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Hitch cover LED brakelight ? Anyone have a solid, bright idea ?

metroshot

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Saw some trucks with hitch covers that were plain, brand logo, and some that light up when braking.

Anyone suggest something that would look good on a Lightning ?

I wanted a reverse and brake light combo but they don't look very solid - made cheaply with ABS plastics.

Any solid well built covers that have the Ford logo or better yet the Lightning logo ?

eBay $20 brake light:

Ford F-150 Lightning Hitch cover LED brakelight ? Anyone have a solid, bright idea ? s-l1600
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vandy1981

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The Lightning may throw an error and disable safety systems because it thinks that a trailer is connected. You may have to find an alternative way to wire it if you want it to light up.
 

RickLightning

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The Lightning may throw an error and disable safety systems because it thinks that a trailer is connected. You may have to find an alternative way to wire it if you want it to light up.
Correct - been that way for years with F-150s, and the Lightning is no exception. You can't hook something like this up, or a light bar, without tapping into the circuits before the taillights.
 
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metroshot

metroshot

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Correct - been that way for years with F-150s, and the Lightning is no exception. You can't hook something like this up, or a light bar, without tapping into the circuits before the taillights.
Wow, I had no idea - thought it was safe to tap into the turn signals, brake and reverse on the trailer connections in the old days when it was a "dumb" analog system.

Now with new technology that can sense a load on a circuit, it makes sense that Ford uses it to detect a trailer connection.

So my big question to tow experts:

If my Lightning has no tow options (no max tow, no tow tech), will tapping in cause any issue with my Lightning in other ways ?

@vandy1981 @sotek2345 @RickLightning @F150ROD
 

sotek2345

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Wow, I had no idea - thought it was safe to tap into the turn signals, brake and reverse on the trailer connections in the old days when it was a "dumb" analog system.

Now with new technology that can sense a load on a circuit, it makes sense that Ford uses it to detect a trailer connection.

So my big question to tow experts:

If my Lightning has no tow options (no max tow, no tow tech), will tapping in cause any issue with my Lightning in other ways ?

@vandy1981 @sotek2345 @RickLightning @F150ROD
Sorry, no idea. I don't tow, just use the bed to haul things. And the last time I had to tap power back there was on a 2010.
 

RickLightning

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Wow, I had no idea - thought it was safe to tap into the turn signals, brake and reverse on the trailer connections in the old days when it was a "dumb" analog system.

Now with new technology that can sense a load on a circuit, it makes sense that Ford uses it to detect a trailer connection.

So my big question to tow experts:

If my Lightning has no tow options (no max tow, no tow tech), will tapping in cause any issue with my Lightning in other ways ?
Your tow packages are irrelevant. It thinks a trailer is connected. You can't do it without tapping in before lights.

You have to pull a taillight at a minimum. https://www.f150forum.com/f118/hopefully-end-all-how-do-i-wire-my-fing-tailgate-lightbar-514876/
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