looking for backup light mod ideas - i cant see anything when backing up at night

[2006yamahar6]

Thanks for sharing this, looks like it fits my '05 and I've been looking at a decent bright LED for the reverse lights.

So I actually bought a backup camera and have found that it works pretty well. I didn't want anything too obtrusive so I got one off Amazon that has a screen built into the rearview mirror. I wired it to the reverse lights so it's only on when I'm in reverse.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

[keakar]

So i am guessing you do not want to share the bulb info. Until you sell the Rigids? :moon:

the 921 he linked for you is the same as the T10 LEDs so just get the "super bright" T10 LEDs off of ebay and you are all set and two extras to replace you license plate lights. on ebay they only cost around $1 a bulb and free shipping, just watch the shipping dates and dont buy from china, those take a month to arrive sometimes

 

[Yota_Noob]

I just used led bulbs instead of the regular reverse light bulbs. I had 20% tint on the front windows and 35% over the factory tint on the rest to match. I could see okay

 

[JeratBP]

My 06 is a Ltd w/ the factory tint and has the LED lights out back... That bulb is replaceable and its pretty easy to do (if memory serves just pop the panel off, twist and remove). I replaced my reverse lights last summer with a set of inexpensive Amazon 1,000 lumen 360 degree LED bulbs (believe it was these) and they've worked well for me. Lots more light than the one that were in there.

I ordered and installed the JDM LEDs in the link provided. These things are pretty bright for such an easy solution.

Otherwise, I’d heard about using Kawell K5-5118 and wiring them into the reverse lights.

 

[keakar]

the 921 he linked for you is the same as the T10 LEDs so just get the "super bright" T10 LEDs off of ebay and you are all set and two extras to replace you license plate lights. on ebay they only cost around $1 a bulb and free shipping, just watch the shipping dates and dont buy from china, those take a month to arrive sometimes

i must take back what i said here, i tried some 6000k T10 LEDs and they fit perfectly but they arent as bright as the oem regular bulbs so i think the T10s i have arent the right wattage.

the mistake i made was the 6000k number is a color shade and not an indicator or brightness or amount of light output. you need to buy bulds that say 11w or 15w soi you know they will be brighter then the oem bulbs.

i just ordered these because they say they are 16W output bulbs, but if you note, they are also 6000k lumins, which highlights that lumins are NOT the thing to look for in a bulb and brightness is in the watts number https://www.ebay.com/itm/282649638801

 

[ZebRuaj]

Just put these in these week. Followed [MENTION=15785]J.A.[/MENTION] wiring schematic to include a rocker switch for manual control.

 

[Dirtrider216]

Just put these in these week. Followed [MENTION=15785]J.A.[/MENTION] wiring schematic to include a rocker switch for manual control.

Do you have any more pictures of how you did this? I have a set of rigid flush mounts that have been sitting for 2 years now because I don’t know quite where I want them yet.. did you have to cut into the actual bumper with this position and did you have any issue with them not sitting flush in the bumper skin

 

[ZebRuaj]

Do you have any more pictures of how you did this? I have a set of rigid flush mounts that have been sitting for 2 years now because I don’t know quite where I want them yet.. did you have to cut into the actual bumper with this position and did you have any issue with them not sitting flush in the bumper skin

You have to cut into the bumper. I made a cardboard template of the pod so I knew how big of a hole I needed to cut to make it fit as flush as possible.

The bottom outside corner of the pod still pokes out from the bumper as the pod face is too big for the curvature of the bumper. I unmounted the face to test fit it around the bumper to find a spot I was pleased with. The other problem with these eBay pods is the depth of the unit is pretty deep, which throws another wrench in the possible install positions. This was the flattest spot with enough room behind the bumper (clear the tow hitch) to mount them.

 

[keakar]

UPDATE - well i just put in these LEDs for the backup lights https://www.ebay.com/itm/282649638801 $7.24 and free shipping for 2 LED 16 watt replacement bulbs
and they look super bright even in the daytime.

the oem incandescent bulbs look like a candle flame while these LEDs look like a bright spotlight (best way i can explain it)

i cant wait to see how they look at night but i would bet i would have been happy with just this LED bulb swap and not feel i needed to still add extra lighting under the bumper. as bright as they are, even in broad daylight, i have to think it is all the backup lighting you would need to see better with.

i havent hooked up those under bumper LED pods yet due to constant rain and cold weather though. i like the idea of extra rear backup lighting anyway for towing when backing up trailers and such.

just wanted to share these bulbs look and work great and at a great price too


as a footnote - im fairly disappointed to find out the only thing in the rear tail lights that were oem LEDs is the red running/stop light and the backup lights and rear turn signals are regular incandescent bulbs. not sure why they did that, seems like it would have been easier to do all LEDs if they were going to redesign the tail lights

now i need to see what type of LED bulbs i need to replace the rear turn signals so it will finally be all LEDs as IMHO it should have been that way from factory. they are bigger fatter versions so i have no idea what the LED bulb "type" number is to look for but the OEMs are 21w bulbs so the LED replacements would at least need to be 24w or more

 

[4RunArt]

One of the first mods I did when I bought my T4R. I threw a 6" LED on by tapping the frame with 5mm bolts. The placement works great for throwing light on my camper while we are setting up at night. Not a great placement for trail or crawling. I will be moving it upwards this summer, probably onto a roof rack.

 

[pjbrownva]

Hello Keakar,

... the mistake i made was the 6000k number is a color shade and not an indicator or brightness or amount of light output. you need to buy bulds that say 11w or 15w soi you know they will be brighter then the oem bulbs.

First:

Here's a write up of how I added a rear-view camera with the display built
in to an OEM quality rear-view mirror.

thread about rear view camera with monitor built in to mirror

I used a camera that replaced one of the license plate lights (the whole fixture) with a new piece that has both a camera AND an led light to light up the plate.
It's super cool!

and it was super cheap too ($23 delivered!)

The result was that when I put the truck in reverse, an image from the camera magically appeared in the rear view mirror. It was really slick. The parts, in total, ran me about $160.




Second:

You're right about the color temp issue.

The watt rating refers to the power consumed by a bulb,
so, in general, a bulb that consumes more power will put out more light,
but that's only a partial answer. For incandescent bulbs that tends to be the case. When you go to other lighting technologies, lumens are really the right measure.

It can get a bit confusing because some companies may list a light bulb as "60 watts" (see the image below)...


...even though it only consumes 15 watts. What they are saying is that most 60 watt incandescent light bulbs put out about 900 lumens, and their 15 watt compact fluorescent bulb also puts out about 900 lumens, therefore you should think of it as if you were putting an "old skool" 60 watt bulb in your lamp.

For your reference, below is an image that shows different COLOR TEMPERATURES from 1000 to 10,000.


(source: https://www.thelightingpractice.com/what-is-color-temperature/ )

So when a bulb or lamp indicates a color temperature, it tells you what color light it is supposed to emit.

I hope these are helpful. Also, do check out the camera writeup.
It's a neat, clean solution, it looks 100% stock when installed, and it works
awesomely!

 

[keakar]

So when a bulb or lamp indicates a color temperature, it tells you what color light it is supposed to emit.

I hope these are helpful. Also, do check out the camera writeup.
It's a neat, clean solution, it looks 100% stock when installed, and it works
awesomely!

yes it gets a little confusing sometimes. the lumins can "appear" brighter when you change to a color that is brighter but its not actually putting out any more light such as in your image where the yellow lights dont "look" as bright at first, but if you look carefully the amount of illumination you get from the bulbs really isnt any different through all the color variations even though at first glance the brighter color make your brain think its a brighter bulb.

i already got the LED pods installed so im not looking to add a camera at this point even though it is a good option since most cameras give you an almost night vision like look at whats behind you.