When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
I recently added a bed cover to my '13 f150. The cover blocks all the light and i want to add lights under the rail on each side of the bed. Does anyone know on what side and what wire to tap into. I saw a kit on f150leds.com but i don't want to spend $60 when i have the supplies already. Ive looked around but all i have found is people putting a rocker switch.
I did it years ago. I bought 12V LED strips and a 12V power pack with switch. Wired up the LEDS strips under each rail and connected them together at the front of the bed. Switch turns on and off which was velcroed to the side of the truck. AA batteries to replace if they go dead. Had the truck for 1.5 years and never had to replace the batteries.
They stick to the underside of the tonneau cover bed rail with 3M tape and have a waterproof switch and battery pack that runs on 3 AA batteries. Also has a 3/5/none minute auto shut off timer. Kinda on the expensive side but no need to run wires or tap into anything and risk running the truck battery dead if left on. AA batteries are cheap and should run the light strip for a long time in between changes. They make a model with a motion sensor as well.
I went with these too. They're very bright. I tapped into the cargo light wire under the back passenger side kick panel (IIRC), so they only stay on as long as a door is open. Sorry, I can't remember which wire color. Great deal for $30, IMO.
Last edited by LuckyDucker; Jan 18, 2017 at 01:11 PM.
If you want a cheaper alternative, go to AutoZone. They have a bed light kit for about $25. I can't remember the brand name, but they consist of 8 angled square pods with 4 LEDs in each pod. They work great. IIRC...you will need to buy a switch. On my GMC, I had the switch on the inside of the drivers side bed under the lip and tapped into the marker light circuit with a relay mounted behind the driver's taillight, power for the relay came from the tow harness. When the marker lights were on, I could use the LED bed lights.
I wired mine up differently. I bought a 3 position switch (on - off - on) and ran power from the battery to the lights. The switch gives it GROUND. I setup the switch so in the first ON position, it gets a ground from a mercury switch in the tailgate. Open the tailgate, lights come on if the switch is in that position. Turn the switch to the other ON position, and the lights come on regardless of tailgate position. And, in the off position, you can have the tailgate open (daytime for an extended period and not worry about using battery power for no reason. Was quite easy to do.
I used Extang's B-Light kit, but it's not worth the money. And I bought my own 3 position switch anyway.
I used some LED strips off amazon and a rechargeable battery with the appropriate connectors to create mine. The battery has an on/off switch on it so I can have them on at any time I choose for as long as I choose. This doesn't drain the truck battery and isn't a permanent installation for ease of replacement or trade-in.
First time poster here. Can someone point to an instructional on how and where to tap into wiring if you go with something like this. The Amazon comments mention connecting them to the trailer connector. I haven't had the experience of running any wire in my truck yet. Many thanks!
First time poster here. Can someone point to an instructional on how and where to tap into wiring if you go with something like this. The Amazon comments mention connecting them to the trailer connector. I haven't had the experience of running any wire in my truck yet. Many thanks!
Jonathan
I had great plans to wire it up like others in this thread have, but I decided for the time being I would just splice it into the rear tail/parking light wire and then use the switch provided in the kit to turn the lights on and off from inside the bed.
There are holes in the bed near the tailgate that you can run the wires out of the bed and into the area where the tail lights are. If you pop out the lights you can identify which power wire turns on when you turn the parking lights on. Splice into it and then ground the black wire anywhere and you'll be done.
DIY Bed Lights
