Gen5diy bed light switch

[Mudcon]

I just talked to them just now being I haven't gotten mine yet from the 13th and he said they were building them up and will get them out next week.  He did say they were fixing them to work with the new body styles.

[Mudcon]

Well its march 10th and I still do not have a update or a part......

[romclean1]

I got the modified harness back.   No documentation and the video on their web page doesn't really refer to the new trucks.  Anyway, they did add some notes the product page, explaining which of the 3 wires (black, red and red to trailer power) to connect.   I burned an hour today testing connections and such, no joy at all.  I wonder if they actually tested it on a 2020+ truck.

Doesn't appear to work with the truck running or off, ignition on or off.

Maybe the switch is just a bad one, not sure.  I took couple pics and emailed Gen5Diy, will let you know what they come up with.   

[romclean1]

Good news, it works !   The new harness and the new installation instructions worked, with a slight modification.  Turns out the kit gets its power from the trailer battery circuit, the red/green wire in the trailer connector.  The fuse for that is #63 (30amp) on the fuse panel under the hood.  Gen5 told me that sometimes this fuse might not even be installed, so I checked it and found it was blown.  In the new instructions there are two ways to connect the 3 wires (2 from the harness and 1 from the trailer tap) that connect to the switch.

Depending on how your truck was wired, you connect those 3 wires to the switch differently.  Pic 3 and Pic 4 show that in my truck the Black wire matches up on the truck wiring and the harness wiring.  But I had to use the instructions for the opposite setup to make it work. I think those directions on the Gen5 site might be mixed up, as I connected it as directed and blew the fuse.  Connected it using alternate instructions and it works just fine.  Not a big deal, clearly a new product.

 

Also you don't have to drill a hole in the bed for the switch.  There is a rubber plug on the side wall by the tailgate on both sides.  I think it's for one of those fold out handles or maybe a tool box accessory. Pic1.  I found that removing the clips on the supplied switch, allows you to insert it into that hole with no drilling at all. (pic 2)  I popped the tail light to make it easier to run the wires. Pic 5. Just pop the LED bed light out, (press up under the bottom edge with a plastic tool, there's a compression clip, pop whole fixture up and out.  Then you can fish the wire up into that hole, and up to the small hole that you can run those wires up the bigger hole..   You will need to extend the red power wire a few more inches to reach the trailer harness, but well worth doing so.  I also think that the switch mounted high like this will help it from getting crunched by cargo.   

 

All in all a great and easy to install feature. 30 minute install time.   Now I can open the tailgate and hit the switch to light things up without having to go back to the cab or even opening the door.  Remember that switch will have power all the time, so if you leave that switch on, you could potentially drain your battery.   This setup only controls the bed lights. but not the overhead light on the cab or the task lights which would have really nice, but I'm happy just being able to turn the bed lights on, as most of the time the cover is on anyways. The switch does feel a little cheap, but it seems like most of aftermarket automotive switches are that way, the rubber seal seems pretty good though.

 

All in all - well worth the effort, easy install.   The fact the switch fits into that ready to use hole is a huge plus.    Great support from the Gen5diy team. 

 

Edited March 13, 2021 by romclean1

[Coles5515]

9 hours ago, romclean1 said:

Good news, it works !   The new harness and the new installation instructions worked, with a slight modification.  Turns out the kit gets its power from the trailer battery circuit, the red/green wire in the trailer connector.  The fuse for that is #63 (30amp) on the fuse panel under the hood.  Gen5 told me that sometimes this fuse might not even be installed, so I checked it and found it was blown.  In the new instructions there are two ways to connect the 3 wires (2 from the harness and 1 from the trailer tap) that connect to the switch.

Depending on how your truck was wired, you connect those 3 wires to the switch differently.  Pic 3 and Pic 4 show that in my truck the Black wire matches up on the truck wiring and the harness wiring.  But I had to use the instructions for the opposite setup to make it work. I think those directions on the Gen5 site might be mixed up, as I connected it as directed and blew the fuse.  Connected it using alternate instructions and it works just fine.  Not a big deal, clearly a new product.

 

Also you don't have to drill a hole in the bed for the switch.  There is a rubber plug on the side wall by the tailgate on both sides.  I think it's for one of those fold out handles or maybe a tool box accessory. Pic1.  I found that removing the clips on the supplied switch, allows you to insert it into that hole with no drilling at all. (pic 2)  I popped the tail light to make it easier to run the wires. Pic 5. Just pop the LED bed light out, (press up under the bottom edge with a plastic tool, there's a compression clip, pop whole fixture up and out.  Then you can fish the wire up into that hole, and up to the small hole that you can run those wires up the bigger hole..   You will need to extend the red power wire a few more inches to reach the trailer harness, but well worth doing so.  I also think that the switch mounted high like this will help it from getting crunched by cargo.   

 

All in all a great and easy to install feature. 30 minute install time.   Now I can open the tailgate and hit the switch to light things up without having to go back to the cab or even opening the door.  Remember that switch will have power all the time, so if you leave that switch on, you could potentially drain your battery.   This setup only controls the bed lights. but not the overhead light on the cab or the task lights which would have really nice, but I'm happy just being able to turn the bed lights on, as most of the time the cover is on anyways. The switch does feel a little cheap, but it seems like most of aftermarket automotive switches are that way, the rubber seal seems pretty good though.

 

All in all - well worth the effort, easy install.   The fact the switch fits into that ready to use hole is a huge plus.    Great support from the Gen5diy team. 

 

Nice! My kit should be here Monday. Appreciate the write up

[romclean1]

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[Cupton]

Noticed the Gen5DIY switch kit was now in stock so I ordered one for my '18 Sierra about an hour ago. Already got the shipping notification that the part was shipped. That was fast! Looking forward to getting this one installed.

Edited March 16, 2021 by Cupton

[Mudcon]

Does anyone know how to install the yellow wire tap they included?  I have never seen one like that....

[romclean1]

Does anyone know how to install the yellow wire tap they included?  I have never seen one like that....

The fat end is the one you’re going to use on the trailer wire. Just pull back the black plastic cable wrapper and tuck the end cap around the wire ( unscrew it and take it off) and then screw the long part in. Here’s a pic before I wrapped it up.


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[Mudcon]

1 hour ago, romclean1 said:

The fat end is the one you’re going to use on the trailer wire. Just pull back the black plastic cable wrapper and tuck the end cap around the wire ( unscrew it and take it off) and then screw the long part in. Here’s a pic before I wrapped it up.


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I see the problem now,  mine does not have a fat end.  They sent me a butt connector style one.  So much for installing tonight, I can not find one of those any where around my house.  Are those style ones you can only get on the internet?   I havent looked yet but there is only one red wire in the trailer plug to connect it to right?

[romclean1]

2 hours ago, Mudcon said:

I see the problem now,  mine does not have a fat end.  They sent me a butt connector style one.  So much for installing tonight, I can not find one of those any where around my house.  Are those style ones you can only get on the internet?   I havent looked yet but there is only one red wire in the trailer plug to connect it to right?

I’m pretty sure it’s this or a version of it. 

[Cupton]

Got mine in the mail today. Instructions they provide are slim, but hopefully the photos you all took here and info can be of some help to this non electrical genius here. Meaning me! 

[Coles5515]

I got mine the other day and got to it today. Wired it and tapped into the red wire and blew the damn fuse for the trailer battery. Not sure why but I’m assuming the wires on the plug were in the wrong spades. Oh well just going to get a few of those 30a fuses and try the other way and see what happens. 

[Cupton]

I’m 90% wired up but I need to extend the red wire so it can even come close to the trailer harness wires. Have to buy some tonight and see what other connection options are out there. Not sure how to tap into that red and green wire for power. There’s not much room to play with under there and I’m not entirely sure how the heck this connector is even supposed to work unless there’s a lot of wire to play with.

Did you have to remove or lower your spare tire to work under there? And is this connector for tapping into the power or for extending the red wire. I can see how it would be used for extending but not for tapping into the wire.

[romclean1]

4 hours ago, Cupton said:

I’m 90% wired up but I need to extend the red wire so it can even come close to the trailer harness wires. Have to buy some tonight and see what other connection options are out there. Not sure how to tap into that red and green wire for power. There’s not much room to play with under there and I’m not entirely sure how the heck this connector is even supposed to work unless there’s a lot of wire to play with.

Did you have to remove or lower your spare tire to work under there? And is this connector for tapping into the power or for extending the red wire. I can see how it would be used for extending but not for tapping into the wire.
 

Nope you don't need to remove the spare.  Roll back the plastic cable tubing to expose the bundle on the backside of there trailer connection and unwrap it a few inches.  Then you can tug that cable apart from the others enough to attach the tap. Mine came with a different tap, a T.    a couple of posts back I showed the tap on the wire and what I think is the tap on amazon.  You could use that straight thru one to extend the power wire if you need to. I'd wrap it afterwards for sure.