This may sound dumb, but how do I engage the lights that are white lights that are attached to the red high stop taillight? The red light works, but I don't know what to do to make the two white lights come on? I just replaced the bulbs on all three (one bulb for red lens, one for each white)

Please help me out here

 

turn the dimmer switch up, and they should come on

 

Hmm, Thats what I thought, the dimmer switch should go up all the way and sort of click and they should come on? But the dimmer switch does not click it just turns and adjusts the brightness of the instrument and radio clusters. Does this mean I probably have a bad dimmer switch?

 

dont know about your switch, but the cargo lights should come on when you open the door too.

 

nope, my 2001 you had to use the dimmer switch

 

Yeah, I have noticed on some other ford trucks that the lights come on when doors are open, but I don't know if i have ever seen mine come on. I understand that it could be different for different years too. I noticed today that the little red brake light on the dash cluster that should light up when the parking brake is set does not either. I am going to check the fuses maybe, but i don't know if that has anything to do with it either.

I found out that the dimmer switch does work, It just clicks really hard, almost like its going to break, kinda wierd why it would be so difficult to operate.

 

if you want them to come on when the door opens you'll have to tap the light into the dome light. the 98 i just sold, it was hard to get it to click you had to put a bit of force into it but it did click.

 

Did the 98 have the sockets up there ?
Not sure when it changed but my ’03 EDGE had the third brake light, and the harness but no sockets or bulbs.

 

In my 99 the switch is pretty hard to get up all the way. But they don't come on when you open the door. Also make sure that the bulbs aren't burned out.

 

my 05 doesnt have sockets up there either :( wish it did though

 

You know you can get a super duty 3rd brake light and install it and run a wire to power the cargo light.

This is on my 04

 

what year super dutys will fit late model rangers?

 

I got mine from a 05 F-250 super duty

 

thanks for that.
i think 2005-2011 will fit our trucks.
i was able to find one that was removed off a new truck. looking forward to installing this.

 

I got the part in the mail, looks like 757's up there.

Im nervous about removing the one on the truck, i dont want to invite leaks to the rear window by doing this swap. The one i received looks to have a rubbery gasket around the back where it pushes against the body.

Did you guys add any sealant when installing this? or is just screwing this on enough?

 

I always like to add a thin bead of silicone caulk all around that gasket for a little insurance. The OEM gaskets get dry rotted fairly easily & they will leak something awful.

 

I got the LED version off the web not eBay though.

I didn’t use any sealant other than the gasket that came with it.

If I had to say, the gasket isn’t designed for additional sealant, if you use something that sticks to the paint then IF you ned to remove the light for some reason it will tear the gasket.

Try without any sealant first, if you have a std cab you can remove the interior light and see if it is leaking by using the hose.
Get someone to help you out, use very low force and start at the bottom of the light and work up with the hose. Not sure if the ext cab has a rear light !

 

thanks for the help here guys, i just finished the install, i'll add to the official how-to thread as well.

took like 30 minutes. trickiest part was fishing a snake back to the dome. i used a proper snake but it was too fat, i ended up just using oven wire and had a helper snag it from the cab.

Used 14 gauge wire. added a ring terminal and secured it to the screw that touches the dark purple wire that powers the dome (theres only one wire up there). The 2011 Super Duty light i used had the exact same harness connector to accept the rangers plug. except, it had a third pin in the plug. i removed the third pin and put a female bullet connector on it, then put a male bullet connector on the wire i ran to the dome. plugged the factory harnesses together, plugged the bullet connectors and it was a done deal :)

a note on the gasket. My factory light and the super duty light had only that foam gasket. Since the screws and everything lined up perfectly i just tightened it all back up and am going to keep an eye on it for leaks. I cleaned a good build up of grim from the fame after i pulled the old light off. so im hoping the foam gasket will be sufficient.

thanks again for the help and guidance here guys, this mod is definitely a very welcome addition.

 

Looks good! How bright is it at night?

 

Good question, i will report back after dark, but i would suspect them to be equally as bright as the flood light on the 150 which is sufficient to flood the bed area with light.