[1997ThunderbirdLXV6]

Hello, all you owners of wiring diagrams:

Can anyone tell me if there is any wiring present in a '97 Thunderbird for cornering lights? I mean present anywhere in the engine compartment.

Has anyone retrofit cornering lights?

Thanks!

 

[97 30th]

No there is not.

 

[XR7-4.6]

The multifunction switch has the outputs but the wiring is not there to it. 94-95s have the cutout templates molded into the insides of the bumper covers even though the option was eliminated after 1992, but 96-97 bumpers don’t, I’m pretty sure the factory cornering lights would fit like crap cosmetically on a 96-97 with the oval indentations

 

[1997ThunderbirdLXV6]

I’m pretty sure the factory cornering lights would fit like crap cosmetically on a 96-97 with the oval indentations

I was more thinking along the lines of a very low profile LED unit attached under the bumper, i.e., not visible unless you look under there.

So...what I'm hearing is that I'd have to add two pins to the multi-function switch connector (diagram, anyone?), then feed those two wires through the firewall. Ugh...that is a handful.

I do love cornering lights. I think they make nighttime driving through dark residential streets much easier.

 

[1997ThunderbirdLXV6]

...something like this, flush mounted under the bumper pointing into the corner:

 

[XR7-4.6]

It won’t be in the Tbird/Cougar EVTMs I have handy but on the connector going to the MFS there are two unused pins, and those are the cornering light outputs. From there it’s just run them up to the front corners of the car and ground

 

[supergordo]

Let me see what I can do.

 

[supergordo]

 

[supergordo]

Let me know if you need anything else.

 

[1997ThunderbirdLXV6]

Let me know if you need anything else.

Thank you so much!

It really boils down to the "not used" pins in the multifunction switch connector.

I vaguely remember some people in the Panther community retrofitting cornering lights on non-pre-wired Crown Vics that way (especially when adding Grand Marquis corner assemblies). For some reason certain Crown Vics were wired for it, others weren't.

First I need to select a suitable light fixture and mounting point.

Side note: there's a second reason I'd like the cornering light feeds under the hood. Using relays, I'd like to use them to turn off the parking light/sidemarker function during turn signal operation. Meaning instead of the turn signal going bright-dim-bright-dim, I want it to go bright-off-bright-off.

 

[1997ThunderbirdLXV6]

Just playing with ideas...

This is a cornering light from a...? (Answer at the bottom of this post.)

Advantages of this fixture:

• easily available for cheap
• round, therefore easy to drill a hole for
• has a outer lip and a rear bracket which screws in from behind, therefore easy to install securely

Disadvantages:

• round shape may not be a good fit (?)
• not a good fit for most LED bulbs because the bulb goes in sideways

Here is my mockup:

Ohhh, here is the answer to the riddle:
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v

 

[XR7-4.6]

The car would look better after it crashed into trash cans in a dark corner than with those lights!

 

[1997ThunderbirdLXV6]

The car would look better after it crashed into trash cans in a dark corner than with those lights!

... that sounds like you're recommending against it probably maybe.

Seriously...don't judge. I'm just floating ideas. I admit it was farfetched.

 

[Rodeo Joe]

I'm with Matt, not a fan of those.

Joe

 

[1997ThunderbirdLXV6]

@supergordo ,
could you give me the diagram for connector C206?

 

[supergordo]

Hope this helps.

 

[XR7-4.6]

That is not the connector you are looking for.


My bad, I actually took this a few nights ago and forgot to post it, the not used pins are the cornering lights

 

[1997ThunderbirdLXV6]

Hope this helps.

Thank you.

I was curious about the #5 pin in C206. I compared the connector between a '97 Thunderbird and '98-'02 Town Car; on the Town Car, the #5 pin was empty.

Seems odd...but unrelated to my cornering light project.

 

[1997ThunderbirdLXV6]

That is not the connector you are looking for.


My bad, I actually took this a few nights ago and forgot to post it, the not used pins are the cornering lights

View attachment 52489

Yes. This is the one. Thank you again. And from what I gather from various diagrams online (Grand Marquis, etc.), the wires go directly from this connector to the lights (meaning there are no relays in-between).

The only challenge now is to find a proper light fixture that produces the right beam pattern and can be installed in an esthetically pleasing way.

 

[XR7-4.6]

I think a clean way to incorporate cornering lights into the 96-97 bumper would be to find a rectangular lens to put behind the cover and cut out a window where the oval molding is embossed. If you painted those silver like a LE they’d be practically invisible.