Upgraded LED lighting for the rear

 One thing I'm huge on is visibility when you have tinted windows.  Upgraded LEDs can make a HUGE difference, not only in driver visibility but also to be seen better by other drivers.  The rear lights on the Explorer ST are good, but like most OEM parts can be upgraded.  I reached out to one of the Facebook groups and found this setup from Houston Speed Freaks  Upgraded turn signal bulbs, backup lights and license plate lights.  All are about 2-3X brighter - which is amazing!

pop off this square tab, and the taillight pulls out from the outside

you can use a socket to loosen the screw

simple swap of the old bulbs for the LEDs

the backup light is an extended part, just tuck the wires inside the housing

oem license plate bulb

new LED bulb, less power, less heat, and 2x as bright!

Really slick LED light strip for the Explorer ST

 We found this mod on Facebook on the Explorer ST group, I can't take full credit for it - but figured for ~$40 it was worth trying out.  First you have to get the parts to setup.

• 12V Add-a-Circuit Adapter and Fuse Kit (make sure your kit has the Micro-2 size)
• SilverHolder Car Hood Light Strip White 70 Inches Exterior Car LED Strip Lights

 
Great! Now that you have the parts, the setup is pretty simple.  First, test the strip to ensure it's working, you can do a quick connect to the battery for this, red to positive and black to negative.   Not only can you see it working, but also tell which side is projecting the light.   
Pop the hood and clean the top of both headlights and the grill section top.  You don't want to use any harsh chemicals, just a good cleaning will do to ensure the tape will stick well.  This is also a good time to see where the hood seal lays when the hood is closed, you'll want to follow this line with the new LED strip.  I used painters tape to setup the strip and hold in place, it will want to wriggle around a bit since it comes curled up in the box.  
Once you're satisfied with the layout, peel off the bottom red tape strip and start adhering to the car.  You'll notice in my pictures that the 70" strip is perfect as it will tuck a few inches back on both sides of the hood under the fender.  I placed some black 3M electrical tape to hide the red at the edges of the hood.

Next up was to do the wiring.  I cut the black cable and stripped about 1/2" off and used one of the driver side fender bolts as a ground, worked great and one less cable to run.  The red wire I placed under the driver fender and ran back to the fuse panel which is hiding under two protective covers.  The top cover is pretty simple, push two tabs and it comes up and off.  The fuse box has 3 tabs, one toward the center of the vehicle and two (front and rear) closest to the driver fender.  
I measured and cut just behind the fuse that comes with the kit.  Since this is going into the fuse panel, you won't need the inline fuse.   Use a fuse puller, or a thin set of wiring pliers and remove Fuse #21 - this fuse goes to the headlights and will automatically turn on (and off) when the vehicle starts (or stops).  

This is where your fuse tap kit comes into play.  Use the 10A fuse that you just pulled and place it in the slot closes to the pins.  Then use a 5A fuse that came with my kit and plug it into the top slot.  This way you protect your headlights as usual, and add a 5A circuit for your LED strip (which will use much less than 5A).  Next, strip off the ends of the wire from the tap and from the LED red wire.  I used Solder Seal Wire Connectors-Marine Grade Heat Shrink Wire Connectors since they're easy to use with a heatgun, offer a good soldered connection and they're waterproof for extra protection.  

I actually flipped the fuse around to direct the wire closer to the fender side of the box but it's a pretty simple setup and works great!  Next up, check your hood clearance.  In my case, the hood wouldn't close with both the LED strip and the protective rubber under the hood so I pulled the rubber from the hood.  Some have adjusted their hood height adjusters but I didn't want the hood higher than the fenders.

So far it's been good, will check over time to see if the LED strip is good enough to block water, etc from the engine bay.

Last part, test!  Close the hood and start it up!