I will be installing Lux rock lights and I'd like them to auto-on when the doors are unlocked or the doors are opened. I do not want them to come on when the dome light is turned on. Does anyone know which fuse/wire I can tap into to accomplish this setup? This will be connected to a relay. Thank you.
Courtesy Lights (Rock Lights) Auto-On When Doors Open / Doors Unlock
- Thread starter USMC0331
- Start date
Thanks for the reply. I too have installed the footwell lights and I used the information in your post to accomplish this. Thank you. However, for what I'm trying to do with the courtesy lights, if I used the same wire, the courtesy lights would come on when I turn on the interior dome lights. I'd like to avoid that if possible, so I'm looking for a source that would send a current to relay when the doors are unlocked and/or opened but not be tied to the interior dome light being turned on. Not sure if this is possible? My other option would be a source that energizes the relay just when the doors are unlocked. My last resort would be to use the footwell light wire as a trigger. Thanks again.
Hey it's good to see that someone reads what I Post. Maybe the best and easiest thing to do is to put a switch on the drivers door that would turn the lights on when it's opened.
Seriously, your post was the first I found after buying my Jeep and realizing the interior lighting was horrible. The footwell lighting was my first mod. As for adding a switch on the door, that would work for turning the lights on when the door is opened, but I really want them to come on when the doors are unlocked so the area is lighted as you walk up to the Jeep. Appreciate the idea. Thanks.
It maybe your lucky day, I just happen to have a wiring schematic. But if your using the door lock wire for the light how you going to keep it on or you just want the lights to light up when the button is pushed like the lights do?
drive.google.com
2008 - Google Drive
drive.google.com
I'm going to be using a Voswitch also. So the lights will act as courtesy lights when the doors are unlocked/opened, but I'll also be able to switch them on via the Voswitch. I've attached the design I've drafted. Thanks.It maybe your lucky day, I just happen to have a wiring schematic. But if your using the door lock wire for the light how you going to keep it on or you just want the lights to light up when the button is pushed like the lights do?
2008 - Google Drive
The wiring diagram is going to be very helpful. Thanks. I'll review it and see if I can identify a fuse to tap into. Thanks.
Thanks for the recommendation. The main goal is to get the lights to turn on when the doors are unlocked. Turning on when the doors are open would be a secondary priority. Hopefully, I can find a trigger in the fuse box. Thanks.
Based on the feedback I received, I modified the design to allow the four Courtesy Lights to operate independently or in conjunction with the eight Rock Lights. This way the four Courtesy Lights operate automatically and they will also turn on manually with the other eight Rock Lights. Hopefully, the design is useful to others. Semper Fi.
Update: I did the install this weekend. The pre-planning worked out well as the installation was a success. I have courtesy lights under the doors and they can be turned on with the other 8 lights. The Lux lights are bright and the magnets make placing them on the Jeep real easy. I did encounter one issue in the rear wheel wells as they are all plastic with no metal to attach the lights to. So, I fabricated a metal bracket and it worked. If I were to use Lux lights again, I would modify the installation to make wire management simpler. Each Lux light comes with a 10' or 20' wire lead which you route back to the engine bay. This is easy enough to do, but makes wire loom and tying the wires together in the engine bay a pain (even if you did buy their wiring block). If I were to do it over, I'd place the lights where I wanted them under the Jeep, leave about 2' of wire at each light, cut the wires, and then wire each light to the main wire (one for positive and one for ground) back to the engine bay (in the above diagram this would have resulted in just four wires coming back to the engine bay versus 12 leads with two wires per). Something to consider if you go with Lux. I'll post nighttime pictures here in the near future to show the courtesy lights and all 12 lights working independently and together.
Did you power them from the fuse box, or which positive wire did you tap into?
WestCoastDan
JK Enthusiast
Sounds like a good candidate for what’s called a “latching relay”…
It can be activated by the unlock signal as a trigger, and it actually switches ON/OFF instead of being momentarily activated like the locks are.
It can be activated by the unlock signal as a trigger, and it actually switches ON/OFF instead of being momentarily activated like the locks are.