Any Time Reverse , Back up Lights Mod

PLS do at own risk.This worked on 2010 trd sport DCLB.
This is for stock reverse lights. If you upgrade to higher wattage you may need to ensure wire size and contact rating of switch is sufice.
for this mod you will need a SPDT, ON ON, not ON-OFF-ON(single pole double throw)switch, add a fuse (mini) some wire connectors or solder and heat shrink whatever you prefer.

heres the basic idea of what we will do:



you will need to remove coin tray to access fuse box. the fuse slot I chose was empty and had power there. Carefully read instructions that came with add-a-fuse. I fused new circuit @ 10a cause thats what the lights are fused @.



remove plastic sill guard, dead pedal and kick panel (drivers) to access module ID2



DONT LISTEN TO THE GREEN "HERE" that was from another mod. USE YELLOW CICLES. Its the second one up. we are looking for module ID2 terminal 1. if you look closely at the plug you will see the 1 stamped in the plastic. it was the red one for me. Carefully unplug and cut. ( I cut as far back as I could with the amount of patience i had at the time)



Note the gauge of the wire (pretty big). you may want to do all wiring in this gauge. (I didn't. Im pretty sure the switch I used has contact rating less than 10a also.)

When you cut the red wire the piece left sticking out of the terminal block will be T1. The other piece of red wire will be T2. The 12v from add a fuse will be T3.

DON'T FORGET TO PLUG MODULE BACK IN. (or your gas gauge wont work and you have to unplug battery and do all your presets and your clock again)

So in one switch position it is like we have done nothing, while in the other position we are supplying 12v to T2 (lights)

I chose to hog out the back of one of the blanks and mount the switch there. I'm sure you could mount it anywhere.



The slot i chose for add a fuse goes cold when ignition is off, so no worries about leaving it on and draining battery.

I have experimented with having the switch on and then putting truck in reverse.No ill effects. lights remain on.

let me know what you think.

 

Camp lights! Kinda cool idea, pics of mounted switch?

 

its the lower of the 2 toggles ( pic is in the dark cause i scratched the shit out of the blank tightening the nuts up. That shit will buff out.

 

For the record I took some readings with a meter and the lights draw 2a and change. I don't know why they would fuse it at 10a when there is no inrush or anything. Anyways I am comfortable with my wire size and current rating on sw. contacts.

Edit
I have been informed that the circuit feeds many things and that is why it is fused at 10a

 

Thank you for the clarification Professor. I would have gone w/ an "etc" or "ie" but hey, thanks all the same

 

^^^ That's funny, shit right there! "Professor..."

 

I like this. +1 for you.

 

Thanx, by the way I'm noticing that if I view this on my phone with tap a talk I don't see any of the stuff written between each pic. So you know.... View on a pc if ur gonna do this.

 

anyone done this on a 2012 yet? any other gotchas learned from others yet

 

I think If u have access to a meter and you put red lead on red wire shown and black lead on ground you should see 0vdc when in park and 12-14vdc when in rev.
If you got those results I would feel pretty confident about doing this.

 

ya, figured if it isn't the red I can use my meter to find out which one it is if it changed at all for 2012. I'll probably do it this weekend and I will report back for other 2012 owners. thanks

 

actually the more I have though about this I am not sure it really makes much sense to do. I already have a reverse light switch with my shifter, I don't need the truck to be started to put it in reverse to turn on the lights so really what is the difference? No, I guess I can't manually turn them on while driving but why would I want to?

 

I know there are many different sizes (physical) that are out there now. What type of add-a-circuit to I need to order? (I live on Amazon prime)

 

Just a guess but I am assuming the Mini add a fuse... I believe you could just look at the spot you want to add it and see what sized fuses are used there.

Is the red wire he tapped into in the kick panel the power supply for the reverse lights?

 

The switch turns the reverse lights on when the truck is not in reverse with another circuit added? I think you need a diode for that scenario.

 

Doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me... I can see how it works but I dunno... This at least might help me with wiring my back up lights with a switch and relay to run on/off/on set up. They can work with the reverse lights, be off at all times, or on at all times. Hoping that red wire will give me the signal I need for the on related to the reverse lights.

 

All I'm saying is if you add a hot wire to an existing OEM circuit, you should use a diode down the line.