Wiring Guide
Wire it once.
How to wire CB Lighting rock lights, wheel lights and frame strips. Every kit wires up the same way: battery, fuse, control box, lights. Switchback kits add one step for your turn signals.
One layout. Every kit.
On rock light and wheel light kits, the control box has four leads out to your lights. Wheel lights plug straight into those leads, one ring per lead. Rock lights go through splitters first so you can run more pods. Frame strip control boxes have two leads, one per strip. Switchback kits add the amber leads.
Lay it all out.
Every kit ships with all the splitters and extensions you need. Check the box against this list, then grab the tools on the right.
- LightsPods / rings / strips
- Control box with power leads and white wire1
- Inline fuseOn the red lead
- Splitters (rock light kits)Comes in your kit
- ExtensionsComes in your kit
- Remote1
- Zip ties, and plenty of themMust
- Wrench for the battery terminalsMust
- Add-a-circuit fuse tap (for the white wire)Must
- Posi-taps or T-tapsSwitchback
- Dielectric grease for the connectorsNice to have
- Drill and bitsMust
Ground first. Truck second.
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Test it on the ground
Before anything goes on the truck, plug every light into the control box's four leads. Wheel lights plug straight in, one ring per lead. Rock lights plug into the splitters, and the splitters plug into the leads. Frame strips plug straight into their control box's two leads, one strip each. Then touch the red and black leads to the battery. Turn it on with the remote. Every light should come on.
Finding a bad connection now takes two minutes. Finding it after everything is zip-tied takes your whole Saturday.
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Disconnect the battery
Pull the negative (−) terminal off the battery and keep it away from the post until you're done wiring.
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Mount the control box
Find a dry spot in the engine bay close to the battery, away from the exhaust manifold, turbo and anything that moves. Zip tie or screw it down so it can't rattle.
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Mount the lights
Clean each spot first. Then mount them using the notes for your kit below. Keep every light's wire pointed back toward the control box.
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Run the wires to the control box
Use the extensions to reach the control box's leads. Wheel lights and frame strips go straight to the leads. Rock lights go to the splitters, then to the leads. Push every connector all the way in until it seats. A dab of dielectric grease in each one keeps water and corrosion out.
Follow the frame rails and existing harnesses. Zip tie every 12 inches or so. Stay clear of the exhaust, driveshaft, steering and suspension.
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Hook up power
Red lead, through the inline fuse, to battery positive (+). Black lead straight to battery negative (−). Keep the fuse close to the battery.
Use the fuse that comes in the kit. Never swap in a bigger one to stop a fuse from blowing. A blowing fuse means something is shorted, so go find it.
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Connect the white wire
The white wire coming off the control box is the remote power wire. It needs 12V that's only on when the key is on. The easy way: plug an add-a-circuit fuse tap into a key-on slot in your fuse box and connect the white wire to it.
To find a key-on slot, check the fuse diagram on your fuse box lid or in your owner's manual. Radio and accessory fuses usually work.
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Switchback kits only
Tie into your turn signals
Skip to step 9 if you don't have a switchback kit. Otherwise, follow the switchback section below.
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Reconnect, test, clean up
Reconnect battery negative. Key on, then run through every mode on the remote (and the app if your kit has it). On switchback kits, hit both blinkers. Once it all works, trim the zip ties and tuck any loose wire.
Where it all goes.
Rock lights
- Pods plug into the splitters, and the splitters plug into the control box's four leads.
- Spread pods out so the light overlaps. Common spots: behind each bumper, under the cab corners, along the rocker panels, inside each wheel well.
- Aim the face of the pod down and slightly out, not at the frame.
- Mount to something solid that doesn't flex with the suspension.
- Wheel well pods need slack in the wire so they never touch the tire at full turn or full compression.
Wheel lights
- No splitters. Each ring plugs straight into one of the control box's four leads.
- Rings mount behind the wheel. Check the ring size matches your wheel first with the fitment finder.
- Turn the steering lock to lock and check the ring clears the brakes, tie rods and tire.
- Front wires need extra slack to follow the steering. Zip tie them to parts that turn with the knuckle, then leave a loop before they go to the frame.
- Keep wires off the brake rotors and calipers. They get hot.
Frame strips
- Strips come in pairs. One runs along each side of the frame.
- No splitters. The frame strip control box has two leads, and each strip plugs straight into one.
- Pick flat or 90° mounts depending on whether you're mounting to the side or bottom of the frame rail.
- Clean the frame well before mounting, then zip tie or screw the mounts down so road vibration can't shake them loose.
- Keep the strip clear of the exhaust pipe and the fuel tank straps.
White to amber.
Switchback lights run white, then flash amber with your blinker. The switchback leads come off the control box and tie into your turn signal wires. Applies to the 12 Row Switchback Wheel Lights and 6 Row Switchback Frame Strips.
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Find the signal wires
Go to the tail light or headlight harness on each side. Look up the turn signal wire color for your truck's year and model, then find that wire in the harness. Do the left side, then the right.
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Check it's not the brake wire too
On a lot of trucks the rear brake and turn signal share one wire. If you tap that one, your amber will come on every time you brake. If your truck is wired that way, use the front turn signal wire instead.
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Tap in, left to left
The switchback leads come off the control box, not the lights. Run them to your signal wires: left lead to the left signal, right lead to the right. Posi-taps make this clean and don't cut your factory wire.
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Test both sides
Lights on, then hit each blinker. The correct side should go amber and flash. If the wrong side flashes, swap the two leads.
Remote or app.
Every kit comes with a little remote. Pure white kits also run from the app.
| Kit | Remote | App |
|---|---|---|
| Pure white rock lights | Yes | Yes |
| Wheel lights (5, 10 and 20 Row) | Yes | Yes |
| 5 Row Frame Strips | Yes | Yes |
| 12 Row Switchback Wheel Lights | Yes | No |
| 6 Row Switchback Frame Strips | Yes | No |
Still dark?
Nothing turns on
Check the fuse. Pull it and look at it. If it's blown, find the short before putting in a new one.
Check the white wire. Key has to be on, and the fuse tap has to be in a slot that's actually live with the key on.
Check the battery terminals. Both leads tight on the right posts.
One light is out
It's almost always a connector. Unplug it, check for bent pins or water, and push it back in until it seats. Then swap that light onto a different lead or splitter port to see if it's the light or the run.
Lights work, remote doesn't
Check the remote battery and stand closer to the truck. The control box needs power, so the key has to be on.
Lights won't turn off with the truck
The white wire is on constant power. Move the fuse tap to a slot that's only live with the key on.
Switchback won't go amber
Double-check you tapped the turn signal wire for your truck, and make sure the posi-tap actually pierced the wire.
Amber comes on when I brake
You tapped a combined brake and turn wire. Move the tap to the front turn signal wire.
Fuse keeps blowing
Something is shorted. Look for a pinched or melted wire, a cut jacket rubbing on metal, or water in a connector. Don't go up a fuse size.
Hit us up.
Send a photo of your wiring and what it's doing. We'll get you lit.