Gen5diy bed light switch

romclean1 · March 22, 2021

On 3/20/2021 at 6:20 PM, Coles5515 said:

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.

Yep, just switch to the opposite instructions and you'll be fine - I did the same thing, bought a multipack on amazon

Cupton · March 22, 2021

29 minutes ago, romclean1 said:

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.

Thank you for the tips! I didn’t think about pulling the tubing back. I’ll have a go at it tomorrow. I got some extra wire and some splice tap connectors from Home Depot tonight. If all goes well I’ll tape and wrap back up when I’m done. If those connectors don’t work I’ll look at the ones in the Amazon link.

I also ordered a couple of bed rail covers to pop on the rail pockets so the back of the switch doesn’t get wet in the rain. I’ll probably wrap the back of the switch as well since the 3 connectors are exposed just for some extra protection.

Thanks again!

cansled · March 22, 2021

13 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.

Yep.....They sent me the wrong connector too. Mine was an extender like the one you posted instead of the T-tap it should of cam with.

Cupton · March 22, 2021

Curious if anyone happens to know what gauge wire that green/red power wire is on the trailer harness? That is a thick wire! Im guessing its maybe at least 10 gauge so the connectors I bought last night aren't working. The wire is just too darn thick. I have the yellow twist tap ones on order that should be here tomorrow. Hopefully those will work and then we can test to see if I got this thing installed correctly. This has become a pain in the a** project for me.

Edited March 22, 2021 by Cupton

Cupton · March 23, 2021

All installed and everything works great. The twist tap connectors were key for me to make that connection to the green/red power wire. The other tap connectors I had were too small for that big ol' power wire. Thanks everyone!

romclean1 · March 23, 2021

33 minutes ago, Cupton said:

All installed and everything works great. The twist tap connectors were key for me to make that connection to the green/red power wire. The other tap connectors I had were too small for that big ol' power wire. Thanks everyone!

Good deal - I'm not sure what gauge that wire is, but it's a beefy one! glad you got it setup, it's a simple mod that should be a factory standard feature. I also like supporting a small business here in the good old USA, a couple of hiccups along the way is no big deal when I look at it that way.

Cupton · March 23, 2021

1 hour ago, romclean1 said:

Good deal - I'm not sure what gauge that wire is, but it's a beefy one! glad you got it setup, it's a simple mod that should be a factory standard feature. I also like supporting a small business here in the good old USA, a couple of hiccups along the way is no big deal when I look at it that way.

Yea, exactly. And I learned something new about my truck. Now I better hightail it outta this forum till you 2019-2021 owners realize in an '18 owner squatting on your turf.

Thanks again!

Mudcon · March 25, 2021

On 3/13/2021 at 12:42 AM, 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.

Well I got mine to work too. Mine is a 19 ltz and my black wires lined up like yours. So I followed your tips and went with the instructions you used to make it work and blew the fuse. LOL So I followed the website and got it working. I am all for support the small businesses but for the price of the harness as simple as it is you would think they would give you a power wire that is long enough and send the right wire tap instead a butt connector. I am going to have to file the hole out a little to get mine to fit in the hole. I cut the tabs off but it still just shy of popping in. Going to be a nice upgrade though.

Cupton · March 25, 2021

15 minutes ago, Mudcon said:

Well I got mine to work too. Mine is a 19 ltz and my black wires lined up like yours. So I followed your tips and went with the instructions you used to make it work and blew the fuse. LOL So I followed the website and got it working. I am all for support the small businesses but for the price of the harness as simple as it is you would think they would give you a power wire that is long enough and send the right wire tap instead a butt connector. I am going to have to file the hole out a little to get mine to fit in the hole. I cut the tabs off but it still just shy of popping in. Going to be a nice upgrade though.

I was a little surprised as well about the short length of the wire. Especially since they mention being able to use the existing round hole in the bed. Either way, glad you got it working and its a nice little upgrade for sure! My switch was a little tough to get in there too and did take a little encouraging with a screw driver and some light taps with a hammer all along the sides till it eventually worked itself in and snapped into place.

romclean1 · March 25, 2021

1 hour ago, Mudcon said:

Well I got mine to work too. Mine is a 19 ltz and my black wires lined up like yours. So I followed your tips and went with the instructions you used to make it work and blew the fuse. LOL So I followed the website and got it working. I am all for support the small businesses but for the price of the harness as simple as it is you would think they would give you a power wire that is long enough and send the right wire tap instead a butt connector. I am going to have to file the hole out a little to get mine to fit in the hole. I cut the tabs off but it still just shy of popping in. Going to be a nice upgrade though.

Just shave the tab on the side of the switch, then you dont have to mess with the metal or coating on the hole.

Cupton · March 25, 2021

Forgot to mention that I also ended up getting some rail pocket covers to go over so that the back of the switch isn't constantly exposed to the elements. I ended up wrapping the back of the switch too, to help keep it nice and dry but also hoping the covers help even further.

romclean1 · March 25, 2021

4 hours ago, Cupton said:

I was a little surprised as well about the short length of the wire. Especially since they mention being able to use the existing round hole in the bed. Either way, glad you got it working and its a nice little upgrade for sure! My switch was a little tough to get in there too and did take a little encouraging with a screw driver and some light taps with a hammer all along the sides till it eventually worked itself in and snapped into place.

I don't think they designed the kit with that hole in mind, it's just pure luck that it fits. The cable provided was designed for the user to drill a hole, so I was super happy being able to make it fit the hole that was already there! I'm really curious to find out which accessory fits into that hole, there are two other small holes near it as well. Perhaps a tool track system ?

Edited March 25, 2021 by romclean1

romclean1 · March 25, 2021

1 hour ago, Cupton said:

Forgot to mention that I also ended up getting some rail pocket covers to go over so that the back of the switch isn't constantly exposed to the elements. I ended up wrapping the back of the switch too, to help keep it nice and dry but also hoping the covers help even further.

I did the same thing when I put the tonneau cover on. That compartment where the switch ends up appears to stay really dry with the pocket covers in, but I wrapped those wires too just in case.

Cupton · March 25, 2021

3 minutes ago, romclean1 said:

I don't think they designed the kit with that hole in mind, it's just pure luck that it fits. The cable provided was designed for the user to drill a hole, but I super happy when I was able to make it fit the hole that was already there! I'm really curious to find out which accessory fits into that hole, there are two other small holes near it as well. Perhaps a tool track system ?

My ‘18 has only that one hole at the top and I swear when I ordered, somewhere on the page it said the switch was changed to a rounded switch to ease installation to use the existing hole. I might be imagining that though. Bottom line is I got it to work with a few additional supplies that were needed, along with your awesome photos and write up. Very helpful! Thank you again.

Mudcon · March 25, 2021

5 hours ago, romclean1 said:

Just shave the tab on the side of the switch, then you dont have to mess with the metal or coating on the hole.

I noticed in your pic you did that and I did that too and pushed on it with all my might and it would only go 3/4 of the way in. I will mess with it some more. How did you use a screw driver on it?