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How to Light your Center Tail on a 2G

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Heres how to light the center tail...It worked great for me. I will say though, if you do something wrong or get hurt or cause your whole block to burn down its not my fault. This is simply how I made my center tail light light up. Alright lets go...

I used green dots to emphasize the task at hand.

First the tools you will need are:

Wire Strippers
10MM Deep Socket/ratchet
Flat head screw drivers
Device to cut through plastic with out cracking it. ( I used heat from my soldering gun )
Drill w/ 2 metal bits sizes
Sharpie
Sandpaper
Hammer

Components for lighting:

I used 3 H3 bulbs...normally found in our foglights.
Wiring (stock gauge of taillight wiring)
a 15AMP fuse

Getting started:

Open the hatch and remove the back trunk panel. There are 2 plastic holders and 4 metal clips holding in tight up top. ( Check PIC 1 ) I just pry'd up on it and they all popped up. You can remove the panel completly, but I didnt feel like taking out my subwoofer floor board.

Next loosen the 7 10mm nuts from the inside of the car holding the center tail in place ( PIC 2 ) Once those are removed slide the center tail out. You can not close the hatch.

Now we need to seperate the lense from the housing. It takes alot of gentle prying and some time...I broke 3 or the little clips and it still took some work. I havnt founf a special way to do this or anything so just have at it...Clips can be seen ( PIC 3 )

Once those are out set the lense aside for now ( I know we cant see though it, well get there later ) and were going to want to remove alot of the surface area from the back of the housing. Look at my picture and do just what I did ( PIC 4 ) I used my soldering gun to just melt slowly through the plastic. You must remove the bottom center stud, as a light will be taking its place in the hole. You dont have to worry about that shape showing up when you turn the tails on...the lights stick out just far enough to illuminate the whole thing but are still far enough away from the lense to not melt it.

Once that is cut out set it aside and now grab the lense. You will notice a layer of Gray primer on the inner side you have to sand that away evenly. I used 100 grit and about 5 minutes to make it all even. Hold it up to the light and make sure no areas allow more light through than other. ALso you dont have to remove all the primer completly, just enough off the top of all those little bumps will be fine ( CHECK PIC 5 ) for mine up to the light and check ( PIC 6 ) for the primer side when I was done.

Ok your done setting up the lense for being lit. Just set those pieces aside and head back out to the car with the drill bits and hammer ( Dont be scared...Just some light tapping. ) Starting with the left (DS) light position your Bit where I did mine Check ( PIC 7 ) Use this pic to also make the hole for the right side. The Center hole is the same one the stud used Just enlarged by our bit. Once your done drilling check on the trunk side of the frame and you will see what you need the hammer for...Theres a raised part of the frame tack welded on. Just tap that down flat. ( PIC 8 ) You can see the minor marks my hammer left and what I mean by it needs to be flat so the light can sit flush with the frame.

Ok Now put your lights in the holes! ( If they dont fit put the drill bit back in and give it alittle wiggle...not tomuch we want the light frame to still touch on the sides since it is our ground. So your your lights are in and were going to secure them. Hold the light flush with your finger and get the sharpie ready...You will see the H3 bulbs haev indentations on them like ( PIC 9 ) Shows. Just hold it flush putting the light IN FROM THE OUTSIDE and put a DOT in the indentation. ( PIC 9 ).

Now Drill a hole (I used ) on the dot Just big enought to fit a small nut and bolt though to hold the light light to the frame ( PIC 8 ) from back and ( PIC 10 ) from front. See how the head holds it tight to the frame? Good. Once you do that for all them and they have been test fited...just sand away some of the paint inside the trunk the frame piece of the light can touch metal since that is our ground.

Now install the lights and lighten the bolts and nuts to hold the lights from going anywhere. It should look like ( PIC 7 )

Ok, all that was the rough stuff, its time to finish up now. Get your wiring and wire splicers ready. Remove the cover piece for which ever side tiallight you wish to get the power from. Once removed Unlug the white clip that allows power to get to the tail harness just to be safe ( PIC 11 ) Once that is unplugged, splice into the Greenwire with the white line on it...that will allow the lights to be on with the parking and headlights. Insert an inline fuse of 15amps between the H3 bulbs power and the taillight harness ( PIC 12 ). Wire the bulbs up and shrink wrap or electrical tape everything up tight. We dont have to worry about a ground, we took care of that when we sanded and secured the lights to the frame.

Look the intall over so far, check all electrical connections are sealed and then plug the white clip back in. NOW test em out. ( PIC 13 ) They work?? GOOD! secure the wiring with some zip ties to a stationary point and head back into the house.

Clip the lense back into the housing and take it to the car...insert the remaining 6 studs into their holes and put the 10mm nuts back on. test it out again and enjoy the newly lit tail light. ( PIC 14 ) reinstall the trunk pieces just as you took them off and enjoy.
 

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