LED Accent / Puddle Light Pods & Strips

[Rock1500]

Yea ask away! I kept it as basic as possible since it's in the engine compartment. I got the waterproof switch and light pods from XKglow, I mounted the switch on the side wall of the compartment next to the battery. Wired the switch straight to the battery and then ran power wire from switch up and around the hinge and then behind the black heat shield. Then I pulled the wire back out at the top (forward most part of the hood) and then the positive wires split from there to the pods. The negative wires from the pods meet at that same point (top / forward most part of the hood) and I grounded it with one of the bolts up there. Will take pics in the day time tomorrow so it'll better explain. I meant to take pics while I was installing it but I forgot to.

 

 

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Sounds cool and look forward to the pics. I would like to do something similiar as you did. And it sounds like not to hard of a project to start out with.

[Mike1220]

 

 

Sounds cool and look forward to the pics. I would like to do something similiar as you did. And it sounds like not to hard of a project to start out with.

 

Not hard at all. And costed less than $15. Still astounds me that GM didn't do this at the factory

 

 

 

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[Mike1220]

Basic terminal connections to battery with switch mounted under ledge in engine bay so it's out of the way:

 

 

 

Kept wiring away from the hinge to avoid it getting caught

 

 

 

Here I just sent it through a part of the hood just incase to make sure it wouldn't drop and get caught on anything incase if the wire mounts ever failed for any reason

 

 

Then it comes back out at the nearest exit, then goes behind the heat shield until it emerges again at the top (forward most part of hood) where the positive leads connect with the power wire off the switch with a butt connector behind the heat sheild and the negatives meet and then go up to a bolt at the top of the hood to ground to chassis

 

 

Then cut out a small portion of the heat shield to mount the lights out of the way (I super glued the lights to the mounts but they come with 3m double side tape on the back of all pods so that you can just stick em and go)

 

 

 

 

It's far from the best looking install I've ever done. I hate seeing wires out. Friend of mine just put some stuff on his 01 Tahoe and I wanted to kill him. He has wires coming through his carpets and running across the floor. Idk how he can stand it. I'm anal about clean installs but for this one, I figured since it's in the engine bay, it didn't need to be show room quality

[Rock1500]

Looks awesome and I am with you, I want it to look clean or it is not worth doing it.

[ChevyTrucks_95]

I'm wanting to hook up some led lights to the outside of my truck to shine on my running boards. I searched through the topics and I found one that had done it already but if I understood correctly, his comes on any time the dome light is on. I am wanting to figure out a way for them to only come on when the door is open. Would I look for a puddle light wire or what? I do not have puddle lights in my mirror but would I still have the wire in the harness?

[RKeeper1]

From another thread pertaining to the led signal mirrors (and puddle lights too) Jusplayn found that there are connections for the puddle light on the cab side of the door wiring harness but he said he couldnt get them to work. Might need dealer to flash codes to work Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

 

http://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/topic/158727-power-folding-mirror-upgrade/

[NitroDatsik]

http://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/index.php?/topic/158559-Adding-Interior-Lighting?-Fuse?Wicked Galaxy Note 3

Is been done, read that forum and follow the linksWicked Galaxy Note 3

[efficientlightingsupply]

These are starting to become popular due to High Lumen Output as shown in picture, I have installed on multiple trucks and everyone has loved them, wired with remote for multiple light functions as well

 

[ChevyTrucks_95]

These are starting to become popular due to High Lumen Output as shown in picture, I have installed on multiple trucks and everyone has loved them, wired with remote for multiple light functions as well

 

How do you hook the underbody lights up? What triggers them to kick on?

[Mike1220]

These are starting to become popular due to High Lumen Output as shown in picture, I have installed on multiple trucks and everyone has loved them, wired with remote for multiple light functions as well

 

 

What lights are you using on that, where are they hooked to, and where are they mounted? They seem to stop with a pretty clean line at the edge of the truck.

 

 

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[YQatari]

Basic terminal connections to battery with switch mounted under ledge in engine bay so it's out of the way

Wow that looks nice! I like the clean install. What I'd do differently is using the studs under the black cover right next to the positive battery terminal, instead of hooking the wires to the battery clamps.

[iCryWheniGoPoop]

These are starting to become popular due to High Lumen Output as shown in picture, I have installed on multiple trucks and everyone has loved them, wired with remote for multiple light functions as well

 

Looks like walking into a Wal-Mart underneath that truck. (Yeah I'm white trash)

Curious as to where those mount as well. If they have to be mounted underneath it won't be quite as effective on a lowered truck.

[efficientlightingsupply]

These are extremely bright so I typically wire with a wireless remote that has dimming capability. These are not cheap LED chips in which you can clearly see the light output exceeds any other brand currently. Easiest way to mount is aluminum channel strips that we will coat with a truck liner protection for rust prevention along with a durable finish, the channels are mounted typically 2" inside from side panel so you only see the light output and not the fixtures. Lowered vehicles or factory height will look brighter due to lights not being as high from the ground which allows for a more concentrated light. The truck I posted was a 2010 Dodge Ram 4x4 crew cab that is running 35's and has a 6" lift .

 

You can see photo below how I tuck the lights inside high enough so they cannot be seen easily

[efficientlightingsupply]

The pictures above were 6K color, Here is what 5k looks like below. On 6k the fixture built were 7ft per side of truck ( 14ft total ) , on the 5k the fixtures were only 5ft ( 10ft total ) . Average install time is 4 hours.

 

[ChevyTrucks_95]

Hey everybody, I was just hoping somebody could tell me how the truck knows when a door is open. It pops up in my display and tells me which door is open. I am wanting to install led lights under my truck that come on when my door is open. I was thinking that I could somehow tie the lights into that door ajar function.