I am considering running turn signal LEDs to my coves. I'm thinking it would be sweet if I could pull the wheels and snake wires from the rear brake/turn signals to the front coves through the frame rails.

Or is there a better way to get the wires run or a better location to tap into the turn signal wires?

I have seen a friends install and they look just super.

 

I bet I have missed something here, but why get it from the rear? MUCH closer to the front turn signals.

 

I'm guessing it is better to pull it from the stop/turn on the rear circuit if you want the LED's active on the Brake and Turn Signal circuit. If all you want is turn signals then, as said, easy to tap into the front lamps.

 

Yes, you can run the wires behind the rocker panels - I just did this mod to mine and it works great. I tapped mine into the rear turn signals as when I was researching the mod I was told the fronts, with the DRLs, may cause some problems. My cove lights now work as turn signals, hazard lights and also as brake lights. They remain off when the lights are in the on position until I either hit the brakes, turn signals or hazard flasher. I'll send you an e-mail with the details.

 

You could run wires from the rear. I've done that for my rear fog lights. You could also tap in at the front but there are DRL issues as Jack mentioned.

There are 2 bulbs in the stock turn signal bulb holder - a small bulb in the outer orange part and a large twin filament orange bulb in the front compartment. The large orange one is the combined parking light/turn signal and also gives DRLs.
There are 3 wires running to this larger bulbholder
a blue/white wire which is the hot wire for the T/S.
a brown wire which is the live feed for the parking light.
a black wire which is the common ground.

The wires going to the front sidemarker lamp are also brown (hot) and black (ground)

To get lights which come on with DRLs and with parking lights you can tap into the brown wire plus the ground.

To get lights which come on just with parking lights tap into the wires going into the small bulb in the sidemarker lamp in the outer section

I used the in-line electrical taps you can get at any auto parts store which avoids cutting wires.

To get access to the wiring, turn on the headlights and back off one position to kill the lights. Unscrew the 3 small screws on the black plastic housing around the headlight. Gently pull the housing clear. Reach down around the headlight unit and release the bulb holder. It unscrews counter clockwise but it has a plastic clip which you need to squeeze to release it.

Once you’re done, clean the bulb. Reseat the bulb holder and turn until it clicks back in place. Put the plastic housing back in place making sure to locate the small plastic tab in the bracket on the headlamp cover. Replace the 3 screws and close the lights.

As a safety measure and to avoid the lights closing while youre doing the mod, disconnect the battery once the lights are up.

 

I wired from the rear just as VettemanJack commented. The only things I removed were the rear wheels, and that was just to facilitate running the wires- didn't pull any panels. I agree with Allegro in that at first I too thought to tap into the front wiring but after looking closely, and after receiving some good advice, I could see the rear is the way to go. Take your time and IMO this is a mod you'll be glad you did. Good luck with it.

 

Cool and thanks. That's exactly what I want to accomplish.

 

An even better (MUCH easier idea)

If you unbolt the front quarter panels from the top, you will see a channel about 1"x1" cross section. Using this channel and some 1/4" wire loom to protect the wires, you can tap your front turn signals AND drop down directly into the vent cove area. This would use about 1/3 the wire and hide the wiring MUCH easier.

Note: using this method will tie your vent lights to your DRLs unless you disable the DRL feature by removing the #2 under hood fuse.

 

I really like this idea. I saw it elsewhere on the forum and already bought the LEDs to do it, though before reading this I too was going to tap into the front turn signals.

How would you tap into the back lights? Which wire is for the tail lights and which is the turn signal/brake? I haven't looked yet and it might be obvious, but I'm just curious.

 

Send me your e-mail address and I'll send you a copy of the write-up I just finished on how I installed the lights in my cove area.