Bed lighting - wiring?

1940ModelB · March 24, 2018

11 minutes ago, Bushleaguechew said:

Yes. You can also use a short jump wire in the harness plugs under the steering wheel to enable cargo lights to come on with reverse lights. Not only does this make your reverse lights brighter, but your cargo and bed lights will come on when you unlock the truck.

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Interesting. Love the idea of the lights coming on with the unlock button. Does that also mean that when the cargo light switch is pressed the reverse lights come on?

Sierra706 · March 24, 2018

Interesting. Love the idea of the lights coming on with the unlock button. Does that also mean that when the cargo light switch is pressed the reverse lights come on?

Yes. I used a wire to make it happen both ways. But you could also use a diode as something of an electrical one way valve if you so choose.

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sk · March 30, 2018

There is a thread on here somewhere by a guy who had the factory lights but added a pushbutton switch in the rear of the bed that he can reach with the tailgate down. I can't find the thread right now but if you search you should be able to find it.

zachsieb · April 1, 2018

Does anyone know the difference between the pins on a 14 and 18? I purchased a used camper shell and the previous owner fapped up a really nice harness to make everything work, but when I went to plug everything in it appeared his truck's wiring was different from mine. The 1st pic is from my truck and the 2nd is from is. I haven't tried connecting anything yet, but I was thinking I could use the "dummy" plug on my truck (as seen closest to the wheel below). I just don't want to short or blow something out by randomly plugging things in.

Edited April 1, 2018 by zachsieb

Skov18 · April 2, 2018

On 3/24/2018 at 2:02 PM, Korazu said:

I took the GM wire harness and added some waterproof LED lights off amazon and then spliced together.

This looks awesome! What kind of lights are they?

Korazu · April 2, 2018

8 minutes ago, Skov18 said:

This looks awesome! What kind of lights are they?

I ordered them off Amazon, like 6 sets. I used to for the gazebo I have for my Green Mountain smoker, my trailer and for the truck bed. Love them.

Here's the link:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HSF66JO

Etexemt · August 10, 2018

Hey guys! First off I’m a newbie and this is my first post. I know he topic is a few months old, but it’s the newest one I can find dealing with the lights.....

Now, for the 16-18 Silverado, we know the plug is different than earlier models. GM says the plug is “not available”. But, it is... If you know where to look. After tons of research and flipping through pages, I finally found the 6 Pin Plug. It is made by TE Connectivity, just like the 8 pin plug from earlier models. They only have a few US suppliers. The company I use is called Mouser Electronics. I’ve ordered from them for years. The are located in Texas, so makes it even better for me..lol. You can buy the harness for like $35 or make your own for like $8... Anyhow, below are the TE part numbers for everything you need to build your own custom harness. (Except the wire.. You can use what you want on that.) You can search on Mouser’s website by MFG part # or Mouser’s part#, so these should work!!

www.mouser.com

X1 6-pin Connector: 1452327-1

X2 Pin : 964273-1

X2 One Wire Seal: 828905-1

X4 Plug(empty hole seal): 828986-1

I ordered double of what I needed of the pins and seals, just in case I made a bad crimp or dropped a plug. (Things happen..lol)

Hope this helps!!

Edited August 10, 2018 by Etexemt

MarkDavidB · December 1, 2018

On ‎8‎/‎10‎/‎2018 at 9:59 AM, Etexemt said:

Hey guys! First off I’m a newbie and this is my first post. I know he topic is a few months old, but it’s the newest one I can find dealing with the lights.....

Now, for the 16-18 Silverado, we know the plug is different than earlier models. GM says the plug is “not available”. But, it is... If you know where to look. After tons of research and flipping through pages, I finally found the 6 Pin Plug. It is made by TE Connectivity, just like the 8 pin plug from earlier models. They only have a few US suppliers. The company I use is called Mouser Electronics. I’ve ordered from them for years. The are located in Texas, so makes it even better for me..lol. You can buy the harness for like $35 or make your own for like $8... Anyhow, below are the TE part numbers for everything you need to build your own custom harness. (Except the wire.. You can use what you want on that.) You can search on Mouser’s website by MFG part # or Mouser’s part#, so these should work!!

www.mouser.com

X1 6-pin Connector: 1452327-1

X2 Pin : 964273-1

X2 One Wire Seal: 828905-1

X4 Plug(empty hole seal): 828986-1

I ordered double of what I needed of the pins and seals, just in case I made a bad crimp or dropped a plug. (Things happen..lol)

Hope this helps!!

I literally just made an account on here just so I could reply to your post. I've always wanted to just pin my own plug and use whatever lights I wanted but never had the time to do the research and find the plug they used. So just like that, I think I know what I'm getting myself for Christmas this year. Now to hunt around my office to see if we just happen to already have those pins and seals.

2WRDR · January 23, 2019

On 8/10/2018 at 9:59 AM, Etexemt said:

Hey guys! First off I’m a newbie and this is my first post. I know he topic is a few months old, but it’s the newest one I can find dealing with the lights.....

Now, for the 16-18 Silverado, we know the plug is different than earlier models. GM says the plug is “not available”. But, it is... If you know where to look. After tons of research and flipping through pages, I finally found the 6 Pin Plug. It is made by TE Connectivity, just like the 8 pin plug from earlier models. They only have a few US suppliers. The company I use is called Mouser Electronics. I’ve ordered from them for years. The are located in Texas, so makes it even better for me..lol. You can buy the harness for like $35 or make your own for like $8... Anyhow, below are the TE part numbers for everything you need to build your own custom harness. (Except the wire.. You can use what you want on that.) You can search on Mouser’s website by MFG part # or Mouser’s part#, so these should work!!

www.mouser.com

X1 6-pin Connector: 1452327-1

X2 Pin : 964273-1

X2 One Wire Seal: 828905-1

X4 Plug(empty hole seal): 828986-1

I ordered double of what I needed of the pins and seals, just in case I made a bad crimp or dropped a plug. (Things happen..lol)

Hope this helps!!

Wow, now that's the kind of info I love. Details, it's always in the details. That said does anyone have details on a P/N for the 2016-2018 Silverado 1500 bed lighting harness. I have found a few instances of a matching description (Harness - GM (22878806))but would love it if someone has purchased and knows the correct part number for sure. I would rather just purchase the OEM harness than make it but I will make it if I have to.

Austin Schiller · January 25, 2019

I know this is almost a year old. But my 14 Silverado is weeks old to me. I was able to splice in from the existing lights and bought $15 amazon lights that come with 3 in a "pack" and 20 packs along 1 strand for $15. Cut it in half and 10 packs for each side is the perfect length for a 6.5' box. The Access cover is closed and its bright as day in there.

Edited January 25, 2019 by Austin Schiller
Typo

Rob R · February 12, 2019

On 3/24/2018 at 12:52 PM, cbrsilv15 said:

There’s a dummy plug on the box under the bed where the factory bed lights plug into. I made my own and just used some leds from amazon. Way brighter than the 2 that are oem. Plus $30 > $100+.

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This is AWESOME - just was I was looking for. Thanks!

Rob R · February 14, 2019

On 8/10/2018 at 8:59 AM, Etexemt said:

Hey guys! First off I’m a newbie and this is my first post. I know he topic is a few months old, but it’s the newest one I can find dealing with the lights.....

Now, for the 16-18 Silverado, we know the plug is different than earlier models. GM says the plug is “not available”. But, it is... If you know where to look. After tons of research and flipping through pages, I finally found the 6 Pin Plug. It is made by TE Connectivity, just like the 8 pin plug from earlier models. They only have a few US suppliers. The company I use is called Mouser Electronics. I’ve ordered from them for years. The are located in Texas, so makes it even better for me..lol. You can buy the harness for like $35 or make your own for like $8... Anyhow, below are the TE part numbers for everything you need to build your own custom harness. (Except the wire.. You can use what you want on that.) You can search on Mouser’s website by MFG part # or Mouser’s part#, so these should work!!

www.mouser.com

X1 6-pin Connector: 1452327-1

X2 Pin : 964273-1

X2 One Wire Seal: 828905-1

X4 Plug(empty hole seal): 828986-1

I ordered double of what I needed of the pins and seals, just in case I made a bad crimp or dropped a plug. (Things happen..lol)

Hope this helps!!

I bought the connectors, but does anyone have a pinout map? I am not sure which of the 6 ports to connect the pos and neg to.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/USELrL4eehsSn1Bt5

Edited February 14, 2019 by Rob R

EpicLT · February 14, 2019

On 1/25/2019 at 12:19 PM, Austin Schiller said:

I know this is almost a year old. But my 14 Silverado is weeks old to me. I was able to splice in from the existing lights and bought $15 amazon lights that come with 3 in a "pack" and 20 packs along 1 strand for $15. Cut it in half and 10 packs for each side is the perfect length for a 6.5' box. The Access cover is closed and its bright as day in there.

Any pics of your splicing into factory wires? Your truck bed is super bright!

Austin Schiller · February 14, 2019

3 hours ago, EpicLT said:

Any pics of your splicing into factory wires? Your truck bed is super bright!

This is it with tape already around it. But all I had to do was expose the wire from the protective casing and splice. Then I taped, and put more protective casing around the new wire to the lights. Super easy with the 2014

Cccmachine · February 28, 2019

I purchased the harness to find out the plug does not fit my year.(2018) I just tapped behind the original plug with a watertight plug I had. The harness is worth the $30 I believe as it has all the clips you need to attach to the bed. Also in wire loom. There are 3 wires on the plug. Use the white with violet stripe for positive and black for ground. At least for mine.