Plunge switch for tailgate.

I have a 2018 Tacoma Limited 2WD.

I'm installing strip led's under my hood and have already installed them in the bed. I bought 2 plunge switches, one for under the hood and one for the bed. I have the under hood plunge switch mounted. It's just waiting on me to install the lighting.

For the bed, I bought a 18650 parallel battery holder that has a switch built in. (I grab discarded laptop batteries and use the good batteries. You'd be surprised the uses that they have. The way it's going, I'll probably only have to charge the batteries once a year or longer. I'm using 2000mAh batteries. So they're 3.7V nominal at 4000mAh.) Now I want to tap off of the built in switch and install one of the plunge switches in the bed so when the bed is open, the lights come on. I'll be leaving the builtin switch inline for when I need to leave the tailgate open for extended periods. I'm having a hard time figuring out where to install the plunge switch.

Does anyone have any ideas?

One thought that I've had is to install a piece of 90 degree angled metal/plastic to a pre existing bolt hole that the tailgate would hit when it is raised. That's probably what I'll go with. Just looking to see if anyone has a better idea.

I've added a photo to give a better idea of what I'm trying to do.

I have thought about tying into the inverter circuitry among other options but this ain't a bad option either. Especially when I'll only have to charge the batteries rarely.

 

So this is what I ended up doing. I'll end up cutting the bracket down some and painting it black but it works with an ohmmeter.

If anyone else decides to do this mod, watch out for the tonneau cover closing on it. I thought it was perfect as the pictures show but the tonneau cover hit it forcing it not to properly close. I ended up drilling another hole in the bracket and moved it down enough to miss the tonneau cover. Which might force me to make another one. Maybe not. It depends on how loud it beckons me.

Now I've got to wire it so I can turn off the lights even when the tailgate is open. 2 series switches show accomplish that.

Maybe one day I'll get around to finishing all of the projects I've started on this truck.
1. Bed lights - Done.
2. Tailgate/bed lights plunge switch - installed but not yet wired.
3. Hood lights - Plunge switch installed but not yet wired.
4. Hood struts - To be done.
5. Passenger door smart key - Purchased and to be done.
6. Bumper End Cover - Rear ended and looking for parts.
7. Either remote start or Lexus fob. I'm leaning remote start but can't do both.
8. Dash cam and grill cam all tied into the Entune radio so I'd have switchable dash cam, grill cam and backup cam.
9. More to be added I'm sure.

 

I'm thinking of going a different way with the bed lighting. I've come across a strip of 12V LED lights that I'm thinking about using under the hood because they are so much brighter/better looking than the LEDs I intended to use in the bed. The original LED strip is 4.5V, I think.

If I go with the 12V strip, I'd like to tie them into the wiring around the inverter. I'd still be running them through the plunge switch so they'd only be drawing current when activated. Does anyone know if there is an always on 12V wire at the inverter. I'd rather not go punching through wires with my tester if someone can tell me.

Thanks.

 

Here's a warning not to go cheap.

The last 2 weekends, my truck wouldn't start because the battery was dead. Thank goodness for the little car starters that are all the rage these days. The 1st time was a fluke, right? The 2nd time I investigate. It turns out the plastic part of the pin switch I had mounted under my hood to control the LED strip had broken off causing the switch to stay closed all of the time. One pic is the broken switch and the other pic is a good switch. I've ordered some that are metal mostly and especially the part that plunges. Maybe it'll last.

Does anyone have any recommendations for a more heavy duty pin switch? TIA.

 

I would use a courtesy lamp switch same one in the doors but they are not cheap at $17 bucks a pop.

 

Thats what i used. I also bought a factory screw so it looks like the ones on the door. I installed it where the rubber bump stop was located. It pushes in about the same as the bumpstop that it replaced. I had to drill out the hole alittle bigger but it looks factory. I tapped it into the rear door pin switch so when i open the tailgate, the lights in the bed light up. It also triggers the factory security system if it is opened. I did install an inline cut off switch to the plunger switch in case i need to transport cargo with the tailgate down.

 

Thought I was the only one...as it make sense to take advantage of what the factory spent thousands designing... Nice job!

 

I like to make things look like they came on the truck from the factory. Thanks for the compliment!

 

You mean like this ?




With a over ride switch ?




With Blue led under the rails? ( had white,didnt like it)





A bolder for my sons Eagle Scout Project.. !

I have it wired to 12V constantly on so when i open it i have light .

But yes there is a way to do this..

 

The post above yours has the switch and shows the connector piece. Did you buy the male connector to wire/plug in or how did you wire it up with the switch?

 

I actually found a used one on ebay that included the factory connector that the seller cut out from a Toyota vehicle. If i could have found the part number, i would have bought the OEM switch and connector brand new. Looked like new when i bought it.

 

Well that was over 3 years ago , but the pin switch is a ground and i wired the button over ride to only light up when the gate is open and is in over ride mode ( lights off) so i have a fuse and its wired hot to the battery in case it shorts out. but by pushing the button in it opens the circuit for the LED in the bed and turns on the button led thru the pin switch ground. ( I think).. bed time have to get up in 5 hour.

The door pin switch is almost to thick when i looked into it.

 

read above please.

 

I was asking about the hood but I havent even gotten to completing my tailgate wiring yet. I gotta thank you and the previous poster for this great idea. I'll end up getting this switch as I like the factory look as well. I have already ran power to the rear of the truck since there isn't a live 12V back there and have put in an inline cutoff switch already. I mounted a terminal strip behind the right side compartment. I'll wire whatever I need power to from there. I'm trying to wrap my head around how you wired it all up. Would you care to go a little more in depth on how you wired it. It sounds like you're using it as a trigger for your alarm and to turn on your bed lights. A schematic would be great if it's not too much trouble. I'm sure I could figure it out if it's too much trouble. Regardless, thanks for the info.

 

I mounted my cutoff switch inside of the passenger side compartment. I figured it wouldn't get accidentally tripped if it were in there.

 

Did you run the 12V power from the front? I couldn't find an always on 12V anywhere on the rear of the truck. The trailer hitch wiring is even dead without the ignition at least on accessory power.

 

Never seen this before. Where does it go and how would I install it?

 

I used the following link instructions to wire up my bed lights. By doing it this way, it works with the dome lights.

https://www.toyotapartsdeal.com/resources/installation/TPD/my16 tacoma bed light-dio issb.pdf

Then i ran a wire from the new switch to the rear door plunger switch. The switch grounds the wire which in turn, turns on the lights. So basically extended the same functionality of the door switches to the tailgate.

I used my own LED light strips i bought on Amazon. I am just glad they didnt draw too much current since i didnt know what the max load on the factory relay was.

 

Oops! There were so many good answers that I was answering each before I got to your explanation of how you wired it. I'm still gonna have to read it again. Maybe a couple of times. If you could draw up a schematic, I'd be in your debt. I'm getting the lighting. The pin switch is giving that circuit a ground. I'm not getting how the alarm/rear door pin switch ties into it all.

As Forest Gump said, "I'm not a smart man."

 

This is how i wired my rear tailgate plunger and it has worked so far. Not sure how others have done it. I wired the bed lights following the instructions in the link above i posted so it works the same as the interior dome lights.



By doing it this way, it basically works the same as when the rear door is open so if you open the tailgate, it will show the rear door open on the dash info display. Thus if you open the tailgate when the factory security is armed, it will trigger the alarm like if you opened the rear door. I dont take any responsibility if you follow my rudimentary instructions...lol