| Required
Tools and Materials: |
| 1) 2 - Sequencers
2) 2 - GM Three Wires Sockets
3) 1 Flasher
4) 2- Bulbs
5) Assorted Hand Tools
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| Installation
Instructions |
If you have many other mods on your camaro you should
consider installing sequential tail lights! Let me
tell you, it was well worth it because these things
are very cool and certainly are an attention getter!
Heck, if for nothing else, not only does this add
some spice to your "blah" tail lights but
it increases safety as well. When you step on your
brakes instead of all lights coming on at once they
initially sequence on! Plus, with your stock signals
only the middle red section blinks when you are signaling
but now all three sections blink and sequence. So
you are bound to stick out a little more both when
you are signaling and braking!
I'll first start off by describing a little about
just what this kit does, the differences between the
Full Install and the Basic Install and also show you
how this compares to a stock 93 to 96 Camaro Tail
light.
Listed below are the different sections of the tail
light
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| Below is the layout for a stock tail light
Parking light Parking light
Brake light
Turn signal Backup light
Parking light
Below is the layout you'll have if you choose the Basic
Install
(B) = Bright Filament (D) = Dim Filament
Turn signal 3rd
Brake 3rd Parking light (D)
Turn signal 2nd (B)
Brake 2nd (B) Backup light
Parking light (D)
Turn Signal 1st (B)
Brake 1st (B)
Below is the layout you'll have if you choose the Full
Install
(B) = Bulb Bright Filament (D) = Bulb Dim Filament
Parking light (D)
Turn signal 3rd (B)
Brake 3rd (B) Parking light (D)
Turn signal 2nd (B)
Brake 2nd (B) Backup light
Parking light (D)
Turn Signal 1st (B)
Brake 1st (B)
As you can tell from above, by doing either the Full
Install or Basic Install you'll end up (per side) with
3 sequenced brake lights instead of just the 1 in the
middle and 3 sequenced turn signal lights instead of
just the 1 middle. You can also see there isn't that
much of a difference between the Basic and Full Install...
the difference being with the Basic install the outer
section isn't lit when the parking lights/head lights
are on where as with the Full Install it is. I opted
for the Full Install because I wanted all three sections
to be on when the lights were on.
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| These "blah" tail lights
are about to go away and be transformed into something
a bit unique and quite the attention getter.
When I started the install of these on my Camaro, I
was a bit concerned they may appear to be a bit "ricey"
if you know what I mean. BUT, that is FAR from the case.
These add a very nice touch and are no where near a
"rice" mod IMO. |
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Included with the Basic Kit are:
Two sequencer modules. These are the "brains"
of the operation and what control the sequencing.
Two GM 90 degree double contact sockets.
One flasher. This flasher is actually a hazard flasher
and will provide a slightly slower flash rate which allows
for all the lights to come on during the sequencing.
In addition to what is included in the kit you will, at
a minimum need a sharp knife and electrical tape. This
is at a bare minimum!!! I highly recommend instead of
a knife that you invest in a pair of wire strippers and
cutters if you don't already have some. Also, instead
of electrical tape, I used blue Scotch Lok connectors
(pictured later) for making splices and plastic caps (butt
end connectors will work too) for connecting two wires.
If using the Scotch Lok connectors you'll need a pair
of pliers to crimp them in place. Extreme people may whip
out the soldering gun and solder everything and then shrink
wrap it but these are just tail lights so for me the solder
and shrink wrap are a bit excessive ;-) |
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I will detail here both the Basic and the Full Install.
The first method is the Basic Installation which is
quick, easy, and can be performed with basic hand
tools. The second method is the Full Installation
method. See above for a description of description
of the difference between the two install methods.
The Full Install is a bit more time consuming and
requires modifying your the tail light assembly and
purchasing more parts for the install. If you didn't
purchase the Full Install Kit from the get go but
would now like to do this, it will require two more
of the GM sockets shown above and two 2057 bulbs.
I bought the sockets (model number 85832) at Auto
Zone for $4.99 each and a package of two 2057 bulbs
for $1.79. If you don't have an Auto Zone near you
the sockets may be a different part number... that's
ok, you're just looking for a GM 90 degree dual contact
socket like shown in the picture. You'll also need
a Dremel and a cutting type drill bit. So, if you
bought the Basic Install Kit and now are deciding
you want to do the Full Install, it's going to cost
you an additional $12 or so (assuming you already
have a Dremel). Damion only charges $12 more for the
Full Install Kit plus he modifies the sockets for
you... not a bad deal at all :)
(Wrong bulbs pictured... need 2057!)
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We need to gain access to the back side of the tail
lights so we can remove them. To do this you will need
to remove the two side panels pictured here. You do not
need to remove the back "carpet" piece as you
can just bend that out of the way as needed.
The driver side panel is removed by just pulling up on
it. It is held in place by ribbed plastic pins. After
you get the driver side panel off you may notice the plastic
ribbed pins stayed in the metal holder portion of the
car. If this is the case, just remove them and place them
back in the plastic panel. Your spare tire is stored under
the passenger side panel so its removal is a bit different.
You need to align the three screws as pictured (only two
shown) and the panel will just lift off. |
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| With the two plastic panels removed you will now need
to remove your spare tire. You may not NEED to but it
will sure make getting the tail light out much easier
:) In my case I also had to pull out my Stealth Box. |
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| With my spare tire and Stealth Box removed I now had
access to the plastic retaining knobs which hold the tail
light in place. Just unscrew the two plastic knobs on
each side and you will then be able to remove the tail
lights. |
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With the retaining knobs removed you will be able to
just pull the tail light assembly straight out and rest
it on the rear bumper cover. I pulled the driver side
out first then the passenger side. After I removed the
driver side I thought it would be a good idea to place
a rag down so as to not scratch my bumper cover :) Right
after I took the picture I did place a rag on the bumper
for the driver side :)
For the install I'll refer to the different lights as
the inner, middle, and outer. I have them labeled in the
bottom picture here and you can also look near the top
of this page for a description. The backup light is easy
to tell because it is the only socket which is green! |
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The top picture here are the driver side light sockets
removed. The bottom picture are the passenger side sockets
removed.
The only difference between the two sides is on the MIDDLE
socket. The power wire on the driver side middle socket
is YELLOW and on the passenger side this same wire is
GREEN. Other than this difference the process for hooking
the modules and sockets up will be the same for both sides.
Therefore, I'll often times only detail the install for
one side. |
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The first thing we are going to do is work on the middle
socket. This socket will not need to be changed because
it is the current turn signal socket and already is the
proper 3 wire socket.
The first picture is one of the Blue Scotch Lok connectors
I mentioned earlier. These work great for making splices
as you don't need to cut the wire you are trying to splice
in to. If using the Scotch Lok connector cut the RED wire
on both sequencer modules as shown so there is no frayed
wire showing. |
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| On the driver side locate the YELLOW wire on the middle
socket and place the Scotch Lok connector over the yellow
wire as shown. If you are not using these connectors cut
the YELLOW wire a couple of inches up from the socket. |
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On the driver side, slide the RED wire of the sequencer
into the Scotch Lok connector around YELLOW wire and crimp
it down with a pair of pliers. If you are not using the
Scotch Lok connector then twist together the two YELLOW
wires and the RED sequencer wire (I'll assume you know
that you need to strip back a portion of the insulation
on the wires ;). The idea is the same as with the Scotch
Lok connector... just more difficult :)
Do the same on the passenger side middle socket but instead
of a YELLOW wire you should have a GREEN wire. Make your
connections to this GREEN wire as shown in the bottom
picture.
This completes the work on the middle socket. |
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Now we are going to work on the inner socket. Notice
your current inner socket looks about like the middle
one we just worked on BUT this inner socket has only two
wires. That won't work with our sequencer so we need to
get rid of this socket.
Cut both the BLACK and BROWN wires of the socket as shown
here and put this socket aside.
Repeat this on the passenger side. |
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Now you are going to use the sockets supplied with your
kit. Grab one of these sockets. It has three wires...
a BLACK, WHITE, and BROWN. Connect the socket's BROWN
wire to the BROWN wire that was for the socket we just
cut off. Connect the socket's WHITE wire to the GREEN
wire of the sequencer module. Connect the socket's BLACK
wire to the BLACK wire for the socket we just cut off
and also the BLACK wire from the sequencer module. It'll
look similar to the picture here. Remember, if you aren't
using caps like I am then you'll need to tape up your
connections with electrical tape. Take the bulb out of
the socket you just cut off and insert it into your newly
installed socket. NOTE: When placing a bulb in these new
sockets it's not a bad idea to also put some "bulb
grease" in there. It is a grease that prevents corrosion.
You may notice this grease in the factory sockets. You
can purchase this grease in a packet at your auto parts
store for about $1 :) It's not 100% necessary but a good
idea!
Repeat this for the passenger side.
This completes the inner socket. All that is left now
is the outer socket! |
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If you are doing only the Basic Installation
continue reading on how to wire up the outer light.
If you are doing the Full Installation, skip to the
next set of instructions.
I didn't do the Basic Installation so don't have many
pictures but it isn't difficult.
On the outer socket (the smaller one) slide a Scotch
Lok connector over the BROWN wire. If you are not
using these connectors, cut the BROWN wire about 2
inches up from the socket. Do not cut the black wire!
Insert the BLUE wire from the sequencer module into
the Scotch Lok connector on the BROWN wire and crimp
it in place. If not using these connectors then twist
together your two BROWN wires and the BLUE sequencer
wire to make the splice.
Repeat this on the passenger side.
For the Basic Installation you are about done and
can now skip down to the section where you'll connect
the sockets into the light assembly.
BASIC
INSTALLATION
ONLY
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Full Installation Only: Locate the small outer socket
and cut it off as shown in the lower picture. We will
be replacing this socket with one of the new 85832 GM
sockets you purchased from the auto parts store or got
in the Full Install Kit.
As stated above in the pricing section, doing a Full Install
places a dual filament bulb very close to the actual tail
lamp red housing. I'm not saying this will happen but
rather there is a possibility your tail light could get
a very small dimple in it due to the heat from this dual
filament bulb. Just be aware of this and make sure you
modify the hole in the housing so the bulb is as far away
from possible from the edge of the housing.
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Full Installation Only: Ok... now
is where the fun begins :) We need to be able to install
the new GM socket in the area where the small socket
currently resides. As you can see, it obviously won't
fit as is and the hole will need to be modified. I decided
to rather than just "wing it" to make a template.
I took a sheet of ink-jet paper and pushed it over a
tab near the middle socket hole. I then held the light
assembly up to a light source (the sun!) and traced
the opening. You cut this out and there is your template! |
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Full Installation Only: The first
thing you'll notice is there is a plastic brace which
is slightly in the way. You can see this in the first
picture.
For all the "hacking" I did on my tail light
assembly I used a cutting type drill bit like shown
here. It looks like a standard drill bit but it's not...
it is made for cutting plastic just like we need to
do here.
The bottom picture shows the brace removed.
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Full Installation Only: With the brace removed take
your template and tape it in place. Now this is VERY important.
This is basically NO room for error here because it is
a very tight fit. Because of this you need to place your
template NOT directly over the current hole but rather
as far down and to the inside as you can. If you don't
do this your socket will hit the metal part of your car
and your tail light assembly will not go all the way in.
In the picture you can see where my template is not centered
on the hole. When taping on your template you need to
take into consideration that once the socket is inserted
into the hole it is TWISTED to lock in place. You need
to take into account this "twist" when aligning
your template. This will take some thinking and eyeballing
on your part so take your time here and double check what
you plan to do. Once the template is in place, trace around
it with a Sharpie marker or something you can see. No
use your Dremel and cut the hole to the proper size. Another
very important note here is that you can always make the
hole bigger... you can't easily make the hole smaller
again!!! So, whatever you do, error on the size of SMALL.
Cut out a little less than you think you need to then
test fit with the socket. If it is too big, GOOD, because
all you'll need to do is place the socket over the hole
and see where you need to remove more plastic. If it just
falls in then you screwed up and may need to purchase
a new tail lamp assembly and you don't want to do that
so cut small!!! Take note that on the driver side socket
I ended up removing the "tab" on the side with
my Dremel. You can see it "missing" in the picture
to the right. If you purchased the Full Install kit your
sockets should already come modified for you.
The last two pictures show mine complete with the new
sockets in place. Once you get yours in place and holding
tight like mine here you will need to test fit them. When
you are test fitting them you will see what I meant by
there is very little room here to mess up. You may need
to slightly rotate the socket one way or the other but
that shouldn't hurt so long as it stays tight in place.
If you happened to mess up to the point that no matter
how you rotate your socket you can't get the tail light
to test fit properly because the socket is hitting the
car, there may be hope :) You can modify the socket and
hack away at the plastic with your Dremel to reduce its
size. If you need to you can take the clear plastic cover
entirely off and fill the area with silicone caulk. |
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Full Installation Only: With the hard
part out of the way all that is left is to connect the
socket.
Connect the socket's BROWN wire to the BROWN wire that
was for the socket you just cut off. Connect the socket's
WHITE wire to the BLUE wire of the sequencer module.
Connect the socket's BLACK wire to the BLACK wire for
the socket you just cut off. It'll look similar to the
picture here.
All electrical connections are now complete!
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With all electrical connections made
it is now time to put the assembly back together.
Note, the sockets will be arranged differently than
they were before! If you notice this, you aren't confused...
it's supposed to be like this :)
The socket which has the RED sequencer module wire
connects to the inner socket hole.
The socket which has the GREEN sequencer module wire
connects to the middle socket hole.
The socket which has the BLUE sequencer module wire
connects to the outer socket hole.
The backup light socket goes back into the same hole
and when finished all sockets should look like this
picture
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Now you can change out the flasher.
You'll need to remove the panel under the steering wheel.
Once this panel is removed the flasher is located to
the bottom right. The easiest way to find the flasher
is to turn on the ignition and turn on your turn signal
then follow the clicking noise. Be careful here because
there are two flashers. One of the signals and one for
the hazards... you don't want to replace your hazard
flasher! Once found, turn the ignition back off, remove
the flasher and install the new flasher which was supplied
in the kit. |
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Check out your connections! Turn on your hazards and
check your lights to be sure they all light up in sequence.
Have someone press the brake and make sure the brake lights
work and initially light up in sequence. Turn your car
on and check the signaling to the left and then to the
right. If one or more bulbs do not light up, double-check
the connections to that bulb. Also check the power and
ground connections going to the sequencer module. You'll
also want to check to make sure your bulb didn't just
burn out. That happened to me... for some reason my inner
driver side light didn't work, I checked all connections
and all seemed fine. I finally decided to change the bulb
and it was the bulb... whoops :)
Enjoy your new sequencer lights and all the comments you'll
get from them! |
