Installing 97+ Camaro Tail Lights on a pre 97!

by Shady ( shady@shadeofday.com )  http://www.shadeofday.com/

This past week, I installed a set of 97's brand new with wiring harness and lights on a 95Z.

1. Remove the camaro panel between the lights.
a. open rear hatch, pull interior carpet from back side towards front of car, then you'll find the panel nuts and lens nuts
b. first loosen the (2ea)rear taillight (large plastic) nuts but don't remove the lens just yet.
c. now remove the 4 10mm nuts, 1 on each farside and 2 in the middle section near latch.
d. once all of these 8 nuts are removed, pull the lens and panel off of the rear of the car, set the panel on the floor or nearby table, allowing the lens' to hang by the wiring.
e. there is a small rubber grommet on the driver's side that the taillight harness goes through. look on the driver's side interior and find where the harness plug coming from the front connects. disconnect the plug, also remove the grounding screw located on the inside (latch in the middle)
f. pull the old harness and grommet out. Reinstall the newer harness and reattach the grounding wire (from the new harness), the plug, and the grommet (also on the new).
g. don't reassemble yet.

The problem with the 93-96 models is, they have only 4 wires whereas the newer 97-2000 models have 5. The 5th wire is light blue and connects directly to the stop lights. The older harness coming from the front of the car will connect to the newer harness (lens), but it is missing the light blue wire, also the connector in the plug. The plug looks like it has an empty hole. The brake switch on the 93-96 models run to the turn signal switch (which controls the blinker while braking), cutting this wire does not affect hazards or turn signals.

2. Rerouting the brake light wiring.
a. remove the shroud undernieth the steering wheel (lower dash), locate the light blue wire coming from the brake switch. Cut the wire about 2 inches from the switch and run a new wire from the switch side down the length of the car to the plug in the rear. Either attach a connector (PITA) inside the plug, or simply cut the light blue wire on the newer harness and connect.
i. reinstall the Camaro panel while (a friend helps here) installing the newer lens' and all of the nuts.
h. reinstall the lower dash panel.

Sit back while a friend pushes on the brakes and hits the blinkers, your done!

Hope this helps,
Shady