I have read that there is a green wire in the tail light harness not hooked to anything that ford supplied for the brake light signal to a camper shell but cant find it to save my life. I dropped my spare and probed the main harness connector back there but cant find one that doesn't blink with the turn signals. Most posts mention 97-03 trucks but I found a post referencing an 04 which made me think that it would be present on my 05. Can anybody confirm the existence of this wire on an 05-08 and possibly tell me EXACTLY where to find it?

 

In case anybody else is interested....I found it sticking out of a loom under the driver side door Not sure why Ford thought it was more usefull there than at the rear where it belongs.

 

yea sorry found this late. ran in to this when i had my first cover on and the place wired it up to my taillight and it never worked, after 3rd trip someone remembered where that wire was.

 

Yeah, don't know why they moved it to the front. Where they had it on my '03 is a much better location. Right below the left tail light. Guess it was the extra .03 of wire that was the cause for the change.

 

Hey all!

I just bought a used Leer cap for my truck (picking it up next week) and was wondering where the CHMSL feed was on my '07 F-150 SC XLT. I had a '95 F-150 that I put a Leer cap on and that feed was under the hood next to the brake master cylinder. I also had a '99 Ram 2500 and that feed was sticking out of a wire loom next to the spare tire under the bed.

SO, just to confirm, the wire is under the drivers door? Is it near the framerail? Is it marked / labeled?

Glad you posted this as I was just about to ask the same question!!

 

its on the frame rail under drivers door behind a little plastic cover your wiring diagram should show it. its a green wire i believe.

 

Thanks for the info!

I would've looked for the wire today, but we got a foot of snow a few days ago, and over 30 INCHES in the past 24 hours.

 

Well some snow has melted and it's been bright sunshine and 55 - 60 degrees outside since Saturday. On Sunday I found the green wire for the CHMSL and wired it in. I also ran a wire from the battery + post ALL the way back for the dome light to have constant power. I figured in the future I could wire in a 12V outlet to plug stuff in back there too. I ran everything in 1/4" wire loom and followed the Ford wire loom for a factory installed look.

Thanks to all for telling me where to find the wire - my question is to Ford as to why they didn't run an additional 8 - 10 feet of wire to make it come out in the REAR (which would've made sense) instead of under the drivers door. Does 8 more feet of wire really cost that much??

Thanks to all for the help!

 

I haven't looked yet but does anyone know where the wire is on a 2010 F-150? If I don't get a reply before I find it, I'll post the location myself.

Yeah, the store I bought my cap from did some pretty shabby and unsafe wiring.

The dome light was obvious. First they wired it into my parking lights so the dome light was on when I turned my headlights on. I had them rewire it to the battery and they hung it (literally) off the positive terminal over the engine and thru space to the firewall down the driver's side of the frame with only four ty-wraps to the rear of the truck. They even ran it thru space from the frame thru the rear spring to the tail light--geez. All without a fuse. I ended up redoing that starting with an inline fuse at the main terminal in the power distribution box and followed the wire bundle for the hitch all the way back ty-wrapping every 6 to 12 inches. Heck, I may have looked at the third brake wire and not realized what it was. I recall something under the driver's door too.

Didn't think to check the third brake but a buddy following me on a trip noticed that the third brake light on my cap flashes with my left turn signal. So now gotta redo that too.

 

Okay... I've looked and can't find it.

 

wish I would have seen this thread before i redid my tail lights.....

 

Found it. For 2010, they shortened it. It's now in the engine compartment in the wire loom above the driver's side wheel well.

 

Looks like Ford wanted to save another few pennies yet again... Makes NO sense - it should come out near the spare tire somewhere.

Your cap place sure did a quick / lazy wiring job. I am on my 7th cap as of right now, and I just pre-wire my trucks to avoid the aggrivation that you went through. When I get to the cap place they always say "we would've wired it for you" and my reply is "would you have done as good of a job as I did, or just tap into the taillight and brake light?" Of course they have no reply. I also take out the factory CHMSL bulb BEFORE they put the cap on, as they refuse to pull the bulb on the roof of the truck. I learned that the hard way, still having the brake light on between the cab / cap which makes you blind at night. On one truck I had to take the cap off to pull the bulb.

I HATE when I see a third brake light flash with a blinker, or the dome light only work with the tail lights on. SOOOO lazy (and illegal too!)

 

I rewired the third brake last night. Neighbors must think I'm crazy out there in the dark with a headlamp on my head but I can see fine find it a more productive use of my time than watching TV. I even added disconnects so I can remove the cap without cutting wires.

Crap! I forgot to remove the bulbs from the factory CHMSL lights though.

 

I don't mind the factory third brake light lighting up when I hit the brake (and I would hate to have to remember to replace the bulb if I ever pull the cap) but I detest the original bed light lighting up the night everytime I open the door or kill the engine. I didn't think to ask the cap dealer to pull the bulb before installing the cap. One of these days I'm going to get ambitious and pull that bulb.

The dealer that installed my cap did an excellent job of wiring up the cap. They tapped from the battery (they said it was to avoid potential warranty issues) with an inline fuse and ran a nice heavy wire well secured back to the cap. There is a "goof proof" (their term) quick disconnect for the lines going into the cap. The entire job was very sanitary.