Locating Reverse Light Circuit on 2016 Hyundai Santa Fe

Updated 03/01/2018 | Published 02/28/2018

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Question:

Ive just almost finished installing the ETBC7 receptacle harness on a 2016 Hyundai Santa Fe V6. Everything went well this time, just like on my 2009 Santa Fe, except I cannot find a wire that activates with the backup lights. On the 2009 it was behind a panel on the passenger side, but there is not such panel on the 2016. Can you suggest a place to look for it? The lights are in the rear door, so you would think it would be obvious, but not so much. Ive found brake and running lights, as well as the wiper motor and washer pump, but no backup lights. Please help if you can.

asked by: Rod J

Expert Reply:

There are a couple other locations on your 2016 Hyundai Santa Fe that you can look at to possibly tap into the reverse light circuit.

FIrst, check to see if you can find a reverse light wire bundled with the regular tail light wires on the vehicle. Use a circuit tester like # PTW2993 at the backs of the tail lights to try and determine if one of them is dedicated to the reverse lights. Otherwise, you will just need to find where the wires go from the body of the vehicle and into the hatch. You will likely need to cut away some protective covering to access the wires but you will again just want to test them for function while a buddy sits in the Santa Fe and activates the reverse lights. He will put the vehicle in reverse with their foot on the brake pedal, remembering to also have the e-brake engaged. I wasn't able to find an exact location on your Santa Fe during my research.

Finally, another possible option is to find the fuse for the reverse lights inside the power distribution box in the vehicle. You can check for its exact location by taking a look at your copy of the owners manual. You can use a fuse tap and some additional wiring like # 12-1-1 if needed to run to the purple wire on the # ETBC7 Kit.

expert reply by: Chris R