Aftermarket taillights on 4th gen? | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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Aftermarket taillights on 4th gen?

Harley McIntyre

Well-Known Member
Joined
March 31, 2019
Messages
159
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City, State
Lake Geneva, WI
Year, Model & Trim Level
2006 Explorer EB 4.6l
Would any of the aftermarket 3rd gen taillights fit on a 4th gen without any issues? I cannot find any aftermarket for the 4th gen ex
 



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I do not believe they made aftermarket taillights for the 4th gens. Searched and searched but came up empty. I have seen others post that the 3rd gen's are not a perfect fit.
 






you can add the 4th gen lights to a 3rd gen but you need to modify the wiring harness... but when you try to add the 3rd gen to the 4th gen you cant do it because of the 2 bulb vs 3 bulb difference and the canbus system..... the housings fit 100% perfect because i swapped out one of mine to my brothers 04 just to see what it looked like
 






i was planning on adding Gen 3 lights to my Gen 4.... but still investigating. I HATE the Gen 4 tail lights. Such an ugly design.

I was looking at these - Ford Explorer 2002-2005 LED Tail Lights

and then putting a nice smoke tint and clear on them.

but we will see. Need to do my HID retrofit first.
 






@PUR PONY : Those would be cool to program the 3 vertical red segments to flash sequentially ala old T-Bird, new Mustang, Audi.

It even looks like the led module is easily accessible from the back.
 






just to follow up on this old thread- I ended up installing a set of 02-05 tail lights in my 08 Limited.

Love the look over the factory 06+ tail lights. Only wiring involved was for the backup lights. I went to the local junkyard and bought a set of the 02-05 backup light plugs and then bought a set of 194/T10 MALE plugs and made an adaptor so now its all plug and play.
 

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just to follow up on this old thread- I ended up installing a set of 02-05 tail lights in my 08 Limited.

Love the look over the factory 06+ tail lights. Only wiring involved was for the backup lights. I went to the local junkyard and bought a set of the 02-05 backup light plugs and then bought a set of 194/T10 MALE plugs and made an adaptor so now its all plug and play.
Would love to know more about the wiring and how to do it. This is by far my biggest weakness when it comes to DIY mods, and I too hate the 4th gen factory taillights.
 






Would love to know more about the wiring and how to do it. This is by far my biggest weakness when it comes to DIY mods, and I too hate the 4th gen factory taillights.
sorry for the late response on this.... this is the way i did the wiring. I went to the junkyard and cut 2 02-05 backup light sockets off a junker.

then i ordered 2 T10 or 194 MALE plugs.

Soldered them together to make it all plug and play. This is all you have to do. The top plug on the 06-10 light is just taped off. You do not use it. The plug that comes on the 02-05 aftermarket LED light plugs directly into the 06-10, and then you plug the adapter i made into the backup light socket and use the larger style 02-05 backup bulb.
 

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just to follow up on this old thread- I ended up installing a set of 02-05 tail lights in my 08 Limited.

Love the look over the factory 06+ tail lights. Only wiring involved was for the backup lights. I went to the local junkyard and bought a set of the 02-05 backup light plugs and then bought a set of 194/T10 MALE plugs and made an adaptor so now its all plug and play.
What is your rim and tire combo? Also how much lift?
 






sorry for the late response on this.... this is the way i did the wiring. I went to the junkyard and cut 2 02-05 backup light sockets off a junker.

then i ordered 2 T10 or 194 MALE plugs.

Soldered them together to make it all plug and play. This is all you have to do. The top plug on the 06-10 light is just taped off. You do not use it. The plug that comes on the 02-05 aftermarket LED light plugs directly into the 06-10, and then you plug the adapter i made into the backup light socket and use the larger style 02-05 backup bulb.
This is fantastic, and something I am definitely going to look into. Thanks so much!
 






What is your rim and tire combo? Also how much lift?
17x8.5 Method Racing 301 wheels with 0 offset. Custom powdercoated flat dark bronze.
Tires are 275x70x17 Falken Wildpeak AT3w's. 3" Supreme Suspension strut spacer lift with BTF a-arms.

Hopfully adding a 1.25" body lift shortly.

20201010-171511-2_orig.jpg
 












Does anyone know if 4th gen Explorer taillights will fit on a 4th gen Mountaineer?
 






Iam planning so swap mounty led tail light (mine are cracked).they look the same for the first look...

Never seen any pictures of swap like this one but heard about dimensions difference because if bigger mounty rear bumper.

I will swap it tomorrow and see
 






So..mounty gen4 tail light really a bit taller then gen 4 Explorer tail lights.i am talking about 5-8mm or so..maybe my rear bumper needs to be modified and maybe not

All the tail light locking features and tail body shape are the same.

Not installed yet.

And..harness and connectors needs to be reworked for sure...

Today waiting until grill paint cured

IMG-20210426-WA0086.jpeg
 






So..mounty gen4 tail light really a bit taller then gen 4 Explorer tail lights.i am talking about 5-8mm or so..maybe my rear bumper needs to be modified and maybe not

All the tail light locking features and tail body shape are the same.

Not installed yet.

And..harness and connectors needs to be reworked for sure...

Today waiting until grill paint cured

View attachment 329904
Update.no any problem with physical installation.the dimension are almost the same.just need to push the bumper downwards a little
20210427_180730.jpg
 






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