C-10 LED Brake Lights - Bright Idea! - Tech

The brown, green, and black wires were coated with dielectric grease, then carefully pulled through three of the four holes in the aluminum plug supplied by Dakota Digital. The center (fourth) hole for the mounting stud was capped with a nut and not overtightened.

Notice the wires were coiled around the light socket to allow an easy installation of the OEM protective boot.

The Dakota Digital LED taillight assembly must be grounded to the truck using the black wire.

Before installing the completed taillight fixture, we tested it with a 12-volt source (battery).

The stainless steel mounting screws supplied by Brothers exceed the quality of the original CAD-plated screws.

Ditto for the taillight lenses from Brothers; they were an exact match of the original and exhibited unbelievable quality.

Care was used not to scratch the silver-anodized bezels.

We used a garden hose to flush out 40-plus years of dirt and grime from inside the bed, checking to make sure the existing drain holes were clear.

We used an assortment of Mother's products to bring the '66's original paint back to life.

Before we installed the taillight fixture, we used Mother's to clean and polish the taillight opening in the bed.

The taillight wires were fed into the opening, ensuring they were routed the same as the original wires, then spliced back into the harness.

The Dakota Digital LED taillight can be mounted either way, but the stock Chevy taillight housing must be installed with the two drain holes at the bottom.

Even in the bright California sun, our brake lights are plenty visible, and that's just what we wanted.