Power Running Board Lighting

[dmchugh24]

Waiting on my truck to arrive. Do the OEM power running boards have any lighting? If not does anybody know any good options to illuminate the steps?

 

[Gondul]

No lights on the steps... do you not have puddle lights on the mirrors?

 

[dmchugh24]

Do the mirrors have the puddle lights, or are they mounted on the underside of the truck?

 

[dmchugh24]

I saw this on another post and really liked the lighting

 

[202snowman]

Do the mirrors have the puddle lights, or are they mounted on the underside of the truck?

The mirrors have the puddle lights...there is no underside mounted lighting

 

[davidn0021]

I feel like this should not be that difficult of a thing to add yourself. Just have to decide if you want it to activate on the door or the power to the steps. I imagine power to the steps would be easiest to harness into. I'm looking to do this myself as well.

 

[geotex1]

You can light the Mopar steps with some LED rock lights. Inexpensive and easy to wire to be triggered with the boards.

 

[RAMRhode]

I saw this on another post and really liked the lighting

This is exactly what I would like to do! There are puddle lights on the side mirrors however, they are quite ineffective.
Could you let us know who the OP is? Maybe they would be able to provide us more detail in this mod.

 

[Gondul]

This is exactly what I would like to do! There are puddle lights on the side mirrors however, they are quite ineffective.
Could you let us know who the OP is? Maybe they would be able to provide us more detail in this mod.

I live down a private drive nowhere near any additional ambient lights and the puddle lights work quite well. If you have more ambient lighting in your area, that is a separate issue.

 

[RAMRhode]

I live down a private drive nowhere near any additional ambient lights and the puddle lights work quite well. If you have more ambient lighting in your area, that is a separate issue.

I’m not sure how photons travel in your universe, but in mine, they pretty much travel on a straight path. You’re right, on their own, in darkness, the puddle lights are bright. However, I find them to not be too effective in lighting the power running boards when opening the doors, especially when the power mirrors are folded. They pretty much illuminate the door panels and front quarter only. I am looking to have more direct lighting on the running boards when they deploy upon opening the doors to be able to see the steps better in any ambient light condition.

 

[Gondul]

I’m not sure how photons travel in your universe, but in mine, they pretty much travel on a straight path. You’re right, on their own, in darkness, the puddle lights are bright. However, I find them to not be too effective in lighting the power running boards when opening the doors, especially when the power mirrors are folded. They pretty much illuminate the door panels and front quarter only. I am looking to have more direct lighting on the running boards when they deploy upon opening the doors to be able to see the steps better in any ambient light condition.

Photons work quite well in my universe... they usually travel in a line either as a wave or as a particle and bounce off surfaces so we can see, additionally they can curve due to gravitational lensing.... do your photons only travel in straight lines?

If they only travel in a straight line maybe point the light into your eyes so you can see better?

 

[202snowman]

Gentlemen...play nice please

 

[JBeckman]

This is exactly what I would like to do! There are puddle lights on the side mirrors however, they are quite ineffective.
Could you let us know who the OP is? Maybe they would be able to provide us more detail in this mod.

These lights are the ones from the AMP research powerstep's. I just installed a set about a month ago on my rig. They are nice.

Best option mentioned would to find a set of rock lights. Only thing that would need to be considered is how to time them. The amp boards turn on when they go down, and stay on till they go up. If wired into the factory board, idk if it will be just a trigger on/off when the board motor is powered.

 

[RAMRhode]

These lights are the ones from the AMP research powerstep's. I just installed a set about a month ago on my rig. They are nice.

Best option mentioned would to find a set of rock lights. Only thing that would need to be considered is how to time them. The amp boards turn on when they go down, and stay on till they go up. If wired into the factory board, idk if it will be just a trigger on/off when the board motor is powered.

Thanks, JBeckman for the info! Good point on the running board being power source. I’ll look further into the two options to you gave.

 

[JBeckman]

Thanks, JBeckman for the info! Good point on the running board being power source. I’ll look further into the two options to you gave.

Off the top of my head, you could tap the power source from the puddle lights if your truck is equipped? The lights are easy, getting them to work only when needed will take the research.

Here is a link for the lights that come with the amp steps. They are identical to the lights in the pic.
https://www.electricstep.com/AMP-Research/pc/AMP-Research-LED-Lights-Set-of-4-p401.htm

 

[JBeckman]

Just re read that you do have puddle lights. I would do a test and see how long they stay illuminated. When the door is open, closed to see how long they stay on. You could find a wiring diagram for the mirrors and use the puddle light for the board light trigger. The AMP LEDs draw low current, so you could just tap into them and be good.

When the amp boards close, the led stays on for abt 2 sec. So based on the previous suggested time measurement, the lights will be on for that duration when open/closed.

If I were to need to install lights, this would be my path. Including using the amp lights. They are low profile and very brite. Let me know what direction you go. Would be a good write up for those who do not have illumination on their factory powered mopar boards.

 

[geotex1]

You can grab the cargo light trigger right at the driver's side sill plate, and the lights will then illuminate with all other entry lights.

 

[RAMRhode]

Just re read that you do have puddle lights. I would do a test and see how long they stay illuminated. When the door is open, closed to see how long they stay on. You could find a wiring diagram for the mirrors and use the puddle light for the board light trigger. The AMP LEDs draw low current, so you could just tap into them and be good.

When the amp boards close, the led stays on for abt 2 sec. So based on the previous suggested time measurement, the lights will be on for that duration when open/closed.

If I were to need to install lights, this would be my path. Including using the amp lights. They are low profile and very brite. Let me know what direction you go. Would be a good write up for those who do not have illumination on their factory powered mopar boards.

Thanks for link...and for your detailed response. Much appreciated! The lights seem to be exactly what is needed and the profile looks like it will clear when the boards retract. Good idea, will post tutorial/lessons learned as I attempt this.

 

[RAMRhode]

You can grab the cargo light trigger right at the driver's side sill plate, and the lights will then illuminate with all other entry lights.

Alright! I was trying to figure out how to access puddle lights and it was looking a bit outside my wheelhouse. I was getting a little nervous about removing such visable panels (and, more importantly, reinstalling them correctly!) but this access looks to be much easier. I assume the same can be done with passenger side too?

 

[geotex1]

Alright! I was trying to figure out how to access puddle lights and it was looking a bit outside my wheelhouse. I was getting a little nervous about removing such visable panels (and, more importantly, reinstalling them correctly!) but this access looks to be much easier. I assume the same can be done with passenger side too?

When you install the boards, you have to run the wiring harness, which crosses over to the passenger side but enters on the driver's. Add your additional wire for lighting to that harness before running it and enter and connect everything on the driver's side.