3rd brake light/bedliner issue

[Scoob]

Would a jumper in the trailer connector from the 12v to the tail lights do it without blowing fuses?

Im not sure if I would backfeed anything on these, they've got a pretty crazy wiring system.

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[HVYMETL]

The LED will be the easiest part of that project I did the pigtail sincr it would light up when i wiggled the connector. I then replaced the LED after the pigtail didn't fix it but 2 weeks. I see so many 3rd brake lights out on Gladiators, it should be a tsb for safety

 

[Caveman]

So just a follow up since I finally got around to this. Tested power to the brake light strip and it was good. I used a soldering iron to heat the bedliner filling in the 8 Torx screws holding the large tailgate panel in place. Then I tapped a Torx bit into each screw, backed each out part ways, and used a utility knife to make four small relief cuts in the bedliner locking in each Torx screw. This was enough to allow each of the Torx screws to back fully out. I used the soldering iron again to melt the bedliner sealing the right and left seams of the tailgate panel, got a screwdriver under the panel, and then used a utility knife to cut the top part of the panel free. Replaced the LED strip and reinstalled. See attached pictures for clarification. The whole job took a couple of hours, but I was being careful. My fallback plan if I did an uglier job on the cutting was to install a SnailArmor tailgate panel, but that turned out not to be necessary. Maybe this will help someone in the future facing a similar challenge...

 

[Wmkresse]

So just a follow up since I finally got around to this. Tested power to the brake light strip and it was good. I used a soldering iron to heat the bedliner filling in the 8 Torx screws holding the large tailgate panel in place. Then I tapped a Torx bit into each screw, backed each out part ways, and used a utility knife to make four small relief cuts in the bedliner locking in each Torx screw. This was enough to allow each of the Torx screws to back fully out. I used the soldering iron again to melt the bedliner sealing the right and left seams of the tailgate panel, got a screwdriver under the panel, and then used a utility knife to cut the top part of the panel free. Replaced the LED strip and reinstalled. See attached pictures for clarification. The whole job took a couple of hours, but I was being careful. My fallback plan if I did an uglier job on the cutting was to install a SnailArmor tailgate panel, but that turned out not to be necessary. Maybe this will help someone in the future facing a similar challenge...

Excellent job working with what you had

 

[Caveman]

Thanks! I had some other tools around (thought about using a Dremel), but doing it slow and by hand made more sense to me.

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