Easiest Place To Tap Dome Light Wire (2nd Gen w/ link to 3rd Gen)

.... and end result

 

Added courtesy light to shine outside of door, not just a puddle light but so i can read a document/map outside my doors.
LED pods i used.
- connected to dome light circuit along w/ footwell lighting attached under dash.


on the interior, I fastened LED strips to a short piece of aluminum 1/2" angle. The aluminum length spans the two humps in the floor right under the front of the seat.
-added the coarse loop side of velcro to the aluminum. The loop part of the velcro sticks to the truck's carpet. Wire runs under the carpet, into the center console area and connects to the illumination wires for the Auto transmission selector. These LEDs are then controlled by the dash dimmer. (Must connect both +, and - from the LED strips to the illumination circuit wires. Do not ground the - end of the LEDs)





resulting bling. the light does not glow upwards past the console.

 

Can't see well in your pic, which wire did you jump into for the negative door ground(9)? Blue, light blue, blue with white stripe?

Looks good by the way

 

I have to say this. Do not use this method to attach any wire in your electrical system, Ever. It is not safe or recommended by anyone that has done any serious electrical work.

You may as well just twist the wires together and wrap them in tape... ( sarcasm ) :\

Sure the LEDs do draw a small current, what happens if it gets shorted straight to ground?

 

Connection is the same as described in the posts above, the - connection is to pin 9, happens to be a blue color on the 2005 tacoma.

Jimmyh's criticism does have value.

In this circumstance the fit is no different than plug, and jack type connections that fit together by friction, and I am content the fit does hold up to vibration. Your experience may be different, and Jimmy's comment should be heeded if you are at all concerned. The current draw is also small enough to not generate any heat across the connection.

That said, using such a non-engineered 'mickey moused' connection for connecting driving/fog lights would be looking for trouble, and potential melting of wires, or even a fire.

Soldering wires, using engineered connectors for the proper size of wire, current capacity and insulated for the operating voltage, and if using crimp connectors, using the proper tool correctly are all best practices to ensure longevity, secure and safe electrical connections.

Feeding the small wires for the LED via a small 2Amp fuse would protect the small gauge wire from a short circuit from the + lead to ground along the route to the individual LEDs. This is what the OP .jake did in his example. The overall dome light circuit is protected by the stock 7.5Amp fuse.

 

Ok, I'll just have to go and look since I'm not sure how to tell what pin is what number. Also, is it bad to have too many grounds in one place when using LEDs or anything I guess?

 

"...tell which pin is what number."

see post#2 of this thread.
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2n...st-place-tap-dome-light-wire.html#post7752254

" Also, is it bad to have too many grounds in one place when using LEDs or anything I guess"

Yes, it can be, but its not much of a concern with the LEDs. By replacing stock bulbs with LEDs for your dome light and map lights you are actually reducing the load, so adding LEDs is not too much of a concern.

The ground is controlled by the dome light dimming circuit which also turns off your dome lights if you leave your door open for too long of a period. This 'ground' or more properly negative side of your LED connections is the described blue wire on pin 9.

 

Alright, I will read that diagram, thank you very much for the link. Any recommendations for map and dome LEDs? I know there are lots out there, just wanted your opinion

Edit: ordered some from superbrightleds and oznium, some great websites

 

NOTE: if either end falls and touches ground, either the LEDs will illuminate all the time, or it would be just ground-ground. If the LEDs illuminate all the time because the negative side fell loose, unless your battery is super old and doesn't hold a charge well, the LEDs will not drain your battery for hours.

 

..and there is no ground potential nearby for me, it's all plastic. Wires are secured such that if it became disconnected the connection cannot fall/ hang loosely.

 

Subbed

 

sub'd

 

Sub'd to do courtesy LED lights under the truck.

 

I took it over to my local stero shop and for 20.00 had them tap the wires then I put leds under the doors and dash board and put a led in the back of the bed. It turned out really cool.

 

Just bought 4 (2 x 2/pk) of these to do this mod. Alpena MAX-LED 12" strips.

Two 12" strips use 0.36 amps, so 4 (1 per floorwell) should take 0.72 amps...

I might take lotsa pics & do a DIY write-up.

http://www.alpena.ca/Product.aspx?id=1082

 

I used this method, and I'm also going to wire in a switch to turn on just the footwell lights by themselves...

Gonna steal the "aluminum L-channel with velco" idea to mount the rear lights (facing rearward) under the front seats.

Cant fingure out a simple method without making another bracket for atleast the drivers side...

 

subed

 

Good write up and thank you all!! I was able to get these working with the doors. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmZ7C6k0vk0

 

Very useful thread with the diagrams.

I bought some striplights from VLEDS. They are really nice and bright. http://www.vleds.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=striplight

I plan to put them under the dash in the front foot wells.

I wish the Tacoma had the dimmer switch like some other cars do... you control the brightness of all your dash lights but also have the option to turn the interior lights on. I may just do this with a switch or use the dome light switch or some other way. I haven't thought it through yet.

I mostly just wanted to say thanks for the diagrams. That saves some time!

 

Truck isn't very clean but here are two of the 6 LED VLED Striplights in 5k white. Pretty bright and it matches the rest of my interior leds. Thanks @.jake your diagram / photo was very helpful.

I used 3M t-taps. Not a huge fan of them but space was tight. Normally I would cut the wire and use a step down butt connector w/shrink ends.