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LED lights under truck

Discussion in 'Lighting' started by STEVESTRUCK, Mar 10, 2013.

  1. Mar 10, 2013 at 9:43 AM
    #1
    STEVESTRUCK

    STEVESTRUCK [OP] Member

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    I bought some waterproof led lights I would like to put under my truck on both sides to come on when my dome light comes on, such as when I start it, or when I exit the truck, to light up the step rails. Can anyone tell me the best place to connect them?
     
  2. Mar 10, 2013 at 11:09 AM
    #2
    acdronin

    acdronin Well-Known Member

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    Interesting idea, haven't seen this before so i went out to the truck and checked it out. Ok, first thing to do is to see what the amperage of those LEDs are in total, this will determine if you can do this. I have an 07 but this stuff should be the same. One the packaging there should be a spec saying what the amp draw is, 3-4 amps, whatever it is. If there is no amp spec but there is a wattage spec you can use that, if it's say 25 watts total then divide by 12 volts of your system and that gives you the amps (25 divided by 12 = 2.08 amps).
    This next part I'm not totally sure on so you'll have to play it by ear unless someone else here knows this number.
    You'll have to figure out the wattage of the dome light, I found replacement bulbs online that say 5 watts which comes out to .41 amps.
    Next, I don't believe there is anything else and no other lights on that circuit if there is you will have to figure out what their amp draw is too.
    So lets say your lights draw 3 amps and your dome light bulb draws .41 amps, so that's 3.41 amps total.
    next, pop the hood and pull the cover off the fuse block which is the black box thingy right behind your battery : [​IMG] On the block in the lower left and corner you will see these fuses, if you look on the inside of the cover there is a diagram which tells you which one is the Dome light, in my case it's the brown middle fuse with the 7.5 upside down, that's yer dome light fuse.
    next get something like this , it's called an add-a-circuit or fuse tap :
    https://www.amazon.com/Bussmann-BP-HHH-ATM-Add-A-Fuse/dp/B000GKEXK2
    Look at the pics and you see where the tap fits into the slot on your block and it has a wire coming off of it for a new circuit. Disconnect your battery before you start any electrical work on your truck! You install your old 7.5 fuse into it and wire the hot lead to your rock lights.
    I would do this part before I put the lights on the truck to make sure it's going to work first. If you did your math right hopefully there is enough extra amperage capacity on that circuit to run the rock lights.
    If not, you may be able to do the same thing on one of the ignition circuits but I'm not sure which one would work. NEVER put a higher amp fuse into a block, you're begging for an electrical fire.
    There is not a whole lotta space on that part of the fuse block so you'll have to figure out which design will work for you and you'll have to cut a teeny tiny slot in the plastic edge of the block to get the wire out with out the cover pinching it.
    Other than that, hang the lights, use lots of zip ties for the wires underneath, keep the wires away from hot pipes are engine components and it should work fine.
    Good Luck
     
    snakeeyezinc likes this.
  3. Mar 10, 2013 at 11:22 AM
    #3
    STEVESTRUCK

    STEVESTRUCK [OP] Member

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    Thanks for the info. I have already changed the dome light to an LED bulb, and with the LED flexible strip, I should be okay on the amp draw. The main thing I'm trying to do is tie it in so it is switched with the dome light.
     
  4. Mar 10, 2013 at 11:24 AM
    #4
    acdronin

    acdronin Well-Known Member

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    I forgot to mention that, yeah that's a great way to get some more capacity
     
  5. Mar 10, 2013 at 11:26 AM
    #5
    STEVESTRUCK

    STEVESTRUCK [OP] Member

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    I saw this once on a Tundra, and it looked great at night. Whenever the truck cranked, doors unlocked, or doors opened and the dome light lit, the LED's under the truck lit up and lit up the nerf bars. When you closed the door and the dome light went off, so did the LED's.
     
  6. Mar 10, 2013 at 11:28 AM
    #6
    acdronin

    acdronin Well-Known Member

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    Post some pics when you finish:)
     
  7. Mar 10, 2013 at 11:29 AM
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    STEVESTRUCK

    STEVESTRUCK [OP] Member

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    I'm just trying to figure out where to connect them to achieve this without adding a switch. The guy with the Tundra said he connected his to the dome light connector, wherever that is.....
     
  8. Mar 10, 2013 at 11:30 AM
    #8
    STEVESTRUCK

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    I will, if I can figure where to connect it up.
     
  9. Mar 10, 2013 at 11:31 AM
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    acdronin

    acdronin Well-Known Member

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    I gotta think that's in the cab somewhere probably behind the dash
     
  10. Mar 10, 2013 at 11:32 AM
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    mynewtoy

    mynewtoy I like men

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  11. Mar 10, 2013 at 11:32 AM
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    acdronin

    acdronin Well-Known Member

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    Since you need to get power to it and you're not putting a switch in the cab, off the fuse block makes the most sense to me
     
  12. Mar 10, 2013 at 11:46 AM
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    AnTiFuBaR

    AnTiFuBaR Well-Known Member

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  13. Mar 10, 2013 at 11:53 AM
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    STEVESTRUCK

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    Thanks, mynewtoy. I checked it out and it helped some. The only thing I'll have to figure out is WHICH blue wire to tap into
     
  14. Mar 10, 2013 at 12:04 PM
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    snoope

    snoope Well-Known Member

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    Sub'd for this ...hopefully you find an EASY way to get them powered up...;)

    My question is ,are these LED's from Fulkerson Fabrication ??? 4WD Toyota Owner Mag installed a few of these on their '96 Tacoma and really praised them up....

    Always looking for another "view" point on "New products" :cool:
     
  15. Mar 10, 2013 at 12:07 PM
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    noSKills858

    noSKills858 battlescars

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    Just splice them into the dome light wire and add a higher amp fuse to the box.

    Don't make it anymore difficult then it should be.
     
    Last edited: Mar 10, 2013
  16. Mar 10, 2013 at 1:27 PM
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    STEVESTRUCK

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    I don't have a black connector. All of mine are white. I found the connector that controls the dome light, but none of the blue wires seem to be the one for the dome light. I can take a meter and check voltage on the wires, but the voltage stays, even when I close the door and the light fades off.
     
  17. Mar 10, 2013 at 7:43 PM
    #17
    untuckedtaco

    untuckedtaco Well-Known Member

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    once tapped into the dome light, can a circuit be added to come on with the reverse lights as well?
     
  18. Mar 10, 2013 at 7:46 PM
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    noSKills858

    noSKills858 battlescars

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    Yuup I quoted myself because my exterior and interior lights are connected on the same circuit as my dome light. AND since my dome light was originally a halogen, I had swapped to LED which pulls much less amperage then a halogen where I kept the same amp fuse because I know it is more then enough to handle it.

    Just remember to disconnect the positive battery terminal when working on it so you don't blow the fuses.
     
    Last edited: Mar 10, 2013
  19. Mar 11, 2013 at 2:38 PM
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    STEVESTRUCK

    STEVESTRUCK [OP] Member

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    Thanks for the info. For snoope, no, they came from E-bay. They are 5050 SMD LED Waterproof self-adhesive flexible strips...12V 300 LED's 5 Meter roll (about 16 Ft.)
     
  20. Mar 11, 2013 at 10:28 PM
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    Kulahaga

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    Hey Steve,

    The info provided in both the responses from "mynewtoy" and "caribe makaira" are accurate with regard to the "blue" dome light fading "ground" wire.

    Keep in mind that the "blue" wire is actually a GROUND circuit when activated by the dimming feature (it is not a + 12 Volt DC circuit). You won't read a voltage on it when the door is opened. Rather, connect an "ohm" meter (not a volt meter) with one lead to the blue wire and the other lead to ground. You will see no resistance reading to ground until you open the door (releasing the door open sensor switch). Conversely, you will see the resistance reading (ohms) fade and disappear as you close the door (depressing the door open sensor switch).

    You may use an "add-a-circuit" with only a 5 Amp fuse. That will be more than adequate for a 5 meter strip of 5050 LEDs, since they draw =< than 500 MA per meter (2.5 amps for the entire 5 meters). Keep in mind that when you utilize an add-a-circuit it becomes a separate, independent circuit from the existing fuse slot that you plug it into with its own separate fuse. EDIT: Most of the under-dash fuses have no power (+ 12 VDC voltage) flowing to them unless the ignition key is in the accessory or on position. If you want your LEDs to go on when opening the door, you must find a fuse that has power to it when the ignition key is off. The only one I could find in the under-dash fuse box is the "Power Door Lock" fuse. As an alternative, you can run a power wire (+ 12 VDC) by placing an add-a-circuit fuse to the Dome Light fuse in the under-hood fuse box and run that wire to feed the positive side of your LEDs.

    I added a 5 meter strip of 5050 LEDs to the cargo bed of my 2010 regular cab using this method. They go on with the dome light when the door is opened and fade out when the door is closed. I not only have my cargo bed LEDs, but also another 1 meter strip of LEDs for my under the hood lighting and a replacement LED in the dome light as well as footwell LEDs, all on the same circuit and everything works just fine (total amperage drawn is less than 4 amps).

    I prefer this method of utilizing the dome light ground specifically (instead of an isolated circuit and switch) so that the cargo lights would not be left on accidentally resulting in a dead battery, since I have a tonneau cover that would hide the lighting being on when the tonneau is closed or during daylight hours. Even if I were to forget to close the door, the lights shut off automatically after about 25 minutes.

    Also, keep in mind that the dome light itself has an independent switch to turn it on separately that uses a different ground wire. So, if you turn on the dome light manually or turn it off using the dome light switch, it will have no affect upon the LED strip. The LED strip will only light up and fade out when you open and close the doors.

    I hope this clarifies things for you. Let us know how your mod works out!
     
    Last edited: Sep 15, 2013

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