Led spotlight install help!

J

Joecowpink

New Member
Does Anyone know how to wire led spots in place of the interior lights?! I want them to run off the leisure battery and turn on/off with the doors opening/closing.

I've got it so that:

Pos 1 on switch - both lights permanently on
Pos 2 on switch - both lights permanently off
Pos 3 on switch - both lights on only when rear door is open.

I can't seem to figure how to get them to turn on when the sliding door opens. Also, when switch is in pos 3 and all doors are shut, there is still a tiny bit of libht emitting from the spots. Any ideas??

Thanks!
 
If you want to power them from the leisure battery rather than the starter battery then I would include a relay to allow the wiring to be completely separate and switch the positive rather than the negative that the van wiring uses.
If you do a search there are a few wiring diagrams already on here that may help.
 
Grim Reaper said:
If you want to power them from the leisure battery rather than the starter battery then I would include a relay to allow the wiring to be completely separate and switch the positive rather than the negative that the van wiring uses.
If you do a search there are a few wiring diagrams already on here that may help.
Click to expand...
Just seen that I had a message from the Grim Reaper! Haha thought my time was up!

Ah OK, that's interesting. I'll have a look. I've been googling for days but maybe I've been googling the wrong stuff

Thanks mate
 
No need for a relay.

Run a new fused +ve feed to your leisure battery and connect this straight to the +ve on your new lights

Get a on - off - on switch

Connect the -ve from your new lights to the common pin on the switch

Find the brown wire in your van courtesy light circuit and connect this to the switch - this position will be permanently on.

Find the brown/red wire in your van courtesy light circuit and connect this to the switch - this position will be on with the doors.
 
Deaky said:
No need for a relay.

Run a new fused +ve feed to your leisure battery and connect this straight to the +ve on your new lights

Get a on - off - on switch

Connect the -ve from your new lights to the common pin on the switch

Find the brown wire in your van courtesy light circuit and connect this to the switch - this position will be permanently on.

Find the brown/red wire in your van courtesy light circuit and connect this to the switch - this position will be on with the doors.
Click to expand...
@Deaky this sounds like a brilliant solution to this problem and I was all ready to follow your advice. However, when I mentioned it to the guy who is doing some work on my van (reputable and established converter) he suggested that using the existing loom might cause problems with the Canbus? I'm no electrician, and to my non-expert mind, this would just be changing one load for another on that circuit? Now I am confused. Is he BS'ing me?
 
Hi everyone, just to clear things up...

Heres a little diagram for how I've wired the back door. There's a three way switch so the lights either permanently on, permanently off or on/off when the back door opens/closes.

It's the same principle for the sliding doors. The only reason why I was having dramas with the sliding door was because I had the main vehicle battery disconnected (because I want the leds running from the leisure battery). I connected it up and everything worked a treat. Turns out the sliding door switch needs a permanent live.

I've got some 12v regulators on the way too but I've not plumbed them in yet...20220106_194435.jpg

Anyway, hope this helps!

Also, don't take this for gospel. I'm not telling anyone to do it like this, it's just how I did it.
 
Joecowpink said:
Hi everyone, just to clear things up...

Heres a little diagram for how I've wired the back door. There's a three way switch so the lights either permanently on, permanently off or on/off when the back door opens/closes.

It's the same principle for the sliding doors. The only reason why I was having dramas with the sliding door was because I had the main vehicle battery disconnected (because I want the leds running from the leisure battery). I connected it up and everything worked a treat. Turns out the sliding door switch needs a permanent live.

I've got some 12v regulators on the way too but I've not plumbed them in yet...View attachment 140641

Anyway, hope this helps!

Also, don't take this for gospel. I'm not telling anyone to do it like this, it's just how I did it.
Click to expand...
Thanks Joe and I think this is exactly what @Deaky was proposing. I asked the converter to do this and he suggested it would cause a problem with the CAN bus. I am not an auto-electrician so I can't argue with him, hence the reason for asking for more advice from those in the know on this site.
 
It will not cause issues, we have been doing it this way for years Since T5s, no affect whatsoever with 6 or 6.1s
 
nl1965 said:
@Deaky this sounds like a brilliant solution to this problem and I was all ready to follow your advice. However, when I mentioned it to the guy who is doing some work on my van (reputable and established converter) he suggested that using the existing loom might cause problems with the Canbus? I'm no electrician, and to my non-expert mind, this would just be changing one load for another on that circuit? Now I am confused. Is he BS'ing me?
Click to expand...
The courtesy light circuit has nothing to do with any of the canbus systems in the van.
 
Like most convertors they always do what they've always done. Ask for something different and they don't want to know.
 
Hi everyone, I was planning on putting spotlights into my van. Could I use a rocker switch. On off On. I want the switch in the dash I don’t want a dummy light. Would this be something possible? Could I just use the starter battery or is it worth using the leisure battery as well. I want to use them as Courtesy lights so they open with the door and they stay on as well.
Hope people understand and can help.
Thanks
 
Deaky said:
No need for a relay.

Run a new fused +ve feed to your leisure battery and connect this straight to the +ve on your new lights

Get a on - off - on switch

Connect the -ve from your new lights to the common pin on the switch

Find the brown wire in your van courtesy light circuit and connect this to the switch - this position will be permanently on.

Find the brown/red wire in your van courtesy light circuit and connect this to the switch - this position will be on with the doors.
Click to expand...
Just felt the need to post a huge thank you for your words of wisdom - which has allowed me to wire my downlighters and halo run of my leisure battery and operate when doors open or lock. An on-off-on switch allows manual control when inside the van. Massive thanks from a complete electrics novice!

643B2DF9-2EE7-4873-BCDA-B57B08AB1E15.jpeg
 
Apologies for digging up an old thread, I'm trying to follow Deakys advise above and hook up the switched -ve (red/brown wire) the to the negative side of a lighting circuit. Before cutting holes for new smaller lights and feeding wires etc I thought I’d throw my multi meter on it and check I have the correct wire. It appears I do have the correct wire as the voltage raises to 12v when the doors are open, as expected, what I wasn’t expecting though is that with the van doors closed and locked I’m registering 2.5v, is this normal? If I stick the ignition on it drops to around 0.5v.

To double check I’ve added a single light and as predicted it stays on but dims right down.

Thanks in advance

Chris

20230102_150231.jpg
 
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