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bed lights

Discussion in 'Lighting' started by 2006KJ, Oct 13, 2012.

  1. Oct 13, 2012 at 4:40 PM
    #1
    2006KJ

    2006KJ [OP] Well-Known Member

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    UPDATE ON PAGE 2. USED RIGID LED BARS NOT FLEXIBLE STRIP. FLEXIBLE STRIP FAILED AND SAGGED IN HEAT



    I saw on here somewhere that a member used a waterproof flexible strip of 300 LED's (16 feet) and put them under the tie down rails on his tacoma... soo i found the same or similar ones on Ebay and started the project. they were $12.50 shipped. (thanks the heads up member... if i remembered your name i'd give you credit!) Edit - it was RAPR i stole the idea from.. thanks!

    THESE.
    http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Cool-Wh...136994?pt=US_Car_Lighting&hash=item2a20a25922


    i then bought 20 feet of velcro from walmart and trimmed it to fit on the lights and rails.. that way if the LED's fail i can just replace them with another $12.50 strip.

    I ran the power from the positive side of the battery with a 10amp fuse inline.. and the negative i grounded to the frame just inboard of the drivers side rear wheel on the frame (grounded the switch and lights there). Everything else is self explanatory. Wired them to a waterproof off/on switch with LED indicator. Where the lights bend around the front corners i put black wire loom around so it didnt look sloppy. Ran the wires from the LED's from the drivers side over the plastic push in..and into the tail light area.. (you can seeit a real little bit over the moose bottle opener. Before putting velcro on the bed rails make sure they are good and clean. i used 3M wax/grease/adhesive remover to clean them good. Also the LED's are cutable (the tail end).. i probably cut about 2 feet so there would be plenty to do a long bed.

    used this switch (bought 2 incase one was bad)
    http://www.ebay.com/itm/170712257652?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

    Lights = $12.50
    Wire = $5.00
    Switch = $2.50
    Inline Fuse holder/fuse/random connectors = $5.00
    Velcro = $15

    Sooo great bed light set up for $40.00 not bad at all.

    no lights
    photo1_524eb05ca978c4d6668d90aa336bfae276d19695.jpg
    lights
    photo2_81c4f0d8a28772a452a5911dc367100346731ce3.jpg
    switch
    photo3_5ef33eaf0a7848e083cecfab11b7f8c99e13cc7d.jpg
    photo4_7b786743a66acf50f00cc0d46397a65970a429a1.jpg
    photo5_38dd740ab3d4add10f0e80358c4921e8d4c4b113.jpg
    photo6_88354057b72945878805d517f37b61f91a22ac9d.jpg
    photo7_62f1bd5d55cb6f80358ea90da851b67219b58572.jpg
     
    Last edited: Jul 20, 2013
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    #1
  2. Oct 13, 2012 at 4:44 PM
    #2
    Beefed Taco

    Beefed Taco Taco Vending Machine

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    Sweet! Night and day difference (pun intended) Good writeup too. Smiley gives 1 thumb up .:thumbsup:
     
  3. Oct 13, 2012 at 4:53 PM
    #3
    Trifenix

    Trifenix Well-Known Member

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    Nice! Is the switch waterproof?
     
  4. Oct 13, 2012 at 4:54 PM
    #4
    Drunknsloth

    Drunknsloth Indffrnce will be the fall of manknd but who cares

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    Blacked-Out Badges; Retribution Decals (Sockmonkey); Tailgate Mod; Red LED Rear Blinkers; Yellow Foglights; Yellow Front Blinkers; Superwhite Xenon Corner Bulb; Leer Bedcap; Bedrug Bedmat; Black Cupholders; Black Plastic Piece Around Window Controls; Plasti-Dip Front Bumper Valence; Plasti-Dip Grill Surround; Blackout Chrome Back Bumper; Metal Miller Skid-Plate; Aero Turbine 2525 Muffler; TSB Rear Leaf Springs and Shocks; Satoshi Grill Pending; Off-Roading Torn off Mirror (Replaced); Blue-Sea Fuse Box; Tinted Tail Lights; URD Short Shifter; Interior Mood Lighting; Hood Lights; BedLights Pending
    Not bad :D next time go with 5050 LEDs though. They make a huge difference from 3528s
     
  5. Oct 13, 2012 at 4:55 PM
    #5
    Drunknsloth

    Drunknsloth Indffrnce will be the fall of manknd but who cares

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    Looks like a normal autozone switch to me, not waterproof.
     
  6. Oct 13, 2012 at 5:00 PM
    #6
    2006KJ

    2006KJ [OP] Well-Known Member

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    #6
  7. Oct 14, 2012 at 9:55 PM
    #7
    Drunknsloth

    Drunknsloth Indffrnce will be the fall of manknd but who cares

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    I'm going to be honest will you. Just looking at the pictures on the ebay site there is no way that the switch pictured is truly waterproof. There are no seals on it from what I can see and there are too many places for water to leak in. That being said, it should last you a while though as long as you don't submerge it. From what I can tell, it is not a heavy duty switch, so if it does go out on you, I would upgrade.
     
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    #7
  8. Oct 15, 2012 at 6:28 AM
    #8
    2006KJ

    2006KJ [OP] Well-Known Member

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    If this switch fails ill probably throw in the 2nd switch I got in the two pack. Until it fails then upgrade. The most wet it'll be is if I hose out the bed at any time
     
  9. Oct 15, 2012 at 2:08 PM
    #9
    Drunknsloth

    Drunknsloth Indffrnce will be the fall of manknd but who cares

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    Blacked-Out Badges; Retribution Decals (Sockmonkey); Tailgate Mod; Red LED Rear Blinkers; Yellow Foglights; Yellow Front Blinkers; Superwhite Xenon Corner Bulb; Leer Bedcap; Bedrug Bedmat; Black Cupholders; Black Plastic Piece Around Window Controls; Plasti-Dip Front Bumper Valence; Plasti-Dip Grill Surround; Blackout Chrome Back Bumper; Metal Miller Skid-Plate; Aero Turbine 2525 Muffler; TSB Rear Leaf Springs and Shocks; Satoshi Grill Pending; Off-Roading Torn off Mirror (Replaced); Blue-Sea Fuse Box; Tinted Tail Lights; URD Short Shifter; Interior Mood Lighting; Hood Lights; BedLights Pending
    If you wanted to be safe, I would disconnect it from the battery, when you hose it down. That will give it less chance of failure.
     
  10. Oct 15, 2012 at 8:31 PM
    #10
    2006KJ

    2006KJ [OP] Well-Known Member

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    Another good suggestion! If I hose it down ill just pull the fuse. Thanks again haha
     
  11. Oct 25, 2012 at 5:24 PM
    #11
    krause

    krause Member

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    That's awesome! A great idea I might one day steal!
     
  12. Oct 25, 2012 at 5:31 PM
    #12
    skidooman

    skidooman I'm your huckleberry

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    I still need to do this. The "light"in my camper shell is better than nothing, but still pretty lame.
    Well done OP.
     
  13. Nov 19, 2012 at 9:42 AM
    #13
    mattgecko

    mattgecko The LED Lighting Guy. MattGeckoLEDs.com

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    Spent the weekend making the hood and bed lights.

    I used black flexible PCB 5050 LED's with adhesive backing, bought from Ebay.

    Soldered (3) 3' sections of LED lights.
    [​IMG]


    [​IMG]


    The Switch is out of sight and harms way. I am going to add a black rubber cap to make it stealth.
    [​IMG]



    Hood LED lights.
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]


    The switch for the lights is attached to the new fuse box.
    [​IMG]
     
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    #13
    ready6delta likes this.
  14. Nov 19, 2012 at 1:39 PM
    #14
    2006KJ

    2006KJ [OP] Well-Known Member

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    looks great mattgecko! do you have an up close pictures of how you soldered the LED strips together? were they one long strip that you cut into 3 sections then soldered together or did they come in those short strips? i like the black instead of the clear i used. Also your supercharger makes me very jealous.. it's sweet.

    you should consider using a hood pin switch for your hood lights. they come in different sizes but this is what they look like
    http://www.parts-express.com/pe/sho...edium=cpc&utm_campaign=pla&utm_term={keyword}




    since i've done mine i put on a bestop soft topper... looks pretty cool with the LED's :)
    night_40513ac90065e18adc8b4a3675f8414b0bd1ac9c.jpg
    night2_730617b68ff1210c2e24b400208788d1d6f2912c.jpg


    wish i would've known what i do now from forum member suggestions.. i would've used 5050's
     
  15. Nov 19, 2012 at 1:59 PM
    #15
    mattgecko

    mattgecko The LED Lighting Guy. MattGeckoLEDs.com

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    Your lights look good and love the soft top. I will definitely pick up one of the hood pin switches. Thanks

    Yes I bought (2) 15' rolls from Ebay for $19ea from China. Every 3rd LED there is a spot you can cut, I used a utility knife to cut the waterproofing off and expose the (4) copper tabs. solder one wire to the hot, the other wire to the (3) remaining tabs, then covered the connection with epoxy and shrink tubing. Came out great!

    I had a 3 led strip left over I installed on the front of my RC10 buggy, I'll post a pic of the connections.
     
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  16. Nov 19, 2012 at 5:35 PM
    #16
    2006KJ

    2006KJ [OP] Well-Known Member

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    great! looking forward to the pics. I trimmed about 2 feet off the end of my LED strip (got one of the 15 foot rolls). Didnt think about trimming with razor and soldering. After building an RC rock crawler i think i can solder anything :cool:
     
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  17. Nov 19, 2012 at 5:36 PM
    #17
    mattgecko

    mattgecko The LED Lighting Guy. MattGeckoLEDs.com

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    Lights on the crawler will look sweet!

    Close up pic.
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  18. Nov 20, 2012 at 5:31 PM
    #18
    2006KJ

    2006KJ [OP] Well-Known Member

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    nice! wonder if i can find somewhere to put a few LED's for rock lights on my crawler

    photo212_352c73f326782f89acdabaf5365c74eee2524814.jpg
    photo23_250538b8ed88443b4ac5af46cb15b9827c72c9d0.jpg
    0922122359_c2f557c27b1774022c24d0c7aa4ae34ab3d1e2d3.jpg
    0922122359c_4156c72ac67f327dce1d8515d5459855b356c238.jpg

    think i can put them on the the bottom of the rear chassis brace.. but not sure about the front. maybe under the front hood skin
     
  19. Nov 20, 2012 at 6:29 PM
    #19
    mattgecko

    mattgecko The LED Lighting Guy. MattGeckoLEDs.com

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    Nice crawler, now if only there was a 2 gen body.
     
  20. Jan 26, 2013 at 4:19 PM
    #20
    YogiBear

    YogiBear Member

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    Blacked out decals and front grill with plasti dip. New halo headlights. Folding bed cover.
    I have a stupid question. I have researched and can't find my answer. I know nothing about hooking up anything electrical and I'm about to hook up LEDs to light up my bed.

    The switch has three connectors coming out the back.
    1 connector goes to power source (fuse box).
    1 connector is grounded into the truck frame.
    1 connector is hooked up to my LEDs.

    If this is correct, how do I connect the wire from my switch going to the LEDs, to the positive and negative wires coming out of the LEDs?

    If this is totally wrong please steer me in the right direction.
     

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