Canopy 3rd brake light wiring

[GoHawks]

Hi - I have searched this forum and general f150 forums for details on wiring a 3rd brake light on an installed canopy. I have yet to find detailed specific instructions for the lightning. I am sure someone has done it on this forum. Any specific guidance with pictures someone could provide before I go disassembling my frunk looking for a specific wire? If it exists elsewhere, a friendly link would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Sponsored

 

[bmw325_num99]

I just had this done by Jasper Camper Sales in Michigan. https://www.facebook.com/jaspercampersales/

Maybe if you ask nice or send him some money he will help guide you through it.

From what I saw and was able to see, you gotta remove the front drivers side fender liner next to the wheel/tire. Then, there is a little wire that needs to be pulled out and tapped into. Meanwhile, you gotta get to the 12v battery in the Frunk and get power from that as well. Sorry, my memory is foggy on it as I was distracted by all the nice old trucks/cars in his yard.

 

[bmw325_num99]

This is what the wire looks like from the drivers side inner fender (but NOT the location in the picture, it just has the same end piece and similar gauge)

Also, ARE has a guide that works on a Lightning. I know this because this is what Jasper used to hook it up for me.

 

[GoHawks]

I spent my off day today wiring my 3rd brake light on my camper/topper. As bmw325 shared, I can confirm that there is a csml wire on the drivers side in the front fender. I also ended up using a grounding point back by the spare tire (photo from a someone’s YouTube post). Here are some additional details if someone else is trying to do the same. I needed to remove all screws holding in the fender lining and then pulled it out of the fender. I tried only removing a few screws without success. This wire only has ‘power’ when the truck is on (not accessory mode), and will only illuminate the 3rd brake light when the brakes are pressed. There is no power when just the lights are on. I also removed the rear drivers taillight to fish the ground wire down to the spare tire area and to fish the hot wire through the bed wall, under the truck and into the front fender lining. I only took photos of csml wire though as the rest of the steps are documented on other F150 sites/videos. I have no idea why Ford makes this so difficult to access as there is no access to this wire from the frunk area. Even when I had drivers side plastic cover off and the fender lining out, I could not see the wire or where I attached my hot wire from above. Any adjustment needed will require removal of the fender lining again.

 

[SunPowered]

Does anyone have a link to the above mentioned ARE instructions for 3rd brake light on Lightning? (Trying to find.) Aim to provide a link that RSI Smartcap dealer can follow to install. They have not done this before. (Which is a bit scary....)

 

[ogdobber]

I spent my off day today wiring my 3rd brake light on my camper/topper. As bmw325 shared, I can confirm that there is a csml wire on the drivers side in the front fender. I also ended up using a grounding point back by the spare tire (photo from a someone’s YouTube post). Here are some additional details if someone else is trying to do the same. I needed to remove all screws holding in the fender lining and then pulled it out of the fender. I tried only removing a few screws without success. This wire only has ‘power’ when the truck is on (not accessory mode), and will only illuminate the 3rd brake light when the brakes are pressed. There is no power when just the lights are on. I also removed the rear drivers taillight to fish the ground wire down to the spare tire area and to fish the hot wire through the bed wall, under the truck and into the front fender lining. I only took photos of csml wire though as the rest of the steps are documented on other F150 sites/videos. I have no idea why Ford makes this so difficult to access as there is no access to this wire from the frunk area. Even when I had drivers side plastic cover off and the fender lining out, I could not see the wire or where I attached my hot wire from above. Any adjustment needed will require removal of the fender lining again.

I can’t tell you how helpful this was with the pictures! The hardest part was finding the right google keyword that brought me here. This really needs to be a pinned thread with a title that’s easier to find. Thank you

edit*
I’d also like to add that i used a two wire insulated wire snaked down the frame (you could run along side) and on the topside, under the driver frunk panel there are 3 ground points so then when you get to the back it is just plug in and go

 

[halfbakedenchilada]

In case this is helpful, RSI does have instructions on this page:

https://www.smartcap.com/welcome/north-america/assembly-guides

The one (or at least one of the ones) that is relevant to the Lightning is here and starts on page 20:

https://www.smartcap.com/uploads/I-SHEET-NA-F3-V2.pdf

with the Version B list of connectors. The only thing that's unclear in their instructions are the locations of the ground points, but as @ogdobber says there are options under the driver's side frunk cover.

 

[Naptown Bison]

Thanks for this! I am connecting a SmartCap brake light to my 2023 Lightning Lariat. I'm pretty handy, but I haven't done it before, and the PDF instructions are limited. Question: Do I connect the hot harness wire to the truck's CHSML auxiliary wire inside the wheel well, run that back to the brake light connection inside the cap, and get a good ground connection with the black wire in the harness, and that's it? Or am I missing a step? I assume that if you get power from the CHSML wire, so you don't need the fuse connector that is in these kits. But let me know if you do.

 

[B177y]

Question: Do I connect the hot harness wire to the truck's CHSML auxiliary wire inside the wheel well, run that back to the brake light connection inside the cap, and get a good ground connection with the black wire in the harness, and that's it?

That's pretty much what I did. There is an obvious ground point on the driver side rear of the truck bed that I used instead of splicing into anything for ground.

I assume that if you get power from the CHSML wire, so you don't need the fuse connector that is in these kits. But let me know if you do.

I think I left the fuse connector for my cap brake light installed because, why not? I added some 12volt SAE plugs to disconnect easily for when I remove my cap.

 

[Naptown Bison]

I think I left the fuse connector for my cap brake light installed because, why not? I added some 12volt SAE plugs to disconnect easily for when I remove my cap.
[/QUOTE]
Thanks! The fuse connector that I was referring to was the one that is supposed to be run across the inside of the cab and plugged into the fuse box (input #30) by the passenger front seat (I believe to give power to the canopy brake light when the brake is pressed). But I suppose I wouldn't run that AND use the CHSML wire too (and there are only two wires, a hot and ground, so it isn't possible anyway). I as asking because many of the cap factory instructions tell you to do that. But it would only make sense if I use either the CHSML OR the 5A fuse from the interior fusebox, but not both. If this is confusing, it was for me too. But I think I've got it now. I appreciate all the insight, and I am always happy for additional ideas and thoughts.

 

[halfbakedenchilada]

Yeah, I spliced the purple CHSML to the blue wire in the Smartcap harness, then used a ground point under the driver's side removable part of the frunk (near the HV disconnect thing), since that was pretty near the CHSML wire. Then ran the wires under the frame, secured with zip ties, up through the rear taillight assembly, and up through the inside of the bed. At least for my 2024 Lightning Smartcap says not to use the fuse connector.

 

[Naptown Bison]

My last note on this for anyone looking it up in the future. This post was SUPER HELPFUL! (Thanks GoHawks, BMW325 and everyone else. Couldn't have done it without you!) Here are some notes to remember if you are a total nubie like me:

1) You only need to connect to the truck's CHSML cable in the wheel well and a ground. The SmartCap instructions and video talk about using the 5A fuse in the interior fuse box. This was not necessary for me and really added a lot more confusion than needed. If someone else made the fuse connection work, please feel free to post about that

2) That CHSML wire is TINY, VERY THIN and a little hard to get to. Earlier posts said that, but boy, was it true! (As said before, it is right behind the wheel well liner, and you'll need to take all the liner screws out in order to push the liner back and get access to the CHSML.) Get a good wire stripper, because I had to cut twice and if you cut too much, you can make the wire too small to get to and connect. I finished the job myself (I'm not a mechanic), so it's doable, but beware.

3) After you open the frunk, there are plastic turning knobs that hold a long plastic wiring cover on the left side of the frunk. Once you them out you can take the cover off, and the wheel liner is right there, below all of that. So after (or before) you connect the blue, purple or whatever color is your hot wire to the CHSML wire, you can run the black cable up from there and use one of the screws on the metal framing to connect that black as ground (I used conducting butt splicers to connect the hot wire to CHSML and a ring terminal to connect the black ground cable)

4) I plugged the harness into the cap (the two white plastic connectors that go together) to test it before running the cable under the truck, to be sure it worked. It did and then ran it under with zip ties, as the instructions/video says. Good luck everybody!!

Sponsored