SIDE MARKERS:
The side markers are by far the most difficult part of this process if you don't have multiple donor trucks or a pick-n-pull to cannibalize. Thankfully you can get most of this done without removing much; just wire up the "new" '81-86 side markers outside of the truck, and update the truck's side marker wiring by just removing the two Phillips screws and pulling the housing, getting access to the cables.
So, the aftermarket '81-86 side markers I got from eBay had different wire colors than stock. This is fine, but all of the guides were written using stock components pulled from a donor Trooper, so a lot of the guidance was to just match up wire colors w/o any real info on what light should do what. The side markers have 3 "sections": a large main amber, a mini protruding amber, and a clear. Yours may vary, as there's some full-amber ones, but hopefully this breakdown is still helpful.
From each bulb socket stem two wires, a power and a ground. These are spliced in various ways into a 3-prong connector - my setup mimics this. Here's a couple diagrams for the side markers + how I wired them up:
![Automotive lighting Font Audio equipment Electronic device Automotive tire]()
![Circuit component Handwriting Audio equipment Technology Font]()
Here's some info on how STOCK '81-86 lights are laid out, with some color matching for clarity:
![Handwriting Font Technology Display device Darkness]()
![Gas Engineering Electrical wiring Machine Auto part]()
I didn't need to separate the turn signal and parking light grounds, but the stock harness on the '87-91 Troopers have two 2-pin connectors, one for turn signal and one for parking lights. The separate grounds let me match these cleanly. Here's some photos of how I wired up the other side of the side marker - the truck side. I left both stock bulb sockets in place so I could switch back to the '87-91 style grille without any more cutting and splicing and whatnot.
![Gas Electrical wiring Cable Auto part Wire]()
![Hood Automotive tire Motor vehicle Automotive lighting Automotive exterior]()
Here's how the truck side looked when it was ready to go, with the other bulb sockets taped off and pushed back behind the radiator support:
![Tire Wheel Automotive tire Hood Motor vehicle]()
The side markers are by far the most difficult part of this process if you don't have multiple donor trucks or a pick-n-pull to cannibalize. Thankfully you can get most of this done without removing much; just wire up the "new" '81-86 side markers outside of the truck, and update the truck's side marker wiring by just removing the two Phillips screws and pulling the housing, getting access to the cables.
So, the aftermarket '81-86 side markers I got from eBay had different wire colors than stock. This is fine, but all of the guides were written using stock components pulled from a donor Trooper, so a lot of the guidance was to just match up wire colors w/o any real info on what light should do what. The side markers have 3 "sections": a large main amber, a mini protruding amber, and a clear. Yours may vary, as there's some full-amber ones, but hopefully this breakdown is still helpful.
From each bulb socket stem two wires, a power and a ground. These are spliced in various ways into a 3-prong connector - my setup mimics this. Here's a couple diagrams for the side markers + how I wired them up:
Here's some info on how STOCK '81-86 lights are laid out, with some color matching for clarity:
I didn't need to separate the turn signal and parking light grounds, but the stock harness on the '87-91 Troopers have two 2-pin connectors, one for turn signal and one for parking lights. The separate grounds let me match these cleanly. Here's some photos of how I wired up the other side of the side marker - the truck side. I left both stock bulb sockets in place so I could switch back to the '87-91 style grille without any more cutting and splicing and whatnot.
Here's how the truck side looked when it was ready to go, with the other bulb sockets taped off and pushed back behind the radiator support:
