View Full Version : License plate light ...bulbs inside light bracket, but but no power
Purchased a used 1965 FFR SHELBY cobra , just noticed light above liscens plate has no wires running to it. No wires in trunk leading to it. Has two bulbs in light but doesn't seem to have power. How is that light wired..where and how does the power wire run to make Light? Believe I have mark2. Thanks in advance for any help.
Jeff Kleiner
09-13-2016, 05:43 PM
Power will be paralleled with the tail lights.
Jeff
The license plate light has two bulbs in side, but no wires leading two it. Can you just use a quick splice connected to hot wire in tail light and run that to license plate light assembly? Do you have to have a ground wire from light assembly to ground or is just the one wire...there are two places to connect wires in the assembly, as you are facing trunk one on the left and one at the bottom below light bulbs. Anybody have a picture of the wires to the assembly.... im a newbie to this stuff..thanks for any help
edwardb
09-14-2016, 09:30 AM
The pre-made Ron Francis harness many of us use for these builds has the license plate light wire already provided. But since you don't have one, easy enough to duplicate. As Jeff said, just tap one of the rear running light wires (not turn signal or stop light!) and bring to the license plate. Doesn't matter which side you take it from. There are two lights in the license plate fixture, but they should be wired together and just need the one power wire. If your fixture is like the ones I've used, there is a red wire for the +12V and black for ground. You will need to add a ground wire to what you bring to the light since there's no ground point at the light or the lid, but it can be from anywhere on the chassis. It doesn't have to come all the way from the rear lights. Typical path for the wires is through the trunk floor and bridge over to the trunk lid by one of the trunk hinges. Then across the bottom of the trunk lid to the license plate fixture. Mk3 and Mk4's trunk lids are sandwiched with an access hole at the back so you can fish the wire through the lid. Don't know if a Mk2 is the same. The picture below is from my Mk3 build which has external trunk hinges like your Mk2. You can see the convolute tube on the LH side that has the license plate wires.
http://i867.photobucket.com/albums/ab234/edwardb123/Factory%20Five%20Mark%203%20Roadster%20Build/Finished/IMG_0318_zps1b29ed79.jpg (http://s867.photobucket.com/user/edwardb123/media/Factory%20Five%20Mark%203%20Roadster%20Build/Finished/IMG_0318_zps1b29ed79.jpg.html)
Than you very much....I thought that was the process, but haven't done that before on anything like a core....didn't want to do a sloppy job.. Thanks a lot.
One more thing I always wanted to know....can you use the neg- battery terminal as a ground or is that a no..no..?
edwardb
09-14-2016, 06:37 PM
One more thing I always wanted to know....can you use the neg- battery terminal as a ground or is that a no..no..?
Yes. I guess. Same thing. Not sure it's necessary though. You have a steel tube chassis that with a good ground connection at the battery has a solid ground connection available pretty much anywhere you want.
Jeff Kleiner
09-14-2016, 07:37 PM
As my college professor drove into our heads "Ground is ground is ground is ground is ground..." which translated means that it can be at the battery terminal, engine, chassis or the door hinge---same same :)
jeff