Bed Lighting Hardwire

[coolsp2]

I purchased this set of LED lighting on ebay. Its an led strip and just two wires at the end available to hardwire to a power source. In the bed of the truck there is a power panel with a US standard plug socket and a cigarette port socket. I went behind the panel and cut the cigarette port wires, two of them. Then I tried to hardwire the lights to that port to test them out. I turned on the truck as well as the factory bed lighting, but the led lights never lit up. Is there a power mismatch? The led uses 12v DC which should be the same output from the cigarette port right? My plan was to add a switch and an inline fuse to the circuit once the test was good, but the lights never lit up. The port works fine because I plugged a cigarette port adapter and charged my phone with it. I tested the led strip using a DC power source and it worked as well. What could the problem be?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2765827012...mibpllhsts&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

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[stuartmunto]

Do you have the overhead AUX switches?

If so, AUX switch 3 and 4 are pre-wired to the rear of the bed, you could just power the LEDs from one of those and then control with the AUX switch in the cab

 

[coolsp2]

Do you have the overhead AUX switches?

If so, AUX switch 3 and 4 are pre-wired to the rear of the bed, you could just power the LEDs from one of those and then control with the AUX switch in the cab

Yes I have the aux switches but don't really want to wire bed lighting to them. I'm using them for bed and tail exterior light bars and pods such as a reverse light. Therefore I wanted to tap into anything in the bed of the truck and the power panel seemed like an easy spot. Other option was to tap into the factory bed lighting already installed but I don't know the specifics of the amount of current those wires supply to each of the bed lights and if they would be able to power my led lights.

 

[Danager]

If everything tests okay until you connect, Probably just have the polarity reversed. Re-connect your LED strip but reverse the wires.

 

[fordgt]

Isn’t that circuit only powered when the key is on? I am running wires up to the battery.

 

[coolsp2]

Update to everyone. I ran a 16 gauge wire to my battery up front through the left side. Was super easy and straight forward. I wired it to a switch near the power panel in the back and attached the led lights to the switch as well.

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