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Pre-Wiring for Cornering Lights (Wiring Diagram?)

3K views 60 replies 10 participants last post by  Thunderbird Pilot 89 
#1 ·
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!
 
#3 ·
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
 
#4 ·
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.
 
#10 ·
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.
 
#11 ·
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
 
#19 ·
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.
 
#21 ·
find a rectangular lens to put behind the cover
I've been looking at options on the junkyard; however, every one had some sort of disadvantage.

- '89 Crown Viv: easy to install, but angled for a fender that curves inward more, i.e., on my car the beam would point upward too much.

- GMC Envoy: hard to install and uneven curvature.

- Circa 2000 Deville: hard to install, but a useful shape overall. This one could work.

Unable to look at '89 Thunderbird. I think I could fit those fairly easily, but they're rare in junkyards.

If you painted those silver like a LE
Nah...
 
#22 ·
@XR7-4.6, I'm also considering other options entirely. Many modern cars place cornering lights inboard next to the grille. Somewhat similar to that, I could use small LED spots pointing sideways from behind the license plate bracket.

I was wondering if anything installed in front of the lower bumper grille would affect cooling due too possibly inadequate air flow to the radiator.
 
#29 ·
In the diagrams you provided, I went to connector C208 and used the two unused pins. Sorry, I didn't note which is right and which is left.
I got an old connector from a junkyard and removed two female pieces from that. You simply push those into your connector (with the red piece removed); they click into place and you have a secure connection.

Then I fed the wires into the engine compartment to the cornering lights. I grounded them to the fenders.

It's a simple but somewhat tedious mod because you have to take so much apart (dash, splash guards, etc.). On the plus side, going through the firewall was very easy because I already had a channel in place from an old supplemental hood latch.
 
#31 ·
No, these are '90 Crown Vic. The advantage here, as you can see on one of the pics, is that they screw in securely from the outside (three screws), then the frame goes on top (two screws which you can't see because they go into the upper edge of the frame from below) and covers the cut lines in the bumper.

Initially I was concerned about the angle of the Crown Vic lights. However, by mounting them as low as possible, they actually create a flat beam of light parallel to the street surface (i.e., they won't shine into other drivers' eyes).

I liked the Deville ones, but it would have been much more difficult to mount them and cut a perfect hole.
 
#35 ·
out of the box projects
Thank you! This one is definitely a mod I'd recommend to anybody for the improved visibility. For those who don't want to alter their bumpers, one could conceal LED units under the bumper to get a similar effect.

AND finishing them!
Once I set my mind to something...
This one was personal though: years ago I owned an '06 Crown Victoria. Seemingly everybody else's Crown Vic on crownvic dot net was pre-wired for cornering lights directly at the connector just behind the fender. Mine wasn't; and back then I wasn't prepared to feed wires through the firewall, etc.
It was particularly annoying because installation of the actual light fixture on the Crown Vic is extremely easy: you simply swap in front corner lights from a Grand Marquis. I still did that, but I used the cornering light bulbs for supplemental side turn signals.
 
#36 ·
Those look alright! I’m surprised, I did not like them with the chrome bezels, at all, but the black makes them look like a period accessory.

I have a set of cornering SC cornering lights with body colored bezels(though I’m not sure they’re a perfect match) I’ve toyed with installing at least once every year for the last, like, 8 years but I just can’t bring myself to cutting the bumper for them. I still cringe at drilling the trunklid to install the perfectly installed perfect color match sport wing I added in 2010 lol
 
#37 ·
Those look alright! I’m surprised, I did not like them with the chrome bezels, at all, but the black makes them look like a period accessory.
I settle for "alright"...lol. They'd be perfect if the frames were more rounded to match the car's overall design better. Yes, the chrome had to go.

I just can’t bring myself to cutting the bumper for them.
Wait, yours is a '94? So your bumper actually has the cut lines already there on the back. You'd have to remove the bumper, but the actual cutting is error-proof. In my situation ('97), it required a whole lot of measuring, aiming, etc.

 
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