I need some help figuring out how to wire in some LED lights in the bed. I would like to use a magnetic switch to turn them on when the tailgate is down but also have a rocker to be able to turn them off if needed while the tailgate is down. I am planning on pulling power from the battery with a inline fuse. From there I am lost. Do I need normally open or closed switches? Switches on the power or ground side? I have read a lot about led bed lights but haven't figured out how to do this with two switches.

Any help is appreciated.

 

I'm looking to do the same thing. Check out youtube for ideas. My thoughts were to also use a plunger switch to create the link when the lid is open, but then have a toogle switch to turn on n off the lights in the bed. If I accidently forget to turn off the lights, and I close the lid, the plunger switch breaks he current and the lights go off.

Create a test environment by using a 12v power system that you can get off of Amazon or heck, just a 12v battery if you have one laying around and wire up your design before you go to the truck.

 

I'm not an electrical engineer but here's the simplest way I could come up with to do it. Hopefully someone who knows more about this stuff can chime in. Excuse the crappy schematic.




This schematic generator didn't have a light, so for this case the DC motor is your lights. So essentially you've got a SPST switch (S1) that is your tailgate switch. When the tailgate is up, that switch is normally open. Then you have S2 which is a SPDT switch. In the first position it directs the circuit through the tailgate switch, but if flipped to the second position it bypasses the tailgate switch and turns on the lights. I'm sure you could somehow make it so the lights go off when you shut the tailgate even if you forget to hit the switch but it's early and my brain is still waking up haha. Good luck man!

 

NC and NO refer to relays.

This is the correct approach. SPDT in the cab, SPST type plunger at the tailgate, SPDT acts as an SPST bypass. Either way you're running two lengths of wire back to the rear of the truck so make sure you buy some loom to protect it.

Given that it will be an extremely low voltage/amperage application, no need for a relay (unless you're like me and planning to add high power directional lighting later), so using just switches will work fine. Just make sure that if you get an SPDT for the cab, get one that's lighted in either I or II position and ground the sucker so you have a visual of what's being powered at the time.


IE: it will remind you if you've bypassed the tailgate switch by having a constantly glowing LED.

Oh, forgot to mention, you will run your hots through the SPDT and ground your lights at the tailgate. You will ground your SPDT in the cab and ground your SPST at the tailgate as well.

 

I put a 3 position toggle just inside the rear of the bed, center is off, up is on, down routes through a plunger switch on the tailgate which turns it on and off. Can be done quite easily and inexpensively.

 

Why not wire them to your bed lights on the top of the cab, that way you can turn them on and of with the same switch?

 

Reasoning for not wiring them to the cargo light is when I go hunting it is nice to keep it as dark as possible. Plus, I would like to be able to open the bed and have light without opening a cab door or hitting the fob.

 

Then you need a momentary contact switch. That's normally closed, So when you open the tail gate the LED light will come on, similar to this.
https://www.amazon.com/BUTTON-SWITCH.../dp/B006M4XL7C

 

He would do better with a pin switch for that application, I think.

 

Yup, momentary contact switch. What would work really well is a door switch.
https://www.amazon.com/Ninth-City-Ad...le+door+switch