1987 - '96 Tail Lights

[Gary Lewis]

I was chatting with Daniel Stern, the lighting guru, and he mentioned that he has a pair of tail lights he wants to sell, as shown below:

New pair of factory export taillight assemblies, made by Valeo-Cibie, for '87-'96 F-series + Bronco (I'm told they're adaptable without much fuss to a Bullnose, too). Red stop/tail, amber turn, white reverse—the separate amber turn signal does a better job of keeping you out of a crash; see http://acarplace.com/cars/turn-signals/ . Boxes as shown in pics say "Without Bulb Holder", but I am selling these lamps *complete with factory bulb holders*. It is not very difficult to wire them up so they work correctly with separate stop light and turn signal functions. $318/pair plus postage from Northern Michigan. Please email me.  ([e-mail] ).

As he said, they can be used on a Bullnose, but I don't know exactly how they fit.  And they are said to have a much better backup light lens.

[ArdWrknTrk]

That second photo has the light upside down.
The Bullnose and Bricknose tail lamp assembly's will physically interchange.

I'm not sure what he is using for bulb holders but I understand why you would need to redo some wiring if the turn is a separate bulb from the normal 1157 lights/stop/turn bulb found in the Bricknose taillight.

I can barely afford the TYC knockoffs @ $60 a pair delivered.  

[Gary Lewis]

You are right, Jim, the picture is upside down.  But Daniel said the buyer is free to install them right-side up if s/he chooses.  

Speaking of Daniel, he had me add "factory" to the phrase "complete with bulb holders" to make it "complete with factory bulb holders".

And you are right, it would take a bit of rewiring, although not too much.  I think they'd make a cool addition.

[ArdWrknTrk]

The amber turn lens certainly is distinctive!
Interesting to see them labeled "'87 F100". Did Ford sell an F100 that late in Europe?

The "not too much" rewiring is a big question, as I see the turn and stop functions are not divided back at the lamp but use the same wire for the bright filament.

[Gary Lewis]

Well, the plot thickens.  Daniel sent the pics below of the bulb holders, and that connector looks different than the US connectors.  

However, your question about the F-100 in Europe reminded me that something somewhere said "Argentina".  Sure enough, the pic of the truck with the tail lights is labeled Ford F-Series 80-96 Argentina.  And all of other pics are labeled Export Series.

As for the rewiring, this video explains how to do it.

[ArdWrknTrk]

I didn't miss "made in Argentina" but assumed from all the different languages these lamps were intended for the European market.  

So you have to remove 511 from the turn signal switch and overlay a wire from where it would enter C305 all the way to the rear. (this would allow the speed control to still function)



But those connectors shown are nothing like my truck.
So I'm assuming you would have to source a pair of taillight pigtails for a South American truck???
And then splice them into your existing Bullnose/Bricknose harness, in the pocket where you have your tailgate sensor and power port wired up.

[Gary Lewis]

Yes, and yes, and yes.

As for the connector, I'd be checking to see if I could use 1/8" female connectors to make up a "connector".  Those male terminals look like they might be 1/8".

[ArdWrknTrk]

They're certainly not 1/8" if they come from the civilized world.....

[Gary Lewis]

ArdWrknTrk wrote

They're certainly not 1/8" if they come from the civilized world.....

I know what you are saying, but I'm thinking 1/8" female connectors might work on the metric male terminals.

[ArdWrknTrk]

I'd have something to say about that as well, but this is a family oriented program.  

[Gary Lewis]

Daniel provided another approach to the wiring change:

Your link goes to one way of separating out the stop and turn
functions. Here's another; $35 and a few minutes' installation time:
https://digi-tails.com/digi-tails-taillight-signal-separator-module

(whoever might do this: it's best not to use the fold-over-and-crunch
"Scotchlok" type taps. Much better, more durably trouble-free result if
you use Posi-Taps, http://www.allpar.com/reviews/other/posi-tap.html . I
don't carry them, but if you'll get this assortment, you'll surely find
uses for them (they're one of those products that you buy for a
particular project, but then other uses for them keep popping up in
front of you once you have them):
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009RPDOAM/?tag=2402507-20 )

[ArdWrknTrk]

I've got Posi-Locks galore but I'm definitely not interested in another "module" to go bad.
I'd rather run the wire and use marine crimps.

Still doesn't get me the connector for those light assemblies and I'm not interested in screwing with that.
Either they can be found at one of the big electronics distributors (Newark, Mouser, Digikey) or sourced direct.

[Littlebeefy]

Not interested myself but I have the 87- taillight lens on my Bullnose and it screws in and doesn't seem out of place against the bodywork. I do think the 80-86 lens shape is more in character with the rest of the vehicle though.

[85lebaront2]

I am going to go back to my son Matt's experience when he was at LKQ. He ordered in a set of their top line taillights for 1987-96 and installed them on his 1986, they do not fit exactly right, from a distance they are ok, but up close the lines of the bed sides to taillights aren't correct. He ordered a correct 1986 set for his truck, and since I already had a later bed on Darth, sent the others to me.

BTW, try to find a good 1985-86 Dually bed, they are a two year only item.

[Gary Lewis]

Thanks, guys.  Good to know they will fit, albeit not perfectly.