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I think those of us who have wheeled the JK enough know that the stock rear license plate mount can get hung up on tress, rocks, etc. when you get in tight spots. After almost ripping my mount off a couple of times, I finally ordered the parts to relocate my license to the spare tire area. The best solution I could find for the spare mount was the Rock Hard Spare Tire Relocation Bracket. It is available from several sources for $45 + shipping.
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I also wanted to stay legal and have a license light at night, plus I wanted to get something that had a third brake light built in since my stock one is now all but covered by a 37" tire. I found a few cheap chrome ones on ebay, but I finally found a quality piece made by Carriage Works. It is chromed billet aluminum with stainless hardware. I found it on sale at Summit Racing for $64.50+ handling fee.
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When removing the stock license mount, you can get MOPAR part number 55397112AA which is a Body Plug that fills the hole in. The European Jeeps use that plug when they get their HUGE license mounted on the rear bumper.
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I didn't take pics along the way due to time constraints, but here are a few basic tips for wiring it up.
The Carriage Works license frame has only TWO wires coming out of it, one for the license light and one for the third brake light. There is no ground wire, and I didn't get instructions with it. Evidently it did not have a good enough ground when mounted to the powder coated Rock Hard Bracket. I ran a ground wire from one of the four bolts that hold the CW frame to the RH bracket, and grounded it to one of the bolts that hold the spare tire bracket to the rear tailgate.
Wiring up the third brake light was super easy. If you open the rear tailgate and look at the stock third brake light riser from the inside of the gate, there are four Torx head screws that hold the third brake light assembly to the riser mount. Remove those four screws and the assembly practically falls off. Tap into the white wire of the factory third brake light harness with a wiring tap of your choice, and connect it to the wire going to the CW license frame.
Wiring up the running light on the CW frame is almost as easy. Pull back the carpet on the passenger side that is between the rear of the Jeep and where the roll bar disappears into the carpet. You will see a wiring harness that splits and runs several directions. One of the bundles that splits off runs through a grommet and goes to the passenger rear tail light. Using a 12V light probe, find the wire in that bundle that comes on when you turn on the parking lights. Tap into that wire. Run a wire from there through the factory loom that goes to the tailgate. You will have to remove the plastic cover on the tailgate. Continue running that wire out through one of the tailgate grommets and on to the CW license frame, and connect it there.
NOTE: Be sure and put easily accessible wiring connectors right behind the license plate. That will ensure if you need the spare tire, you can simply unplug the connectors and remove the mount easily. Otherwise you would have to cut the wires to remove the mount.
Here are a couple of pictures of the finished product. I'm not too thrilled with the chrome look of the CW piece, but I'll probably keep it that way until it starts looking bad. I also bought a spray can of factory paint to spray the Euro body plug with, but I may just leave it black and see how it grows on me. I plan on taking some additional pictures of where I tapped into the wiring, and I'll update this post with them when I do.
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I also wanted to stay legal and have a license light at night, plus I wanted to get something that had a third brake light built in since my stock one is now all but covered by a 37" tire. I found a few cheap chrome ones on ebay, but I finally found a quality piece made by Carriage Works. It is chromed billet aluminum with stainless hardware. I found it on sale at Summit Racing for $64.50+ handling fee.
When removing the stock license mount, you can get MOPAR part number 55397112AA which is a Body Plug that fills the hole in. The European Jeeps use that plug when they get their HUGE license mounted on the rear bumper.
I didn't take pics along the way due to time constraints, but here are a few basic tips for wiring it up.
The Carriage Works license frame has only TWO wires coming out of it, one for the license light and one for the third brake light. There is no ground wire, and I didn't get instructions with it. Evidently it did not have a good enough ground when mounted to the powder coated Rock Hard Bracket. I ran a ground wire from one of the four bolts that hold the CW frame to the RH bracket, and grounded it to one of the bolts that hold the spare tire bracket to the rear tailgate.
Wiring up the third brake light was super easy. If you open the rear tailgate and look at the stock third brake light riser from the inside of the gate, there are four Torx head screws that hold the third brake light assembly to the riser mount. Remove those four screws and the assembly practically falls off. Tap into the white wire of the factory third brake light harness with a wiring tap of your choice, and connect it to the wire going to the CW license frame.
Wiring up the running light on the CW frame is almost as easy. Pull back the carpet on the passenger side that is between the rear of the Jeep and where the roll bar disappears into the carpet. You will see a wiring harness that splits and runs several directions. One of the bundles that splits off runs through a grommet and goes to the passenger rear tail light. Using a 12V light probe, find the wire in that bundle that comes on when you turn on the parking lights. Tap into that wire. Run a wire from there through the factory loom that goes to the tailgate. You will have to remove the plastic cover on the tailgate. Continue running that wire out through one of the tailgate grommets and on to the CW license frame, and connect it there.
NOTE: Be sure and put easily accessible wiring connectors right behind the license plate. That will ensure if you need the spare tire, you can simply unplug the connectors and remove the mount easily. Otherwise you would have to cut the wires to remove the mount.
Here are a couple of pictures of the finished product. I'm not too thrilled with the chrome look of the CW piece, but I'll probably keep it that way until it starts looking bad. I also bought a spray can of factory paint to spray the Euro body plug with, but I may just leave it black and see how it grows on me. I plan on taking some additional pictures of where I tapped into the wiring, and I'll update this post with them when I do.
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