Fyaboy

I want to add lighting inside my A.R.E. canopy. Can someone help me to locate & tap into the wire that supplies the cargo/bed lamp?

Feathermerchant

Well I just ran one from the battery (with its own fuse) to the rear. I have a switch in the canopy. If you have a trailer harness (the 7 pin) there is a wire that is hot when the ignition is on.
The wiring diagram says it is a violet wire. From the connector location (behind pass side kick panel) it looks like it goes down the wiring tray under the sill plate on the pass side.
There is a grommet beneath the tray about midway along the cab for the power step wiring. You can use that for access.

Truckin

iTrader: (4)

^this
when they installed mine @ ARE dealer, they ran a wire to the battery w/fuse

Fyaboy

From the battery is easy enough but I want the canopy light to turn on & off when I open the car door. And if I want it on continuous I can use the "secret clicks" on the instruments dimmer switch. I'll use very low-power LEDs. (Actually could remove the Cargo bulbs entirely the lamp is 100% blocked).

To do this all I have to do is locate the cargo lamp wire, hoping someone has run across it and can explain where to find it. Kinda difficult to get to my cargo lamp at the moment cuz the canopy covers it up, and also I want the wire to come in at the driverside rear corner where the 3rd brakelight connector is.

Sorry for being a PITA but this is a new truck and if I start out right on the mods everything is better down the line......

Feathermerchant

Well the cargo light does not run down the driver side on the 2011 diagram.

Fyaboy

Ok thx - one less place to look!

Fyaboy

Where can I get wiring diagrams for my 2013? …. If I just knew which wire bundle and the wire's colors…..

Feathermerchant

I bought the entire manual. Here is just the wiring diagrams:
http://www.helminc.com/helm/Result.a...elected_media=

The wiring diagram shows every option. If you do not have every option, some wiring is deleted in the harnesses.

Fyaboy

OK FM thanks, that would do it.

I'm not so great with wiring diagrams, I can get around on one page but once a circuit goes multipage it gets beyond me. I will dig around on the truck a little and see if I can fish a wire from the cargo lamp down. I get nowhere may have to spring $79.

Have a couple other projects brewing at the moment, better get some done before adding more.

Fyaboy

Good to know! Thanks for that tip but I hope I can remember it when I need it.

OK took out the cargo lamp to look at the wire color, and it has a green wire. It would be difficult to fish up to this location at the top of the cab. I'd prefer not to have a canopy connection coming out of the cargo lamp. I want both my canopy connections (3rd brakelight, and interior cargo light) to be in ONE PLACE, inside the left rear taillight pillar.

The cargo light and 3rd taillight is completely blocked by my canopy. So while it was out I removed all the bulbs and taped them to the wires (in-situ ! ) before putting the light back in (hopefully doesn't generate a CANbus error….)

Does anybody know a more convenient location to tap into this green wire? My canopy light is 5 watts (LED) COB light, maybe I'll use two of them.