Tailgate Light Strip Installation
How to Install a Tailgate Light Strip
Today on this 2008 Ford F-150 we will be showing you how to install the Bully LED tailgate fire strip part number TLB-001. The tailgate fire strip installs at the back of the bed in between the tailgate and the bumper. The fire strip installs to that area using a double sided adhesive tape so we will need to clean that area out before we can install it. For video purposes I am actually going to remove the tailgate. That will make it a lot easier. With the tailgate removed we can test fit the fire strip. The kit comes preassembled with the two longer pieces together which for some vehicles will be enough. There is a 24 inch extension piece that can go directly in the middle for vehicles that are a little bit wider. Just give it a test fit to see if you are going to need that extension piece or not. 00:44
What we have decided for this F-150 is to leave out the middle section. The vehicle is wide enough for it, however if we do use the the middle 24 inch piece this adhesive piece will be pushed out onto this angled section that is coming out here on the back side of the bed. So to alleviate that we are going to leave the middle piece out. Next what you want to do is determine how high or low you want the fire strip to go up. I am going to rest it on the bottom lip of the bed. We want to next clean this area off really well and we also want to clean the holders for the adhesive strips on the back of the fire strip as well. We can apply our adhesive strips to the fire strip itself. Then before we adhere it to the vehicle we want to do a quick test run just to make sure that both units are functioning. 01:55
Just take the 4-pole end with my two pieces clipped together. Plug it in to the vehicles 4-pole and you can see both sections are working. Then from there we can set these up and figure out where to place them on the vehicle. You can just spread them out like so or you can run them close together and use the zip ties that are provided with the installation kit to tie this together. Once you have got that figured out you can remove the adhesive strips off the back of the fire strip and install it on the vehicle. Then you just want to go in your vehicle and first test the running lights to make sure they are working and then try your turn signals and lastly the brake lights. Once we have insured that all of the functions are working properly we want to again just test fit our fire strip on to the vehicle. Determine how you want to mount it. You can either space them apart or you can bring them together. Once you determine that you can remove the adhesive strips off of the fire strip and adhere it to the vehicle. What I want to do next is just take the connection point and feed it below. We are going to use the cable ties and tie that together. We also want to take our 4-pole and route it between the bed and the bumper and plug it into our 4-pole. From there we can take the remaining cable ties and tie up our extra wire at our 4-pole. I am going to put my tailgate back on and our installation will be complete. That will conclude the installation of the Bully LED tailgate fire strip part number TLB-001 on a 2008 Ford F-150.
Doug
10/6/2012
hi i need some wiring help, 95 chevy 1500, im trying to wire in a led strip on tailgate, the strip has two wires on it. - i tapped into the taillight wires ground and the only wire that had power and they seem to work fine with the headlights off, they signal and they light with the brakes, my problem is that when i turn the headlights on they do not work, i cant figure it out, i dont have a trailer plug on truck and dont want one. i want the leds to work as brake lights but as i said when its dark and the headlights are turned on they dont light, or do i just have to wire it to the existing 3rd brake light. please help me im not good with electrical
Patrick B.
10/8/2012
Doug,
It would be really helpful to have the part number of the light you are working with. I need some more information on how it is designed to help you figure out how to wire it. Let me know if you have it.
Anonymous
3/28/2020
What to do with the red wire