Tundra camper shell

Would like to order a harness for a used camper shell I just bought. noob with electrical stuff. This is what the shell is already wired for…third brake light and an LED strip (factory from ARE). The T harnesses on your site don’t look like they have 2 way flat connectors for the shell, can you build something for me?

 

Pic…

 

Yeah, I don’t have those but I bet you can find on Amazon or eBay. I can send you a kit with amp pigtails and you can just cut those off if you like but assuming LED strip means dome light then you’d need to identify a source for power which is often either 12v from the battery or cargo light T.

What year tundra?

 

It’s a 2015. You just tell me what to order and I’ll order it! If I need to buy something else to splice into your kit that’s fine.

 

Order up a brake T for your Tundra and tag the order number here along with your desired length. Then make sure you have a set of wire cutters/strippers and a heat gun or hair dryer or lighter to melt heat shrink and connect the two leads. That will cover the third brake light. If you want you can kick me an extra $5 by picking the "with parking light" option to cover the extra length and waterproof connector + pigtail, but I can let that slide too.

For dome, you're in rougher territory. If you have a 7 pin you can do this:
https://www.ezwheeler.com/collectio...-way-interface-harness?variant=32202985144403

But that's a lot of money just for the dome light and not sure if your 7 pin has constant power or ignition switched as I don't own a 2.5 gen Tundra.

Alternatively, @kmorgan3 might know about any VLED products which could grab power off the 7 pin for cheaper, or a Curt gooseneck harness might get it done.

Last, you could run battery power from the engine bay to the rear and potentially use a taillight fuse box with enclosure from @switch:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...ehind-the-taillights-52.782761/#post-27995896

But that requires crimping ring terminals and a bit more effort.

Last, a rock light kit might be an option, not sure if the DSIM one works for Tundras? Then dome off the cargo circuit?

I am not sure if 2.5 gen Tundra has bed lights but I'd guess a 2015 wouldn't as my 2016 Tacoma does not, they added to 3rd gen Tacoma in 2020.

I had an ARE on my '02 Tundra back in the day so I remember those connectors. They are "ok" I guess but given the difficulty finding them I'd cut them off and replace with something better.

 

Thanks! I’ll get the parking light figured out with your harness and worry about the dome later.

Order number 1452578954

I don’t know about desired length…give me what tundra guys order!

 

Default length is 12” so if you just want that and marry up your own disconnect with pigtails and splicing wire, you’re set.

if you want me to do a disconnect for you that you can feed through and get going, I’ll need a length.

 

12” sounds good!

 

Brake light works, very simple. Do I need to do anything with this ground wire?

 

You can ground to the frame but some prefer to leverage the Oem harness for ground. Your call.

 

Got it. Thanks. My third brake light is working if my headlights are not on. If headlights are turned on, third brake like doesn’t work.

I assumed this second 2 way flat connector that was on my camper shell was what the original owner used to power the dome lights….but do you think I need to wire a second 2 way into that empty one, and attach to the 2 way I already connected to your harness? To have the third brake light work when my headlights are on?

 

I assume power and ground for each of those. Power being the exposed side (protected from the source side) and ground the other side (bare on the source.)

I assumed you would split the ground and do one brake and one parking light.

I would test with a 9V battery to confirm and understand what each of those 2 do.

 

That doesn’t make much sense to me, I am totally new to all this.

all I know is with the 2 way I connected to the FSB harness, 3rd brake light works with no headlights only.

I unplugged the FSB 2 way from the first 2way on the camper shell and plugged FSB 2 way into the second 2 way on camper shell and third brake light didn’t work with or without headlights.

 

I would recommend finding someone to help you troubleshoot or use a 9V or 12v battery. I’m not able to do this for you, sorry. 12v led lights are pretty straightforward, apply voltage, observe. You have 4 wires, they likely are power and ground for two different lights.

 

Got it. Thanks, I’ll see what I can do. I’m not concerned about the dome light, just trying to get the third brake light to work while my headlights are on!

 

If you did what I think you did, you connected brake to positive and parking lights to negative.

as I mentioned, use a battery to confirm function. That tells you which is power and which is ground and what that feeds.

if your parking light is connected to the ground input of the brake light it would explain the behavior you observe.

but this does not require much of any experience. It’s just basic critical thinking and problem solving. Basic troubleshooting. If you can’t do that you should find someone else to help you.

instead of connecting and trying, analyze, observe, confirm and then connect.

use a piece of wood to depress the brake pedal.

 

This is what I did. I believe I connected the red wire from my 2 way to the whichever wire said + and the white wire from 2 way to whatever said -. If that’s the case, is that incorrect?

 

Please follow my prior instructions. And use your brain to test and observe.