LED tail mod
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 2,084
Likes: 12
From: Rutherfordton NC
St. Jude Donor '10
LED tail mod
Here is a mod that I did today, for less than $10. It lights up the area where most of us put the chrome cover for the fuel tank between the exhaust.
Here goes, hope you enjoy!!
Here is the lights as they come out of the pack
Take your tag off
Remove your back up plate assembly
Take out 1 of your tag lights
I ran a long zip tie down from the back plate down the bumper cover
Here you can see the bottom of the bumper cover where the long zip tie came out of the bottom of the cover
Pull the 51" long LED pigtail up to where the tag light is
Cut the wires going to the tag light, and using butt connectors splice the LED lights in line
Tidy the remaining wire up before buttoning everything up
Here is the LED's hanging getting ready to be installed
After wiping down the area for the LED's to be stuck, secure LED's by peeling the backing off and sticking in place
Finished job after only 30 minutes
Another finished shot
Products and equipment to be used for mod
Here goes, hope you enjoy!!
Here is the lights as they come out of the pack
Take your tag off
Remove your back up plate assembly
Take out 1 of your tag lights
I ran a long zip tie down from the back plate down the bumper cover
Here you can see the bottom of the bumper cover where the long zip tie came out of the bottom of the cover
Pull the 51" long LED pigtail up to where the tag light is
Cut the wires going to the tag light, and using butt connectors splice the LED lights in line
Tidy the remaining wire up before buttoning everything up
Here is the LED's hanging getting ready to be installed
After wiping down the area for the LED's to be stuck, secure LED's by peeling the backing off and sticking in place
Finished job after only 30 minutes
Another finished shot
Products and equipment to be used for mod
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Burning Brakes
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 842
Likes: 3
From: Woodruff SC
St. Jude Donor '10
Good job Barry! Send me an email and tell me again where you got the strip.
By the way it's funny how GM uses old parts for the newer cars. The tag light is the same on my 77. Bet they cost a lot more now tho!
By the way it's funny how GM uses old parts for the newer cars. The tag light is the same on my 77. Bet they cost a lot more now tho!
Last edited by DP77Vette; Jun 11, 2010 at 02:49 PM.
Drifting
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,793
Likes: 7
From: Santa Maria Ca.
Auto Zone sells a 2-pack of LED strips with 18 superbright led's on each strip-they're flat,flexible, about 12" long x 3/8" wide,with 3M exterior-grade double stick tape on them,and you can cut them to length if you don't want to use all 18.
$20.00,made by a company called "Alpena",part#77423B
I used the one of the strips for my exhaust plate light-left it full-length,and I'll just cover the excess led's with electrical tape if its too bright-(and they are VERY bright)
So now I had the other strip left. Hmmmm,what to do,what to do.....
Just so happens that there's a 1/2" lip just inside the hatch opening on a Coupe,and since the rear area of my Vette has never had enough light,especially since I replaced the hatch bulbs with blue led's(they look real cool,but not much for actual illumination)-I decided to stick the second strip there,and wired it into one of the hatch light fixtures.
Works very well to light up the cargo area,and it doesn't show at all-you don't even know it's there till you open the hatch in the dark...
$20.00,made by a company called "Alpena",part#77423B
I used the one of the strips for my exhaust plate light-left it full-length,and I'll just cover the excess led's with electrical tape if its too bright-(and they are VERY bright)
So now I had the other strip left. Hmmmm,what to do,what to do.....
Just so happens that there's a 1/2" lip just inside the hatch opening on a Coupe,and since the rear area of my Vette has never had enough light,especially since I replaced the hatch bulbs with blue led's(they look real cool,but not much for actual illumination)-I decided to stick the second strip there,and wired it into one of the hatch light fixtures.
Works very well to light up the cargo area,and it doesn't show at all-you don't even know it's there till you open the hatch in the dark...
Race Director
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 12,413
Likes: 502
From: Rio Rancho NM
Auto Zone sells a 2-pack of LED strips with 18 superbright led's on each strip-they're flat,flexible, about 12" long x 3/8" wide,with 3M exterior-grade double stick tape on them,and you can cut them to length if you don't want to use all 18.
$20.00,made by a company called "Alpena",part#77423B
I used the one of the strips for my exhaust plate light-left it full-length,and I'll just cover the excess led's with electrical tape if its too bright-(and they are VERY bright)
So now I had the other strip left. Hmmmm,what to do,what to do.....
Just so happens that there's a 1/2" lip just inside the hatch opening on a Coupe,and since the rear area of my Vette has never had enough light,especially since I replaced the hatch bulbs with blue led's(they look real cool,but not much for actual illumination)-I decided to stick the second strip there,and wired it into one of the hatch light fixtures.
Works very well to light up the cargo area,and it doesn't show at all-you don't even know it's there till you open the hatch in the dark...
$20.00,made by a company called "Alpena",part#77423B
I used the one of the strips for my exhaust plate light-left it full-length,and I'll just cover the excess led's with electrical tape if its too bright-(and they are VERY bright)
So now I had the other strip left. Hmmmm,what to do,what to do.....
Just so happens that there's a 1/2" lip just inside the hatch opening on a Coupe,and since the rear area of my Vette has never had enough light,especially since I replaced the hatch bulbs with blue led's(they look real cool,but not much for actual illumination)-I decided to stick the second strip there,and wired it into one of the hatch light fixtures.
Works very well to light up the cargo area,and it doesn't show at all-you don't even know it's there till you open the hatch in the dark...
Race Director
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 15,615
Likes: 0
From: exactly where i want to be
Cruise-In 9-10 Veteran
St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'10
Drifting
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,793
Likes: 7
From: Santa Maria Ca.
Man,I guess I gotta start checking ebay for goodies! -I figured I'd find them cheaper somewhere on the net,but I didn't realize they'd be that much cheaper!
Oh well,I was in AutoZone,they were in Autozone,and I had free time on Saturday,so I put the 3 together,now I've got some LED strips installed on my Vette,and I like em.
I will check out ebay for any future purchases though -thanks for the info on prices
Oh well,I was in AutoZone,they were in Autozone,and I had free time on Saturday,so I put the 3 together,now I've got some LED strips installed on my Vette,and I like em.
I will check out ebay for any future purchases though -thanks for the info on prices
Race Director
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 15,615
Likes: 0
From: exactly where i want to be
Cruise-In 9-10 Veteran
St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'10
finally done with mine
1.5 hrs for me (dont ask)
anyway - pretty happy with the results
goes with all of my other blue LEDs that ive done
1.5 hrs for me (dont ask)
anyway - pretty happy with the results
goes with all of my other blue LEDs that ive done