How to Install Sequential Taillights

Pity the Mustang nut who finds himself jealous of corporate-cousin Cougar at Lincoln-Mercury. Cougars got all of those nice luxury items that were well outside the beer-and-pretzel Mustang budget. One example of luxury was the sequential turn signals and brake lights that made the Cougar distinctive. When they were new, these taillights sequenced with an attitude of luxury.

Now Mustang owners don't have to bring up the rear anymore because Scott Drake Mustang Parts has sequential taillamps for classic Mustangs. Available from National Parts Depot, these lights are a lot brighter and more reliable than their vintage Cougar counterparts. Drake has engineered the system from scratch for better performance, without all of the problems associated with vintage factory Cougar sequential taillamps. What makes the Drake system better is solid-state circuitry, devoid of mechanical relays, servos, motors, and cams. It's also virtually invisible. You don't know it's there until it is sequencing your Mustang taillights. It works with precision and is fully adjustable. What's more, you can install it in your '65-'70 Mustang in a couple of hours.

The Scott Drake sequential turn signals have two identical modules designed to sequence the taillamps individually. Each module controls the 1-2-3 rate of each lamp assembly. You can speed up or slow down the 1-2-3 pace by opening up the modules and turning two screws. Each screw is a rheostat (variable resistor) that controls the sequential pace of the three lamps. One of the rheostats controls how long the most inboard lamp is on before the sequencing begins. The other controls how quickly the three lamps sequence.

Each control module gets its power from a source that is live only with the ignition turned on. This means you need to run a separate power lead, protected by a fuse, from the fuse box to the modules in the trunk area. This power lead has to branch out into two leads to each of the modules to keep power going to the modules, which allows normal brake-light operation with the ignition switch in the off position. If you want the emergency flashers to sequence, you'll have to install two flasher modules--one for the turn signals and one for the emergency flashers. These flasher modules replace the stock flashers. If you want emergency flashers that illuminate one bulb on each side, keep the stock emergency flasher.