HOW TO: Rigid SR-L Series Lights for ARB Rear Bumper Installation

[CheesyTaco]

I have the Sport trim and got these installed last night on my ARB OEM bumper. They look awesome!

So….

I do not have the AUX switches in the Sport and that was fine with me when I bought it since I use a Garmin PowerSwitch to control all my exterior lighting. I would love to be able to have a controllable switch on the Garmin for the white lighting. Does anyone know how I would accomplish this? Would it be as simple as just tapping in a wire into the white trigger wire from the Powerswitch to the 2 lights or is there a bit more involved?

Thanks for any help!

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[Rubenc87]

They were pricey but I have no regrets in getting them.

 

[BLtheP]

Thanks for the feedback.

Yeah. It's understandable that some people prefer to do their own wiring or manual installs.
I just thought I would share the point of the harnesses, adapters, etc.

The harnesses are part of a system. Meaning the short rear harness can work with a Toyota, F-150, Dodge, Chevy, etc. They are universal.

The same with the tail light adapters. The tail light adapter from any make model or brand can plug into our short harness. The extension can plug into the short rear harness.
So the main point with the harness system is that it is plug n play for those who have little wiring experience and want an easy solution. Most any component can work with any make model vehicle and any brand light. More like USB cables, HDMI cables, etc.

When I hook up my TV to say my Apple TV. I use an HDMI cable. 3 feet may be too short. 6 feet a little too long depending on placement. But I don't have to cut and splice. I plug it in and secure the slack.
That's the intension of the harness system. Simple for those that don't want to manually wire things and you can take them with you to your next vehicle.

A quick note on the weather pack connectors. The reason we went with those as the "Universal" connector was because of their power capabilities. I agree with you that the DT connectors are so much easier to plug in. The issue with DT connectors are their pins have a 13 amp limit. Weather Pack pins have a 20 amp limit.
While the SRL lights are clearly less than 13 amps. To have a true universal system that is all interconnecting and plug n play... you have to make a choice on ONE style common connector. Being that the capacity was much higher with the Weather Pack Connectors. That why it made more sense. 2 Baja LP6's draw 15 amps. Too much for Deutch.

For those who have been limited to ONLY experiencing the few harness components in this SRL kit. Here is a link to ALL the pieces, adapters and components that can interconnect to basically like a LEGO set. Build anything you can imagine without tools (With the exception of adding a connector to a light that doesn't have it.)

https://www.specialtyperformanceparts.com/collections/spv-parts-harness-system

This is a video when we introduced the system on the Motor Trend Channels "Motorhead Garage"



So we didn't actually "Improve Rigids Design". What we did was EXPANDED our system to include a tail light adapter for a Tacoma model and a plug in adapter for the prep connector in the bumper.

A quick note. You should REALLY be careful with the wire clips (AKA Side Splice, Vampire Clips, etc) on factory wires.
They allow moisture into the factory wire and that can allow corrosion inside. I have seen many issues of people needing to replace an entire vehicle harness because the corrosion spreads UP the wire inside and it can go a long distance and compromise the whole vehicle harness.
My recommendation if anyone wants to splice into a factory wire is to do it clean. Cut the wire in half. Put a butt connector on it joining the factory wire and your splice on one side. Slide on a heat shrink GLUE tube. Then crimp the other factory wire on. Slide the heat shrink tube over the butt connector and shrink it down. The GLUE in a glue heat shrink tube will SEAL against the insulation locking out any moisture.

Hopefully that makes sense.

On the ground ring. You don't need to use the ground ring in many cases. It's actually removable. You can unplug the connector with the ground ring and plug in the adapter that plugs into the factory bumper that has a ground built in.

In the event you have a truck without switches or convert over to an ARB bumper on a truck that didn't come with it. You can get the "Full Rear Harness Extension" which is a long cable you plug in and slide up the frame side rail to the engine bay and plug it into a switch there. It also has a ground built in.

Here is a link to some of the many ways to plug in and assemble a rear harness with the different pieces to work in any scenario with any light and or vehicle-

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0179/4493/6512/files/Rear_Harness_Configurations.pdf?v=1761866472

You can also see the more specific Tacoma Bumper Pig tail for trucks that DO have the connector in their bumper in the full instructions on page 6 here-

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0...oma_SRL_INSTALL_INSTRUCTIONS.pdf?v=1765395459

Hopefully this makes a little more sense.

There is nothing wrong with doing your own wiring if that what you prefer. I just wanted to point out the reasoning behind the "System" and why it is intended for people who want a simple plug n play solution.

John

Thanks for the response.

I get it. It's difficult or close to impossible to consolidate the lineup to keep things simpler for your inventory across a bunch of vehicles and also fit every vehicle perfectly. Pretty much impossible. I'd be mostly happy if the tail-light harness had a ground wire in it and if it was shorter. It reached pretty far down and across the bumper and was most of the slack I needed to tie up.

When I say I'm going to do my own wiring, that is either by buying some other brand's tow plug t-harness, or by taking my tail light harness and tapping the ground on it. I do not ever vampire clip or t-tap anything. If I hack stock wiring, I cut it and butt splice back. Agreed on that being the best and really the only way to properly do it. I try to avoid doing that so that the vehicle can go back to stock and appear untouched, but sometimes I can do a better wire routing job without the t-harness. I did find the t-harness cumbersome to hide behind this tail light. That's not the fault of the kit, that is just a matter of how little space exists behind these tail lamps.

Since the SRLs draw so little power, I'm thinking the flat 3-pin DTMs will be my best bet for connecting this harness to the lights.

 

[SPV Parts]

Thanks for the response.

I get it. It's difficult or close to impossible to consolidate the lineup to keep things simpler for your inventory across a bunch of vehicles and also fit every vehicle perfectly. Pretty much impossible. I'd be mostly happy if the tail-light harness had a ground wire in it and if it was shorter. It reached pretty far down and across the bumper and was most of the slack I needed to tie up.

When I say I'm going to do my own wiring, that is either by buying some other brand's tow plug t-harness, or by taking my tail light harness and tapping the ground on it. I do not ever vampire clip or t-tap anything. If I hack stock wiring, I cut it and butt splice back. Agreed on that being the best and really the only way to properly do it. I try to avoid doing that so that the vehicle can go back to stock and appear untouched, but sometimes I can do a better wire routing job without the t-harness. I did find the t-harness cumbersome to hide behind this tail light. That's not the fault of the kit, that is just a matter of how little space exists behind these tail lamps.

Since the SRLs draw so little power, I'm thinking the flat 3-pin DTMs will be my best bet for connecting this harness to the lights.

So a couple things.

I think you said you do not have a connector in your bumper for the switches? Is that correct?
If you have the connector. The White wire I believe is the ground on your pig tail. You could simply take your OEM Rear pig tail, and cut the ground ring off and crimp the two together.

If you don't have a bumper connector pass through, you could crimp a ground wire on the tail light adapter yourself. Its better to crimp onto a REMOVABLE adapter than the factory wire.

However, I personally would just put the ground ring under a bolt. There are a ton of them back there and they are easily accessible. If you are already cutting and splicing, you can cut any cable down as short as you want it to be and tape it back up. Again, a lot better than cutting on factory wiring and running your own wiring.
Which by the way, any wiring you get at an auto shop or left over from a light box is low quality base wiring with a minimal heat rating. A heat rating under 200F (105C). The wiring we use is industrial grade (like the Auto manufacturers use GXL/TXL wire) with heat ratings at about 380F (200C). So in the end. You have heat back there from exhaust, chemicals and oil, etc.

Watch this video. This is a durability test with the components we use and that of general grade that come with the various light brands (Rigid, Diode, Baja, ETC and that which you would get at an auto store)



Hitch wiring...

I would be careful. Many new vehicles (I know for sure the Fords) have sensors for draw on the hitch wiring. When you connect to it, it may think there is a trailer attached. In which it turns OFF blind spot sensors and or logs trailer miles. I can say for sure on the Tacoma. I havent tested it. But it is something to be aware of.

John

 

[SPV Parts]

I have the Sport trim and got these installed last night on my ARB OEM bumper. They look awesome!

So….

I do not have the AUX switches in the Sport and that was fine with me when I bought it since I use a Garmin PowerSwitch to control all my exterior lighting. I would love to be able to have a controllable switch on the Garmin for the white lighting. Does anyone know how I would accomplish this? Would it be as simple as just tapping in a wire into the white trigger wire from the Powerswitch to the 2 lights or is there a bit more involved?

Thanks for any help!

So you added an ARB bumper? but you don't have the pass through wires/connector in the bumper? Is that right?

If so, you can just run a power lead back to the rear along the frame and up to the engine bay to connect to your switch.

Did you get our kit with the tail light adapter? Or just the lights?

If you already have the short harness and tail light adapter. This extension just plugs in and runs to your switch.

https://www.specialtyperformancepar...s-system-works-with-many-vehicles-see-details

And you can see how it all plugs together in this link-

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0179/4493/6512/files/Rear_Harness_Configurations.pdf?v=1761866472

John

 

[BLtheP]

So a couple things.

I think you said you do not have a connector in your bumper for the switches? Is that correct?
If you have the connector. The White wire I believe is the ground on your pig tail. You could simply take your OEM Rear pig tail, and cut the ground ring off and crimp the two together.

If you don't have a bumper connector pass through, you could crimp a ground wire on the tail light adapter yourself. Its better to crimp onto a REMOVABLE adapter than the factory wire.

However, I personally would just put the ground ring under a bolt. There are a ton of them back there and they are easily accessible. If you are already cutting and splicing, you can cut any cable down as short as you want it to be and tape it back up. Again, a lot better than cutting on factory wiring and running your own wiring.
Which by the way, any wiring you get at an auto shop or left over from a light box is low quality base wiring with a minimal heat rating. A heat rating under 200F (105C). The wiring we use is industrial grade (like the Auto manufacturers use GXL/TXL wire) with heat ratings at about 380F (200C). So in the end. You have heat back there from exhaust, chemicals and oil, etc.

Watch this video. This is a durability test with the components we use and that of general grade that come with the various light brands (Rigid, Diode, Baja, ETC and that which you would get at an auto store)



Hitch wiring...

I would be careful. Many new vehicles (I know for sure the Fords) have sensors for draw on the hitch wiring. When you connect to it, it may think there is a trailer attached. In which it turns OFF blind spot sensors and or logs trailer miles. I can say for sure on the Tacoma. I havent tested it. But it is something to be aware of.

John

I honestly have no idea what connector you’re talking about. I have an SR so it’s as basic as can be and my original bumper harness which I am now using on the ARB bumper is the factory original harness that is literally just for the one license plate light. I have no other connectors besides the tow plug. I do have the 4 connectors or so on that big mount thing where the tailgate harness, bumper harness, and aux harness all come together. I don’t know if there is something useful there but I doubt it.

Yes, butt splicing a ground wire on the adapter t-harness is exactly what I planned to do. I was only saying I don’t love the t-harness because it’s bulky and doesn’t fit very well behind the light. Not your problem, just a fact of how much space is back there (not a lot).

I won’t be reinventing the wheel, I just want to shorten it up, switch to DTMs, and source the ground from something that isn’t a bolt.

I don’t know if our tow plug pose issues (I doubt it) but I’ll stay away from the tow plug. Tow plugs are a pain to have a t-harness on too because it’s so much wire you have to make extra room for. Probably better to just deal with the tail light.

 

[CheesyTaco]

So you added an ARB bumper? but you don't have the pass through wires/connector in the bumper? Is that right?

If so, you can just run a power lead back to the rear along the frame and up to the engine bay to connect to your switch.

Did you get our kit with the tail light adapter? Or just the lights?

If you already have the short harness and tail light adapter. This extension just plugs in and runs to your switch.

https://www.specialtyperformancepar...s-system-works-with-many-vehicles-see-details

And you can see how it all plugs together in this link-

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0179/4493/6512/files/Rear_Harness_Configurations.pdf?v=1761866472

John

I did add the bumper after the fact. It came with everything needed for the install and the OEM wiring harness transferred over. The wiring harness I selected was the basic reverse/DRL taillight connection option.

I don’t have a desire to add AUX switches to my Sport since I use the Bluetooth Garmin PowerSwitch which utilizes control via an iOS Garmin app or on CarPlay. I’d like to ideally be able to control the reverse white light function via the PowerSwitch.

The PowerSwitch has 6 controllable lights on one unit with a 6 “positive” connection points on it. If that helps…

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