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Bed Lighting Kit

Colton94

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I installed my bed lights today, they worked at first but now the factory cargo light and the bed lights I installed aren't working at all. Does anyone know where the fuse is for the cargo light?
 

Abhrams

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My truck didn't come with the bed utility group so I missed out on the bed lights, which are very useful especially if you have a tonneau cover. So I found the wiring diagram and followed the wires from the third brake light down to the driver side rear kick plate, my plan was to tie into the wires suppling power to the cargo lamps which would turn on the led strips whenever the cargo light was on. I found the wire pretty easily (just a couple trim pieces to remove) it was a white wire with a tan tracer. From there its very simple, just install whatever light you want and ground one side to the body and connect the other side to the white and tan wire. And now you have bed lights for under $20. PS, If you run into an issue where the aftermarket lights don't work I recommend swapping the cargo lights mounted in the third brake light housing to LED, that has solved the issue for the couple of people it happened to. Here's a link to the set that I used.

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You, Sir are my hero. It's been driving me crazy that I couldn't see in my truck bed. I stumbled across this forum that gave me the exact info I needed. The lights cost less than $25 and the install took about two hours. Then you for sharing this info!
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Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk
 

mr.jacobmc

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My truck didn't come with the bed utility group so I missed out on the bed lights, which are very useful especially if you have a tonneau cover. So I found the wiring diagram and followed the wires from the third brake light down to the driver side rear kick plate, my plan was to tie into the wires suppling power to the cargo lamps which would turn on the led strips whenever the cargo light was on. I found the wire pretty easily (just a couple trim pieces to remove) it was a white wire with a tan tracer. From there its very simple, just install whatever light you want and ground one side to the body and connect the other side to the white and tan wire. And now you have bed lights for under $20. PS, If you run into an issue where the aftermarket lights don't work I recommend swapping the cargo lights mounted in the third brake light housing to LED, that has solved the issue for the couple of people it happened to. Here's a link to the set that I used.

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Did your truck not have a plastic surrounding the wires? Couldn't figure out how to get it off with out removing the rear seats at the least
 

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Abhrams

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Did your truck not have a plastic surrounding the wires? Couldn't figure out how to get it off with out removing the rear seats at the least
That piece is Removable without taking the seat out. Can't remember exactly but I recall it being pretty straightforward but a bit of a pain in the butt

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mr.jacobmc

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That piece is Removable without taking the seat out. Can't remember exactly but I recall it being pretty straightforward but a bit of a pain in the butt

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I just got up a bit earlier this morning and took the seat out, no biggie
 

JayStein

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Maybe I missed it but I see most are tapping the cargo light in the CHMSL. I would recommend just pin into the existing circuits for the cargo bed lights in the XY670A connector near the rear of the drivers side and above the resonator? Most body harnesses have the two circuits already ran from the BCM and terminate in the XY670A connector. The harness that plugs into the xy670a connector is determined by the options installed (I.E. ram box, cargo bed light, etc). You should be able to just pin terminals 6 and 11 in xy670a for the cargo light drive (beige/white wire) and cargo light switch signal (beige/voilet wire) circuits, then ground to the nearest ground location. Easy peasy, no going into the cab to tap wires.

Additionally, you need to set CBC I/O A5 enabled to yes and CBC I/O G16 enabled to yes in the BCM configuration and the cargo bed lights will be as OEM intended in regards to wiring and function.
 
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dave1camaro

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My truck didn't come with the bed utility group so I missed out on the bed lights, which are very useful especially if you have a tonneau cover. So I found the wiring diagram and followed the wires from the third brake light down to the driver side rear kick plate, my plan was to tie into the wires suppling power to the cargo lamps which would turn on the led strips whenever the cargo light was on. I found the wire pretty easily (just a couple trim pieces to remove) it was a white wire with a tan tracer. From there its very simple, just install whatever light you want and ground one side to the body and connect the other side to the white and tan wire. And now you have bed lights for under $20. PS, If you run into an issue where the aftermarket lights don't work I recommend swapping the cargo lights mounted in the third brake light housing to LED, that has solved the issue for the couple of people it happened to. Here's a link to the set that I used.

View attachment 4851 View attachment 4852 View attachment 4853 View attachment 4854
do they light up with the engine running?
 

smoke8r

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Hi all.
I followed this mod and tapped into the white and tan wire under the trim by the passenger back seat. Before I could change the cargo light to led I had to move my truck and now my dash it lit up with all sorts of check engine lights. I have the
Traction control and Lanesense and auto headlight troublelight on.
I have since removed the newly installed wire splice and am wondering how to clear the codes. No matter what I try I can not get the codes to clear. I even left the battery unplugged for 30 min without success.
My scan tool lists 30 different codes including a cargo light ground fault but it can't reset the codes either.
Really don't want to take it to the dealer.
Looking for help.
Thanks.

21:17. Edit.....problem resolved itself after driving it and stopping and starting a few times.
 
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blankcanvas

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My truck didn't come with the bed utility group so I missed out on the bed lights, which are very useful especially if you have a tonneau cover. So I found the wiring diagram and followed the wires from the third brake light down to the driver side rear kick plate, my plan was to tie into the wires suppling power to the cargo lamps which would turn on the led strips whenever the cargo light was on. I found the wire pretty easily (just a couple trim pieces to remove) it was a white wire with a tan tracer. From there its very simple, just install whatever light you want and ground one side to the body and connect the other side to the white and tan wire. And now you have bed lights for under $20. PS, If you run into an issue where the aftermarket lights don't work I recommend swapping the cargo lights mounted in the third brake light housing to LED, that has solved the issue for the couple of people it happened to. Here's a link to the set that I used.

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Thanks for this!! Best simple to the point how to I’ve found lol I thought the bed lights were in my build but turns out they weren’t and I’m not doing Mopar prices on those Teehee
 

fireberd350

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Last night I installed LED strips under my bed rails, and wired it up to the wire that runs the cargo light. Everything worked great in the shop. Later when I got home I noticed they wouldn't turn on: all fuses are good, but the lights flash for a moment when I unlock the truck, or when I turn them on at the cargo light switch in the cab. Anyone have any ideas to what the issue is?
 

fireberd350

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I installed my bed lights today, they worked at first but now the factory cargo light and the bed lights I installed aren't working at all. Does anyone know where the fuse is for the cargo light?
@Colton94 - did you resolve this? im experiencing the same issue.

FYI I am running lastfit LEDs in my cargo lights
 

JayStein

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If I had to guess you are overloading that cargo light circuit by wiring your LEDs directly to it. The BCM expects a certain amount of current draw, exceed that and it thinks something is wrong and shuts it down. Do you know what the amp draw is on your LED lights you wired in? On modern vehicles its good practice to use a relay to add on non OEM items. Use the cargo light circuit to control the relay and pull the device power from a battery power source that isn't regulated by the BCM. The slight power draw of the relay isn't enough to cause problems with BCM circuits.
 

MS Cajun

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Yes but just went with the 200 lumens. I haven't made it to the bed lights. My cargo lights don't turn on when I open my tailgate so I want that figured out first.
did you ever figure out the lights? I just realized my lights do not turn on when I open the tailgate either.
 
U

User_21361

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did you ever figure out the lights? I just realized my lights do not turn on when I open the tailgate either.

Yes, I figured it out. The functionality is disabled deliberately by Ram. I also do not have a warning light that comes on to tell you your tailgate is open. There are several threads about the topic where people had their tailgates pop open while driving. Since the truck doesn’t know the tailgate is down, it can’t turn on the lights either.

As far as lighting, I got a batter light for my diamondback cover so I didn’t need to wire anything.
 

MS Cajun

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Yes, I figured it out. The functionality is disabled deliberately by Ram. I also do not have a warning light that comes on to tell you your tailgate is open. There are several threads about the topic where people had their tailgates pop open while driving. Since the truck doesn’t know the tailgate is down, it can’t turn on the lights either.

As far as lighting, I got a batter light for my diamondback cover so I didn’t need to wire anything.
thanks for your quick response!
 

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