tear up the wires. And it is another 15-20 minutes to get the knife, the shrink tubing, etc. to get it fixed...

Not being very ingenious myself, I thought that one of y'all might have experienced the same problem enough times to come up with a solution. Does anyone have a better way of connecting the tailgate marker lights?

Thanks,

 

My truck wound up with a SRW tailgate, so I mounted a triple marker bar in the space between the tailgate and bumper to make it legal.

 

get a pigtail connection. put one end on the wires coming to the light and the other side to the wires coming out of the light. when you have to take the gate off just unplug, thats all

 

They used to make a part for hot rods that you would put in your door jamb that would make a connection only when the door was closed. I have no idea what they were called but you could use one to power your running lights. They would only have power when the gate was closed and the contacts were touching. Try looking up speedway motors they may have something similar, or if moon equipment is still around they should have what I'm talking about.

 

I think i may have seen these in one of my jc whitney catologs. If i find the part number i will post it

 

There should be a connector behind your taillight for the marker lights.

My body shop tells me they steal tailgates out here, I might thread some 5/16 steel cable through it and secure it at each end.

The tailgate appliqué with the red reflector is $700.00 from the dealer.
Jim

 

Thanks all for the replies: I do have pigtail connections at this time - I still managed to "forget" disconnecting them... So, the connector that contacts with closing the tailgate sounds like a good option.
Jim, I'm not sure about that connector behind the taillight, but I will go look. Currently, my connection is slightly hanging behind the rear bumper.
Thanks again to all.

 

I think Jegs or summit also sales those pressure switchs.

 

Here they are, you need to remove your left taillight assembly first.



Here you see the wiring harness exiting the center of the tailgate pivot.
It’s the harness on the right side of the picture.



You need to disconnect the 2 bullet connectors and then you can feed the harness back through the hole as the tailgate is removed.

I am not sure up to what year this will cover but I would assume until the body style changed.

I know it will be a pain but the tailgates were not supposed to be removed by the owner and were secured with a pop rivet.



If the tailgate were to be removed and you did not provide an alternate set of ICC and marker lights I would be illegal to drive the truck on the highway as it would not be DOT compliant.

Bet you didn’t know that.



Jim

 

Jim:
Thank you very much for taking the pics and providing all the info. What the pics show is pretty much the setup I have. My issue is with reaching under the truck to disconnect, pulling out the wires - one connector always gets stuck somewhere - while BillyJoeBob is waiting with the forklift to load a pallet of roofing onto my truck, not to mention that the gooseneck is in his way.
So, I wanted to bring the connectors to a point in the bed where lowering the tailgate before taking it off would disconnect the marker lights. One suggestion (Comptz and gearjammer91 et al.) is to install a pressure switch. Sounds like a viable option.
As for my knowing of the legality of marker light removal, I did study the CDL handbook a while ago... :-)
Thanks again for all the info. from y'all: this forum really is invaluable!

 

Go to rockauto.com and put in Dodge, model you have, engine, and then go to electrical switches and relays.

I'm no electrical expert or anything, but it looks like it might work with one of these door jamb switches. Hope this helps.

 

Here's a link to what I am talking about. Mounting and wiring might be a little tricky, but once it is done you don't have to worry about it anymore. I wouldn't worry about the lights not working unless you are hauling commercially. Then again some cops and some states are worse than others. I haul hazardous material in a 93 dually that is missing the lights on the back due to a lift gate, so far I haven't even been pulled in to the scales.

http://www.so-calspeedshopeast.com/s...p?ID=MGS-2&vn=

 

thanks a bunch, gearjammer91, looks like the solution!

 

Try going to Radio Shack, they have a 2 prong plug similar to the flat 4, trailer plugs. Put it in such a way as it would pull apart if you forgot to unplug it.
Mike