Bed Lighting LEDs - Can I tap into existing bed lights??

[Samson16]

Do you have the little illumination light in the tailgate? You may still be wired for it either way. It works with the chmsl LEDs. My post contains the connectors and pins in the diagram.

Center High Mounted Stop Lamps

Center High Mounted Stop Lamps (CHMSL) have been standard equipment on all new passenger cars sold in the United States since model year 1986 and all new light trucks since model year 1994, as required by Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 108.

Ha! Take that confusing acronym!

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[Lricaud81]

Fwiw those things look like they'll light up the night. Lol

 

[Bbass5]

Fwiw those things look like they'll light up the night. Lol

I'll make a before and after post after install.

 

[amato]

Update 1 - I investigated my options during lunch. On the plus side, you can connect the lights to the plug and not fry anything lol

As a test, I plugged in the LED strip in place of the light and it works!

However, I’m glad I ran that test because I learned that you can only turn on those lights when you push the button. Opening the doors, or tailgate, locking/unlocking, nor approach were able to get those bed lights to come on.

So, while it might be easier to connect to those lights, it does not sync with the zone lighting.

Now I’m wondering if it would be easier to connect it somewhere under the back of the bed where the wiring harness comes in or run to the cab.

I found the Ford parts wiring diagram. https://parts.ford.com/shop/en/us/e...center-p-ml3z14a411d?pdp=y#/collapseRelated10
However, I may be making this harder than I need to…

I bought the same set and tried to plug them in as you did to see if they would work but they didn’t. Am I doing something wrong. I took off the OEM light unplug it and put the 2 wires in the same place as you did in the picture but nothing happened. I would much rather like to connect them to the bed light switch as I have a tunnel cover and do not want to install it by drilling a hole through floor on my truck

 

[KTM753]

I bought the same set and tried to plug them in as you did to see if they would work but they didn’t. Am I doing something wrong. I took off the OEM light unplug it and put the 2 wires in the same place as you did in the picture but nothing happened. I would much rather like to connect them to the bed light switch as I have a tunnel cover and do not want to install it by drilling a hole through floor on my truck

Did you have the polarity of your LEDs correct ?

 

[amato]

Did you have the polarity of your LEDs correct ?

I’m sorry I don’t know what you mean. Can you please explain?

 

[KTM753]

I’m sorry I don’t know what you mean. Can you please explain?

The orientation of your LED strips positive (usually red) wire and negative (usually black) wire versus the F150s positive and negative wire.

LEDs require specific orientation of the wires. One way works, the other way doesn't.

So when testing on your F150, if one way didn't work, try reversing them.

Do you own a voltmeter or multimeter? This tool can be helpful in this scenario but not required. But I do recommend one. Like having the lights on versus working in the dark. Even the cheapest one you can get your hands on will work for this scenario.

 

[Korazu]

Also, just for testing purposes, you can hook the LEDs up to a 9volt battery, red to + and black to - and the lights should light up. This is how I test mine before starting the work, as I don't want to have things torn apart and the lights don't work.

 

[JJSnell]

@Bbass5 this thread is 9 months old... Any pix of final product?

 

[amato]

The orientation of your LED strips positive (usually red) wire and negative (usually black) wire versus the F150s positive and negative wire.

LEDs require specific orientation of the wires. One way works, the other way doesn't.

So when testing on your F150, if one way didn't work, try reversing them.

Do you own a voltmeter or multimeter? This tool can be helpful in this scenario but not required. But I do recommend one. Like having the lights on versus working in the dark. Even the cheapest one you can get your hands on will work for this scenario.

Thank you

 

[amato]

Also, just for testing purposes, you can hook the LEDs up to a 9volt battery, red to + and black to - and the lights should light up. This is how I test mine before starting the work, as I don't want to have things torn apart and the lights don't work.

Thank you I will definitely try that

 

[Bbass5]

Ha, sorry guys. Kinda fell off the message board for a while ?

I ended up buying the kit from F-150 LEDs and tapped into the wiring kit as the instructions recommended.

Definitely a recommended add with a bed cover!

Before:

After:

I’ll add some more photos soon on the install process.

 

[Korazu]

Ha, sorry guys. Kinda fell off the message board for a while ?

I ended up buying the kit from F-150 LEDs and tapped into the wiring kit as the instructions recommended.

Definitely a recommended add with a bed cover!

Before:

After:

I’ll add some more photos soon on the install process.

That's also the same one I purchased but have yet to install it. I also didn't want to go up through to the kick panel in the rear passenger area. Was it a pain to route and hide the wiring to the existing bed lights?

 

[amato]

Also, just for testing purposes, you can hook the LEDs up to a 9volt battery, red to + and black to - and the lights should light up. This is how I test mine before starting the work, as I don't want to have things torn apart and the lights don't work.

Thank you for a 9v battery tip. I just tried it one works fine the other not at all that was the one I was trying to see if it worked on the switch. Time to get a replacement.
Thanks again​

 

[Bbass5]

Install process part 1:

The bed light kit from F-150 LEDs was awesome. Came with everything you needed. If you don’t have some of the tools already, I’d also get their Installation Tool Kit they recommend. Very helpful for working with all the plastic trim.

Kit with all the parts:

I also bought wire loom to run under the truck. (Amazon link- https://a.co/d/0TDjLsp). Here’s the tools I used:

Sticking the lights:
- I will say that even with the alcohol rub and silicone, it still took a while for the lights to stick. It was not a sticky as I would have thought and ended up dealing with that longer than I expected (30+ min).

I ran the wire along the front of the bed under the seal of my bed cover.

Put the rest of the wire in a loom and ran it back to the cab.

View from below looking up to the wire drop

Ran under the truck and zip tied to keep it up

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