Cap lighting

Doozer · November 11, 2004

Hello, I'm new to this site and I'm hoping someone can help me. The cap I recently had installed on my '02 Silverado only gets power when the running lights are turned on at the dash. I'd like to have power all the time so I don't have to go to the cab to turn on the switch everytime I need light in the bed. Where can I take the power from? The truck has a feature that turns off the dome, glove compartment and cargo light after 20 minutes to save the battery if left on accidentally. Can I tap into this source? I'd like more light than the single bulb they put in so I will be adding one or two more bulbs (on either side). Would this cause a problem if I tapped into the 20 min. shut-off cicuit?

Thanks for the help,

Rich

citydriver · November 11, 2004

Welcome to the Forum

You would be better off running a seperate circuit(wire) to your cap lights, especially if you want to add more lights to it....you dont want to overload the cabs courtesey circuit....If you use a relay to power the wire, then you could tap the dome lamp circuit to trigger the relay...just a thought

kirkRHughes · November 11, 2004

They wired mine like that too, it's a real pain, I rarely use it. They also didn't do anything about my original third brake light, now at night it reflects between the 2 windows and blinds me when I back up. I was thinking of using a row of LED's down each side so it wouldn't draw that much power.

curts2500 · November 11, 2004

Go to Home Depot, you can buy two of those "moon" lights for about $8.00, granted they're battery powered but for as many times that you'll use them they work great for me.

Peter_C · November 11, 2004

If you are worried about drawing too much juice from the dome light circuit you can tap into it, but use a relay and a second power source. The fuse box has an unused fuse that is powered all the time.

Doozer · November 12, 2004

So the relay would act like a switch to open and close the circuit providing power to the lights?

Rich

budhayes3 · November 12, 2004

So the relay would act like a switch to open and close the circuit providing power to the lights?
Rich

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yep. You run a power source to the one terminal on the coil side of the relay, and the other terminal for the coil gets a wire that goes to ground, but you put a switch in-line. This switch will close the ground which will energize the coil which will close the contacts through magnetism.

The supply wire to your lighting system in the cap will go to the contact side...one wire in from the circuit that you decide to use, and the other to the lights. Don't forget to protect the coil circuit with a fuse.

Personally, I'd run it from a dedicated source, and not worry about the factory light circuit. There's constant 12v in the electrical center under the hood...I tapped into it when I wired the light on my PaceEdwards JackRabbitt Tonneau, then I wrapped the wires in plastic loom and ran them right along the frame and in through the stake pocket (from underneath). I didn't even use a relay, just a switch, since a relay wasn't provided with the kit. The switch seems pretty solid, so until it fries, it's staying that way.