This is for the '11 model year. Not known if the 2012+ have the same wiring on it. I still have not been told which wire in the main bunch is for the rear array, so still have the long wire running up the rear seat as needed. Enjoy your brake light array!
**Disclaimer**
This works for MY charger, I will NOT have running lights if this module fries it's self and stops working. Brake lights will work, but rear running lights will not. Follow my instructions at your own risk. If you mess up, sorry. Message me and I will see what I can to help, but follow at your own risk.
Things you need to get.
Module
Wire splices (or electrical tape if you are cheap, i highly recommend splices)
Electrical tape
Length of wire (about 5 feet)
5amp fuse/holder
wire crimper
TEST LIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!
a buddy makes this 100000000000% easier
That's it. about $9 in tools you probably already have. If you buy the cheap walmart $17 auto electrical kit, it has EVERYTHING you need for this.
When I mention "test the wire," I am talking about a needle test light. Hook the alligator clip to a ground and hold the needle to the positive battery terminal. The light should light up. Now, take that same needle and push it into a wire you know should be "hot" or on (i/e white/purple should be hot when lights are on) and the light on the instrument should light up. You are basically poking the needle into the copper of the wire. You NEED to understand how to do this for this install. If confused, message me.
I dont mention it, but I unhooked the power wire in between steps to be sure everything worked right and nothing was live in between cuttings.
My brake light didn't work unless the car was in ACC or RUN mode. So don't think you messed up if yours is the same. Also, your trunk lights will automatically time out and NOT work no matter what unless you close and reopen the trunk, so don't freak out when you notice this too.
First step,
Push the rear seats forward and take out the entire trunk floor. Locate the large wire harness running under the along the floor. If you only wish to run ONE wire, position the module so it fits next to the battery. There is a grounding bolt (obvious, there are like 15 wires running to it) or the negative battery terminal. Wire a 5amp fuse to the RED wire and connect to the positive battery.
Second,
ALWAYS TEST THE WIRES BEFORE CUTTING!!!!
You need to carefully undo the tape holding the wires together.
Start digging and locate a few select wires.
ATTENTION!!!! There are a FEW of the same colored wires. This is where the test light, friend, and EXTRA splice crimps come in handy.
Find the WHITE/PURPLE wire, WHITE/GRAY, and WHITE/GREEN
There is one White/Purple, 2 grays and 3 greens.
Have your friend turn on the lights. Test the purple wire. if it is hot, tell your friend to turn the lights off, the test light should go off too. This means you have a light wire. Cut it. Turn the lights on, a tail light should be out.
Find the White/Gray wires. Have your friend turn the lights back on, find which is hot. For me, they both were. Lights off, they both were off. So I 50/50'ed the wires and cut one. The side marker went out. respliced it, left it alone. Cut the other, the other tail light went out (this is what you want). you can see the botched wire cut in the pics by the red splice crimp in the background. Not the end of the world if you cut the wrong wires, just resplice them.
You will now have wires cut toward the front of the car and toward the rear. Twist them together at each side (as in on the same ends) and crimp together. Have your friend turn the lights back on. The wires toward the front of the car should be "hot." Crimp in the purple wire to this. (this SENDS the signal to the module). The "cold side" wires get the yellow wire (This is the signal TO the lights).
Now get the white/green wires again. The brake light is what you are looking for. Have your friend turn the acc on or the run position on the dash and push the brake lights, they should be on. Now test each white/green wire until you find the hot one. When you find it, have your friend pump the brakes (ie lights on/off). When the test light flashes with the brake lights, you found the right one. You have a choice, either cut and resplice in the green wire from the module (as in one wire on one side and two wires to the other) or use the vise-crimp to splice in. In either case, your brake lights should STILL WORK no matter what when completing this step with the module hooked up to the battery or not.
At this point, your OUTER led's should light up when you push the brakes.
(This step is only because I could not find the correct wire in the wiring group under the trunk floor cover. If you have the time/patience, you can find the right wire for the center array, it IS there, I just got tired of trying wires. You need to splice the one that is for the center array one way or another, this is the wire I eventually found)
Now remove the side support to the passenger rear seat. One bolt at the bottom and a pinch clip at the top (if you mess up the top, you will see how to get it back in). Find the WHITE/GRAY wire. Turn on the lights and make sure its hot and cold when off (there is only one here, but different than the one you cut before). Use electrical tape to cover the bottom wire, use that long wire you have to hook the top wire to the BLUE wire on the module.
At this point, your whole LED array should light up when you push the brakes.
Now test to make sure the ENTIRE array lights up when you hit the brakes and that when you turn the lights on the array still lights up. If so, put the support back in the seat. You can now enjoy the full light up of the brakes.
This is as far as I went for the moment. If you use the alligator clips from the walmart wiring pack, you can clip one side to the battery and the other to the WHITE/BROWN wire on the module. The lights should alternate flash outer/inner with the running lights on or off. That is to say as long as they are flashing, you will be seen from behind and if the flashers turn off, the running lights will resume normal operation. When your buddy hits the brakes, everything lights up solid. If you hold the white wire from the kit against the positive terminal or other 12v source the lights will go out until you take it off and the pattern will change. The pattern will now stay that way until you change it again with the white wire. On emergency vehicles, we typically just leave it in one pattern on a system like this so i won't ever change it once I find one I like.
To wire the switch up for the flashers, I am going to wait until someone does a hazard switch write up or run something to a button in the cab in a non-obvious location so it doesnt look bad.
The only issues I really ran into were 1. I could NOT find the wire for the center array in that large wire group (if you do, PLEASE let me know so I can amend the write up). and 2. the passenger side rear side light flashes with the tail light, but the driver's side does not. I would rather they both flashed. If I had a nicer voltmeter, I could have found the right wires better, but didn't.
I ran the wire for the flasher on/off to my seat and wired in a LED flasher to that so it flashes under my dash when the lights are on. This is a blue LED strip from auto zone and an LED flasher from superbrightleds.com
Link to buy the flasher:
http://www.lshlights.com/itemdesc.asp?ic=11.1005.CHST&eq=&Tp=
Videos of the flashers: (quick video)
Brake light-flashing/brake/flashing-running light/flashing/brake/flashing
Flashing Tails - YouTube
Video of the blinking light while driving:
Blinking light - YouTube
