LED under bedrail lighting

dsberman94 · Jan 22, 2014

i received the lights this week. i actually forgot that they had nice 3m tape on the back so as long as im not heating them up like i did when they were attached to the sub it should hold. as long as i clean the bed rail before i put them on. is there a way that i could hook them up so i can turn them on on a toggle if i want to leave the tailgate up but still have them work with the switch without messing with the toggle? how would i do that?

also i have some fuse taps from things the PO did. im trying to decide if i want to use one of those so that it isn't direct wired into the battery. will it matter? anyone happen to know if there are any just straight power fuse spots that don't involve key cycling? maybe im just making this more complicated than it needs to be by using these.

also where should i ground the lights to? use frame ground or what? trying to learn a little bit about wiring while doing this small project. ill probably have some stupid questions and ideas so feel free to shoot them down if they are too stupid. thanks.

FrankTheTank · Jan 22, 2014

Take the ground off a known good spot. Grind a spot of the frame. Or run the ground all the way up to the cab and place on a ground termination point. No need to go back to the battery.

My drawling is crude but u should be able to follow it. Each led I drew resembles a strip that you bought and not an individual led

I'd grab power off a keys source so u can't accidentally drain the battery but all up to you. Although u could add a timing relay in the mix so if u accident leave the SW on or the tailgate down it times out and shuts the power off to the lights after let's say 60 min.

dsberman94 · Jan 22, 2014

looking at your drawing its starting to make more sense. thank you for that. drawing always helps. just gives something to look at. happen to know if there are any grounds under the bed? just to make that run shorter. ive never looked. also would speaker wire work or should i get actual wire? i feel like speaker wire would be super ghetto and not last too long.

also my led strip is 15 feet long. i will be cutting it in two spots, so that it can make the bends around the cab-end of the bed easier, then soldering pieces of wire onto the strip to re-connect it. so being that my led strip is going to ultimately remain one long strip, i would just remove the other 2 strips from your drawing.?

also i don't mean to make more work for you but inline fuse from the battery just incase, what "strength" fuse? also where should i put in the timing relay? i like that idea being the idea is for tailgating parties and sometimes we become a little forgetful if ya know what i mean. if im thinking about this correctly that relay should be after the switches but before the lights. correct? Thanks for your help so far Frank. much appreciated.

FrankTheTank · Jan 22, 2014

Ground near the bed would be any part if the frame, just hit her with a grinding wheel first to clean up the metal and paint when done.

U could run speaker wire but wouldn't need to as your ground isn't running all the way back to the cab. So u only need to make one run back. The fuse is just incase which wouldn't be needed if u bring power off an already fused source but make sure u don't over fuse your wire or lights. You are correct about the other 2 led symbols in the drawling.

As for the timing relay it would get a little more complicated but it would go after the fuse but b4 the switch. It would have to start timing after the key is off so now a more complex circuit would have to be drawn. My vote is a keyed power that u could leave the key on accessory and run them

dsberman94 · Jan 22, 2014

is there a timing relay that works with basically just an in and out power wire. im not worried about the key being turned off. but then again if these lights are on the radio will probably need to be on as well so accessory position (key backwards) will probably be the best bet. how to i find what size fuse i should use? should it be on the leds somewhere? i have a fuse tap already. i don't have an 02 user manual though so do you happen to know if the fuse diagram for an 02 is on google? im sure it is. i just need to find an accessory and not a key "on". just thinking out loud here.

its all coming together, now i just need some warm weather and time. thanks bud.

eng53ine · Jan 22, 2014

I don't have a manual either if you can look at PDF I'll link the manual off the ford website when I get home there are also a couple of key on tap points under the dash the AIC harness is one of them

02 ccsb, lariat, 7.3 auto, 4x4, 4" duals, 6637,zoodad

dsberman94 · Jan 22, 2014

eng53ine said:
I don't have a manual either if you can look at PDF I'll link the manual off the ford website when I get home there are also a couple of key on tap points under the dash the AIC harness is one of them

02 ccsb, lariat, 7.3 auto, 4x4, 4" duals, 6637,zoodad

heck yea. link that chit. ill save it to my favorites and cherish it forever. LOL

eng53ine · Jan 22, 2014

http://owner.ford.com/servlet/Conte...wnerGuidePage&year=2002&make=Ford&model=F-250

don't know what the differences are in the prints but I think the fuses are the same

FrankTheTank · Jan 24, 2014

dsberman94 said:
is there a timing relay that works with basically just an in and out power wire. im not worried about the key being turned off. but then again if these lights are on the radio will probably need to be on as well so accessory position (key backwards) will probably be the best bet. how to i find what size fuse i should use? should it be on the leds somewhere? i have a fuse tap already. i don't have an 02 user manual though so do you happen to know if the fuse diagram for an 02 is on google? im sure it is. i just need to find an accessory and not a key "on". just thinking out loud here.

its all coming together, now i just need some warm weather and time. thanks bud.

Better off just finding an accessory tap fuse. What are the current specs of the leds? Should be on the box or in the manual

dsberman94 · Jan 24, 2014

FrankTheTank said:
Better off just finding an accessory tap fuse. What are the current specs of the leds? Should be on the box or in the manual

this is what i got. the exact item so i think it says 2 amps/5 meters. so it would just need to be a 2 amp fuse. is that even possible?

FrankTheTank · Jan 25, 2014

Remember that a fuse protects the wiring and not a device. If the devise shorts out u want the fuse to blow b4 it starts heating up wire and melting insulation.

Find an accessory fuse and tap in, one tegu is 5 or 10 amps will do, just make sure I run at least #16awg wire. #14 if u tie into a 15amp fuse

dsberman94 · Jan 25, 2014

Alright. I'll have to play around with finding the right fuse once I start the project.

dsberman94 · Feb 3, 2014

anyone happen to know where i could find a lighted toggle switch with the international emblem in it from a big rig? i did a quick google search but didn't find anything. im gonna do a toggle switch panel so i want red international emblem lighted toggles.