Idaho Guy

I have a color-matched canopy for my truck. Cab-high, carpeted interior, sliding side windows, glossy paint - great shape. Only paid about $450 for it - a steal compared to a new one.

It has a regular interior light and also a brake light. I'm wondering where's the easiest place to tap into a brake wire on the truck. I was behind another truck (a FERD, by the way) and his brake light on his canpy was flashing along with his right turn signal - he definitely wired wrong. I wanna do this the right way. Thanks for any help.

Shovelhead

Mine is wired into the left rear light.
The brake into the brake light, and the overhead lights into the parking lights.
(That way you don't forget to turn them off and kill your battery)

neveragain

Do you have a trailer plug in and makeup a pig tail if needed for accessories and bring in 2 extra circuits for interior lights and 12v for ?. Or Do you have access to a junk yard that you could cut and make up a splice for the inside of one side of the tail lights. This way there is no cut and splice.Do solder connections. DON'T buy the flat wire for trailer wiring it splits in a year or two. Years ago I made up a 7 wire cable the -70*C type that worked well for this and even had a 3 gange explosion proof box with switches and receptical for power somthing for lights when needed. Just slight overkill but worked.

amartinson

There is a white wire pigtail down by the factory trailer connector (behind the bumper) that is brake lights only. It will either be sticking out a little, or wrapped up in the harness.

I did like Shovelhead for my cap's dome light, I hooked it to the parking light circuit so I wouldn't ever leave it on by accident.

Commatoze

The wires on mine are fished thru the left rear stake pocket and Scotchloked to the wires leaving the tail light assembly. Up high like that, gets it out of the salt spray that corrodes any non-watertight splice.

amartinson

Just read your sig Commatoze. Nice choice on your cap!

infidel

Don't know when the change occurred but at a certain year and back the only way to install a non blinker flashing brake light to a canopy on a Dodge was to run a wire all the way to under the dash.
Good friend who installs/sells canopies used to complain about it all the time...

apache

Didnt DC install wire for this by 99? Unless you come right off the brake switch it will blink if tied to a taillight assenbly. any shell dealer should be able to tell you.

wgingg

you can either tie into the white wire with the brown stripe by your brake controller under the dash or try and tie into your third brake light. only options i know of if you dont want it to blink with a turn signal

amartinson

I wired mine as I described above and my brake light does NOT blink with the turn signal.

Homestead

Do the US trucks have a brake light on the back of the cab?

Not sure about the US trucks but the Canadian trucks have a CHMSL tap wire for a third brake light ,depending on the year, somewhere in the wiring harness.

My 97 had the tap wire hanging out of the harness under the master cylinder. My 02 has the tap wire hanging out of the harness under the truck behind the passenger side tail light. There should be a little white tag attched to it. It says "CHMSL"

Hook into it for power, ground coming out of the lamp, you now have a third brake light.