thought i should run a couple of lighting ideas by u guys

[ken garchow]

1) on my 2006 ford super duty i was thinking it might be nice to have the rear cargo lights come on with the back up lights. i noticed tit looked like it add a little fill in my rear view mirror when backing up. Is this something that i should do or are there compelling reasons not to do it?
i can do the wiring so it works fine, just wanted to get a more educated opinions of the idea

2) on the same truck i was also thinking of hooking the third brake light to the emergency flashers as it looked to me it may make the truck more visible from the rear when the flashers are on. wondered that possible issues there may be with this? again i can do the wiring

thanks guys for reading

 

[fastgun]

ken,
My same era super duty cargo light does not seem helpful for anything outside of the cargo box, but if yours does help you, give it a try. I'd much rather have a light near the bumper or on the headache rack if that is an option. This is always undo-able if it does not work. The 3rd brake light hooked to your emergency flashers will increase you getting noticed. Since you do the work, if it complies with state law, give it a go.

 

[Alaric Darconville]

1) on my 2006 ford super duty i was thinking it might be nice to have the rear cargo lights come on with the back up lights. i noticed it looked like it add a little fill in my rear view mirror when backing up. Is this something that i should do or are there compelling reasons not to do it?
i can do the wiring so it works fine, just wanted to get a more educated opinions of the idea

I wouldn't add just any ol' lamp to the reversing lamp circuit unless it's really a properly mounted, proper reversing lamp. If you really want to use cargo lamps in addition to the reversing lamps, wire them separately, so you don't have them coming on any time you're backing up.

2) on the same truck i was also thinking of hooking the third brake light to the emergency flashers as it looked to me it may make the truck more visible from the rear when the flashers are on. wondered that possible issues there may be with this?

Don't do this. "The vehicular hazard warning signal operating unit on each vehicle shall operate independently of the ignition or equivalent switch, and when activated, shall cause to flash simultaneously sufficient turn signal lamps to meet, as a minimum, the turn signal lamp photometric requirements". State laws may vary, but most of them agree on the hazard lights being only the turn signals flashing synchronously.

The CHMSL is not a turn signal. You also potentially lose the stop signal of the CHMSL, so if your hazard lights are on the CHMSL may not light up steadily when using the service brake. Sure, the extra flashing lamp "will increase you getting noticed", but "getting noticed" and "people understanding the message your lights convey" are two different things.

 

[ken garchow]

thanks for the good input!!

 

[-Virgil-]

1) on my 2006 ford super duty i was thinking it might be nice to have the rear cargo lights come on with the back up lights.

Not only will that make the truck noncompliant with Federal safety standards, but I don't know that it's worth going to the trouble. You'd probably have better overall results by putting a set of these in your truck's back-up lights and leaving the cargo lamp alone. If you need more light while backing, a proper auxiliary reversing lamp would be the way to go.

on the same truck i was also thinking of hooking the third brake light to the emergency flashers

Don't do it. On most vehicles with combination brake/turn lights, the central stop light is your only brake light when the flashers are operating. Also, that would be fooling with the standard meanings of colors, lamp counts and locations, and operational mode (steady/flashing), which means you'll be confusing other drivers instead of conveying an instantly and clearly intelligible message. This really is not a good idea.