Putco 18" X2(Pair) Led,92009-18/Curt Manufacturing 56477 Taillight Installation

[dmopro]

Special thanks to CTYankee and his excellent installation guide: Tailgate Light Bar Possible Solution | MaverickTruckClub - 2022+ Ford Maverick Pickup Forum, News, Owners, Discussions

This for a MY24 Lariat Hybrid

WARNING: Do not do this on 100 degree Texas days on a concrete driveway with the shade only available after 7pm. You only get about two hours of productive time.

WARNING: Do not do this if you are a 70+ year old individual as it is a killer staying on the ground looking up for so long figuring out the wire routing.

Warnings aside it was pretty straight forward.

• Plug the Putco 4-pin plug into the 4-pin trailer jack. Turn on the left turn signal (driver’s side) and identify which of the two bars are for that side (blue painter’s tape marked as driver). Repeat for the right turn signal (passenger’s side) and mark it as passenger. Remove Putco light strip from the Maverick’s 4-pin jack. (This was a hard lesson that caused me to spend way too much time redoing cable routing. And yes, the truck thinks you have a trailer attached.)
• On the driver side Curt adapter there are three white pass-thru wires connecting the two plugs. If you want backup/reverse lights, you will need to tap into the wire going to pin three. I tapped into the Curt rather than the actual reverse light, since the whole reason for buying the Curt harness was to not mess with the factory wiring. I used a length of 16-gauge white wire that I eventually tied to the Putco light bar. Do it now so that in the next step it can be pulled thru with the Curt plugs.
• Remove the rear passenger wheel cover to aid in routing the green cable from the Curt harness and the Putco passenger side light bar.
• Remove and unplug both taillights.
• Using a fish bar, fish tape, or a long string with a nut tied to it, drop it thu the fender assembly until whatever you are using hits the ground. Attach Curt plug and fish it up thru the fender. Plug the Curt plugs into the wiring harness and taillight.
• Reinstall the taillight. Repeat steps 5 and 6 for the other light.
• As a temporary solution for power (did I mention it is hot right now) I used the driver’s side 12-volt Flex Bed pigtail (I finally found a use for the one that came with the truck.) Eventually I plan to have a direct run to the internal 12-volt battery. The only downside I can see at present is that the light bar will stop working at some point when the truck is turned off.
• Light Bar Placement: As previously mentioned in above thread, post #20 by Truckhef, if you try and place it on the flat metal part directly above the plastic bumper it will be hard to see. So, I ended up fastening (3m magic tape) to the curved part of the bumper all the way in the back.
• Attach white reverse lead from the Curt harness to the white lead of the Putco light strip (If you want reverse lights.)
• Plug the Putco light strip into the Curt harness and except for cleanup you should be golden.
• I crawled back under the truck and did my best to put everything back and make it neat. I discovered the Putco 4-pin cable/plug is way, way too long. So I removed a few feet of it.
• Placement of the Curt and Putco control boxes I leave to you. I put the Curt unit in the driver’s side fender and the Putco control unit on the flat surface above the factory 4-pin plug using 3m tape and tie wraps.

Parts:

12 volt Flex Bed Pigtails (Pair) if you can’t find the one that came with the truck $10.98 Amazon.com: 12V Power Connector Flex Bed Plugs Fit for Ford Maverick 2022 2023 Trucks Flex Bed Plugs and harness, 2 Sets : Automotive

Curt Manufacturing 56477 Fits Ford Maverick $87.47 Amazon.com: Curt Manufacturing 56477 Fits Ford Maverick : Automotive

Putco 19+ Ram1500 & Jeep W 18" X2(Pair) Led,92009-18 290.99 Amazon.com: Putco 19+ Ram1500 & Jeep W 18" X2(Pair) Led,92009-18 : Automotive

White 16-gauge wire (Already on-hand)


Again, special thanks to:

https://www.mavericktruckclub.com/forum/members/ctyankee.16628/

https://www.mavericktruckclub.com/forum/members/truckhef.4333/

Now for the picks, because we all know, that without visual documentation I am only talking trash.

Putco Light Bar 92009-18 -------- Curt Harness ---------- Putco left/right identified

Taped Curt for Reverse. Yes, I ------- Putco cabling was way too long, so I shortened it
properly connected this after
testing

Putco unit above OEM 4-pin -- Driver's rear taillight well -- Excess wire storage


Final verification

Turn signals are amber, emergency flashers are red.

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[Hot Runr Guy]

Well done! I know a lot of people resist spending $90 for the Curt harness, to power a $20 light bar, but as you see, it's the right way to do it. Kudo's to you for adding the reverse wire to the Curt harness.

HRG

 

[DanTMA]

Beautifully done.
The back-up light looks darned helpful!! but does the bright light under the camera wipe out any ability to see with the back-up camera???
I may want to save this so I can look at your great wiring job later

 

[BlueSpec1]

Nice write up.
Just ordered the 18" x2 Red/White Putco 92020-18-X from their site yesterday. Have the Curt on hand.
Now need fall weather.

 

[natas666]

The flashing third brake light, where did you find that?

 

[dmopro]

The flashing third brake light, where did you find that?

Amazon.com: FANTELI 921 LED Bulb 6000K White, Strobe Flashing LED Reverse Lights, High Power 921 Bulb 21-SMD LEDs Error Free T15 912 922 906 W16W Backup Light (Upgraded, Pack of 2) : Automotive

Amazon, $10.00 for a pair. It is not red/amber, but white. The third break light already has a red plastic lens, so white works fine.

 

[natas666]

Amazon.com: FANTELI 921 LED Bulb 6000K White, Strobe Flashing LED Reverse Lights, High Power 921 Bulb 21-SMD LEDs Error Free T15 912 922 906 W16W Backup Light (Upgraded, Pack of 2) : Automotive

Amazon, $10.00 for a pair. It is not red/amber, but white. The third break light already has a red plastic lens, so white works fine.

Thank you!

 

[dmopro]

Beautifully done.
The back-up light looks darned helpful!! but does the bright light under the camera wipe out any ability to see with the back-up camera???
I may want to save this so I can look at your great wiring job later

Had to wait until it got dark so you could see it in all its glory.

 

[Awesemann]

Great job. May look into this.

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