N8033Fox
Junior Member
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2024
- Posts
- 9
- Reaction score
- 14
- Location
- Morrow County, OH
- Ram Year
- 2010
- Engine
- Hemi 5.7
Recently, I decided to upgrade the rear lighting on my 2010 Ram for no other reason than I wanted to. I had become real fond of the look of the 2013+ LED tail lights and I really wanted them for my 2010. Model year 2009-2018 tail lights are all physically the same dimensions, so I knew they would bolt up without a problem. The issue that I was going to face was the conversion from incandescent light bulbs to LED. One of the things that you might read online about going to LED on your 2010 Ram is being able to use AlfaOBD to "enable LED" function to eliminate bulb out messages and hyper flashing. This is a myth. There is no way to enable LED function on the 2009-2012 Non-powernet TIPM's, with the exception of the Caravan and Town&Country body styles. LED support for the Ram's did not really start until 2013 from what I understand. If you'd like to read more about the AlfaOBD information, you can find it here. https://www.ramforum.com/threads/alfaobd-support-for-06-12-rams.133851/post-3089498
So, we're going to have to accomplish this a different way by using resistors.
I started by removing the original tail light housings, bulb sockets and a few inches of wire. We're not going to need this any longer. Please use good judgement when cutting you're wiring. I prefer single wire snipping, but if you want to cut the whole lot; just ensure the power is down or you'll pop a fuse when your cutters make continuity between power and ground wire.
Great, that part is done...now we need to wire up our new 6 pin connectors, which will plug into the new tail lights. The connectors that I ordered are here:
The wire colors change a bit over the years, so you'll want to know which function applies to which wires across both years. I choose my model year, 2010, and the model year 2014 for comparison. I've eliminated a lot of the "spaghetti" from these next two screenshots to focus on the wires needed.
Here's a diagram for the 2010 Ram rear end lighting...
And here's the diagram for the 2013+...
I'm also going to include the 6 pin connector view. The view is printed as if you're looking into the connector from the front, not from the back/wire side.
As this point, you're basically going to match the circuit descriptions up with each other. You're only going to be using 4 of the 6 wires in the new connector. Pins 3 and 5 will not be used. Pin 3 is for sensing a rear lighting fault, which the 2010 does not use and pin 5 does not exist on the body side.
Polarity is irrelevant with regard to the resistors; it does not matter which end gets connected to where. Just ensure that one end is attached to the turn signal side of the circuit and the other side connected to the ground wire(s). You might get away with grounding the resistor at the bed frame there, but the original light was not grounded there and I don't think that the resistor should be either. Do yourself a favor and wire it up the way the light bulb was.
I took the two grounds from the body side (remember, there were two bulbs) and wired both up to the single ground on the new connector. I mounted the resistor with two-sided tape between the inner and outer bed panels, behind the tail light and far enough away to keep heat from affecting any plastic. As far as your connections go, I'm a solder and heat shrink type of person. If you use the quick taps, you're taking a chance of premature failure and moisture intrusion.
I was surprised, and a bit disappointed, to realize that they still used an incandescent bulb for reverse on the +13 model years. The aftermarket OE style lights that I received included the 7440 incandescent bulb, but it was not long before I swapped it out with an LED counterpart.
While I do wish that I could have saved a bit of work and enabled LED support with AlfaOBD, I still feel the ends are worth the means as I really do enjoy the 13+ LED output on the rear of my 2010 Ram.
At the time of this writing, the following links are valid:
LED Resistors: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CZH9ZBQF
6 Pin Connectors: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GRM3W3MC
LED Tail Light Assemblies: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F1F9BRL4
LED 7440 Bulbs: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0825MV53P
Cheers!
So, we're going to have to accomplish this a different way by using resistors.
I started by removing the original tail light housings, bulb sockets and a few inches of wire. We're not going to need this any longer. Please use good judgement when cutting you're wiring. I prefer single wire snipping, but if you want to cut the whole lot; just ensure the power is down or you'll pop a fuse when your cutters make continuity between power and ground wire.
Great, that part is done...now we need to wire up our new 6 pin connectors, which will plug into the new tail lights. The connectors that I ordered are here:
Amazon.com: 2PCS Tail Light Connector Pigtail fit for Dodge Ram 1500 2500 3500 2002–2006 3.7L/4.7L/5.7L/5.9L/8.3L, Plug Wiring Harness Replace 55077348AF 2AME77347A 55077347AE : Automotive
Buy 2PCS Tail Light Connector Pigtail fit for Dodge Ram 1500 2500 3500 2002–2006 3.7L/4.7L/5.7L/5.9L/8.3L, Plug Wiring Harness Replace 55077348AF 2AME77347A 55077347AE: Wiring Harnesses - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases
www.amazon.com
The wire colors change a bit over the years, so you'll want to know which function applies to which wires across both years. I choose my model year, 2010, and the model year 2014 for comparison. I've eliminated a lot of the "spaghetti" from these next two screenshots to focus on the wires needed.
Here's a diagram for the 2010 Ram rear end lighting...
And here's the diagram for the 2013+...
I'm also going to include the 6 pin connector view. The view is printed as if you're looking into the connector from the front, not from the back/wire side.
As this point, you're basically going to match the circuit descriptions up with each other. You're only going to be using 4 of the 6 wires in the new connector. Pins 3 and 5 will not be used. Pin 3 is for sensing a rear lighting fault, which the 2010 does not use and pin 5 does not exist on the body side.
Polarity is irrelevant with regard to the resistors; it does not matter which end gets connected to where. Just ensure that one end is attached to the turn signal side of the circuit and the other side connected to the ground wire(s). You might get away with grounding the resistor at the bed frame there, but the original light was not grounded there and I don't think that the resistor should be either. Do yourself a favor and wire it up the way the light bulb was.
I took the two grounds from the body side (remember, there were two bulbs) and wired both up to the single ground on the new connector. I mounted the resistor with two-sided tape between the inner and outer bed panels, behind the tail light and far enough away to keep heat from affecting any plastic. As far as your connections go, I'm a solder and heat shrink type of person. If you use the quick taps, you're taking a chance of premature failure and moisture intrusion.
I was surprised, and a bit disappointed, to realize that they still used an incandescent bulb for reverse on the +13 model years. The aftermarket OE style lights that I received included the 7440 incandescent bulb, but it was not long before I swapped it out with an LED counterpart.
While I do wish that I could have saved a bit of work and enabled LED support with AlfaOBD, I still feel the ends are worth the means as I really do enjoy the 13+ LED output on the rear of my 2010 Ram.
At the time of this writing, the following links are valid:
LED Resistors: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CZH9ZBQF
6 Pin Connectors: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GRM3W3MC
LED Tail Light Assemblies: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F1F9BRL4
LED 7440 Bulbs: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0825MV53P
Cheers!
Last edited:
