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  #1  
Old 12-05-2018, 10:34 PM
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trailer hitch reverse light idea

Hi all.

I wonder if anyone has made/bought a light that you can put into your trailer hitch receiver and its connected to round pin connector to work as a reverse light when the X5 is in reverse? Never hurts to have more light back there and it may look snazzy instead of just an empty hitch receiver (or rubber cap/plug).
Something like this but white/clear instead of red...
https://www.amazon.com/Light-Up-Rect...K4YR5FP5HVFPYK

It would be a 3rd reverse light. I think its a neat idea to brighten up the ground around rear when reversing and figured why not try this approach...

OR do you have another fun way to use the empty trailer hitch receiver (please don't say for hanging metal balls or propeller fan or 4th brake light...)
Thanks,

EDIT: I decided to not use a relay, but instead just wire the positive wire into the positive wire from reverse light harness/connector.

Mike in Calgary.
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Last edited by Clockwork; 12-19-2018 at 06:29 PM. Reason: subject clarification
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  #2  
Old 12-10-2018, 09:25 PM
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Ok so I'm going to go ahead with this project and connect into the Reverse light wire harness... So now I have two questions that I'm hoping an electrical guru may be able to answer...
I am going to be connecting an LED, so is it OK to connect to the existing reverse lights positive wire for power OR should I connect a relay to this power wire and then connect to LED? I'm sure the Relay way is smartest but if I go that route, will it then cause a light out Error somehow? I currently have my euro fogs running LED bulbs and tied directly into the brake lights (no relay) and I get zero errors so that's why I was going to try tapping directly into the reverse wiring with this LED housing/wiring.
Thoughts for me to ponder?

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__________________
I swear, my cars are like a girlfriend.
Sometimes its a rough ride, sometimes its smooth motorin'.
Sometimes she doesnt like how i treat her and sometimes i dont like how she behaves.
BUT at the end of the day, she loves it when I am inside her.

_______________________
'91 850i
'05 X5 4.4i
'09 Clubman S
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  #3  
Old 12-10-2018, 10:51 PM
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You should be fine tapping an LED lamp into the existing reverse light circuits. In fact, for what you propose the LED is best, as it will have the least impact on the existing circuits. As you have already found with the euro fog (brake) LEDs.
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Old 12-12-2018, 01:39 AM
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thats what i thought. i bought the parts needed so may as well tap into reverse light wiring . will do pics and write up in case others wish to do it too

this is the light ( https://unibondlighting.com/uni-bond...-lamps/lw6008/ ) ($30 fro local parts store) I'm going to mount to a blank trailer hitch cover plate, by drilling hole through its center to run the light mounting bolt through ( https://www.curtmfg.com/part/2275003 ) ($7 from Amazon) and just use simple waterproof connectors and wire to tap into reverse light switch.


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__________________
I swear, my cars are like a girlfriend.
Sometimes its a rough ride, sometimes its smooth motorin'.
Sometimes she doesnt like how i treat her and sometimes i dont like how she behaves.
BUT at the end of the day, she loves it when I am inside her.

_______________________
'91 850i
'05 X5 4.4i
'09 Clubman S

Last edited by Clockwork; 12-12-2018 at 01:47 PM.
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  #5  
Old 12-19-2018, 12:13 AM
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Ok so I got the hole drilled into the metal trailer hitch cover so I could attach the LED housing via the included hardware and then found a waterproof connector set and spliced one end onto the LED wiring... Other end will go to vehicle

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__________________
I swear, my cars are like a girlfriend.
Sometimes its a rough ride, sometimes its smooth motorin'.
Sometimes she doesnt like how i treat her and sometimes i dont like how she behaves.
BUT at the end of the day, she loves it when I am inside her.

_______________________
'91 850i
'05 X5 4.4i
'09 Clubman S
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  #6  
Old 12-19-2018, 12:16 AM
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That's gonna put out quite a bit of light...!
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  #7  
Old 12-19-2018, 02:32 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wpoll View Post
That's gonna put out quite a bit of light...!
I hope so. I love having the ground illuminated and I can angle it down so it's not blinding ppl/cars behind me when I do put it in reverse.
I'm excited to get it wired up

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__________________
I swear, my cars are like a girlfriend.
Sometimes its a rough ride, sometimes its smooth motorin'.
Sometimes she doesnt like how i treat her and sometimes i dont like how she behaves.
BUT at the end of the day, she loves it when I am inside her.

_______________________
'91 850i
'05 X5 4.4i
'09 Clubman S
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  #8  
Old 12-20-2018, 10:52 AM
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Is it wide angle? Otherwise you may not get much light around to the sides of thecar, where you need it most.
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  #9  
Old 12-20-2018, 12:15 PM
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I actually have a claymore mine in the draw bar hitch back in the US. Granted it's inert but absolutely no one tailgates me....

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Old 12-20-2018, 01:33 PM
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I was looking at these yesterday: https://www.ebay.com/itm/LED-Trailer...53.m1438.l2649

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