Rear Bumper Lighting Wire Routing

[M4Madness]

Just in case anyone was wondering (lol), you CAN run a wire inside the frame its entire length from the engine compartment to the rear bumper. I have auxiliary switches, but didn't want to risk damaging something when removing the right rear cargo area panel to access the pre-run auxiliary wire there. Besides, I would have had to run it from behind the panel to outside the vehicle anyway, which would have involved some work.

I ran the wire straight down from the auxiliary wire "cluster" at the firewall and to a small hole in the frame visible in the driver's side front wheel well. I installed a small rubber grommet into that hole to prevent chafing of the wire. I taped the end of the electrical wire to a piece of stiff wire about the diameter of a coat hanger and pushed the wire into the grommet and rearward inside the frame.

I found a larger hole in the frame farther back and worked around until I was able to pull the wire out of it. Then I reattached the wire to the stiff wire again and fed it rearward from that point to another hole. I repeated that process until I was up and over the rear axle and out the back end of the frame behind the rear bumper. The frame is filled with anti-corrosion grease, so it's a little slippery when it comes out. LOL!

No having to mess with the pre-run auxiliary wiring behind the glove box or rear cargo panel, and you get to use your own heavier gauge wire. And no unsightly wire hanging down anywhere underneath to get snagged.

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[Lifeliberty]

Good idea. I wired up some bumper lights without using the purple prerun wire as well. Truth be told, i found the prerun wire on top of the radiator, but i couldn't find its terminus so i just ran a new line with 14 gage.

 

[Roger123]

Nice, next time run a piece of paracord as well and leave it in there so you can fish additional wires if ever needed in the future.

 

[M4Madness]

Nice, next time run a piece of paracord as well and leave it in there so you can fish additional wires if ever needed in the future.

Yeah, that have been some good preparation. Sadly, I didn't plan ahead. Lol! I guess if I ever need a second wire, I'll use my current one to pull two more through. Lol!

 

[orion]

This might be helpful for anybody else wanting to do something similar.

SWANLAKE 11' Fiberglass Running... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07WQ34VF8?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

 

[M4Madness]

This might be helpful for anybody else wanting to do something similar.

SWANLAKE 11' Fiberglass Running... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07WQ34VF8?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

I thought of that device while I was doing mine today. Lol! My cousin has one that he used when he was doing radio installs in police cars. It worked great for fishing wires above headliners. We used it for a ham radio antenna install in the roof of my FX4.

 

[orion]

I thought of that device while I was doing mine today. Lol! My cousin has one that he used when he was doing radio installs in police cars. It worked great for fishing wires above headliners. We used it for a ham radio antenna install in the roof of my FX4.

Yeah, I bought it to run my speaker wire for my surround sound in wall speakers. I now have another use for it when I get my rear bumper built. Thanks for the in-frame idea.

 

[M4Madness]

I now have another use for it when I get my rear bumper built. Thanks for the in-frame idea.

You may have to use a short rod section to get over the rear axle, but you'll definitely save a lot of time by doing the majority of the frame run in one long pass.

 

[2020FordRaptor]

Just in case anyone was wondering (lol), you CAN run a wire inside the frame its entire length from the engine compartment to the rear bumper. I have auxiliary switches, but didn't want to risk damaging something when removing the right rear cargo area panel to access the pre-run auxiliary wire there. Besides, I would have had to run it from behind the panel to outside the vehicle anyway, which would have involved some work.

I ran the wire straight down from the auxiliary wire "cluster" at the firewall and to a small hole in the frame visible in the driver's side front wheel well. I installed a small rubber grommet into that hole to prevent chafing of the wire. I taped the end of the electrical wire to a piece of stiff wire about the diameter of a coat hanger and pushed the wire into the grommet and rearward inside the frame.

I found a larger hole in the frame farther back and worked around until I was able to pull the wire out of it. Then I reattached the wire to the stiff wire again and fed it rearward from that point to another hole. I repeated that process until I was up and over the rear axle and out the back end of the frame behind the rear bumper. The frame is filled with anti-corrosion grease, so it's a little slippery when it comes out. LOL!

No having to mess with the pre-run auxiliary wiring behind the glove box or rear cargo panel, and you get to use your own heavier gauge wire. And no unsightly wire hanging down anywhere underneath to get snagged.

Great idea.

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