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wiring headache, need help.

2K views 13 replies 4 participants last post by  Kruzer 
#1 ·
so i was intending to tap into the headlight switch more specifically the cargo lamp wire and run it to a relay so i could power my white LED bars in the bed to come on when i turn on the cargo lamps.

well i guess it is a ground switched or something weird cause I could not get the power i needed to the relay. after messing around i dont know for sure what i did, but the cargo lamp will not come on and neither will my fog lights......I checked all fuses and all are good. Could I have burnt the switch up? I really dont know what else to look at.

I have already decided to try and find a switch to wire up in the bed and tap into a hot from the trailer wiring and by pass the whole relay idea from the front. can anybody help please?:4-dontknow:
 
#2 ·
Without looking at the schematic and what/how you tapped into the wiring, it will be a tough one to figure out. The PDC (Power Distribution Center) should actually be a module, and does have some built in protection. It can shut down a circuit if it detects a short. I would return everything back to its original condition and unhook the battery for 15-20 minutes or so and see if this brings you back online. Hopefully you did not actually burn up a circuit in which case the module would have to be replace. As for the headlight switch it is just an input device (not hardwired to your lights), so I doubt it was affected. Don't hold me 100% accountable for this as I'm only going by memory, since I no longer have dealer connect access. Good luck.
 
#3 ·
Ok great, I will try to reset thIs afternoon. Thanks. Could there be a breaker under the dash somewhere tO reset?
 
#6 ·
If you have not used the wiring diagram before
Pick the part that you want to work with
Then click on the page number

Many people just look at the page & think that there is no wiring schematic there

Good Luck
 
#7 ·
well i tried the battery disconnect and no luck, I really dont know where to go from here. Where is the PDM? I will hae to look at replacing it I guess. may be check some relays under the hood again.
 
#9 ·
yea thanks right after I posted that i figured it out. is there a modue under the dash that would be powered by the main one that may be only controls the circuits that are affected? I tried reading the wiring schematics but that is like reading greek to me. I appretiate all the help so far.
 
#11 ·
ok well I retraced my steps from the other day and I figured out that in my process of looking for a hot wire that was never there, I was using my little test light. It works by attaching the alligator clip to a ground and then touch each wire and when you find a wire with current the light lights up. well that never happened. Instead when I hit the wire for the cargo lamp circuit the cargo light would turn on and when i would do it again it would turn of. So I assume that the switch is a ground side switch. by me grounding the test light i was activating the curcuit.

So i went back out and did the dame thing, thinking that if the llight comes on again then the circuit is good and it must be the switch. guess what the circuit is good. So i pulled the switch and decided to take it apart thinking I might see something obvious.
well the thing I think I figured out is that the two circuits that are not working now are the cargo and fog lights. and those are the only two in the switch houseing that use a tactile momentary push button. I am guess that i fried these two little buttons. I found out that these buttons normally have a ohm rating to them. the two white spots are the switches. this is the only thing i can think of. now because I am so cheap, I have two options to try,
1.buy the new switch houseing for $40
2.figure out exactly what type of switch this is, for example 6x6x4mm or what ever. then unsolder and then resolder new ones cost .50c for both.
 
#12 ·
Did you do a continuity check on the switches to see if they were working? In my experience I would lean toward one of the resistor before a switch. Switches usually are pretty hardy critters, I'm by no means saying you are wrong as I haven't been probing the circuits, just giving food for thought. Plus while you were probing to find your wire to tap into I wouldn't think they were being pushed at that time, so they would have been open. I'm just thinking out loud....:thk:
 
#13 ·
I did not do any tests, but after taking the circuit board all the way out it was obvious that it was not the switches. I burntup on of the circuits on the board.

Guess I will be buying a new switch.
 
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