120v truck bed power outlet problem

Hi guys,

New Taco owner here and stoked to be here. I've been reading up on all the great info on the site. Can't wait to make some mods and post some Pics!

So, last night the kids and I installed 2 chained strands of LED Christmas lights onto the frame of our Softopper top using the 120v outlet in the bed to power the lights. The lights were on the entire time we installed them and we went for a short drive around the neighborhood afterwards to show it off a bit (I think it's pretty cool and I'm not even a 10yr old boy).

The problem is this... Today the lights will power on when in park or neutral but as soon as I put the truck into reverse (or drive) the lights turn off and will not turn back on until the truck is put back in park or neutral. The way I have calculated it the lights should only be drawing just over 80 watts. Any thoughts on why this is happening.

Thanks!
Chris

 

Is there a chance that your lights are drawing more wattage than you think? The bed outlet is supposed to be able to supply 100 watts when driving and 400 when idling. Try using just 1 string of lights and see if that solves the problem. If you dont have the problem when using just 1 string, then you will know that the outlet is working fine and there is just too much draw from the 2 strings. You could try LED Christmas lights too since those draw alot less power.

 

Thanks for the quick reply Triff!

I did what you suggested and it worked. I put the truck back into park and re-connected the second strand since it had worked last night and it worked too. I turned the power switch off then tried to turn it back on and it DID NOT work. I repeated the process again and was able to get both strands to work again. I'm guessing that something is tripping when I turn the switch off and try to turn it BACK on and not allowing full power (I'm no electrician). It's frustrating but I can probably get by with it like this though it would be nice to be able to turn them on and off freely. I'll confirm the type of light but I think they are LEDs. I did confirm the two strands should only be drawing 80.8 watts (possibly more at power up?).

Thanks again!

 

No problem, happy to help. Its strange that the problem seems to be intermittent. Is there a chance that there is a problem with the lights themselves? Usually strings of lights can be a PITA if just one bulb is loose

 

Ha! Yep. Think it's just PITA lights. Still messing with it and I can get it to work (2 strands) while in drive but not ideal. Pretty finicky and my wife drives it more than me and I don't want her to have to deal with it. I'll probably try to find some lights that draw even less power.

Thanks!

 

No problem man, welcome to TW!

 

If you are still having the problem try battery operated led lights, I don't have the outlet in mine so that is my best option. 2 strands wrap around the entire bed. There are several options for lights and inexpensive (Walmart $6-8), and they are very bright.

 

Plug something else into it that's not lights sounds like a safety feature to kill power when not drive or reverse. Can try on my truck tomorrow to see

 

Try batt operated lights. $5-$6 walmart. I don't have the power outlet so that is my best option, 2 strands wrap around entire bed, install either with hooks with sticky pads, or zip tie to rail inside bed.