Cargo Light???

[54warrior]

Ok, so I've tapped into the wire and I have power to the back. The lights won't light up though??? I've tried grounding them just about everywhere you can think with no luck. Have tried both bulbs and both pigtails that came with the light as well???

Do they have to be grounded to the same ground that the actual cargo light is on? I should be able to just ground it someplace on the body/frame I thought??

[baseballfanz]

Originally Posted by 54warrior

Ok, so I've tapped into the wire and I have power to the back. The lights won't light up though??? I've tried grounding them just about everywhere you can think with no luck. Have tried both bulbs and both pigtails that came with the light as well???

Do they have to be grounded to the same ground that the actual cargo light is on? I should be able to just ground it someplace on the body/frame I thought??

No the ground can be anywhere, make sure it's a good ground, ie scrape all paint off that area. Did you test it with a voltmeter to see if you have power? you can use a voltmeter to test grounding point also.

[54warrior]

I have a volt meter, and I have 11.73 Volts coming through. I've grounded it to several different bolts, the frame, leaf springs, the bare metal in the hole I had to cut for the small light housing, etc...

Thanks for the help.

[54warrior]

When you say use the voltmeter to test the ground, what exactly do you mean. Want to make sure I understand correctly.

[baseballfanz]

Originally Posted by 54warrior

When you say use the voltmeter to test the ground, what exactly do you mean. Want to make sure I understand correctly.

Put the positive side to a source you know is positively positive, now use the neg. side and prove your grounding point to see if it will give voltage on the meter.

[54warrior]

What I've been doing is going from power to ground and getting 11.73 v. Does that mean my ground is bad?

Thanks.

[Carbeaux]

Or you got a very thin wire that won't carry the voltage well from the battery.

[54warrior]

OK, I'll try explaining as best I can. The factory wire that goes to the cargo light is about a 20 guage wire. The wire I ran is 16 guage, and the wires on the pigtails for the lights are 16 guage.

I tapped into the factory 20 guage wire and ran power back to the RR tailight area. The lights that I bought each have two wires, white and black. I assumed that one is for power and one is for ground. I wired one of them to the power wire I just ran and the other to a ground. I ran power across to the Left Tailight and wired it into the new light and also to ground.

I've tried grounding to the frame, the leaf springs, and the bolt that holds the tailgate strap onto the bed. Also to the bare metal in the hole I bored in the bedside to mount the light, Each with no luck. I've checked for power on both sides, on the wires and in the bulb sockets. Both sides read 11.73 V every time.

Keep in mind that when I say I grounded the light, I simply touched the wire to the same surface, I did not actually securely fasten it to the surface.

Am I not getting good ground our what? I also tested the bulb on the battery and it lit right up.

See attached:

[Carbeaux]

Originally Posted by 54warrior

OK, I'll try explaining as best I can. The factory wire that goes to the cargo light is about a 20 guage wire. The wire I ran is 16 guage, and the wires on the pigtails for the lights are 16 guage.

I tapped into the factory 20 guage wire and ran power back to the RR tailight area. The lights that I bought each have two wires, white and black. I assumed that one is for power and one is for ground. I wired one of them to the power wire I just ran and the other to a ground. I ran power across to the Left Tailight and wired it into the new light and also to ground.

I've tried grounding to the frame, the leaf springs, and the bolt that holds the tailgate strap onto the bed. Also to the bare metal in the hole I bored in the bedside to mount the light, Each with no luck. I've checked for power on both sides, on the wires and in the bulb sockets. Both sides read 11.73 V every time.

Keep in mind that when I say I grounded the light, I simply touched the wire to the same surface, I did not actually securely fasten it to the surface.

Am I not getting good ground our what? I also tested the bulb on the battery and it lit right up.

See attached:

If I missed it earlier I'm sorry, what kind of lights are these? Is there a relay in there anywhere?

[Carbeaux]

10 feet of 20 gauge wire trying to pull 10 amps give a voltage drop of 1.036 volts. Combine that with the already existing run of unknown length of smaller wire, and that's probably where your low voltage is coming from.

[54warrior]

No relays in there. The bulbs are 194's if that means anything???

So you think I need to run power directly from the battery and just put a switch back there???

[grnTitan04]

Could be Carb, but we are only talking lights...

54, What is the wattage of each light and how many are you trying to run? Will it work if you make the circuit with only 1 light? How about the existing cargo light, what happens to it while you are grounding your new setup? Does it get dim?
Yes - there is too much current draw, or a problem with your circuit
No - there is a problem with your circuit

I guess what I am saying is that we need a diagram of exactly what you did with the wires (the write up sounds fine, but maybe I am missing something).

[Carbeaux]

194's are a small bulb and wouldn't have much current draw. They're only about 5 watts. Times two for 10 watt draw. Shouldn't be a big deal.

The issue as I'm understanding it is that WITHOUT the lights, the voltage he's reading is low. So the lights probably aren't the issue.

That low voltage can really only come from the long wire run from an already existing circuit. If you're using that many different grounding points, it's not your ground. It's your supply.

You want them to come on in conjunction with the cargos, yes? If so, tap the cargo only to trigger a relay and get the power for your new run from the batt.

[grnTitan04]

IRT "So you think I need to run power directly from the battery and just put a switch back there???"

Instead of a switch, use your cargo power wire to trip a relay and your new power from the battery across the contacts to the lights.

[grnTitan04]

Hilarious that we suggested the same thing 2 minues apart...

Yeah, those are low draw...
But if they are just standard incandesent lights, I would expect them to be very dim, not off completely. I guess the amp reading is the only way to know.