Installing a Rear Passenger Courtesy Light

If you often carry people in the rear or have a lot of stuff back there you can very easily fit the rear courtesy light in about an hour.

You need:       

• 2 meters of cable,
• The light unit
  • FINIS - 83BG-13776-AA - £16.65
• Insulating tape
• Wire cutters
• Flat blade screwdriver
• Soldering or crimping facilities

You may need:

• 3 crimp connectors to fit the terminals on the light.

Alternatively:

• No alternatives detailed.

You can get the rear courtesy light from Ford for about £7 or simply take it out of a scrapped Mondeo, Escort, Focus, Transit or Granada. I would suggest disconnecting the battery for this project - but its your call.

This is the light unit you are looking for and has the standard three positions - On, Off and Timed On.

First you need to locate the space in the back where the light fits. Its half way along the headlining by the rear window. Once found, if you position the light so that its long edge sits against the indent you will see roughly were you need to position your hole. Remember only the middle piece of the rear light fits in, the rest is simply a surround that will sit on the head-lining so don't go cutting along the indent! If you want to check you can peer down the gap between the head-lining and the roof by removing the two retaining clips and opening the boot. Take your time to work out the correct position!

Once you’ve found the right area punch a hole through the head-lining with a screwdriver. Remember to do this gently to avoid flying through and denting your roof!! Next take a Stanley knife and slice the head-lining along the lines of the metal recess that’s concealed behind the head-lining. Once this is done you should end up with a hole that resembles the one in the above picture. You don’t need to tidy this as it will be covered by the surround of the light. Next is the bit that takes time and patience - You need to run 3 wires from this hole to the front light… behind the head-lining. Use coloured or marked wires as you need to identity them at the other end! Its easier to do this is 2 stages. First open the sunroof fully, so that the sunscreen is withdrawn completely. Then peel back the surround to expose the end of the head-lining.

Right stage one is to get your wires from the rear hole to this gap. You’ll find it easier to wrap all the wires up in a generous amount of insulating tape so they become more rigid and don’t snake about on the way between holes. Start from the back hole and slowly feed about 2/3rds of the cable up. From the sunroof you should now be able to look between the head-lining and roof to see your cables, pull them through the gap and then begin running them around the side of the sunroof – replace the seal as you go so only one section of it is off at any one time. I went to the driver’s side of the sunroof but it shouldn’t make a difference. Stage 2 is to pass the cables from the front of the sunroof, under the headlining to arrive by the front light. You can remove the roof console to do this but I managed to do it without removing it in about 3 minutes.

Replace the two clips that hold up the rear headlining and replace the sunroofs seal-strip. You now need to solder (you can crimp but it takes more space in a crowded area) the wires to the ones that supply the front light. The orange/blue wire that goes to a single plug is the the 12v supply. The other two cables are a constant ground supply (solid black wire) and the 12 second timed ground (Black/Blue) that works when the doors have been opened. With all three cables connected to the originals wrap the joins in insulating tape to prevent short circuits and refit the front light.

Next you need to connect the other end of the wire to the rear light unit. The connector to the side of the bulb is your ground. Connect the other cables to the other terminals. I strongly suggest using a crimping tool here with the correct joins so that these connections are secure and insulated however if you have to solder them on, be sure to wrap the connections in insulating tape to prevent shorting on the roof. With this done push the excess cable into the recess (there shouldn’t be more then about 8cm’s) and then slowly offer-up the light unit to the hole. Push it in until it clips in to place – it should be very secure. Reconnect the battery and check both lights are working then grab yourself a beer and wait until dark to check it out properly!!