Help - How to wire bed cap brake light.

[Branko]

Somebody has idea how to wire bed cap brake light and interior lights (2 led strips are inside cap) Thank you for any input.

 

[boogielander]

bed cap brake light:
tap into your driver side brake light. to do so, you need to remove the tail light and unplug the harness. Find the white w/ green wire (iirc it's white w/ green. it's been a long time since i last did mine and when i swapped from bed rack to camper i just cut and reconnect the third brake light) and use a t-tap to tap into it and route your cap's brake light. check if it works.
if it doesn't you'll need to use a multimeter to find the correct wire.

interior lights:
run power and ground from battery under the hood along the frame and up the holes in bed. connect the led strips to a switch and switch to the wires you just ran. Don't forget to use an inline fuse and zip tie the wires to the frame. i don't like to make it in conjunction with other functions (like turns on when you open the tailgate or doors, or etc) because that's limitation. What if I want to leave the lights on for extended period of time, after the door light times out? What if I want to turn on the lights but no need to open the tailgate?

alternatively, if you are planning for more electrical stuff in the bed (or doing a camper-living space type of build), follow my steps here:
In-depth View of Electrical System for Overlanding and Offroading
start from section called "camper system"

 

[Branko]

bed cap brake light:
tap into your driver side brake light. to do so, you need to remove the tail light and unplug the harness. Find the white w/ green wire (iirc it's white w/ green. it's been a long time since i last did mine and when i swapped from bed rack to camper i just cut and reconnect the third brake light) and use a t-tap to tap into it and route your cap's brake light. check if it works.
if it doesn't you'll need to use a multimeter to find the correct wire.

interior lights:
run power and ground from battery under the hood along the frame and up the holes in bed. connect the led strips to a switch and switch to the wires you just ran. Don't forget to use an inline fuse and zip tie the wires to the frame. i don't like to make it in conjunction with other functions (like turns on when you open the tailgate or doors, or etc) because that's limitation. What if I want to leave the lights on for extended period of time, after the door light times out? What if I want to turn on the lights but no need to open the tailgate?

alternatively, if you are planning for more electrical stuff in the bed (or doing a camper-living space type of build), follow my steps here:
In-depth View of Electrical System for Overlanding and Offroading
start from section called "camper system"

Thank you for your reply Ill follow this instruction THX

 

[boogielander]

Thank you for your reply Ill follow this instruction THX

double check on the brake light wire with a multimeter.
it's been a long time since i touched mine so my memory can be wrong.

been wiring too many toyotas at the shop these days.

 

[vinnieloo]

There is a spare, white wire with purple stripe taped up inside the wiring harness up underneath on the drivers side rear. I'm sure there are better descriptions and photos out there but this wire is for the brake light. You just unwrap some tape and the end will come free to solder on to.

 

[DEG]

Below is the wiring info Leer uses to determine wire tap-in location for CHMSL and locks. There should be an existing wire gromet below the rear drivers-side seat to run the wire through into the cab.

I'm pretty sure there is no spare wire in a bundle for this purpose like there was on the 4th gen trucks.

 

[boogielander]

Below is the wiring info Leer uses to determine wire tap-in location for CHMSL and locks. There should be an existing wire gromet below the rear drivers-side seat to run the wire through into the cab.

I'm pretty sure there is no spare wire in a bundle for this purpose like there was on the 4th gen trucks.

View attachment 181740

that looks a lot more involving than just t-tap the brake light harness lolll
i mean for the locks i understand but for CHMSL only... so complicated

 

[Branko]

Thank you guys lot of great information ill look in to it BIG THX TO ALL

 

[CogitoErgoLevo]

here, this thread has ALL the info you need for you topper:

CHMSL wire tap for topper

Gen 4's has a nice pigtail under the spare. Has anyone found a easy tap point to pull the third brake light signal from for a topper?

5thgenrams.com

I followed the instructions posted there when I installed my camper top awhile back. They are way better than Leer instructions, especially for wiring the brake light. There is already a wire under the bed on the left side near the back (instructions in the thread), so no need to tap into existing wires.
For the interior light I tapped into my existing bed lights. I also followed instructions on that thread for wiring the power lock.

 

[vinnieloo]

This is the spare wire you'll find under there. I soldered to it for my 3rd brake light on Bestop supertop and works fine. And you can see the reason to not use a knife to take the tape off...

 

[HookedonRam]

This is the spare wire you'll find under there. I soldered to it for my 3rd brake light on Bestop supertop and works fine. And you can see the reason to not use a knife to take the tape off...

I have a 2019. I took my driver's side brake light out this morning hoping to see this cable but couldn't find it. Where should I be looking?

 

[vinnieloo]

I have a 2019. I took my driver's side brake light out this morning hoping to see this cable but couldn't find it. Where should I be looking?

From underneath, driver's side near the back. It's raining right but but I'll try and get a wider view shot

 

[vinnieloo]

I have a 2019. I took my driver's side brake light out this morning hoping to see this cable but couldn't find it. Where should I be looking?

Look up above the outlet to the drivers side resonator. There is a large grey electrical connector. Follow the wires out of the connector towards the front. It'll enter another bundle of wires. It's here that the white and purple wire is wrapped in a few layers of tape. Mine is inside a loom in the photos but you can see a little bit of it at the arrow. Unwrap the tape to expose it. I didn't recall if you can see any sticking out. Maybe you can feel it under the tape.

 

[HookedonRam]

Look up above the outlet to the drivers side resonator. There is a large grey electrical connector. Follow the wires out of the connector towards the front. It'll enter another bundle of wires. It's here that the white and purple wire is wrapped in a few layers of tape. Mine is inside a loom in the photos but you can see a little bit of it at the arrow. Unwrap the tape to expose it. I didn't recall if you can see any sticking out. Maybe you can feel it under the tape.
View attachment 185560 View attachment 185561

I appreciate it! I'll crawl up there tomorrow to see if its there. I have 2019 so, I'm not sure if they included the brake light wire. If it's not there where else can I tap? TIA

 

[jimothy]

that looks a lot more involving than just t-tap the brake light harness lolll
i mean for the locks i understand but for CHMSL only... so complicated

Tap into one wire, or tap/splice into a different wire. i wouldn’t say one is more complex than the other, but at least with the purple and white wire, you’re tapping into a wire that isn’t used for anything else.

That is, that purple and white is intended exactly for this purpose: wiring up a third brake light in a cap/topper. That’s how I wired up this third brake light on my rack. Hardest thing was finding the wire and removing the tape, but that’s not complicated at all.

 

[boogielander]

Tap into one wire, or tap/splice into a different wire. i wouldn’t say one is more complex than the other, but at least with the purple and white wire, you’re tapping into a wire that isn’t used for anything else.

That is, that purple and white is intended exactly for this purpose: wiring up a third brake light in a cap/topper. That’s how I wired up this third brake light on my rack. Hardest thing was finding the wire and removing the tape, but that’s not complicated at all.

View attachment 185569

oh yeah i know. im just saying it sounds like more steps to do lol
but that third brake light looks good!