Yes you do have to swap the wiring. I want to keep my 01 rear light covers but swap the reverse lights wiring to the bumper and the indicator wiring to the top.
I used to get rear ended in Atlanta all the time because people said they said didn't see my turn signals on the bumper. Stay off my *ss then Jack*ss!!!!!

 

Hi All
I know this is an old thread but I'm looking for a bit of guidance please. My 04 taillight assemblies are all cracked and beyond repair. I have acquired a set of 2002 taillight assemblies and now need some guidance on how to wire the 2004 wiring harness to operate the 02 assemblies.

Thanks in advance for the responses.

 

what do you mean cracked beyond repair, mine were all cracked and holding water like a bucket, I bought some tailight tint on eBay took 4 minutes to apply and was perfect after that

 

Cracked as in split from top to bottom as well as 1/2" holes where the plastics were broken down due to the Florida sun. The lenses were sh_t and are being replaced with 02 assemblies. Just need to understand the wiring conversion required. If you can help that would be appreciated

 

Sadly I sold my rover 2 years ago, I got the email for the reply figured I’d shoot that out there sorry I can’t help

 

Did you get pigtails too? Not only are there differences in the lamp locations for the truck, the connectors are also different. It's certainly not impossible to rewire the truck and others here have probably done it, but it's not an insignificant task. The 02 has large running lights up top and brake lights below it, with reverse below that. The 04 has a shared space for the running and brake, using separate lamps, and turns below that. Even if you do adapt the plugs you will have to choose between ending up with small white turn signals, or getting the 02 and below bumper lenses so you can move the turns down there and then run more wires up to the tail lamps from the reverse pods in the bumper. If you have an old set of rear O2 sensors, that connector will plug into the 04's harness, and then you can use a standard Bosch 4 pin connector to plug into the tail light housing (if you didn't get the pigtails). Making the mods at the bumper will be a little more difficult. You can buy the plugs to connect to the light housings but the body side wiring will probably require vampire connectors. That's the best way to install the lenses and adapt the wiring with minimal damage to the truck harnesses. The wiring itself is called out in the ETM and you should probably download both (99-02 and 03+) so you can compare the wire colors to know which connections to reroute. Why not just get 04 lights? Despite being pretty crappy quality by comparison, it seems like a much easier solution. Not to mention, the turns are much more visible up high.

 

Hi Ahab
No on acquiring the pigtails and I am working on getting those right now.
The 04 lenses are such inferior quality that even finding a used set is a gamble on getting a good quality pair. The 02 lights are far better quality and as i have time on my hands why not make the conversion to a better end product.
You mention ETM in your post but I am not familiar with that acronym, can you advise what this is and where I can download?

 

Electrical Troubleshooting Manual. There are copies on this site, although I don't recall who has them hosted so you'll have to search about.

 

Got it, thanks for the assistance

 

WaltNYC has a link to most LR Manuals in his signature.