LED Lighting

I haven’t dove too far into lighting for the exterior of the LMTV. I’ve only replace the stuff that is burned out or leaking to the interior but I found a few interesting things out after toying with the lights that needed to be replaced.

OVERALL ISSUES
An LED replacement helps, but one of the bigger problems with the current light housing is that there is no reflective backing in the bucket like modern vehicles. So the light coming out of the lens is only from the front of the bulb and not reflected from the other side of the bulb. Therefore it makes sense to help the lighting along with some sort of chrome tape on the inside of the housing. I used AC foil tape so that I knew it was made to stand up to hot and cold environments.

Additionally, there has been some talk of longevity of the LED bulbs and I believe the solve is placing a Load Equalizer on the 12v wire… The wiring on the LMTV’s is fickle at best so any protection you can add might keep you from replacing LED’s if you find that to be an issue.

MARKERS
Currently the marker lights I have leak to the interior of the cab. I wanted to replace the gasket as well as the plastic spacer because it was covered with a few layers of paint. I found the military style Model 18 Marker a few places and the pricing can be pretty outrageous if you don’t know what part number you are looking for. Truck-Lite makes a marker light that you can pick up for about $18. Just search “Truck-Lite 18018Y” and you can find competitive pricing. This is a direct replacement for your current marker light.

Additionally, the screws that hold the baseplate to the truck were corroded. So I replaced them with stainless to keep from having any issues down the road.

BACKUP AND BRAKE
My backup light was also out and I’m not in the mood to replace it entirely just yet. Additionally, the brake lights were almost non existent when braking during the day. So I found replacement bulbs. I bought the Sylvania 1156 “Super Bright” Bulbs which made a significant difference.

COURTSEY LIGHTING
I found some rock lights and they fit so well under the door I thought I would share. I will eventually hook these up to the dome lights. They are really easy to install if you want to use threaded inserts or even just sheet metal screws to put them in.

In addition to the door lights I am adding 4 dome lights (1 over each seat and one behind both the passenger and driver). Here is were the wiring diagram is netting out so you have an idea of how this is put together. The door pin switches, dash switch and dome light 3-way switch can complete the circuit through the ground which is typical of door switches.

Just FYI, I would have probably gone with this dome light based on cost if it was offered when I found the others.