Kilroy
Active Member
Owning several trucks with power running boards I found that with the door open and the running boards out, there is absolutely no light shining on the running boards at night while extended. On my 2011 GMC Sierra I installed aftermarket AMP running boards (Similar to the factory ones) as well as a set on my 2011 RAM Limited. These came with light "pucks" to be installed on the lower rockers above the boards, that provided good lighting of the boards when extended. The aftermarket running boards had a plug that connected to the ODBII connector for activation. On my 21 Limited I added a light strip to the lower rocker above the step, and activated them by a power wire from the trailer connector (7 pin, constant power, with a defeat switch if there was issues) and a micro switch that trigger the light when the board extended. I plan on doing the same with my 25. If anyone is interested I will post my progress here as with my 21 I used some repurposed microswitches assemblies from an old dehumidifier. I planned on replacing them with some industrial limit switches for weather protection, but the humidifier switches held up for 4 years so I never replaced them. Here are the limit switches I will be using.
The light strips I am using are these: (Note I am not using the turn signal option)
I am using the 78" version.
It may be easier to tap into the puddle lights, but I only want them to come on when the running boards are extended. The defeat or bypass switch could be used if you wanted to keep the boards extended all the time (I have seen people that do that, but since the boards extend and drop lower than traditional fixed side rails, the ground clearance is much less, so you chance scrapping them up). Using the limit switches allow activation only when the boards extend.
The light strips I am using are these: (Note I am not using the turn signal option)
I am using the 78" version.
It may be easier to tap into the puddle lights, but I only want them to come on when the running boards are extended. The defeat or bypass switch could be used if you wanted to keep the boards extended all the time (I have seen people that do that, but since the boards extend and drop lower than traditional fixed side rails, the ground clearance is much less, so you chance scrapping them up). Using the limit switches allow activation only when the boards extend.
