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Can I safely use an upfitter as well as the reverse lights to trigger s relay to control backup LEDs?
Mom worried about backfeeding either reverse lights or upfitter if I happen to hit reverse while lights are on with upfitter switch #6 which is a higher amp ckt.
Please excuse the crude drawing.
Looks like you got the relay wiring wrong. The upfitter has a relay in the circuit that’s powered already.
If if you are looking to have the backup
lights control the LEDs you can tap the backup light wire, and use the power to control a relay that controls the LEDs.
If you want the upfitter to break this circuit have it control another relay on the load side of the relay controlled by the back up lights.
Why not just wire the LEDs to the upfitter and be done with it. Just turn them on manually.
i’ll see if I can post a drawing for you in a bit.
Here is a simple Drawing that you could use. This will allow the leds to turn on when reverse is selected and cut out the upfitter. It will allow upfitter use when the reverse is not on. You need a relay with a Normally open contact and a Normally closed contact. Make sure its rated for what you need.
Or if your LEDs Draw some Power here is a way to add a stand alone Fused 12V source. Both these options have Leds on whenever reverse is on. You would have to add a switch to turn the lights off separately.
Wildcard: Why can't I kist wire them from the upfitter and be done with it?
Because I can never seem to settle for the easy way...
Thanks Bikerman! That may be the ticket!
As stated, a diode is a simpler way to prevent backfeed. Just install a diode in the factory reverse lights so that current can flow to the LED's, but not from the LED's.
I did something similar on my 2016 (sorry no pictures). I powered the reverse light pin in the 7 pin trailer connector from one of the up fitter switches so that I could turn on my trailer revers lights anytime. I did this to power the reverse camera on the trailer so that I could see the trailer behind my trailer when going forward (trailer reverse camera was wired to camper reverse lights).
A cheap blocking diode will work fine, but I usually use a full wave bridge rectifier because it has 4 diodes (3 spares easily accessible by switching the wires to different pins), they are heavy duty (I used 50 amp one) and are cheap ($6 for the 50 amp on Amazon).
Why do you want to activate them? Is it for utility purposes? If so why not buy some cheap LED pods and mount them under the bumper? Saves the wiring headache as you run to your upfitters and don't have to worry about creating a loop or reinventing the wheel.
