B177y
Well-known member
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- Jul 16, 2024
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- Location
- Oly Pen, WA
- Vehicles
- 2024 Lightning Pro ER Max Tow
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- #1
This thread got me thinking about using my bed storage cubby to hold a battery pack that I could use to add bed lights to my 2024 Pro. There are cutouts with plastic covers where the two bed lights and switch should go. After seeing this posted on the ICE F150 forum which shows the inside of the cubby, I got serious and moved forward. Parts list at the end of post.
This is kind of janky and not OEM at all, but it may give you ideas and alternatives to doing the full OEM install. The '24 Pro doesn't have the wiring harness to add OEM bed lights easily and I wanted to make something self contained, basically a flashlight that looked somewhat OEM. I ordered cheap lights to snap into the bed light holes from Amazon, and used a bunch of random spare electrical pieces that I had in my garage from working/modding my previous truck, motorcycle, and various travel trailers throughout the years.
Cubby:
I drilled some holes in the bottom tray to gain access to the bottom of the cubby (see video from ICE F150 forum above). I ended up breaking it on purpose after drilling some holes to get the tray out and access the bottom to fish wires through the bottom drain holes of the cubby.
Power:
I was originally thinking of using an 8-AA battery holder to make the 12 volt power supply. Then I remembered that I had an old lithium motorcycle battery laying around from my 2013 Suzuki VStrom. The previous owner had swapped the OEM AGM battery for a lightweight lithium. I went back to AGM after I purchased the VStrom because I was living in the Bay Area and using the bike to commute early mornings. The cold/cool temps caused the Li battery to slow crank. I kept the battery all these years "just because". Now I could finally put it to good use! The battery can be used in any orientation (confirmed on the manufacturer website) and it fits perfectly in the cubby. I had a fused battery ring terminal to SAE connector lying around with a 7.5 amp fuse, so I hooked that up to the battery. I also had another SAE to bare cables in my 12 volt goodie box, so that became the connection to the wiring that I fished through the bottom of the cubby. The SAE connector also allows me to attach a trickle charger every so often to recharge the battery, probably only once per year or so.
The lights:
The cheapest that I could find on Amazon that had some wiring with them.
The switch:
A random switch that I had lying around that I drilled into the plastic cover that went into the OEM switch hole. I originally tried an OEM style switch from Amazon but it was smaller than the hole and was also push-and-hold for power (power off when you're not pushing) instead of a push on/push off that I though it would be. With that not working, I went back to my 12 volt goodie box and found the toggle switch.
The wiring:
I had about 8 feet left over of a 4-wire harness that I made for the ACC/LKA addition a few months ago. I only needed three of the four wires to make this work, but I didn't want to untape the entire harness, so I left all four. I used that to run power to the switch and connect the lights on each side of the bed. I ran the harness up above a frame rail that is above the spare tire towards the tailgate, it holds everything perfectly. Added a few zip ties in strategic areas as stress relief and security from wires flapping around. Everything tucks away nicely out of sight behind the bed walls and underneath the bed. I used waterproof heat-shrink butt splices for the wire connections. Final result looks OEM but is self powered with no connection to the truck power. Hope this can spur some cleaner and better installs in the future!
Parts:
Lights
Switch (DON'T USE THIS) Try a waterproof toggle switch or find another type of switch that fits the hole.
8 AA battery holder for 12 volts if you don't have a spare motorcycle battery lying around
Ring terminal to SAE
SAE to bare wire
Depending on how much spare stuff you have lying around the garage, this whole project will be approx $100 maximum and you don't have to cut into any of the truck electrical or find out that you don't have the right connections on your truck.
This is kind of janky and not OEM at all, but it may give you ideas and alternatives to doing the full OEM install. The '24 Pro doesn't have the wiring harness to add OEM bed lights easily and I wanted to make something self contained, basically a flashlight that looked somewhat OEM. I ordered cheap lights to snap into the bed light holes from Amazon, and used a bunch of random spare electrical pieces that I had in my garage from working/modding my previous truck, motorcycle, and various travel trailers throughout the years.
Cubby:
I drilled some holes in the bottom tray to gain access to the bottom of the cubby (see video from ICE F150 forum above). I ended up breaking it on purpose after drilling some holes to get the tray out and access the bottom to fish wires through the bottom drain holes of the cubby.
Power:
I was originally thinking of using an 8-AA battery holder to make the 12 volt power supply. Then I remembered that I had an old lithium motorcycle battery laying around from my 2013 Suzuki VStrom. The previous owner had swapped the OEM AGM battery for a lightweight lithium. I went back to AGM after I purchased the VStrom because I was living in the Bay Area and using the bike to commute early mornings. The cold/cool temps caused the Li battery to slow crank. I kept the battery all these years "just because". Now I could finally put it to good use! The battery can be used in any orientation (confirmed on the manufacturer website) and it fits perfectly in the cubby. I had a fused battery ring terminal to SAE connector lying around with a 7.5 amp fuse, so I hooked that up to the battery. I also had another SAE to bare cables in my 12 volt goodie box, so that became the connection to the wiring that I fished through the bottom of the cubby. The SAE connector also allows me to attach a trickle charger every so often to recharge the battery, probably only once per year or so.
The lights:
The cheapest that I could find on Amazon that had some wiring with them.
The switch:
A random switch that I had lying around that I drilled into the plastic cover that went into the OEM switch hole. I originally tried an OEM style switch from Amazon but it was smaller than the hole and was also push-and-hold for power (power off when you're not pushing) instead of a push on/push off that I though it would be. With that not working, I went back to my 12 volt goodie box and found the toggle switch.
The wiring:
I had about 8 feet left over of a 4-wire harness that I made for the ACC/LKA addition a few months ago. I only needed three of the four wires to make this work, but I didn't want to untape the entire harness, so I left all four. I used that to run power to the switch and connect the lights on each side of the bed. I ran the harness up above a frame rail that is above the spare tire towards the tailgate, it holds everything perfectly. Added a few zip ties in strategic areas as stress relief and security from wires flapping around. Everything tucks away nicely out of sight behind the bed walls and underneath the bed. I used waterproof heat-shrink butt splices for the wire connections. Final result looks OEM but is self powered with no connection to the truck power. Hope this can spur some cleaner and better installs in the future!
Parts:
Lights
Switch (DON'T USE THIS) Try a waterproof toggle switch or find another type of switch that fits the hole.
8 AA battery holder for 12 volts if you don't have a spare motorcycle battery lying around
Ring terminal to SAE
SAE to bare wire
Depending on how much spare stuff you have lying around the garage, this whole project will be approx $100 maximum and you don't have to cut into any of the truck electrical or find out that you don't have the right connections on your truck.
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