Hey everybody, I've been lurking on these boards for a while now, and just wanted to say thanks for all the great information! Just this week I bought a "new-to-me", 2003 Screw and I'm already thinking of mods. The most adventurous I've ever gotten with my vehicles in the past has been installing new face units, (not the speakers, just the radio!) Anyway, I'm trying to think of a way to install a couple of bulbs in the toolbox that came with the truck. I was thinking of puting them up under the lip on each end of the box- that way they'd be out of the way, but still high enough to light up whatever is in the box.
If it's possible I would like the lights to come on automatically when the box is opened, but if not - a switch in the box would be preferred over one in the cab. Any ideas out there? I am a complete novice when it comes to auto wiring, so if it can be done let me know and I'll ask my questions from there!
Thanks for your time, and all the great advice!

 

There are a few ways you could do this.

The easiest would be to purchase a battery operated light and use double sided tape and just stick it on the inside. They can be purcahsed at most auto parts stores and are self contained and have a built in switch. Of course they probably are not very bright and you have to worry about turning them off and replacing the batteries.

Second would be to wire in some lights yourself. I'm pretty sure that in the towing harness (assuming you have one) there is a wire that is hot all the time. You would need a multimeter or a test light to find out or I could check to see what color it is if your interested. I have a stepside and I can look under the truck up the side of the bed and see light coming in from under the bed rail. I would then run the wire under the bed rail to the front of the bed. You might be able to find a way to have the wire go into the tool box without pinching the wire but you will probably have to drill a hole somewhere. You could probably leave the hole open but if your worried about water getting in they make little rubber grommets that pop into a hole and help seal it. Or you could just put a dab of caulk or some kind of glue around it. Then you would just need to wire up the lights. You could just put a switch in line before the lights to turn them on and off or you could get a normally on / momentary off push button switch and place it so that when the lid is shut it will push the switch in and turn the lights off (although you'll probably have to play around with the location to get it just right and it might be hard to tell since you probably cant see the light coming out...) If the toolbox is bolted to the bed you should be able to pull ground from the toolbox. Also, if the lights are fairly small I think I would use some 3M double sided tape to hold them in place so you dont have to screw to the toolbox...the stuff is stronger than you would think. Anyways it should be fairly easy, the best way is to just get the stuff and start doing it...you'll learn along the way and if you run into any problems you can always ask here. It would probably be a good idea to put a fuse in the wire running from the trailer hitch to the toolbox but this would just complicate things and the trailer hitch is already fused so its not a must. Anyways...thats my long drawn out, non-organized responce. Good luck!

 

Wow! thanks florida-150, that just about covers it I guess. That's my project for the weekend. I think you're right about just getting in there and playing around until you get it- that's one of the best ways to learn. thanks again!

 

I would tap into map light circuit,then if the light doesn't get shut off the battery saver relay would shut it down(no dead battery)For your switch, I would use a mercury switch(under hood light). It would turn on and off just like opening the hood.The map, glove box, sunvisor lights is circuit 705 lightgreen/orange wire and can be found in connector 211 behind right side kick panel.This circuit is has a 15 amp fuse

 

Good Idea about the map light circuit. I just figured it would be easier to not have to go through the cab to get the wire.

However, I'm not to sure about the mercury switch. It seems like parking on a slope or driving around with the bumps and turns might slosh the mercury around enough to turn the light on and off which would probably cut down on the life of the bulb. Just a thought...