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I'm sure there is a post about this somewhere but I haven't been able to find it. I have a 17 XLT with the OEM led bed lighting. I want to add some extra lighting to the bed and splice it with the OEM lighting. Been looking everywhere for a write up but have had no luck. Has anybody done this themselves or have a write up they can link for me?
I'm sure there is a post about this somewhere but I haven't been able to find it. I have a 17 XLT with the OEM led bed lighting. I want to add some extra lighting to the bed and splice it with the OEM lighting. Been looking everywhere for a write up but have had no luck. Has anybody done this themselves or have a write up they can link for me?
I haven't done it, but will warn you to not hook it to the bed light switch circuit. Not sure what kind of load the lighting circuit is capable of either. The BCM controls the output to the lights/led's
I haven't done it, but will warn you to not hook it to the bed light switch circuit. Not sure what kind of load the lighting circuit is capable of either. The BCM controls the output to the lights/led's
Which circuit is the bed switch/lights running off of, the one off fuse #1 inside the cab? That is a 10 A circuit. Given all the lights are low draw LEDs on that circuit, would running a couple more low draw LED strips really stress the circuit that much? Just looking at specs on a LED pod with 4 LEDs has a max draw of 38 mA (0.038 A). Those of use with XLT trims don't even have vanity lights. Now granted, I don't know what the draw is on the power seat relay on that circuit is....
Which circuit is the bed switch/lights running off of, the one off fuse #1 inside the cab? That is a 10 A circuit. Given all the lights are low draw LEDs on that circuit, would running a couple more low draw LED strips really stress the circuit that much? Just looking at specs on a LED pod with 4 LEDs has a max draw of 38 mA (0.038 A). Those of use with XLT trims don't even have vanity lights. Now granted, I don't know what the draw is on the power seat relay on that circuit is....
NO, bed lights and all the other lights on the truck work off the BCM, they do not have individual fuses. They are fed off the BCM which checks for over current/opens and will shut them off if to much current is drawn. If you pull a bed lamp out of its housing, the Green/Blue wire is the hot from the BCM. I can only say you can try and hook to them and see if it works.
Last edited by Gordy49913; Apr 9, 2018 at 09:27 PM.
NO, bed lights and all the other lights on the truck work off the BCM, they do not have individual fuses. They are fed off the BCM which checks for over current/opens and will shut them off if to much current is drawn. If you pull a bed lamp out of its housing, the Green/Blue wire is the hot from the BCM. I can only say you can try and hook to them and see if it works.
Dumb question. What does BCM stand for? "fill in the blank" Control Module?
I've seen kits for sale but they're $60-70+ and I'm sure I can do it for less with some wire and an LED strip from Amazon. I've only been able to find one post about someone doing it on their 2015 but they only posted pictures. So I think it can be done, guess I just need to figure out how much the BCM can handle.
I added a strip of LEDs down each side of my bed. 6.5’ down both sides draws so little power, there have been zero issues over the past three years. They are bright, they even dim as they turn off. I use the bed a lot, and they are quite protected where they are. One roll of LEDs from Amazon, and 45 minutes is all you need.
I am removing the bakflip to move it to my new truck. I intend to wire it up the same. This time I will take a couple more pictures and get the wire colours.
On my 2015: I removed the tail lights, making it easier to reach the OEM bed lights and push them out from behind.
I cannot remember the wire colours. It is easy to test with a meter, each light only has two wires. I soldered directly onto those.
I added a strip of LEDs down each side of my bed. 6.5’ down both sides draws so little power, there have been zero issues over the past three years. They are bright, they even dim as they turn off. I use the bed a lot, and they are quite protected where they are. One roll of LEDs from Amazon, and 45 minutes is all you need.
I am removing the bakflip to move it to my new truck. I intend to wire it up the same. This time I will take a couple more pictures and get the wire colours.
On my 2015: I removed the tail lights, making it easier to reach the OEM bed lights and push them out from behind.
I cannot remember the wire colours. It is easy to test with a meter, each light only has two wires. I soldered directly onto those.
I saw yours in a post about different mods people have done, couldn't remember your username but I recognize it now that I see it. Yours looked real clean. Did you run the wires behind the bed?
Integrated Bed Lights
