Thread: Trucks.

Next time I look for a vehicle I will try to find a work around for that situation. Until then I won't worry about the details.

One of the things I don't like about my F-150 is that if you open the door about 17 light bulbs light. If you have the program you can do a police blackout mode from what I understand. The solution is to jumper a wire in the door so the door thinks that it is closed all the time and it takes care of the issue. One side effect is that it is easier to lock your keys in. I have a heavier key ring so the sensor doesn't tell that the keys are in the ignition when I turn it of many times already. I have been camping and not started my truck for a day but gone in and out and have had low battery alerts from the lights being on.... My truck is now out of warranty so I will get bored/mad some day and try the jumper.

Funny, my neighbor got a 14 with the twin turbos. I drove it. Meh. I had rather have the 5.0.
As you turned the key, Ford logos popped up on two screens and boulders were exploding. No Thanks!

Originally Posted by 32t

Next time I look for a vehicle I will try to find a work around for that situation. Until then I won't worry about the details.

One of the things I don't like about my F-150 is that if you open the door about 17 light bulbs light. If you have the program you can do a police blackout mode from what I understand. The solution is to jumper a wire in the door so the door thinks that it is closed all the time and it takes care of the issue. One side effect is that it is easier to lock your keys in. I have a heavier key ring so the sensor doesn't tell that the keys are in the ignition when I turn it of many times already. I have been camping and not started my truck for a day but gone in and out and have had low battery alerts from the lights being on.... My truck is now out of warranty so I will get bored/mad some day and try the jumper.

Why not just take the lamps out of the lights, or on some cars you can just switch the interior lights off but maybe newer ones don't have switches on the fittings. You may also be able to disconnect a wire somewhere to stop the door from turning on the lights, it would depend if it is done through a relay or not probably.

Originally Posted by edhewitt

Why not just take the lamps out of the lights, or on some cars you can just switch the interior lights off but maybe newer ones don't have switches on the fittings. You may also be able to disconnect a wire somewhere to stop the door from turning on the lights, it would depend if it is done through a relay or not probably.

We are thinking the same way and that is what I meant by jumper wire.

There is a switch in the door connected to the latch that is normally open or shut when the door is shut{I can't remember which at the moment} For discussion lets say normally shut. When the door opens the switch opens. The solution is to take a wire and "jumper" before the switch so it takes the switch out of the circuit. But that is permanent that the lights won't turn on so then what I want to do is take another switch in the middle of the jumper wire and mount it in the door panel allowing me to bypass the factory switch if I want.

If the factory switch is normally open the aftermarket switch would just be in a different place in the circuit.

My truck is out of warranty so now I can start making it mine!

Originally Posted by 32t

We are thinking the same way and that is what I meant by jumper wire.

There is a switch in the door connected to the latch that is normally open or shut when the door is shut{I can't remember which at the moment} For discussion lets say normally shut. When the door opens the switch opens. The solution is to take a wire and "jumper" before the switch so it takes the switch out of the circuit. But that is permanent that the lights won't turn on so then what I want to do is take another switch in the middle of the jumper wire and mount it in the door panel allowing me to bypass the factory switch if I want.

If the factory switch is normally open the aftermarket switch would just be in a different place in the circuit.

My truck is out of warranty so now I can start making it mine!

I was thinking about just the part of the circuit that controls the lights, that way your truck will not lock you out, which I thought I read was a problem with just jumpering the door switch. But it sounds like you would have to go further into the circuit, if all of the internal lights are on one circuit you could rig a switch in at the start of the circuit, if not you could cut into the various feeds just prior to the lights and run them through a relay with multiple sets of the same state contacts and control the coil with your switch.

GM trucks had a dome light defeat button next to the headlamp switch for a long time. Not certain if they still do.
In these days of body modules controlling the interior lamps and what with security systems and such, cutting a wire and adding a toggle may cause side effects with door locks, etc. It may even set codes in the body module.
Those Ford truck forum guys probably have sorted it out....
For example, my Dodge will kill any lights left on after a while to save battery. You cannot leave the 4 ways flashing at night with truck/trailer parked out by the road while you grab a bite.
Damn BCM shuts them down after a bit.

Originally Posted by sharptonn

GM trucks had a dome light defeat button next to the headlamp switch for a long time. Not certain if they still do.
In these days of body modules controlling the interior lamps and what with security systems and such, cutting a wire and adding a toggle may cause side effects with door locks, etc. It may even set codes in the body module.
Those Ford truck forum guys probably have sorted it out....
For example, my Dodge will kill any lights left on after a while to save battery. You cannot leave the 4 ways flashing at night with truck/trailer parked out by the road while you grab a bite.
Damn BCM shuts them down after a bit.

With the Ford it turns on not only the interior lights but cargo, parking, even the license plate lights. With the computers they can not handle the battery drain of days of old. I have a rechargeable flashlight mounted in my truck and I can't leave it plugged in overnight even if the flashlight is charged or I get low voltage warnings in the morning.

Another pet peeve is that I can't leave the door open and play the radio unless the truck is running......

Originally Posted by sharptonn

GM trucks had a dome light defeat button next to the headlamp switch for a long time. Not certain if they still do.
In these days of body modules controlling the interior lamps and what with security systems and such, cutting a wire and adding a toggle may cause side effects with door locks, etc. It may even set codes in the body module.
Those Ford truck forum guys probably have sorted it out....
For example, my Dodge will kill any lights left on after a while to save battery. You cannot leave the 4 ways flashing at night with truck/trailer parked out by the road while you grab a bite.
Damn BCM shuts them down after a bit.

Yes they still do I like to shut mine off too

Originally Posted by edhewitt

I was thinking about just the part of the circuit that controls the lights, that way your truck will not lock you out, which I thought I read was a problem with just jumpering the door switch. But it sounds like you would have to go further into the circuit, if all of the internal lights are on one circuit you could rig a switch in at the start of the circuit, if not you could cut into the various feeds just prior to the lights and run them through a relay with multiple sets of the same state contacts and control the coil with your switch.

The door switch is just a signal to the computer, that the door is open or shut. The computer is programmed to turn on the lights when the door is open. Ideally just programming the computer to not turn on the lights [Police Blackout] is the way to go but you have to have access to the programming tools to do that. I have read that turning on the lights is not the only part of the programming that uses the door closed switch, therefore if you bypass the switch It can create other issues if the computer 'thinks" the door is shut.

This is about a truck but if you want to continue this discussion we could go Off Topicus!

Another issue is the old door jamb switch has gone the way of carbs and points. All incorporated in the door latch on most all new stuff. I would search the Ford Truck forums. I would bet some redneck night-hunter has figured it out!