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Wires for interior lights?

Discussion in 'Lighting' started by 53flattie, Jul 13, 2016.

  1. Jul 13, 2016 at 7:43 PM
    #1
    53flattie

    53flattie [OP] New Member

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    I'm looking to install some LED strip lights to illuminate my Amp Power Steps when they extend. I thought I could power the lights by the trigger wires for the steps, but not so much... The motor only gets momentary power to extend and retract the boards.

    Ideally, I need wires that will be energized while the doors are open - such as the ones for the interior lights. But I really don't want to have to fish wires through the headliner. Does anyone know which wires might accomplish this around the kick-panel area?

    Here's a picture of the passenger kick panel area. You can see the two wire taps for the board motors at the bottom of the pic. There are a ton of wires in there, and I poked around with my wire tester, but it's like trying to find a needle in a haystack...

    Thanks in advance!

    9801686e92e1ed597f32072c2e0df1bb_1ed17238cb46e028b43c46bcd56abfa95de9707d.jpg
     
    Pillslinger and rmvcard0303 like this.
  2. Jul 13, 2016 at 8:48 PM
    #2
    Mike

    Mike Tread lightly.

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    yep bank account is running low from it..
    Door pins are a negative trigger.. it has 12v on the wire door closed till you open the door then the wire is negative not positive no more.

    If your running leds hot wire connected to fuse then power source then the negative wire is tied in with your pin/door wire.. and your done.
     
  3. Jul 14, 2016 at 4:59 AM
    #3
    53flattie

    53flattie [OP] New Member

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    Thanks Mike. That is certainly an option. Just need to see how I can get wires fished up to the door pin...
     
  4. Jul 14, 2016 at 10:34 AM
    #4
    ChucklesToy

    ChucklesToy New Member

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    My AMP PowerSteps came with connections in the wire harness for LEDs that light whenever the door is opened and they are controlled by the PowerStep controller / brain that is in the engine bay. There are two wire harnesses within the master harness on each side that are specifically there for that purpose. They light when the door is opened and turn off when the door is closed. Isn't this enough? Didn't yours come with the LED wires? The PowerSteps also came with LEDs that are OK, but tend to be a bit purplish instead of white. So others have used a white LED strip connected to one of the light connections to light up the whole side of their truck.
     
  5. Jul 14, 2016 at 10:42 AM
    #5
    53flattie

    53flattie [OP] New Member

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    This sounds like the perfect option. Can you tell me what you mean by "scuff plate"?
     
  6. Jul 14, 2016 at 10:43 AM
    #6
    53flattie

    53flattie [OP] New Member

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    Chuckles - I bought my steps at a discount. Accordingly, they did not come with the lights or the wiring harness for the lights.
     
    ChucklesToy likes this.
  7. Jul 14, 2016 at 11:11 AM
    #7
    53flattie

    53flattie [OP] New Member

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    Thanks so much Ron. I didn't know those wires were there, but I'm really glad they are. My next project was going to be lights in the bed. This will kill two birds with one stone!
     
  8. Jul 14, 2016 at 12:16 PM
    #8
    53flattie

    53flattie [OP] New Member

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    So I'm looking for the one on the far right, beside the green one on your middle finger?
     
  9. Jul 17, 2016 at 6:26 PM
    #9
    53flattie

    53flattie [OP] New Member

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    Ron - thanks to your advice, I was able to locate the wire. I really appreciate the help.

    I checked all the wires on the passenger side as well, hoping to find the same on that side. No such luck. Looks like I'll have to pull the power from the drivers side to the passenger side.

    One additional question - that wire is pretty light gauge - I would guess 16 or 18ga. Is that going to be enough to supply power to the LED lights? I know they don't require that much power, but I also don't want to smoke the wires or anything. Here's a shot of the power requirements on the light packaging. Keep in mind that I won't be using the entire 15ft roll. Probably only 8 or 10 feet total.

    9b6b285438e8b3d763785c76552eee6c_418f77a0eae3722c9a6afde5a300ac28e2e8a357.jpg
     
  10. Jul 18, 2016 at 6:54 AM
    #10
    53flattie

    53flattie [OP] New Member

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    Thank so much for the detailed response Ron. After taking that picture, I realized that it was for 4 different options of lights. I just checked and I have the 36watt option, or 3 amps (if I used the entire roll).

    I hope to get these wired up today or tomorrow. I'll post up pictures and/or a short video when I do.
    Thanks again for all your help!
     
    NewImprovedRon likes this.
  11. Jul 18, 2016 at 7:03 PM
    #11
    53flattie

    53flattie [OP] New Member

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    Thanks to Ron's advice, I was able to get these lights installed this evening.

    Turns out there is a grommet just in front of the back seat hump, about a foot inboard. I was able to bring the trigger wire out there.

    This pic is from under the truck and you can see where the ground went as well as the white wire (power) going to the passenger side.

    1162644ce7b385b99b03c395db05fe91_b88e1a36a341e530d12e76cf6470b4b1b69b2108.jpg

    https://vimeo.com/175315471

    Thanks again Ron. I owe you one!
     
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  12. Jul 19, 2016 at 2:26 PM
    #12
    53flattie

    53flattie [OP] New Member

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    067eac0ab5d35dc38fcb69e68dcdc58c_0c7ac3c7f50db7a824ffca1ec3cf98b50f160919.jpg

    Dammit... I guess the adhesive is cheap or the heat is just too much for it.

    Guess I'll be picking up some 3M double-sided adhesive.
     
  13. Jul 19, 2016 at 7:32 PM
    #13
    53flattie

    53flattie [OP] New Member

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    I cleaned the surface with nail polish remover, but maybe I should have use alcohol. I'll try that tomorrow. Grrr.
     
  14. Dec 13, 2016 at 9:47 AM
    #14
    RahelRish

    RahelRish New Member

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    Hi....i am a new user here. As per my knowledge to add the LED use the wire which is located in the wire bundle beneath the rear, driver side scuff plate. It is a grayish/purplish wire in the bundle among 3-4 gray/black wires. It will power your lights any time you open a door, turn on the cargo light, or use the key fob to unlock the doors and it will fade off with the other lights.

    pcb prototype assembly
     
    Last edited: May 25, 2017
    NewImprovedRon likes this.
  15. Nov 15, 2017 at 6:52 PM
    #15
    viya0414

    viya0414 New Member

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    If your running leds hot wire connected to fuse then power source then the negative wire is tied in with your pin/door wire.. and your done.
     
  16. Jul 17, 2018 at 12:44 PM
    #16
    R32T

    R32T New Member

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    hi, Im trying to find this cable on my 2018 Tundra TRD, by any chance do you know if the bundle has the same wires in this model or if this has changed, I did found two very similar wires, very hard to tell the difference in colors sinmce they are extremly alike, I would bet they are the same color, just one is thicker than the other, like a 20ga vs a 24ga, neither cable did what I wanted, not sure I did test them correctly but assuming my tools are working, they do not provide +12 when door is open...

    any clue where should I find my wire to do the trick ??
     
  17. Aug 3, 2018 at 8:38 PM
    #17
    Pudge

    Pudge Super Secret Elite Member #7

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    Hey @NewImprovedRon ,
    I'm thinking of tapping into this wire to add 4 footwell lights to my interior. I don't really wanna tap into the footwell socket because it can't be turned on once doors are closed as far as I know. I like the idea of having the lights I stall switched and also come on when I unlock the doors, you think this is the wire I should tap? Or maybe the dome light wire?
     
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  18. Aug 4, 2018 at 6:28 AM
    #18
    Pudge

    Pudge Super Secret Elite Member #7

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    Thanks Ron, you da man
     
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  19. Mar 26, 2019 at 11:14 AM
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    alannmsu

    alannmsu New Member

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    Sorry to revive and old thread, but I've been scouring the web for anything helpful and this is as close as I've come.

    I'm looking for a place in the passenger scuff plate to tap into a 12v source that's always on with the ignition, but NOT directly to the battery. I also need a ground if there's an easy one, but I don't mind tapping a screw into the bottom of that channel. The picture posted above with the brown/purple wire is the bunch I have access to nearest my harness. Anyone have a schematic for that?

    Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!
     
  20. Mar 26, 2019 at 11:58 AM
    #20
    Mixb7

    Mixb7 New Member

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    Ron thanks for all the info here on this subject. After reading all of this I am going to wire some lights to the bed and sliders. You made my job easy man!
     
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  21. Mar 27, 2019 at 8:46 AM
    #21
    ncorry

    ncorry New Member

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    I tied footwell lighting into the pink wire in the dome light in the driver's side A-pillar. It's the pink wire in the bundle that is closer to the windshield. Constant on +12V with ignition and has 20 minute time out with the dome lighting. I used it as the trigger wire and power wire for a switch and relay.
     
  22. Oct 15, 2019 at 1:58 PM
    #22
    Baller

    Baller New Member

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    This is exactly what I'd like to do. I'm sure it wouldn't be the same wire configuration and color but is the wire bundle in the same place in an '05 DC? Where can I find that wire in my 1st Gen?
     
  23. Nov 22, 2019 at 9:56 PM
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    Baller

    Baller New Member

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    Just dug into my 1st Gen. Let the games begin.

    [​IMG]
    Bit of a PITA. Also, there’s no deep eggplant purple, like what seems to be the ticket in the newer trucks. The only purple is that pictured and it’s one of the middle diameter wires. Looks like there’s three different sizes of wires in there. Not sure if I want to start testing each one or if I want to do some research and see if I can, at least, narrow it down to just a few possible wires.
     
    Last edited: Nov 22, 2019
  24. Nov 29, 2019 at 6:50 PM
    #24
    Joe333x

    Joe333x Member

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    Did you ever find out? I have a 2019 and want to wire my dome light in the truck cap to turn on with the rest of the lights. Wonder if it would be possible to also tie it into the bed light on the third brake lamp.
     
  25. Dec 26, 2019 at 8:59 AM
    #25
    2chains

    2chains New Member

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    Great idea to use the Posi-taps for testing wires. What setting would you have your multi meter?
     
  26. Dec 26, 2019 at 3:17 PM
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    2chains

    2chains New Member

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    ^^Great! Appreciate the reply.
     
  27. Sep 19, 2021 at 12:02 AM
    #27
    Wero94

    Wero94 New Member

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    Wish year is this truck ? Having problems to get my power steps working on my 2016 passenger side
     
  28. Jan 1, 2022 at 7:31 AM
    #28
    John Rippetoe

    John Rippetoe New Member

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    To all who contributed to the thread above, Thank you! I bought a new-to-me 2016 CrewMax in 2019. I’ve always loved Toyota trucks but never owned one. Now I don’t know what took me so long. Needless to say, I’ve been slowly upgrading my lights, inside and out, and I purchased some LED light strips like many here. I was stumped how to power the strips without compromising any number of other systems so I jumped online. Happy New Year…my first click was on this thread! I know it’s a few years old but I still appreciate the info. Thanks again everyone.
     
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  29. Jan 27, 2022 at 5:03 PM
    #29
    steezo916

    steezo916 New Member

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    Hey guys, I just got the OP7 sequential running board lights in the mail. And of course they only provide some half ass installing instructions. I figure I should do my research before I start popping panels off. But after reading this thread i think I got it mostly figured out. But hey Rob, would the 12v+ turn signal be in the same location as the door pin? I’m half way tempted to just run the wires up towards my headlights and tie them in there. But don’t think I have enough wire to reach so I was wondering if all the wires listed in the picture are accessible under the driver side scuff plate.

    image.jpg
    image.jpg
     

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