XLT trucks with push button start cup holder/ambient lighting

[volvofan94]

Thanks @HammaMan and @JHForman812 for the suggestions!

After working with @JHForman812, we found I missed resetting the APIM after completing the FORscan work yesterday. After a quick APIM reset and adjustment of the Ambient Lighting brightness on the radio, I'm happy to report my truck can join the PTS XLT ambient lighting crowd!

Appreciate everyone's help!!

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[HammaMan]

On XLTs to very easily enable the front media bin's light plug, use quick taps to jump these 2 yellow wires. I confirmed that pin 22 going to the media bin connector has nothing on the 'truck side' of C3133 (the plug that feeds most things in the console). The ground is attached, just the yellow power wire is not.

These are the easiest tap device to make the jump

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B381X9NB

I'm not fond of the factory ambient lights so in the rear instead of using them, I cut up their harnesses to use to make other things. I chose instead to use 6 LED per strip (cut in 3 LED increments) to tap the same yellow illumination wire to feed my own under-seat LEDs. The yellow illumination wire in my truck stays on for MUCH longer than the ambient LIN circuit does. While the power itself remains, the lin commands the LEDS off much sooner. The yellow illumination circuit stays on for 20 minutes or so whereas the factory ambient likes to turn off after ~ 1 minute or so of door opening.

Which connects to the seat (also added blue flag to seat side). It's way-way overkill stuck to the seat using a combination of VHB, zip ties, and super sticky rubber patch tape (funny looking gray/black stuff)

 

[JHForman812]

On XLTs to very easily enable the front media bin's light plug, use quick taps to jump these 2 yellow wires. I confirmed that pin 22 going to the media bin connector has nothing on the 'truck side' of C3133 (the plug that feeds most things in the console). The ground is attached, just the yellow power wire is not.

These are the easiest tap device to make the jump

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B381X9NB

As an aircraft mechanic for a living, and a mechanic for a hobby. What you’re doing gets the job done but is one of my least favorite ways to hack wiring

 

[HammaMan]

As an aircraft mechanic for a living, and a mechanic for a hobby. What you’re doing gets the job done but is one of my least favorite ways to hack wiring

Oh, I agree. But in my typical fashion the first thing I did was say 'what happens if this wire shorts' -- so I connected it directly to ground and the BCM's fet tripped killing the circuit. I closed the truck up for 10 minutes and the BCM had turned it back on. Car electronics are decades ahead of aircraft components due to the scrutiny that must go into aircraft certification. All of those fragile loose wires running around an av bay is unbelievable to me.

The same thing occurs with the ambient lighting fet. When the BCM measures that it's faulted to ground, it kills it. My wiring of choice is high temp silicone 18ga used for model aircraft.

Also on my jumper wire before I covered it in fabric harness tape was to band it yellow. I didn't use the "T" style tap on mine as I'm pulling both ground / power via the twin T-tap

 

[JHForman812]

Oh, I agree. But in my typical fashion the first thing I did was say 'what happens if this wire shorts' -- so I connected it directly to ground and the BCM's fet tripped killing the circuit. I closed the truck up for 10 minutes and the BCM had turned it back on. Car electronics are decades ahead of aircraft components due to the scrutiny that must go into aircraft certification. All of those fragile loose wires running around an av bay is unbelievable to me.

The same thing occurs with the ambient lighting fet. When the BCM measures that it's faulted to ground, it kills it.

And they are all the same color

 

[HammaMan]

And they are all the same color

Another thing I did was follow the factory wiring and adding connectors at the same place the wiring harnesses have them so that future service if needed is easy. I always add connectors at the same place factory harness are connectorized for easy removal and clearly marked with colored electrical tape flags so that even a dealer monkey can figure it out.

Don't mind my foam padding I added to make sure stuff doesn't vibrate ?

 

[mrtull]

@Texas2022XLT
For me It wasn’t. Both side have the bracket. The driver side had nothing but the bracket. The pass side had a plug there but it was dead.

My driver side is backordered until 3/14 (hopefully not longer). In the meantime, I've been reading and looking around. I just found one under my pass seat and found the empty slot where it would be under driver side. Talk about going from super excited to super bummed. I immediately thought of this post and wonder if mine will be dead too.

 

[JHForman812]

My driver side is backordered until 3/14 (hopefully not longer). In the meantime, I've been reading and looking around. I just found one under my pass seat and found the empty slot where it would be under driver side. Talk about going from super excited to super bummed. I immediately thought of this post and wonder if mine will be dead too.

None of the underseat ones are active, even if you install the jumper the under seat ones will be dead still.

 

[mrtull]

None of the underseat ones are active, even if you install the jumper the under seat ones will be dead still.

Seems so bizarre to run wires that don't work. Are pins missing from a harness in the middle? The front passenger works, so the wiring harness works up to a certain point.

My lack of experience with automotive wiring is showing, isn't it?

 

[JHForman812]

Seems so bizarre to run wires that don't work. Are pins missing from a harness in the middle? The front passenger works, so the wiring harness works up to a certain point.

My lack of experience with automotive wiring is showing, isn't it?

The connectors are on the seat harness side not the truck harness side. Hope that helps ?

 

[mrtull]

The connectors are on the seat harness side not the truck harness side. Hope that helps ?

Indeed it does... I didn't consider they were two separate lines.

 

[HammaMan]

Indeed it does... I didn't consider they were two separate lines.

I canceled my order for the driver side choosing instead to modify the green taped one to put there via the method of trimming the tab shown in this thread a few pages back. I chose instead to tap into the yellow illumination circuit at the center console to provide power to the front media bin and 2 LED strips I installed under the front seats to illuminate the rear floor, which does so for ~15m post door closing, unlike the ambient circuit which quickly turns off.

To get the cup holder to work you must bring the LIN bus into the console (center wire of the 3 in the connectors). You can simply tap the LIN wire at the front passenger side area and bring it into the console to tap into for the cup holders if you so choose. You can also buy the custom harness to feed the cup holder and seats w/ those wires / connectors.

Ultimately it comes down to how much of the work you want to do yourself. There's lots of small components to use in the process. Buying the harness is the faster / easier solution. I went through just about every harness in the front of the truck looking for spare wires / grounds to use and found enough to make mine work. It was not a fast process, but I also wanted to get a better understanding of what precisely was in the truck. I have no qualms in taking things apart. The illumination circuits are controlled by the computer which monitors them and cuts power instead of burning a fuse or turning a wire into a heating element. If there's a dead short it won't use the circuit and will throw a DTC in the BCM. It will clear upon fixing the short and resume using the circuit.

The ambient (green / red) and console lighting (yellow / green) circuits are fixed full voltage. You can also tap into the dimmer circuit (violet / gry) w/ 2 wire 12v LEDs and get your dimming via variable voltage if desired.

 

[JHForman812]

I canceled my order for the driver side choosing instead to modify the green taped one to put there via the method of trimming the tab shown in this thread a few pages back. I chose instead to tap into the yellow illumination circuit at the center console to provide power to the front media bin and 2 LED strips I installed under the front seats to illuminate the rear floor, which does so for ~15m post door closing, unlike the ambient circuit which quickly turns off.

To get the cup holder to work you must bring the LIN bus into the console (center wire of the 3 in the connectors). You can simply tap the LIN wire at the front passenger side area and bring it into the console to tap into for the cup holders if you so choose. You can also buy the custom harness to feed the cup holder and seats w/ those wires / connectors.

Ultimately it comes down to how much of the work you want to do yourself. There's lots of small components to use in the process. Buying the harness is the faster / easier solution. I went through just about every harness in the front of the truck looking for spare wires / grounds to use and found enough to make mine work. It was not a fast process, but I also wanted to get a better understanding of what precisely was in the truck. I have no qualms in taking things apart. The illumination circuits are controlled by the computer which monitors them and cuts power instead of burning a fuse or turning a wire into a heating element. If there's a dead short it won't use the circuit and will throw a DTC in the BCM. It will clear upon fixing the short and resume using the circuit.

The ambient (green / red) and console lighting (yellow / green) circuits are fixed full voltage. You can also tap into the dimmer circuit (violet / gry) w/ 2 wire 12v LEDs and get your dimming via variable voltage if desired.

This is correct max order whatever foot well light is available and trim the ridge off and plug it in. The wiring is the same just keyed different nothing more. For the bronco guys when they add the color change they gotta shave the connector. You dont have to have the correct connector, the wiring is all the same for ambient lights

 

[Texas2022XLT]

My driver side is backordered until 3/14 (hopefully not longer). In the meantime, I've been reading and looking around. I just found one under my pass seat and found the empty slot where it would be under driver side. Talk about going from super excited to super bummed. I immediately thought of this post and wonder if mine will be dead too.

Did you get your driver side yet? My first one arrived damaged....I was told the 14th as well...figured I'll call the dealership tomorrow.

 

[mrtull]

Did you get your driver side yet? My first one arrived damaged....I was told the 14th as well...figured I'll call the dealership tomorrow.

I have not. I'm going to email where I bought it to see if it ever came in. I ordered from Bellingham Ford; they sent me an email when my other two parts (cuppholder and passenger light) so I think I'll get one when driver side ships but am not assuming anything.

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