💡 Converting the Maverick side badge to a signal lamp light -- DIY how-to and result video [night video added]

[Brueggy]

Dad,

I believe I read on one of your posts that you liked the miniature LED strip that attached to the outside of the original badge. Someone shared a link at:

https://www.superbrightleds.com/veh...tangle-led-accent-light-24-lumens+color-Amber

I like this but it has only 2 wires so only the turn signal would be available (or just the running lights but not both)

Did you ever see a 3-wire configuration for this type and size of LED strip?

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[Dad]

Dad,

I believe I read on one of your posts that you liked the miniature LED strip that attached to the outside of the original badge. Someone shared a link at:

https://www.superbrightleds.com/veh...tangle-led-accent-light-24-lumens+color-Amber

I like this but it has only 2 wires so only the turn signal would be available (or just the running lights but not both)

Did you ever see a 3-wire configuration for this type and size of LED strip?

I have not seen a 3 wire, but only because I had no need to look since my modification was finished and I was happy with it. I would think they're around.
Wiring for just the turn signals is pretty straightforward. Trying to make the badges a running light was much more complicated on the Lariat model. Back in 22, the Lariat's running lights were tied into the headlamp wiring and I didn't want to mess with that. Whether that's changed with the newer models I'm not sure.

 

[gjallen3]

Dad, I'm very late to game here on this thread, I know, but I was intrigued by your project and have decided to do something with this badge. I'm struggling with doing it the way you did with the lens and the marker lamp or the small LED light bar. I understand once you saw that version you actually liked it better than your version. I'm actually leaning towards your version for a number of reasons:
1. You still need to modify the badge by cutting it to fit the light bar. And it looks kind of rough.
2. If the light bar fails it could be difficult to replace it years down the road. Might not find it again.
3. It is questionable how well the light bar will stand up to the elements. Rain, car wash, salt, UV, etc.
4. The 3M tape could fail.
As I write this I'm convincing myself why your design makes the most sense. If the light fails it is easily replaceable. It looks good and will stand up better. I am going to go with a 3 wire light so I can use it as a DRL and turn signal. I like the look of the smoke lens, but the only 3 wire light I can find is amber. I'm not concerned how the amber will look when lit, but I'm concerned how it will look through the smoke lens when not lit. I guess we will see. In any event, you can add me to your list of fans. Your design looks great.

 

[RideSolo]

I did the mod you are talking about; smoke lens w/ amber LED. In my opinion it works great. Un-lit the smoke lens looks great and blends right in w/ my black Mav. When lit, even w/ the smoke lens, the LED is very definitely amber. I got three-wire LEDs but haven't installed a wire down to the marker lights in the front valance yet... I'll get there sooner or later.

Here's the link to the thread I put together. I wasn't really happy w/ it (the thread) as I discovered, mid-project, that the plug set I bought wasn't right for the Lariat wiring and that a separate wire would need to go down to the marker light to get the marker light properly powered. AND halfway through it a couple of people sorta thread-jacked the thing, taking away some of the coherency... what little there was!

https://www.mavericktruckclub.com/f...urns-diy-instructional-how-im-doing-it.62019/

 

[gjallen3]

Thank you for your suggestions. I was wondering though if you can see the LED through the smoke lens when it is not lit. I like the look of these side markers better than any of the aftermarket kits that are available because it uses the OEM badge.

 

[RideSolo]

Thank you for your suggestions. I was wondering though if you can see the LED through the smoke lens when it is not lit. I like the look of these side markers better than any of the aftermarket kits that are available because it uses the OEM badge.

On mine you absolutely cannot see the LED when it's not lit. In my opinion one would have to be vary familiar w/ the run-of-the-mill Maverick to walk up to it and think there was anything modified or non-factory w/ the way it looks. If mine was any color other than black I would have gotten the amber lenses instead of the smoke colored.

 

[Dad]

Dad, I'm very late to game here on this thread, I know, but I was intrigued by your project and have decided to do something with this badge. I'm struggling with doing it the way you did with the lens and the marker lamp or the small LED light bar. I understand once you saw that version you actually liked it better than your version. I'm actually leaning towards your version for a number of reasons:
1. You still need to modify the badge by cutting it to fit the light bar. And it looks kind of rough.
2. If the light bar fails it could be difficult to replace it years down the road. Might not find it again.
3. It is questionable how well the light bar will stand up to the elements. Rain, car wash, salt, UV, etc.
4. The 3M tape could fail.
As I write this I'm convincing myself why your design makes the most sense. If the light fails it is easily replaceable. It looks good and will stand up better. I am going to go with a 3 wire light so I can use it as a DRL and turn signal. I like the look of the smoke lens, but the only 3 wire light I can find is amber. I'm not concerned how the amber will look when lit, but I'm concerned how it will look through the smoke lens when not lit. I guess we will see. In any event, you can add me to your list of fans. Your design looks great.

Thank you so much! You made some great points of why my modification has some advantages over the other and I have to agree with you. My lights have been working without issues going on 3 years, so I can vouch for their reliability.

Feel free to DM me if you have any questions about the process. I think you'll find it easier to do than how it might appear at first.
I didn't use the 3 wire light because the Lariat's DRL system is a bit more complicated that the other models and I didn't want to go down that tunnel.

As far as wondering how the amber lights will look with the smoked lens, you could hook up the light to a 12v converter (120v to 12v) place your lens over the bulb and see how it looks. If you don't have access to a converter, the good news is the bulb is easily replaceable if you're not happy with the results.
Best of luck!

 

[nunucello]

I’m planning on installing LED light strips on my XLT badges to act as turning signal lights.

My LED light strips have only two wires and I understand there will be no running light power which I prefer.

I’m hoping people in the forum could help me confirm the following. Thank you in advance.


My LED Lights
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07XR98TM8?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title
Both wires are black so I have to figure out which is power and ground
Maybe I hook up to a 9volt batter and use a voltmeter to figure this out.

Wiring
Driver Side Black = ground
Driver Side Blue/Silver = constant power
Yellow/Green = alternating power (turn signal)

Passenger Side Black = ground
Passenger Side Blue/Silver = constant power
Passenger Side Blue/White = alternating power (turn signal)

Wire Taps
Did some research and i hope these are good:
https://www.crutchfield.com/S-ESr80...HfYT4cgT3l-MIGHAKp678FngDQx5LmrhoCU9IQAvD_BwE

Guage is 16 to 18
I noticed the Ford Black wires are thicker than the other wires. I'm hoping these taps can accommodate both thicknesses.

The other option of taps are these:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CP987BN/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_4?smid=A2HAE5I1OS3VZF&th=1

or these:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0DZ274JL5/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_1?smid=A34SBYVFQXAXO2&psc=1

 

[Dad]

Thanks, I didn't want to make a permanent attachment, might have to change the led sometime

Exactly! And since it's not as if you're attaching a bumper, there's little chance of the tape failing.

 

[Dad]

Dad,

I believe I read on one of your posts that you liked the miniature LED strip that attached to the outside of the original badge. Someone shared a link at:

https://www.superbrightleds.com/veh...tangle-led-accent-light-24-lumens+color-Amber

I like this but it has only 2 wires so only the turn signal would be available (or just the running lights but not both)

Did you ever see a 3-wire configuration for this type and size of LED strip?

Going back over my posts on this subject I noticed I did not do a good job of answering your question. Apologies.
I saw the miniature LED application and liked it at first, but another member's perspective has since changed my mind. Member @gjallen3 pointed out that the exposed miniature LED would be more susceptible to the elements.
You are correct. The two wire LED bulb would make a connection to the turn signal only. Three wires would give you a connection to both turn signal and running lights, but as I mentioned in an earlier post, connecting to the Lariat's running lights was a bit complicated and at the time, a mystery. I believe It was member @Glen Baker LLC who cautioned me about that.

UPDATE: Yeah, so Glen steered me straight. He wasn't the one who cautioned me about hacking into the Lariat's running lights. That was @Redneck Garage who did a dynamic lighting effect for the headlights. Here's that link if anyone is interested. I did it to mine and really like the effect.
https://www.mavericktruckclub.com/f...-14-00-pretty-impressive-for-the-price.25953/

 

[Glen Baker LLC]

Going back over my posts on this subject I noticed I did not do a good job of answering your question. Apologies.
I saw the miniature LED application and liked it at first, but another member's perspective has since changed my mind. Member @gjallen3 pointed out that the exposed miniature LED would be more susceptible to the elements.
You are correct. The two wire LED bulb would make a connection to the turn signal only. Three wires would give you a connection to both turn signal and running lights, but as I mentioned in an earlier post, connecting to the Lariat's running lights was a bit complicated and at the time, a mystery. I believe It was member @Glen Baker LLC who cautioned me about that.

Thank you for the credit, it wasn't me. I don't know sh!π about electrical. If it isn't plug and Play I'm not playing.

 

[Dad]

Thank you for the credit, it wasn't me. I don't know sh!π about electrical. If it isn't plug and Play I'm not playing.

Yeah, sorry about that. I need to apologize to @Redneck Garage. He's the one who first posted about adding dynamic lighting to headlights. Here's the link if you're interested. I did it to mine and I think it looks pretty cool. Easy peasy install, too.
https://www.mavericktruckclub.com/f...-14-00-pretty-impressive-for-the-price.25953/

 

[ElMikey]

I’m planning on installing LED light strips on my XLT badges to act as turning signal lights.

My LED light strips have only two wires and I understand there will be no running light power which I prefer.

I’m hoping people in the forum could help me confirm the following. Thank you in advance.


My LED Lights
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07XR98TM8?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title
Both wires are black so I have to figure out which is power and ground
Maybe I hook up to a 9volt batter and use a voltmeter to figure this out.

Wiring
Driver Side Black = ground
Driver Side Blue/Silver = constant power
Yellow/Green = alternating power (turn signal)

Passenger Side Black = ground
Passenger Side Blue/Silver = constant power
Passenger Side Blue/White = alternating power (turn signal)

Wire Taps
Did some research and i hope these are good:
https://www.crutchfield.com/S-ESr80...HfYT4cgT3l-MIGHAKp678FngDQx5LmrhoCU9IQAvD_BwE

Guage is 16 to 18
I noticed the Ford Black wires are thicker than the other wires. I'm hoping these taps can accommodate both thicknesses.

The other option of taps are these:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CP987BN/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_4?smid=A2HAE5I1OS3VZF&th=1

or these:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0DZ274JL5/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_1?smid=A34SBYVFQXAXO2&psc=1

have you installed these? Curious how they look

 

[nunucello]

have you installed these? Curious how they look

Not yet - i ordered a brighter set of LEDs

 

[Dad]

Not yet - i ordered a brighter set of LEDs

I'd be cautious of just how bright you want your side blinkers. You probably wouldn't want to blind other drivers. I don't recall the lumen level of the LED's I used, but I used a diffusing cover over the bulb and it hit a nice balance between visibility and not overly impacting adjacent vehicles.

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