RonG
Junior Member
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2019
- Posts
- 13
- Reaction score
- 0
- Location
- Florida
- Ram Year
- 2005
- Engine
- Cummins 5.9 Diesel
I am doing a couple of "electrical" projects to my 2005 Ram 3500 dully. First, I am putting some courtesy lights on the bottom of each door (4 total), that will light up when each door opens. The next "step" will be installing automatic (descending/ascending) steps on each side of the cab. These will also need to be wired into the circuitry so that they will fold down/out when either door on either side of the cab is opened, then close/rise up when the door(s) closes. I have a host of questions about getting this done, and not sure what order to ask them.
So, here's a list:
1)
A-- Is it possible that connecting to one wire on each side of the truck will suffice to operate both the steps AND the courtesy lights? Or, perhaps, even from one source, as I don't really care if the steps on both sides of the truck go down when ever a door is opened on either side; but, it would be really nice if only one step operated if only a door(s) on one side was opened.
B-- Is it possible - or even recommended(?) - to utilize one of the "spare" junctions in the fuse block under the hood to power this whole project and have it fused on it's own?
C-- If so, how could it also be wired to operate with the opening and closing of doors/operation of the dome light?
2) If working off existing wiring as in 1A above:
A-- Can I access the correct wiring in the A pillar of the front doors?
B-- How do I remove the A pillar covers? Each one has a stripped bolt-head (prior to "me").
C-- Will it be necessary to put a relay, fuse, etc., inline for proper and prolonged operation?
3) The courtesy lighting is battery operated LED's -- 3 AAA batteries in each light. I am having to place them inside the door panels and do not wish to have to take each door panel off when the batteries die, so I want to wire them to the trucks electrical system. They can have continuous power feed, as they shut off via magnetic switch when the doors close and come on automatically when the doors open. Even so, I believe these would best be wired in sync with the dome light. (That way, they can be shut off completely if it was ever desirable to have no lights on or power drain while the doors were open for extended periods, etc.
A-- Will the 12v system in the truck burn out the small LED's prematurely? *Remember, they were originally in a design to operate on approximately 4.5v, with very little amperage draw.
B-- Will a relay or resistor of some sort be required to protect the LED's, or will they be fine (although REALLY bright) wired directly to the 12v system?
I hope this isn't too difficult to understand, or complicated to answer, as I will greatly appreciate any and all help that can be offered. It's just one of those "bucket list" kind of "I'm gonna do it myself" things that I'd like to not screw up nor take two lifetimes getting right. LOL
Thanks in advance.
So, here's a list:
1)
A-- Is it possible that connecting to one wire on each side of the truck will suffice to operate both the steps AND the courtesy lights? Or, perhaps, even from one source, as I don't really care if the steps on both sides of the truck go down when ever a door is opened on either side; but, it would be really nice if only one step operated if only a door(s) on one side was opened.
B-- Is it possible - or even recommended(?) - to utilize one of the "spare" junctions in the fuse block under the hood to power this whole project and have it fused on it's own?
C-- If so, how could it also be wired to operate with the opening and closing of doors/operation of the dome light?
2) If working off existing wiring as in 1A above:
A-- Can I access the correct wiring in the A pillar of the front doors?
B-- How do I remove the A pillar covers? Each one has a stripped bolt-head (prior to "me").
C-- Will it be necessary to put a relay, fuse, etc., inline for proper and prolonged operation?
3) The courtesy lighting is battery operated LED's -- 3 AAA batteries in each light. I am having to place them inside the door panels and do not wish to have to take each door panel off when the batteries die, so I want to wire them to the trucks electrical system. They can have continuous power feed, as they shut off via magnetic switch when the doors close and come on automatically when the doors open. Even so, I believe these would best be wired in sync with the dome light. (That way, they can be shut off completely if it was ever desirable to have no lights on or power drain while the doors were open for extended periods, etc.
A-- Will the 12v system in the truck burn out the small LED's prematurely? *Remember, they were originally in a design to operate on approximately 4.5v, with very little amperage draw.
B-- Will a relay or resistor of some sort be required to protect the LED's, or will they be fine (although REALLY bright) wired directly to the 12v system?
I hope this isn't too difficult to understand, or complicated to answer, as I will greatly appreciate any and all help that can be offered. It's just one of those "bucket list" kind of "I'm gonna do it myself" things that I'd like to not screw up nor take two lifetimes getting right. LOL
Thanks in advance.
