I admit, I'm terrified of any aftermarket stuff that involves wiring. I've scoured the internet, YouTube & this forum but I can't find anybody anywhere who provides specific step by step instructions (preferably w/pics) as to how to wire the idjmtoy aftermarket rear pillar lights for dopes like me & the chick who says 'plug & play' is full of it as are the worthless website instructions. I've seen posts from this forum & videos on YouTube that say 'simple install', 'less than an hour', 'awesome lights' yada yada yada but no actual specific wiring instructions. Clearly I'm not one of the enlightened one's. I really want the glow to increase w/the brake pedal as others have done & the website instructions assume but do I really have to thread the pillar light wires through the rubber conduit down through the frame to the tail light assemblies as some of the videos on YouTube say to do? That's not my idea of plug & play. What color wires do I use w/what color wires in the harness? Shouldn't they be the same color? Do I splice the pillar lights into the license plate lights &, if so, how do I do it? What do I use to splice said wires etc, etc, etc? Like I said, I'm a wiring dope. I wicked like the idea of these things but I need help! I'm ready to throw a hundred bucks worth of lights in the garbage.

 

Sounds like you need to learn the basics about electricity and wire insulation. I hope you are not trying to make an illegal and dangerous modification of increasing the brightness of standard brake lights. They bright as it is and I hate staring at a blinding brake lights of some of the newer cars, so please, be considerate and keep the stock brightness.
Good luck.

 

My GD brake lights suck and the later fits are not much better,, and I've had 3 cars rear ended out from under me in the last 15 years, all three times stopped... First upgrade I do is a triple pulsing third light and up watted LED mains. Sorry but the needs of the one are all I care about these days..

Now the crappy HID conversions that dont have glare shields ,,, those are a problem.

 

No, John2131, I didn't do anything illegal. When I realized I was in over my head I put the tailgate back together oem. Besides, the new lights are supposed to get brighter when the brake pedal is pushed just like the stockers.

 

BTW ,, the spec is that the lights must be visible for X number of feet behind the car, there is some variation state to state. tail lights must not cause undue glare, but there is no limit other than an officers opinion that they present a hazard for being too bright..

My 06 BMW has a panic brake mode, normal braking I get 1 light each side plus the third light above, if I'm close to antilock engagement all the bulbs light up which makes 3 bulbs per side plus the third light.. And its freeking BRIGHT,, gotta love those Germans.. Beer and Autobahns...

 

Here's a pretty good tutorial on it:


I want to say he is a member on this forum, but his name escapes me at the moment. Watch that a few times and maybe it'll help you get your project started.

You can use something like a posi-tap to tap into the existing wiring.

 

Thanks 2Rismo2. I have seen that video several times. I thought he was way over doing it but I guess that's the way it has to be done. Not my idea of plug & play/simple install but hey, wha'dya gonna do? I'll watch it again & try to follow along this time ;-}

 

I used that video to help me put in my pillar lights last week. I have a US Fit. It took 4 hours for me. I bought the wrong (too large) size splice connectors. #20 gauge worked. I have fish tape to help pull wire through the body to where they need to go. It's not an easy install, but I knew it from the beginning.

 

I swapped out the rear hatch on my GD, getting the wire harness for the hatch components down the piller was really no big deal and I don't have small hands/arms, I was able to dangle the wires down through the hole then reach up past the tail lights to grab it, you do have to pull a lump of insulation out but its just jammed in there, no glue or anything and it goes right back in when your done.

 

Thanks encee & dwtaylorpdx! I wicked appreciate the advice. Question: did you have to attach the 2 pillar lights to both tail light assemblies &, if so, how did you get to the one on the right? I think maybe they're connected. Such is my knowledge of wiring. I'll say it again, I'm a dope ;-}

 

I was just threading the hatch wires, but everything came on the drivers side, and went across to the passenger side if I recall. WHen you remove the tail light assemblies, its actually pretty obvious what wires do what, you have a ground that hits all the light sockets and a brake/turn/tail light wire and backup wire. If you just follow the pattern it kinda made sense at the time..

 

Sweet! Thank you. Another question: There are obviously 2 pillar lights. Do I wire them together or run each wire set down to the tail light assembly?

 

Actually, you don't have to access or take out either one of the tail lights.
The pillar lights only display night light, and brake light, no turn signal. Thus they can be wired together. You just go down the drivers side to pick up the brake light wire which is avocado in color, the wire harness is behind the interior panel mentioned in the video and not in the tail light area.

 

Thanks encee! I ordered the electronic stuff from amazon this morning. I'm cautiously optimistic ;-}

 

Well... I took the reflectors off my 2015 Fit & guess what? No grommet holes through to the inside of the tailgate. Just my luck. Gotta drill & add oem grommets. Oh well...

 

Me neither. i drilled holes, filed and cleaned, and used touch-up paint. I think I will get grommets too so that water won't get in the door.

 

Yeah encee, right? Bummer but I ordered the same grommets that the guy in the video said they were like on the body side of the tailgate @ the top. They'll be here tomorrow.

 

What the heck are the pillar "reflectors" for, the vertical reflectors on the hatch? At night I shined a flashlight on them from every possible angle - and they don't reflect anything. The only reflectors on the rear are a rectangle at the very bottom of the large lamp and reflector unit, and at the side of that unit there is a small reflector. But there's no reflection from the vertical red plastic thing on the hatch. Not from the rear, not from the side. Not pointing down on it; not pointing up at it. So not only does it not light up, but it also doesn't reflect. Also I shined my flashlight at the rear of all the cars in my parking lot, and the Fit has the smallest reflectors of all the cars! That little rectangle at the very bottom of the unit is rather little.