2013 Laramie LED Tails Installed

5940 Views 29 Replies 11 Participants Last post by overbybr, Sep 8, 2015

KA1OTE

Discussion Starter · Feb 12, 2014

I have (finally!) installed and finished my goal of installing 2013 Laramie (chrome) LED tail lights on my 2012 Laramie. Due to the LEDs not being compatible with all Rams 2012 and older, this required a special harness to be created in order to make the 2013 tails plug and play on older Rams.

For those unfamiliar with this project, I followed the instructions found here.

I tried to keep these harnesses as clean as possible since just because there is enough room to cram all the wires behind the tail light, doesn't mean you have to cram them in.

I am also a neat freak with severe OCD so, yeah. There you have it.

This is the harness with connections made and before tapping the resistor in (pardon the masking tape labels, it was a simple method for me to know which wire was which at a glance - it gets confusing and I got tired of referring to the instructions over and over to re-orientate myself with the plugs)

Resistor added

Reverse plug added and all connections heat shrinked and insulated

It is suggested/mentioned in the instructions to use aluminum plates to mount the resistors to, however a wise man (Arth) once told me that doing so would kind of defeat the purpose of this project being plug-and-play and I agreed. So, my resistors are stuffed to the bottom of the space behind the tail lights and I zip-tied the wires up top. There is a slight concern that I will have a rattle sound from the resistors striking the inner wall. I will have to drive some to see if this is an issue, but I am about 75% positive that this will not be a problem (and even if they do rattle, I doubt I will be able to hear them and they won't cause any damage where they are).

I absolutely love the side marker LEDs. I honestly hadn't noticed this feature on 13s and was pleasantly surprised to see them illuminate.

These suckers are flipping BRIGHT! I had a fleeting thought that these could be borderline illegal - but then it dawned on me that, duh!, these are OEM on 2013+ so I don't have anything to worry about. But, DAMN! Hello illumination! :SHOCKED: Needless to say, there is no way anyone will ever question what my truck is doing or about to do with all the exterior lights I have now!

PICTURE TIME!! :w00t:

Running lights without flash

Running lights with flash (gotta love how that chrome shines, even at night!)

Left profile to show Big Rigs and side tail light markers

Right profile to show Big Rigs and side tail light markers

Brake lights with flash (I tried without flash but my camera was flooded with the brightness and couldn't take a picture,

Reverse with flash

Reverse without flash

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10

Reactions: 2

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brandonjansen

· #2 · Feb 12, 2014

Great job on the install Kai! I'd give you some reps but apparently I need to spread some more around first. I'll try to keep you in mind to hit you up when I can.

I definitely like the look of the 2013 OEM LED's. I plan on putting a set of the sport ones in my truck down the road.

Arth

· #3 · Feb 12, 2014

I need to get a better camera.

I agree I just got my set up and running as well and I forgot how bright the dang things are. Great work. My harness looks just like that except I have a bit more wire length.

Brad Pitt

· #4 · Feb 12, 2014

Nice work!!!

Kamanhart

· #5 · Feb 12, 2014

Awesome awesome job, very excellent write up. Those lights look really good on your truck and that wiring harness looks better than what most aftermarket lights come with lol. two thumbs up and great job

KA1OTE

Discussion Starter · #6 · Feb 14, 2014

brandonjansen said:
Great job on the install Kai! I'd give you some reps but apparently I need to spread some more around first. I'll try to keep you in mind to hit you up when I can.

I definitely like the look of the 2013 OEM LED's. I plan on putting a set of the sport ones in my truck down the road.

Thanks, Brandon.. it was a fun, albeit a drawn out, project lol! I'm sure the sport version will look great on your truck. I opted for the Laramie version since, well.. the little touch of chrome and all.

Arth said:
I need to get a better camera.

I agree I just got my set up and running as well and I forgot how bright the dang things are. Great work. My harness looks just like that except I have a bit more wire length.

A good camera is worth its weight in gold.

Yeah, these things are blinding in comparison to my 2012 OEM tails. The difference between the two and the pure intensity of these 13's are just insane.. I like!

Brad Pitt said:
Nice work!!!

Many thanks!

Kamanhart said:
Awesome awesome job, very excellent write up. Those lights look really good on your truck and that wiring harness looks better than what most aftermarket lights come with lol. two thumbs up and great job

Thanks much! David (the Husband) gets the credit for knowing how to do the wiring.. he walked me through it and I followed along - he made one harness while I mirrored him and made the other one. The heat shrink was fun to play with - awesome how it works and makes everything look so neat and tidy! Soldering is an interesting thing.. its a delicate process that takes steady hands and now David is swearing that anytime he needs to solder something, he's going to bring it to me. LOL! I can't do it by myself, but under supervision and guidance, I guess I'm pretty good at it.

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TurboCup87

· #7 · Feb 16, 2014

KA1OTE said:
I have (finally!) installed and finished my goal of installing 2013 Laramie (chrome) LED tail lights on my 2012 Laramie. Due to the LEDs not being compatible with all Rams 2012 and older, this required a special harness to be created in order to make the 2013 tails plug and play on older Rams.

For those unfamiliar with this project, I followed the instructions found here.

I tried to keep these harnesses as clean as possible since just because there is enough room to cram all the wires behind the tail light, doesn't mean you have to cram them in. I am also a neat freak with severe OCD so, yeah. There you have it.

This is the harness with connections made and before tapping the resistor in (pardon the masking tape labels, it was a simple method for me to know which wire was which at a glance - it gets confusing and I got tired of referring to the instructions over and over to re-orientate myself with the plugs)

Resistor added

Reverse plug added and all connections heat shrinked and insulated

It is suggested/mentioned in the instructions to use aluminum plates to mount the resistors to, however a wise man (Arth) once told me that doing so would kind of defeat the purpose of this project being plug-and-play and I agreed. So, my resistors are stuffed to the bottom of the space behind the tail lights and I zip-tied the wires up top. There is a slight concern that I will have a rattle sound from the resistors striking the inner wall. I will have to drive some to see if this is an issue, but I am about 75% positive that this will not be a problem (and even if they do rattle, I doubt I will be able to hear them and they won't cause any damage where they are).

I absolutely love the side marker LEDs. I honestly hadn't noticed this feature on 13s and was pleasantly surprised to see them illuminate.

These suckers are flipping BRIGHT! I had a fleeting thought that these could be borderline illegal - but then it dawned on me that, duh!, these are OEM on 2013+ so I don't have anything to worry about. But, DAMN! Hello illumination! :SHOCKED: Needless to say, there is no way anyone will ever question what my truck is doing or about to do with all the exterior lights I have now!

PICTURE TIME!! :w00t:

Running lights without flash

Running lights with flash (gotta love how that chrome shines, even at night!)

Left profile to show Big Rigs and side tail light markers

Right profile to show Big Rigs and side tail light markers

Brake lights with flash (I tried without flash but my camera was flooded with the brightness and couldn't take a picture,

Reverse with flash

Reverse without flash

You mentioned "in the instructions." Was this a kit? Where would it be available? Roughly what is the cost?

Looks great! Thanks for posting.

Arth

· #8 · Feb 16, 2014

TurboCup87 said:
You mentioned "in the instructions." Was this a kit? Where would it be available? Roughly what is the cost?

Looks great! Thanks for posting.

There is a kit.. to some degree.

Mopar Online Parts sells some of the pieces required for this kit.

They will sell you the 13 tails and the connector for the 13 tails. You have to buy the connectors for the truck side reverse and brake functions as well as load resistors.

If you check out here you will find what I am talking about. Click on instructions and they include website links on were to find the other parts.

RansRAM

· #9 · Feb 16, 2014

Awesome job and writeup with pics, thanks for posting your results with the detailed how-to. Well deserved reps, :rep:

KA1OTE

Discussion Starter · #10 · Feb 20, 2014

TurboCup87 said:
You mentioned "in the instructions." Was this a kit? Where would it be available? Roughly what is the cost?

Looks great! Thanks for posting.

Arth said:
There is a kit.. to some degree.

Mopar Online Parts sells some of the pieces required for this kit.

They will sell you the 13 tails and the connector for the 13 tails. You have to buy the connectors for the truck side reverse and brake functions as well as load resistors.

If you check out here you will find what I am talking about. Click on instructions and they include website links on were to find the other parts.

Turbo:
Arth explained it perfectly. I posted the link to the instructions in my original post, but his link includes suggested links to where you can buy the necessary parts to create and build the harnesses needed to make these tail lights plug and play in 2012 and older Rams.

As for the cost, it cost me approximately $120 to acquire all the needed components to make the harnesses. So, $120 plus the cost of the actual 2013 tail lights, I spent a total of around $250 on this project. I must note that this is not a usual cost for this, as I got my tails for a steal of around $120. If you can find a deal like that, go for it! But please do not expect to have the same results as me. LOL! I sound like one of those weight watcher commercials!

RansRAM said:
Awesome job and writeup with pics, thanks for posting your results with the detailed how-to. Well deserved reps, :rep:

Appreciated, thanks much! As always, I love to share with others how I have added (or upgraded) lights on my beauty.

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vyper340

· #11 · Feb 24, 2014

What bulb and where did you get the reverse lights in the taillight module?

KA1OTE

Discussion Starter · #12 · Feb 25, 2014

vyper340 said:
What bulb and where did you get the reverse lights in the taillight module?

My reverse tail light bulbs are the OEM stock bulbs that came on my 12. I will be changing them over to LEDs, but haven't yet.

ramryck

· #13 · Feb 25, 2014

Your truck looks great and you did a nice job on the harness.
Any problem with the resister hanging? I am adding the led tails to my truck also. I install wire connectors to the resister and harness. This way I can mount the resister keeping the harness PNP. i'm just concerned about the heat the resister gives out and possibly burning something.
But that's me! I attached a couple of photo's of the harness.

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2

Arth

· #14 · Feb 25, 2014

Sorry for stealing answers here KA1OTE.

I mentioned this to her and I will mention it to you.

I ran this setup for about 8 or so months with the resistor just hanging on my previous truck without issue.

If you want to mount your resistor since you have the right plug and play idea there use the lower portion of the fender.

If the resistor is touching any wires you will have issues. If you put the resistor in the lower portion of the fender and the wires to the apposite side you will not have any problems.

ramryck

· #15 · Feb 25, 2014

Arth, thanks. I Just don't like things hanging. I would be worried about it. lol

KA1OTE

Discussion Starter · #16 · Mar 6, 2014

No problem, Arth.. thanks for answering when I couldn't get online.

ramryck - I have had my setup installed for about a month now and I haven't had any issues with the resistors. I pulled each tail just for a visibility check and all was well. They are stuffed to the bottom of the wells and are not coming into contact with any of the wires in my homemade looms as there was no visible damage on either side. So mounting the resistors is not necessary, however I can understand doing it your way so you are not bothered or worried by it.

jsl6v8

· #17 · Mar 6, 2014

Where does the 5013984AA Pigtail Harness's come into play?

Arth

· #18 · Mar 6, 2014

That harness is what plugs into the Tail light side.

That particular part number includes the connector for the tail light and some wiring needed to connect the connectors together for the truck side.

You need two of that part number... one for each side.

jsl6v8

· #19 · Mar 6, 2014

Arth said:
That harness is what plugs into the Tail light side.

That particular part number includes the connector for the tail light and some wiring needed to connect the connectors together for the truck side.

You need two of that part number... one for each side.

I'm trying to find that part on moparonlineparts.com and when I do a search for 5013984AA it just comes up with the kit, I have the tail lights and just need the pig tails, am I looking in the wrong place?

Arth

· #20 · Mar 6, 2014

I had the same issue. Make sure you search their site using repair parts..not accessories.

It should pop up that way.

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