Adding some Recon LED bed light...where should I get my 12V?
I ran mine directly to battery and to a switch under the dash....if you look under your driver side footwell there is a rubber gromet that comes out easily to give you access thru firewall. I then ran it down under the door sill plate and under the truck (more rubber gromets in floor) and then to the bed to power the lights.
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Joined: Mar 2007
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From: N.E. Ohio
I ran a wire inside the frame rail straight to the battery. Added a door style switch so they come on as soon as the gate is dropped. You could add a switch to that if you wanted to so they're not on during the day but they use such little juice and will last as long as you own your truck, why bother?
BADDRVR helped me do this mod btw
BADDRVR helped me do this mod btw
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Senior Member
Joined: Apr 2007
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From: Minnesota
When the dealer wired up the dome light for my shell, he ran a heavy guage wire (it looked like 12 or 10 guage) from the shell, under the truck, into the engine compartment, and tapped directly to the battery terminal with an inline fuse. Simple and sanitary (I was watching him to make sure he didn't do a Mickey Mouse job). If you go that route, avoid sharp edges and use plenty of zip ties to secure the wire.
If you buy a kit, it should include an old style door jamb type switch switch for the tailgate. If you make your own setup, just get a nongrounding switch like they used to use on door jambs and drill a hole for it where you can get at the backside and the tailgate will press against it when up. Get a SPDT center off toggle switch and drill a mounting hole where you want to mount it (again, make sure you can reach the backside). Wire the 12v hot lead to the center terminal of the toggle switch. Run both wires from the jamb switch to the toggle switch and connect each one to an outside terminal of the toggle switch. Connect the bed lamps to one of the outside terminals of the toggle switch.
When the toggle switch is in the center off position, the lights will be off whether the tail gate is up or down. In one of the on positions, the lights will come on only when the tail gate is down. In the other on position, the lights will come on no matter where the tailgate is.
If you buy a kit, it should include an old style door jamb type switch switch for the tailgate. If you make your own setup, just get a nongrounding switch like they used to use on door jambs and drill a hole for it where you can get at the backside and the tailgate will press against it when up. Get a SPDT center off toggle switch and drill a mounting hole where you want to mount it (again, make sure you can reach the backside). Wire the 12v hot lead to the center terminal of the toggle switch. Run both wires from the jamb switch to the toggle switch and connect each one to an outside terminal of the toggle switch. Connect the bed lamps to one of the outside terminals of the toggle switch.
When the toggle switch is in the center off position, the lights will be off whether the tail gate is up or down. In one of the on positions, the lights will come on only when the tail gate is down. In the other on position, the lights will come on no matter where the tailgate is.
Post up some pics when you get it all mounted
