LED Interior Cargo Lights - How I Done It.

Has anyone used this method? Are there any issues of the LED’s glowing? Looking to use this in my van after removing factory courtesy lights. Cheers
Yeah, that will work fine. LED's glowing is dependent on your lights rather than the wiring. Some do, some don't
 
looking for some advice as i've read through the thread and i'm still not sure what I have to do..!

basically, all i want to do is replace the courtesy lights that came with the van with 2 LEDs like for like, so that they come on when the door opens etc. Is there a simple plug and play setup? or am i missing something?

i'll have another 4 LEDs in the ceiling but they'll be wired up to the leisure battery

cheers in advance
 
When I did my interior, I replaced all the standard rocker lights with leisure battery and new switch operated alternatives. I now wish I had read through all of this and it would be good to have them operated by the door as well as a switch to have them on all the time if camping etc.
I'm going to attempt the MOSFET solution.

In the diagram, is the 'PWM' on the left of the MOSFET, really from the leisure battery plus looped around to the other side? Just want to make sure I get this right and not cause fires :/

Screenshot 2023-01-10 at 14.09.39.png
 
Hi again Matty - sorry for the delay. Ye,s the wiring diagram is correct. The important thing is to make sure you buy a MOSFET module where the positive output and 12v supply positive are common and it's the negative side that is switched. The eBay hyperlink on the diagram will take you to one of the right type of MOSFET Switch. They generally have 'YYNMOS' written on the modules themselves. Good luck!
 
LED rear interior lights - How i done it.

so a few have asked, so i though i would just list it here as a post so i could refer back to it in the future.

The lights were purchased from The T6F shop over here >

View attachment 27565

We were planning to do the carpeting at around the same time, but for the purpose of this thread ill leave the carpeting bit out.

first thing to do was to remove the existing roof lining by popping out the grey plastic hex head pop studs, they all unscrewed easily, the center support bar popped out with a plastic trim tool... no problems so far....


View attachment 27566

The existing OEM LED light unclipped easily reveling the loom and connectors . . .

View attachment 27567



once the panels were out we layed them out on the floor and used a string line to work out where we wanted the new lights and what spacing we were going to have . . . . .

View attachment 27568


because we had already carpeted the panels, drilling into them was going to be a challenge ( the drill bit snagging the carpet) but and old car audio ICE trick was to put the drill in reverse and burn through the carpet, once burned through you could go through normally. . . . we drilled holes for the cable entry to the back of the panel and poked the wires through. . . . .

View attachment 27570

next up was to mount the lights, we used the small self tapping screws that comes with the kit to screw into the backing board, then fitted the covers over the screw fixings . . . .



View attachment 27571

next task was cable management, we cut off the small two pin connectors and layed out the cables to roughly where we needed them. We used white gaffer tape to tape down the cables to stop them ratteling etc . . . . we bought the excess cable through the OEM light fitting hole.....we decided to keep the OEM LED lights as dummy units, the also helped out as a good cable way and access panel of sorts to get to the connections . . . .


View attachment 27572

now the new LEDs were fitted we could refit the panels in the back of the van . . . we pulled the existing loom and original connectors out the hole where the old light was. . . . . .

using a multi-meter we measured the BCM 0v ground wire and the BCM timed 12v+ wire (when the rear door was open) and joined them with crimp terminals to the OEM loom . . . leaving the original connector on the end.


***************************************************************************************
Factory Non-LED 3 wire setup:

(brown) - earth point left a-pilar
(brown/red) - connection 1 main harness (BCM switched neg 0v)
(red/black) - positive connection 1 main harness (BCM timed +12v) ( 7.5A fuse 24 holder C)
****************************************************************************************

Factory LED 2 wire setup:

(brown/red) - connection 1 main harness (BCM switched neg)
(red/black) - positive connection 1 main harness (BCM timed +12v)( 7.5A fuse 19 holder C)

****************************************************************************************
BCM rear light TIMER :

credit: @JCElec

You can change the time by changing module 09 chanal 038. standard value is: 21 (10.5 minutes) en you can change it to 254 (127 minutes). it's multiplying whit 30 sec.

@mmi Excellent info. Thanks. Seems to match with my observations in thread Led Rear Interior Lights - How I Done It.
- channel 38 in my van has value of 121 - and indeed I had observed the lights (obviously the new setting came with factory LEDs in cargo space) stay on for 60 mins.

*****************************************


View attachment 27575

once all back in the van we tested it all making sure that the new LEDs didnt flicker and also went off when the van doors were closed/van locked etc.


FYI: This van had the factory OEM REAR LED pack option so already had the rear LED light modules with no-rocker switch. also the loom had only 2 wires. It also looks like you will get an extended ON time of around 60mins before the lights shut off.

If your van has the standard rear filament lights you would most likely have a rocker switch on the lamp unit and 3 wires in the loom. (0v ground perm, 0v BCM switched, BCM timed +12v perm) The BCM shut off time will be around the 10 - 20 mins mark.


for people looking to have a override switch for say a camper etc then a fused +12v feed wire would be used to feed the lights in addition to the BCM feed. A blocking diode may be needed on that feed wire.

If your switched override feed was coming from the AUX isolated battery feed in conjunction with the BCM feed (from the starter battery) i would defiantly fit a blocking diode to stop any back flow of current from the AUX and STARTer battery.

some people just totaly disregard the BCM +12v feed and just use the new +12v AUX feed, though a warning on this point is that if the lights were left on all night there is a chance of discharging the feed battery to a dangerously low level causing possible damage. . . . . . low voltage cut-out are available to prevent this from happening.

A relay can also be used to shunt the lights from BCM van control over to Leisure battery for extended light on times for camper-van setups and the like.

Hope that answers some questions I've had. =]

More info over here > Dellmassive`s -- "how I Done It" -- Thread

.
i know this is old, I've a 2019 t6 which has been converted but the back is pitch black and the light switched are on the opposite side from the door. im looking to try and reinstate the OEM lighting. Bar me ripping the whole roof out, do you know where the wiring comes up/were would be the best area to try and find the old wiring?
 
Can anyone confirm the functionality of the BCM switched -I've (brown/red)?
I only have a basic multimeter (can't do pwm) and when I measured the voltage between brown/red and earth at the overhead console it was 12.8v. (I had not opened the front doors, only opened the sliding door. The overhead console light was set to door switch and the light was off)
With the BCM +I've(red) at 12v in order to dim and turn off the lights does the brown/red goes from 0->12v?
 
Can anyone confirm the functionality of the BCM switched -I've (brown/red)?
I only have a basic multimeter (can't do pwm) and when I measured the voltage between brown/red and earth at the overhead console it was 12.8v. (I had not opened the front doors, only opened the sliding door. The overhead console light was set to door switch and the light was off)
With the BCM +I've(red) at 12v in order to dim and turn off the lights does the brown/red goes from 0->12v?
Any ideas @T6Jay @Dellmassive @Willoughby
I'm trying to generate a switched input to a esp32.
 
Any ideas @T6Jay @Dellmassive @Willoughby
I'm trying to generate a switched input to a esp32.
I have not checked it myself, but I thought the brown/red was providing a PWM 0V to the LED negative, and the LED positive was switched 12V. If you measured 12V on the brown/red, are you sure it wasn't via the LED?

So the LED positive (whatever colour it is) would be your signal. Does the esp32 accept 12V inputs? In the arduino I used, I had to use a potential divider to drop the 12V down to 5V.
 
I have not checked it myself, but I thought the brown/red was providing a PWM 0V to the LED negative, and the LED positive was switched 12V. If you measured 12V on the brown/red, are you sure it wasn't via the LED?

So the LED positive (whatever colour it is) would be your signal. Does the esp32 accept 12V inputs? In the arduino I used, I had to use a potential divider to drop the 12V down to 5V.
Thanks for your reply.
When measuring the brown/red I measured against an earth point on the chassis. Double checked it later as I was surprised by the initial reading and thought I might have connected to the switched +I've by mistake.

Esp32 doesn't support 12v inputs. Luckily I have a few to play with...
I am outputting pwm -I've then through a mosfet and on to the -I've on the led light.

I will try the potential divider to restrict the voltage from the bcm input and see if that will provide an adequate switch input.
 
Thanks for your reply.
When measuring the brown/red I measured against an earth point on the chassis. Double checked it later as I was surprised by the initial reading and thought I might have connected to the switched +I've by mistake.

Esp32 doesn't support 12v inputs. Luckily I have a few to play with...
I am outputting pwm -I've then through a mosfet and on to the -I've on the led light.

I will try the potential divider to restrict the voltage from the bcm input and see if that will provide an adequate switch input.

Maybe also consider a simple low pass filter to convert pwm to continuous analog? Pwm on esp input pin might be little tricky on software side

 
The potential divider did the trick. Lights are working from BCM, switch and app.
Only think to sort now is when the van locks it activates switched -I've which turns on the lights. I might feed switched +I've into the esp32 and assert on both switched inputs.
 
Something like this should work?

View attachment 40454
Do you have a more detailed drawing as to show +ve and -ve connections to LED Downlights?

I want to replace the 2 x factory lights (3 wire plugs) with 4 x spots for ceiling and 2 x spots in tailgate.

Id like individual switches, one for ceiling and the other for the tailgate, so to have the option for ON(Door/Lock) - OFF - ON.

No leisure battery!

@Dellmassive any advice would be appreciated
 
Do you have a more detailed drawing as to show +ve and -ve connections to LED Downlights?

I want to replace the 2 x factory lights (3 wire plugs) with 4 x spots for ceiling and 2 x spots in tailgate.

Id like individual switches, one for ceiling and the other for the tailgate, so to have the option for ON(Door/Lock) - OFF - ON.

No leisure battery!

@Dellmassive any advice would be appreciated
What detail do you want?
All the information is in the picture of my original post
 
Stupid question here, running a switch to the sliding door pillar so that the 6 led lights I am installing act like the normal lights (opening and closing) and to flick on when you switch the switch, is it a matter of just splicing into the light just behind the driver on the roof? Or do both roof lights need to be connected up? The original lights are 3 pin rocker type
 
Stupid question here, running a switch to the sliding door pillar so that the 6 led lights I am installing act like the normal lights (opening and closing) and to flick on when you switch the switch, is it a matter of just splicing into the light just behind the driver on the roof? Or do both roof lights need to be connected up? The original lights are 3 pin rocker type
They are all the same circuit. You can connect to either.
 
@MrAPC Getting the lights to work is relatively straightforward. It's potential problems like flickering or if you want to switch between leisure and starter battery power where it gets more complicated.
 
@MrAPC Getting the lights to work is relatively straightforward. It's potential problems like flickering or if you want to switch between leisure and starter battery power where it gets more complicated.
Oh nothing fancy like that just yet, just want them come on when you open the door , go off when you lock up like the originals do and be able turn them on with a switch (obviously not leave them on to kill the starting battery )
 
LED rear interior lights - How i done it.

so a few have asked, so i though i would just list it here as a post so i could refer back to it in the future.

The lights were purchased from The T6F shop over here >

View attachment 27565

We were planning to do the carpeting at around the same time, but for the purpose of this thread ill leave the carpeting bit out.

first thing to do was to remove the existing roof lining by popping out the grey plastic hex head pop studs, they all unscrewed easily, the center support bar popped out with a plastic trim tool... no problems so far....


View attachment 27566

The existing OEM LED light unclipped easily reveling the loom and connectors . . .

View attachment 27567



once the panels were out we layed them out on the floor and used a string line to work out where we wanted the new lights and what spacing we were going to have . . . . .

View attachment 27568


because we had already carpeted the panels, drilling into them was going to be a challenge ( the drill bit snagging the carpet) but and old car audio ICE trick was to put the drill in reverse and burn through the carpet, once burned through you could go through normally. . . . we drilled holes for the cable entry to the back of the panel and poked the wires through. . . . .

View attachment 27570

next up was to mount the lights, we used the small self tapping screws that comes with the kit to screw into the backing board, then fitted the covers over the screw fixings . . . .



View attachment 27571

next task was cable management, we cut off the small two pin connectors and layed out the cables to roughly where we needed them. We used white gaffer tape to tape down the cables to stop them ratteling etc . . . . we bought the excess cable through the OEM light fitting hole.....we decided to keep the OEM LED lights as dummy units, the also helped out as a good cable way and access panel of sorts to get to the connections . . . .


View attachment 27572

now the new LEDs were fitted we could refit the panels in the back of the van . . . we pulled the existing loom and original connectors out the hole where the old light was. . . . . .

using a multi-meter we measured the BCM 0v ground wire and the BCM timed 12v+ wire (when the rear door was open) and joined them with crimp terminals to the OEM loom . . . leaving the original connector on the end.


***************************************************************************************
Factory Non-LED 3 wire setup:

(brown) - earth point left a-pilar
(brown/red) - connection 1 main harness (BCM switched neg 0v)
(red/black) - positive connection 1 main harness (BCM timed +12v) ( 7.5A fuse 24 holder C)
****************************************************************************************

Factory LED 2 wire setup:

(brown/red) - connection 1 main harness (BCM switched neg)
(red/black) - positive connection 1 main harness (BCM timed +12v)( 7.5A fuse 19 holder C)

****************************************************************************************
BCM rear light TIMER :

credit: @JCElec

You can change the time by changing module 09 chanal 038. standard value is: 21 (10.5 minutes) en you can change it to 254 (127 minutes). it's multiplying whit 30 sec.

@mmi Excellent info. Thanks. Seems to match with my observations in thread Led Rear Interior Lights - How I Done It.
- channel 38 in my van has value of 121 - and indeed I had observed the lights (obviously the new setting came with factory LEDs in cargo space) stay on for 60 mins.

*****************************************


View attachment 27575

once all back in the van we tested it all making sure that the new LEDs didnt flicker and also went off when the van doors were closed/van locked etc.


FYI: This van had the factory OEM REAR LED pack option so already had the rear LED light modules with no-rocker switch. also the loom had only 2 wires. It also looks like you will get an extended ON time of around 60mins before the lights shut off.

If your van has the standard rear filament lights you would most likely have a rocker switch on the lamp unit and 3 wires in the loom. (0v ground perm, 0v BCM switched, BCM timed +12v perm) The BCM shut off time will be around the 10 - 20 mins mark.


for people looking to have a override switch for say a camper etc then a fused +12v feed wire would be used to feed the lights in addition to the BCM feed. A blocking diode may be needed on that feed wire.

If your switched override feed was coming from the AUX isolated battery feed in conjunction with the BCM feed (from the starter battery) i would defiantly fit a blocking diode to stop any back flow of current from the AUX and STARTer battery.

some people just totaly disregard the BCM +12v feed and just use the new +12v AUX feed, though a warning on this point is that if the lights were left on all night there is a chance of discharging the feed battery to a dangerously low level causing possible damage. . . . . . low voltage cut-out are available to prevent this from happening.

A relay can also be used to shunt the lights from BCM van control over to Leisure battery for extended light on times for camper-van setups and the like.

Hope that answers some questions I've had. =]

More info over here > Dellmassive`s -- "how I Done It" -- Thread

.
Excellent info
 
I've got no courtesy interior lights in the rear of my T5.1 conversion (with pop top). Need to do something about the darkness when I open the side door!

Ideally I'll use the mosfet solution to control the LED strips above the side door, which are currently switched from a control panel near the back.

But - I'm having trouble locating the factory light feeds.

I've checked the C pillar but can't find any wires in there. I can't access above the door as the long trim for the poptop frame containing the LED strip is fixed on top.

Where else can I go - B pillar? I read that the wires come from behind the glovebox.

Once I've found the feed, am I going to need to run it all the way to the back to the control panel? I'd like to install the 3-way switch in the B pillar like many others have done.

(Also, I'd like to fit a side-step with a light - assuming that is just another courtesy light, so I can drop a pair of wires down the B pillar and under the step?)

Thanks all :)

IMG_5168.jpg

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IMG_5161.jpeg
 
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