Lights on sliders?

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Tyler Rich

Tyler Rich

10 Year
Joined
Nov 2, 2015
Threads
2
Messages
16
Location
Amarillo, TX
Can't find a previous thread about this, but when discussing with my wife how often she actually uses the running boards on our lx470, she says "constantly". So step sliders are a must. She then wanted to know if the lights would still work on the sliders. So my question is, has anyone ever incorporated factory running board lights into step sliders? (I'm not going to lie, I havent looked at the way the lights are incorporated in the factory boards, to see if this is even an option...)
 
Not sure if anyone has done that yet or not, but even if they haven't it wouldn't be too hard. My advice would be to get some of those LED strips with the adhesive on the back and stick it to the sliders. Cut the plug off the end of the factory light harness and wire it into the LED strips.
 
^great suggestion - but I say stick them on the face of the pinch weld under the rocker, so the light illuminates the top of the slider where you put your foot.
 
Yep, that's how I'd do it. Sure wish I had the wiring for that... I think I remember someone else using that wiring for LEDs to light up the sliders like courtesy lights, definitely saw something like that on the forum.

EDIT: Now that I think about it, could anyone with the step lighting help us early LC owners figure out where that source comes from? I'd love to run some wires of my own. Was thinking to tap the doors, but if there's a better way I'm all ears and eyes.
 
highonpottery said:
^great suggestion - but I say stick them on the face of the pinch weld under the rocker, so the light illuminates the top of the slider where you put your foot.
Click to expand...
I plan to run some LED lights off my factory LX470 running board harness. I would like to run two strips since that is how the LX came from the factory. One set of lights are on the actual running board to see the step and the other set point at the ground. My wife wants both. The lower lights show those puddles or ice patches you often don't see at night and the upper lights are nice for the tall steps on the sliders. BTW, white knuckle sliders get my vote. Well made, well designed, quality welds, perfect fitment, and easy install. I just want to make sure I can splice an LED strip onto the factory harness. I have no idea how much draw the factory lights pulled compared to LED lights. Don't want to blow the fuse.
 
I started searching on ebay for LED light strips thinking I was going to be in the $100 range for what I needed. I was shocked at how cheap they are. I was able to get 5 meter (16.4ft) of LED lights for $10. They can be cut to any length, are waterproof, and 12volt. If for some reason they wont work them I'm out $10. No biggie. Here are the ones just ordered.
Cool White 5M Waterproof 300 LED 5050 SMD Flexible LED Light Lamp Strip DC 12V
 
Great info everyone! I'll keep you posted in which direction I go, and would love to see more write-ups of your experiences. Thanks again.
 
bhicks said:
I started searching on ebay for LED light strips thinking I was going to be in the $100 range for what I needed. I was shocked at how cheap they are. I was able to get 5 meter (16.4ft) of LED lights for $10. They can be cut to any length, are waterproof, and 12volt. If for some reason they wont work them I'm out $10. No biggie. Here are the ones just ordered.
Cool White 5M Waterproof 300 LED 5050 SMD Flexible LED Light Lamp Strip DC 12V
Click to expand...
Once, you make a cut, how do you make use of the remainder of the strip? Solder new leads?
 
yotasavg said:
Once, you make a cut, how do you make use of the remainder of the strip? Solder new leads?
Click to expand...
Not sure. The online reviews I found on this type of LED talked about how easy it was to cut and modify. I'm not an electrical engineer but my electrical skills are decent. I figured it shouldn't be too difficult to figure out. i will update this thread with the process and with pics once I get them installed.
 
My 2000LX never had lights on the running boards. However it does appear that it was wired for it. Found capped plugs under the truck that are hot when the doors open. I haven't wired anything yet.
 
DanInDenver said:
My 2000LX never had lights on the running boards. However it does appear that it was wired for it. Found capped plugs under the truck that are hot when the doors open. I haven't wired anything yet.
Click to expand...
Where exactly did you find the plug?
 
I have wife and small kid that uses the running boards, so bright light is a must have. Just wanted to share that I replace the door light with LED, and it is bright enough to light up the ground and the running board clearly - much improvement compare to the weak factory bulb. It may not be as bright as sticking LEDs strips near running boards, but it is an easier mod.
 
The Ebay lights showed up yesterday. It snowed last night so I need to clear some space in the garage today to get the 100 in our heated garage to work on the install. Probably wont have time today to clean out garage and install. The lights will have to go on tomorrow.
 
I DID get the garage cleaned out but it took two days which meant I never had the time to install the lights. It will have to get done this coming weekend.
 
Baja Designs makes a waterproof led rock/dome light kit. You could prob tie it into the door light circuit so it lights the slider when the door opens.
 
yotasavg said:
EDIT: Now that I think about it, could anyone with the step lighting help us early LC owners figure out where that source comes from? I'd love to run some wires of my own. Was thinking to tap the doors, but if there's a better way I'm all ears and eyes.
Click to expand...

The lead that plugs into the OEM running boards come from the cabin through a gromit on the driver front floor. I used this gromit to run my yellowbox wires into the cabin to try and protect the electronics. I didn't trace the LED wires any more than that but they disappear behind the plastic cover next to the foot rest.

yotasavg said:
Once, you make a cut, how do you make use of the remainder of the strip? Solder new leads?
Click to expand...

Yes, there are copper pads at the cut points with +/- indications to solder on new leads.

If it were me, living in a snow state, I wouldn't stick the strip just to the pinch weld and call it good. I think that leaves it all too exposed. I would try and find some of the rope lights or maybe insert the strip into clear tubing and seal the ends with silicone or something similar.
 
nnnnnate said:
The lead that plugs into the OEM running boards come from the cabin through a gromit on the driver front floor. I used this gromit to run my yellowbox wires into the cabin to try and protect the electronics. I didn't trace the LED wires any more than that but they disappear behind the plastic cover next to the foot rest.



Yes, there are copper pads at the cut points with +/- indications to solder on new leads.

If it were me, living in a snow state, I wouldn't stick the strip just to the pinch weld and call it good. I think that leaves it all too exposed. I would try and find some of the rope lights or maybe insert the strip into clear tubing and seal the ends with silicone or something similar.
Click to expand...
I'm going to install with no tubing and see how it goes. I'm in a snow area so I may have issues but with the tiny amount I spent on the lights, I don't mind if I have to buy another strip down the road and go a different route for install.
 
Sooooo sorry it took so long to get pics up. I had fully planned to install these lights a long time ago but life and the business got in the way. With 3 kids, a full time job, AND the 3D printing stuff; I lost all of my moding time. I finally decided when the kids were down for naps to just go out in the rain and deal with the install. I anticipated a long install time but it took about 30 minutes total to do both sides. I used the factory wiring/plugs. I cut the male end (plus 4" of wire) off the factory running boards. I then spliced the male end plug into the LED light strip. I used some of the heat shrink water proof tubing to cover the junction. I then wrapped a few coats of duct tape over that for added protection. did the same to both sides. I had about 4' of light strip left. I attached the light strip to the bottom back side of the pinch seam on the rocker. I made sure the edge was clean before I stuck the strip on. Sorry for all the mud in the pics. It had been raining heavily for multiple days and my dirt road was a muddy mess. I thought about pressure washing the underside before the install but then realized that would just keep me out in the rain even longer. Here are pics just after install. I decided to use 2 self tapers 3/4" length to pinch the end of the strip onto the body. I didn't want it peeling off and that seemed like the point where the peel would start. I will get pics with the lights and and at night time tomorrow. The light is MUCH brighter than the light the factory running boards producted. My wife was very happy with the final result. It lights up the underside of the car/ground really well.



 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Back
Top Bottom