1979 Chevy C10 LED Taillight Conversion Kit Install - Modern Comfort

For trucks that have a headliner, the red, black, and two green wires don't need to be concealed. For trucks without a headliner black shrink tubing works great for camouflage. It's best if the shrinking is done before lifting the wiring harness into place.

To route the wiring as clean as possible I routed it underneath the Dakota Digital mirror's base and aligned it with the two antenna wires contained in the windshield.

The trick to hiding the wiring inside the windshield rubber is to use a Craftsman glass tool with a can of Royal Purple Maxfilm to spread the rubber and glide the wiring along.

Hey look, magic; the wiring disappeared! Always a source of enjoyment is the personal satisfaction achieved by doing a clean job ... even if I do say myself.

After running the wiring across the top of the windshield frame and down the A-pillar to the fuse box, the next step was to find a 12-volt source that was hot (live) only when the ignition switch was turned on.

After the red wire was connected, and the black wire was grounded to the firewall next to the fuse box, the green temp probe wires (right of fuse box) were routed into the engine compartment.

The hole used to route the green temp wires was the stock speedometer hole. Refer to last month's CCT and you will see this is where we routed the Dakota Digital speedometer wires as well.

Once the green temp probe wires were routed over the driver-side fenderwell and along the front of the radiator core support they were ready to attach, but not before we polished the chrome.

Taking the time to polish the chrome is something most shops don't do while they are doing an install. Notice how much nicer the job looks with shiny chrome and the temp probe installed where it should be.

Blasting a quartz-halogen flashlight into the Dakota Digital mirror proves the dimming feature works. Notice the outside thermometer is reading 80 degrees. The compass wasn't calibrated at this point, but driving the truck three 5-mph laps is all that is needed to calibrate it and provide a digital display.

To install the Dakota Digital LED taillights we removed the stock '73-87 C10 taillight lens with a T-15 Torq driver, and popped the lens off.

Next, the reflector was cleaned thoroughly with a non-aggressive product.