Not Your Typical Bed Lighting Question...
Thread Starter
Dangerously Bored
Joined: Jan 2025
Posts: 27
Likes: 15
From: Minnesota
Not Your Typical Bed Lighting Question...
Hello all,
I am a proud new owner of a 2016 F150 XLT Sport w/ the 2.7. I would like to transfer my toolbox from my old pickup to this one, and my toolbox is set up with LED bars and a switch such that when the lid is opened, the lights inside come on. On my old pickup, I tapped power for the box at the wire in the kick panel that ran the map lights such that it was hot at all times until the truck timed out (~1hr after key off), thus protecting the battery if I were to leave the toolbox open. I don't have AllData for this new pickup, so I'm flying blind wiring wise. Is there any such circuit to tap on these trucks that is hot at all times, but will eventually time out and shut off? I have the factory bed lighting with the switch in the bed. I could probably tap into these lights and have the toolbox lights then run off the OEM switch, but that is a lot less slick than the integrated switch of my toolbox.
Thank you all for your input!
Dingus247
I am a proud new owner of a 2016 F150 XLT Sport w/ the 2.7. I would like to transfer my toolbox from my old pickup to this one, and my toolbox is set up with LED bars and a switch such that when the lid is opened, the lights inside come on. On my old pickup, I tapped power for the box at the wire in the kick panel that ran the map lights such that it was hot at all times until the truck timed out (~1hr after key off), thus protecting the battery if I were to leave the toolbox open. I don't have AllData for this new pickup, so I'm flying blind wiring wise. Is there any such circuit to tap on these trucks that is hot at all times, but will eventually time out and shut off? I have the factory bed lighting with the switch in the bed. I could probably tap into these lights and have the toolbox lights then run off the OEM switch, but that is a lot less slick than the integrated switch of my toolbox.
Thank you all for your input!
Dingus247
Thread Starter
Dangerously Bored
Joined: Jan 2025
Posts: 27
Likes: 15
From: Minnesota
Thank you all!
Thank you so much @Home2#7 and several other members across these forumboards for posting the information needed to make this process painless. Home, your tip on the demand lamps/battery saver relay proved that this was possible, and in conjunction with MY2016 diagrams posted elsewhere on these forums and a pinout of BCM connector 2280C, I was able to make this happen.
For those curious... pin #14 of BCM connector 2280C (largest of the connectors, a white flip-lock style) has two thin gauge yellow-green wires coming out of it. This is the output of the battery saver relay circuit posted above, which is hot at all times until the truck times out (feeds the map lights, glove box light, media bin light, and the like). This relay inside the BCM is fed from fuse 1, 10A, and as my toolbox lights only draw about half an amp I simply depinned and soldered another wire to pin 14, and directly fed my toolbox lights through a 2A inline fuse. Works great! My lights are able to be turned on anytime the truck has been recently interacted with, and even when its locked and timed out pressing the OEM bed lighting switch wakes the truck up and turns on my toolbox lights. I'm stoked! Thanks to everyone for all your help!
For those curious... pin #14 of BCM connector 2280C (largest of the connectors, a white flip-lock style) has two thin gauge yellow-green wires coming out of it. This is the output of the battery saver relay circuit posted above, which is hot at all times until the truck times out (feeds the map lights, glove box light, media bin light, and the like). This relay inside the BCM is fed from fuse 1, 10A, and as my toolbox lights only draw about half an amp I simply depinned and soldered another wire to pin 14, and directly fed my toolbox lights through a 2A inline fuse. Works great! My lights are able to be turned on anytime the truck has been recently interacted with, and even when its locked and timed out pressing the OEM bed lighting switch wakes the truck up and turns on my toolbox lights. I'm stoked! Thanks to everyone for all your help!