Replacing One Wheel Light Strip Instead of the Whole Kit
Curbs, road debris and a badly judged parking block all do the same thing to a wheel light: they take out one strip on one wheel. That is not a reason to rebuy a set. Every strip we build is stocked individually, along with the brackets and the wires, so the repair is one part and an afternoon rather than a new kit.
This guide covers which part matches which kit, what each one costs, and the two things that will void a warranty on the way back together.
Strips are sold one at a time
Replacement wheel light strips are sold individually, not in fours. You select the model and the quantity at checkout, so a single damaged strip is a single strip.
They are the same part we build the kits from: gel injected, with the reinforced back bracing and industrial 3M adhesive that goes on every strip we make. Nothing about a replacement is a lesser version of the original.
If you have damaged more than one, order the quantity you need in one go rather than one at a time. Same part, same page.
Which replacement strip matches your kit
Strips are listed by row type, and the row type is what you match, not the kit name on your receipt. Current pricing on the pure white and switchback strips:
- Double Row Standard — $45. The strip in the Standard intensity kit.
- Double Row High Intensity — $75. Same footprint as above, and it is not interchangeable with it. Check which one you bought.
- Quad Row Switchback — $95. The strip in the Quad Row Switchback kit.
- 6 Row Switchback — $120. The strip in the Dual Chip Switchback kit.
Five Row Extreme and Seven Row Ultimate strips are listed on the same page for the two top pure white kits. If you are unsure which tier is on your truck, wheel light rows explained tells you what to count when you look at the strip.
Counting rows on the strip you pulled off is the reliable method. Order confirmations get lost, trucks get bought used, and the row count is right there on the part.
The bracket pack, and when you need it
The replacement bracket pack is $35 and holds sixteen stainless steel brackets with 3/16 inch predrilled holes. It exists to replace the older aluminium brackets that shipped on earlier sets, so it is an upgrade as much as a repair part.
Buy it if a bracket is bent, if you are pulling a set off one truck to put on another, or if your set is old enough to be running aluminium. Stainless holds up better where the brackets live, which is inside a wheel, in the weather, taking heat off the brakes.
The strip attaches to the bracket and ring assembly. The ring is the part that mounts to the dust shield, so a bracket swap is work at the wheel with the wheel off.
Wires, and where the wire exits
If the damage took the wire rather than the strip, extension wires are stocked for both the pure white and switchback sets. They are also what you want if you are moving a set to a vehicle with a longer run than the original.
On a wheel light, the wire and plug exit at the top of the ring near the brake line. That is the spot to check first when a single wheel goes dark and the strip itself looks intact. Follow it back before you order a strip you may not need.
Plan on pulling the wheel for any of this. There is no version of a wheel light repair that happens with the wheel on the truck. The wheel light installation guide covers the teardown, and how hard is it to install wheel lights gives you an honest read on the time.
The two things that void the warranty on a repair
Both of these come up on repairs more than on first installs, because a repair is done in a hurry in a driveway.
Use the supplied nuts and bolts. Substituting hardware voids the warranty. If the original hardware is rusted or lost, replace it with ours rather than with whatever is in the coffee can on the bench.
Leave the wire slack. Insufficient slack voids the warranty, and it is the failure that gets built in at reassembly. Suspension moves and steering turns; a wire pulled tight at rest is a wire that gets pulled apart at full lock. Route it with slack and secure it clear of the brake line.
The full terms are on the warranty page. Register the set if you have not already, because the warranty runs on the registration.
Before you order the part
Pull the wheel and look before you buy. Count the rows on the strip, check whether the plug at the top of the ring is intact, and check whether the bracket is bent or just loose. Those three checks decide whether you need a strip, a wire, a bracket pack or nothing but a wrench.
Then order the exact quantity you need. Strips are individual, the bracket pack is sixteen, and wires are per set. Check lead times so the truck is not sitting on a jack waiting for a part, and browse the wheel light range if you have decided to change tiers while it is apart. If you are not sure which strip you are looking at, send a photo of it to sales@southernlumen.com and we will identify it.