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Truck and RV Reverse Flood Lights crazy control mod

Brutal_HO

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I finally had a chance to sit down and work through a relay design to control the Reverse flood light setup I want for my truck and RV.

My preference is to provide a solution to enable/disable the lights to work automatically with the Reverse selector, a means to disable that, and also to provide a forced ON switching ability. The reverse trigger is the one available in the 7-pin trailer connector. I plan to split this out to use it for control of both the truck reverse flood lights and the RV flood lights. The power to the trailer lights will be supplied through a truck mounted relay, but I'll also install a simple SPST switch on the RV to run them independently. I'm assuming a load is already present in the RV charge system that is fed by pin #4 so hopefully my design won't be at odds with that.

I'd appreciate any input on the solution below before I get busy building it. I used an online circuit sim tool to ensure I wasn't going to smoke anything and it all should work without relays sticking or bouncing, so please excuse the relay representations as it's the best I could do with this particular (free) sim's layout capability. I did label each coil and power lead used.

Short of building some crazy gated circuit, this is the best I could come up with although it uses up the 4 remaining AUX switches. If there's any electrical engineers that see a better way to do this, I'm all ears.

Here's an image shot of the circuits:

1610045177583.png

If anyone want's to check it out, play with it, or make changes, here's the link to the online sim and the latest file.

Aux2 and Aux4 supply power to enable the LED's to come on when the truck is put into Reverse.

Aux1 and Aux 3 Allow manual control to the Floods.

Any/all switches can be toggled to any position without concern for letting out any magic smoke.

Diodes are 1N4001. LED's represented are as close as I can come to the "KC HiLiTES (332) C3F 3" 12W LED Flood Beam System" I ordered.


 
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pdavey

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Awesome. Thanks for sharing. This is something I have been thinking about as well. Backing the trailer down the driveway in the dark is not fun.

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk
 

H3LZSN1P3R

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Instead of haveing both the aux 2 and 4 used you could use a double switching relay (one that has 87 and 87a) so when reverse selector is used it defaults to trailer reverse off 87a the when you hit the aux 2 it will go to the truck reverse floods instead assuming you dont need both reverse setups simultaneously and it will default to rv reverse lights so when you put the truck in reverse the trailer reverse lights come on as they should... that would also mean your switch would be moved to power the 86 pin on the relay and the reverse selector power moved to the 30 pin
 

Brutal_HO

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Instead of haveing both the aux 2 and 4 used you could use a double switching relay (one that has 87 and 87a) so when reverse selector is used it defaults to trailer reverse off 87a the when you hit the aux 2 it will go to the truck reverse floods instead assuming you dont need both reverse setups simultaneously and it will default to rv reverse lights so when you put the truck in reverse the trailer reverse lights come on as they should... that would also mean your switch would be moved to power the 86 pin on the relay and the reverse selector power moved to the 30 pin

Thanks for the suggestion.

I thought about a toggle but decided I'd like more control. I also think if I did that, I wouldn't be able to disable the trailer lights.
 

H3LZSN1P3R

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Thanks for the suggestion.

I thought about a toggle but decided I'd like more control. I also think if I did that, I wouldn't be able to disable the trailer lights.
What would your reasoning be to disable the trailer lights if your in reverse its not a bad idea to have them on. I use most of my aux switches so i always see how i can combine functions to keep my switch bank open for future additions
 

Brutal_HO

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Well farts. I try to buy decent (enough) stuff but these relay housing wires and terminals from Amazon are kind of (not surprisingly) crap.

I hate to spend $100 just on waterproof Hella housings for the hooded relays, but I might have to locate some better terminals and redo these pre-made wires.

Not having any luck finding these terminals yet...

20210107_153136.jpg

Corrosion on white and black wire terminals.

20210107_171747.jpg

Now that I zoom in, their crimps look kinda crappy too. Sigh.

20210107_180539.jpg

20210107_180610.jpg
 

Brutal_HO

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What would your reasoning be to disable the trailer lights if your in reverse its not a bad idea to have them on. I use most of my aux switches so i always see how i can combine functions to keep my switch bank open for future additions

Besides being a control freak, I could think of a few reasons.

Longer life on the lamps if they're not running in daylight.
Occasions where I may be in reverse, often when using the wheel levelers, and sometimes to take pressure off hitch, but not want to pollute the campgrounds with light.
ETA: I'd like the option to use both truck and trailer at the same time.

I'll have to noodle on that one a bit. If I came up short an Aux switch, I could pull the hood LED and just mount a switch or tilt sensor switch under the hood.
 
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H3LZSN1P3R

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I ran something like this when building my own plow light harness this one is water proof mine is not but even in the salt mine is still perfect condition i did use dielectric on everything though
 

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Brutal_HO

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I ran something like this when building my own plow light harness this one is water proof mine is not but even in the salt mine is still perfect condition i did use dielectric on everything though

I considered that but with all that wiring, I'll need to mount things in the rear and wasn't sure I'd find a good spot for it.

I also looked at the terminals on those, and while I can control the crimp quality better with my own ratchet and dies, the terminals themselves are no better than what I already have.

Dielectric is SOP here on everything as well. Seals, connections, plug boots, etc.

I do use Delphi Weatherpak on everything if I can (got a kit), otherwise it's all bare butt crimps sealed with marine shrink tubing.
 

H3LZSN1P3R

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I considered that but with all that wiring, I'll need to mount things in the rear and wasn't sure I'd find a good spot for it.

I also looked at the terminals on those, and while I can control the crimp quality better with my own ratchet and dies, the terminals themselves are no better than what I already have.

Dielectric is SOP here on everything as well. Seals, connections, plug boots, etc.

I do use Delphi Weatherpak on everything if I can (got a kit), otherwise it's all bare butt crimps sealed with marine shrink tubing.
I run deutsch connectors mainly but i ran with these ip67 china specials on the plow light box as i was out of the others
 

Brutal_HO

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I run deutsch connectors mainly but i ran with these ip67 china specials on the plow light box as i was out of the others

I'm seeing deutsch connectors used more and more (they're on the KC HiLites) but dang the kits are pricey.
 

Brutal_HO

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@Jimmy07

Sorry to keep tagging you on threads but I'd appreciate any comments or thoughts you have on this and also ask if you know where I can source these terminals. I'm not having any luck on Mouser or Digikey so far. I've worn out my welcome on "sample" parts with TE to the point a sales guy keeps calling. LOL

ETA: Welp, found them on Digikey, then with PN found cheaper on Mouser. Then ran into a 100 min order on one on Mouser. Oh hell, I don't need the 14-16 AWG. LOL

‎PB785CT-ND‎
‎2-1393310-0‎
TE Connectivity Potter & Brumfield Relays
TERM 10-12AWG FOR VCF4-1002/3

‎PB786CT-ND‎
‎1-1393310-9‎
TE Connectivity Potter & Brumfield Relays
TERM 14-16AWG FOR VCF4-1002/3


I may just have to clean them up with some DeoxIT and re-crimp a few and just apply dielectric grease before I get things sealed up.
 
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H3LZSN1P3R

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I'm seeing deutsch connectors used more and more (they're on the KC HiLites) but dang the kits are pricey.
i get them for free through work, and after using them you wont want to go back the way the crimper works is awesome no more juggling tools or wishing you had 3 hands in tight spots they are pricey to buy but worth every penny in my opinion.... on the molex style crimps your using i typically will put a dab of solder on the crimp after
 

Brutal_HO

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i get them for free through work, and after using them you wont want to go back the way the crimper works is awesome no more juggling tools or wishing you had 3 hands in tight spots they are pricey to buy but worth every penny in my opinion.... on the molex style crimps your using i typically will put a dab of solder on the crimp after

I have a nice ratchet crimper for the Delphi weather seals that crimps both the wire and seal in one crimp and works great. One crimp and done. The only thing I've had to learn to do with it is bend in one tab side a bit before I start the crimp.
 

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