Man i just decided to add step bars and lights thanks i watched other videos and yours was awesome i watched 3x ur wiring diagram helped me thanks thanks going to wire them now awesome
There should be a switch somewhere on your door pillar that controls the dome light. It should be a negative switch that works by creating a ground when you open your door. Use that switch and run positive from the battery so when you open your door they will turn on and you can put a switch in line with the negative wire to turn them on when the door is shut.
Hello, thanks for commenting. You are correct. I forget the exact reason why I went the route I did. I believe it was because the switch in the pillar was specific to each door. So if you wanted the LED's to come on with any door that is opened then you would have to wire them to each switch. Also the location of the wire I located for the dome light was closer to the firewall and I didn't have to run a wire that far. Another reason I preferred the dome light route is I wanted the LED's to be on when I was approaching the vehicle. So as soon as I unlocked the truck the LED's came on and stayed on once I got into the vehicle. If the LED's were on the pillar switch then they would only come on for the short time the door is open while you're getting in. Please correct me if I'm wrong about any of this. This is just what I believe I thought when I did this in the past. It was a while ago and I don't remember exactly. I really appreciate the comment! -Ryan
Greg Wallace exactly the info I was looking for. So that trigger switch is simply ground? I have been running the power wire of my aftermarket side mirror puddle lights to that door trigger. What does the red with a black line wire on the door trigger mean? Ground or power and ground in one? It seemed confusing.
Great explanation man. Thank you ! I'm trying to do this to my 2011 Rav4 sport. I see the interior fuse box but can't seem to find the lights connector. Any idea as to how I can find the "blue wire" to tap into?
Hello, it has been a long time since I have done this and don’t recall exactly how I found the wire. I believe I got lucky in finding the wire. What I would do now is take a multi meter or test light and probe each wire until I find 12v then once I find a wire that has 12v I’d close the door and see if that 12v turns off. You may also want to pull the dome light out and see what color the wire is so you can have a better chance of finding that wire. Hope this helps and let me know how the install goes, would love to see a clip of the final product!
Yes, it is activated by the dome light. So whenever your dome light turns on it turns on. I don’t remember exactly because it’s been so long ago and I don’t have the truck anymore. But I believe the dome light turns on when you unlock it so the leds would turn on when you walk up to the truck when unlocking it. Hope this helps. -Ryan
The dome light wire you are tying into is controlled by PWM. It'll cause your relay to "chatter" and either kill your relay or make it work intermittently and drive you nuts trying to figure out why your lights aren't working right. You need to use a solid state relay. And you gotta buy the right type. Tying any lights directly to the dome lights without a relay is never a good idea, unless you know exactly what you're doing. Meaning you know how much power your lights draw, what size wire to use, what size fuse to use to protect the circuit, how to wire it up, and you bought quality lights, not some ebay cheapies that can draw boat loads of power than what's on the box.
Nice video! I know you recently bought a new truck, but is there anyway you can do a more in-depth howto video or step-by-step for slow people... I have no experience with wiring. Thanks!
Nice video. Exactly what i was looking for... Doing underbody first and then may do the led footwell... If you're concerned about overloading the circuit you could put in an inline fuse just before the fuse box. I was wondering, if you turn your dome light off so it doesn't come on at all, do your led lights still work? Looking at your diagram, it should work... And how did you get it to stay on with the switch, is the switch providing another path to ground? Thanks.
Michael Chong If you turn of the dome light the LEDs will still come on. With it wired this way your LEDs and dome light are completely separate and don’t mess with each other. In one vehicle I did, I put a switch in the LED circuit so you can turn that circuit off as well. Thanks for commenting! Hope your install goes well! -Ryan
Man i just decided to add step bars and lights thanks i watched other videos and yours was awesome i watched 3x ur wiring diagram helped me thanks thanks going to wire them now awesome
There should be a switch somewhere on your door pillar that controls the dome light. It should be a negative switch that works by creating a ground when you open your door. Use that switch and run positive from the battery so when you open your door they will turn on and you can put a switch in line with the negative wire to turn them on when the door is shut.
Hello, thanks for commenting. You are correct. I forget the exact reason why I went the route I did. I believe it was because the switch in the pillar was specific to each door. So if you wanted the LED's to come on with any door that is opened then you would have to wire them to each switch. Also the location of the wire I located for the dome light was closer to the firewall and I didn't have to run a wire that far. Another reason I preferred the dome light route is I wanted the LED's to be on when I was approaching the vehicle. So as soon as I unlocked the truck the LED's came on and stayed on once I got into the vehicle. If the LED's were on the pillar switch then they would only come on for the short time the door is open while you're getting in. Please correct me if I'm wrong about any of this. This is just what I believe I thought when I did this in the past. It was a while ago and I don't remember exactly. I really appreciate the comment!
-Ryan
Greg Wallace exactly the info I was looking for. So that trigger switch is simply ground? I have been running the power wire of my aftermarket side mirror puddle lights to that door trigger. What does the red with a black line wire on the door trigger mean? Ground or power and ground in one? It seemed confusing.
Great explanation man. Thank you ! I'm trying to do this to my 2011 Rav4 sport. I see the interior fuse box but can't seem to find the lights connector. Any idea as to how I can find the "blue wire" to tap into?
Hello, it has been a long time since I have done this and don’t recall exactly how I found the wire. I believe I got lucky in finding the wire. What I would do now is take a multi meter or test light and probe each wire until I find 12v then once I find a wire that has 12v I’d close the door and see if that 12v turns off. You may also want to pull the dome light out and see what color the wire is so you can have a better chance of finding that wire. Hope this helps and let me know how the install goes, would love to see a clip of the final product!
Is this working from all the doors
Yes, it is activated by the dome light. So whenever your dome light turns on it turns on. I don’t remember exactly because it’s been so long ago and I don’t have the truck anymore. But I believe the dome light turns on when you unlock it so the leds would turn on when you walk up to the truck when unlocking it. Hope this helps.
-Ryan
The dome light wire you are tying into is controlled by PWM. It'll cause your relay to "chatter" and either kill your relay or make it work intermittently and drive you nuts trying to figure out why your lights aren't working right. You need to use a solid state relay. And you gotta buy the right type. Tying any lights directly to the dome lights without a relay is never a good idea, unless you know exactly what you're doing. Meaning you know how much power your lights draw, what size wire to use, what size fuse to use to protect the circuit, how to wire it up, and you bought quality lights, not some ebay cheapies that can draw boat loads of power than what's on the box.
How would you wire a SSR in this setup?
Nice video! I know you recently bought a new truck, but is there anyway you can do a more in-depth howto video or step-by-step for slow people... I have no experience with wiring. Thanks!
www.tacomaworld.com/threads/how-to-bed-lights-go-on-with-dome-light.198239/
Nice video. Exactly what i was looking for... Doing underbody first and then may do the led footwell... If you're concerned about overloading the circuit you could put in an inline fuse just before the fuse box. I was wondering, if you turn your dome light off so it doesn't come on at all, do your led lights still work? Looking at your diagram, it should work... And how did you get it to stay on with the switch, is the switch providing another path to ground? Thanks.
Michael Chong
If you turn of the dome light the LEDs will still come on. With it wired this way your LEDs and dome light are completely separate and don’t mess with each other. In one vehicle I did, I put a switch in the LED circuit so you can turn that circuit off as well. Thanks for commenting! Hope your install goes well!
-Ryan
hey thanks for the video I think I'm going to go without the relay just because I hate having wires running everywhere
Jake Kern Good luck with the install man! If you have any other questions or run into a problem, message me and I'll do my best to help!
-Ryan
Ight bud thanks