Before I Pull Thetrigger On Led Touch Lights...

[CALLAKN]

hi guys, little advice about to fit new ply line with carpets etc etc etc, going to wire in 4LED touch lights removing the previous stock ones.

Should there be anything to worry about? I am an electrician, but not auto... presume I can just inline through the lighting cable that’s already there, and feed off it.

Cheers

Also, looking st these -

6 x 12v Dimatec 1.2w Touch Control led recessed Light Nickel Camper vw | eBay

Any one with experience of this light

 

[Deaky]

Just be aware that the +ve on the courtesy light circuit is timed. It's triggered on by unlocking or opening a door and then after a while it's turned off by the BCM to prevent flattening the starter battery.

 

[CALLAKN]

So if I wire them in, they should come on like courtesy lights do, on timer... until I switch them off?

Should I wire them differently?

 

[Deaky]

The circuit that is already there will have 3 wires. Red/Black wire +12v (timed as my post above), A brown wire permanent -ve and a brown/red switched -ve

If they are touch lights then they will only come on when touched, they won't come on automatically with the original courtesy light.

If you want them to operate independently from the courtesy light circuit then you need to fit a permanent +12v that won't be shut down by the BCM.

 

[CALLAKN]

The circuit that is already there will have 3 wires. Red/Black wire +12v (timed as my post above), A brown wire permanent -ve and a brown/red switched -ve

If they are touch lights then they will only come on when touched, they won't come on automatically with the original courtesy light.

If you want them to operate independently from the courtesy light circuit then you need to fit a permanent +12v that won't be shut down by the BCM.

Or could I put a switch in place in the side of the van that ultimately does what the courtesy lights at the moment do... on, off and courtesy doors on...

 

[Dieseldonkey]

2 of my 8 spot lights are touch activated and are the same as those in your link. However they are wired into the leisure battery. The other 6 are not touch sensitive but are switchable through a DPDT switch. They work off either the courtesy function and vehicle battery or can be switched to be permanently on, powered by the leisure battery. My battery monitor regularly shows 14 plus volts when the engines running. So I'd just keep a check on their temperature if they're on for prolonged periods of time. So far though, I've had no issues with them.

 

[CALLAKN]

Yeah I’m feeling the best option might be to just wire in a battery with a small switching unit. Plan to do so at some point anyway so might just crack on with it

 

[dennismo]

Hi guys. Resurrecting an old thread... I’ve just read various old threads about LED Touch lights / courtesy lights etc, and wonder if someone can help me join the dots?
I have adapted my LED rear lighting over the years...it was initially 4 x LED touch lights which were simply controlled by 2 switches (each controlling a pair of lights) to switch others on and off. (There are also a further 2 in the tailgate which are only on when tailgate is opened, and are kind of irrelevant to this thread).

This setup was vastly improved by @Absolut5 changing the 2 simple 2 way switches for 2 x 3 way rocker switches (SPDP with centre off) which I presume make use of the vans BCM -ve feed (is that right Jason?) so that I can either have lights
1. On when doors open
2. OFF
3. ON

This setup has been perfect but I’m about to have a pop top fitted, and at the same time will slightly changed the lighting setup...

New lighting boards will have 3 LED lights down each side, and will be new lights that are warm white rather than cool white. The lights the fitter uses are touch lights again, but default to OFF until touched. He is also installing a dimmer which will be really useful when camping. Questions as follows.

1.It seems odd that the lights default to OFF until touched to me...but reading around on the forum this is apparently normal... Weirdly - I have touch lights now that are ON until touched, and seem to remember their setting. Is that down to how they’re wired, and should this be possible to achieve with the new lights?

2. Assuming I can get the lights to be ‘on’ by default, can I incorporate the 3 way switch BEFORE the dimmer, so that I can keep the option of lights on when doors opened, as well as always on...

any thoughts here much appreciated!! Sorry for the long post.

 

[Absolut5]

Hi guys. Resurrecting an old thread... I’ve just read various old threads about LED Touch lights / courtesy lights etc, and wonder if someone can help me join the dots?
I have adapted my LED rear lighting over the years...it was initially 4 x LED touch lights which were simply controlled by 2 switches (each controlling a pair of lights) to switch others on and off. (There are also a further 2 in the tailgate which are only on when tailgate is opened, and are kind of irrelevant to this thread).

This setup was vastly improved by @Absolut5 changing the 2 simple 2 way switches for 2 x 3 way rocker switches (SPFT with centre off) which I presume make use of the vans BCM -ve feed (is that right Jason?) so that I can either have lights
1. On when doors open
2. OFF
3. ON

This setup has been perfect but I’m about to have a pop top fitted, and at the same time will slightly changed the lighting setup...

New lighting boards will have 3 LED lights down each side, and will be new lights that are warm white rather than cool white. The lights the fitter uses are touch lights again, but default to OFF until touched. He is also installing a dimmer which will be really useful when camping. Questions as follows.

1.It seems odd that the lights default to OFF until touched to me...but reading around on the forum this is apparently normal... Weirdly - I have touch lights now that are ON until touched, and seem to remember their setting. Is that down to how they’re wired, and should this be possible to achieve with the new lights?

2. Assuming I can get the lights to be ‘on’ by default, can I incorporate the 3 way switch BEFORE the dimmer, so that I can keep the option of lights on when doors opened, as well as always on...

any thoughts here much appreciated!! Sorry for the long post.

yes the lights are wired using the - switch feed from the bcm, and one from ground

just add a dimmer switch to the positive feed on the lights

 

[dennismo]

yes the lights are wired using the - switch feed from the bcm, and one from ground

just add a dimmer switch to the positive feed on the lights

Perfect. Thanks for the reply. Any idea about the touch lights and how to make them ‘on’ when powered on until they’re touched rather than ‘off’ by default?
...or is that just depended on what lights are purchased?

 

[Absolut5]

Perfect. Thanks for the reply. Any idea about the touch lights and how to make them ‘on’ when powered on until they’re touched rather than ‘off’ by default?
...or is that just depended on what lights are purchased?

il be honest all the ones we have come across are always ‘on’

but I cannot see why many use them, as I think a simple switch/dimmer is all that’s needed , a faff switching them individually

 

[dennismo]

Interesting...the thing I’ve found useful is being able to leave them switched on, and touch them off but have 1 remaining until going to sleep, and then touching off directly above me. If I need a light in the night - I can just touch back on again.... if relying on the switch, I’d have to scrabble around in the dark to find it...

Maybe I need to look for lights that are on by default if it’s not a wiring thing...

 

[Absolut5]

Interesting...the thing I’ve found useful is being able to leave them switched on, and touch them off but have 1 remaining until going to sleep, and then touching off directly above me. If I need a light in the night - I can just touch back on again.... if relying on the switch, I’d have to scrabble around in the dark to find it...

Maybe I need to look for lights that are on by default if it’s not a wiring thing...

Fair comment ,

 

[Goose_t6.1]

Hi guys. Resurrecting an old thread... I’ve just read various old threads about LED Touch lights / courtesy lights etc, and wonder if someone can help me join the dots?
I have adapted my LED rear lighting over the years...it was initially 4 x LED touch lights which were simply controlled by 2 switches (each controlling a pair of lights) to switch others on and off. (There are also a further 2 in the tailgate which are only on when tailgate is opened, and are kind of irrelevant to this thread).

This setup was vastly improved by @Absolut5 changing the 2 simple 2 way switches for 2 x 3 way rocker switches (SPDP with centre off) which I presume make use of the vans BCM -ve feed (is that right Jason?) so that I can either have lights
1. On when doors open
2. OFF
3. ON

This setup has been perfect but I’m about to have a pop top fitted, and at the same time will slightly changed the lighting setup...

New lighting boards will have 3 LED lights down each side, and will be new lights that are warm white rather than cool white. The lights the fitter uses are touch lights again, but default to OFF until touched. He is also installing a dimmer which will be really useful when camping. Questions as follows.

1.It seems odd that the lights default to OFF until touched to me...but reading around on the forum this is apparently normal... Weirdly - I have touch lights now that are ON until touched, and seem to remember their setting. Is that down to how they’re wired, and should this be possible to achieve with the new lights?

2. Assuming I can get the lights to be ‘on’ by default, can I incorporate the 3 way switch BEFORE the dimmer, so that I can keep the option of lights on when doors opened, as well as always on...

any thoughts here much appreciated!! Sorry for the long post.

Hi dennismo,

not sure if you have tried yet but did you manage to get this working? It's something I'm looking at for my t6.1 and wanted to know if you managed to get it working.

I'm hoping it may be able to be controlled by the overhead interior light switch above the driver as well as a switch in the back. not too sure if it will work though.

thanks

 

[dennismo]

Hi @Goose_t6.1 - my setup (pre pop-top, which is currently being installed) works perfectly for me. 3 way switch for lights either ON / OFF / On with doors. This however is separate from the light control in the cab, but works perfectly for me... The LED lights that I have in the back also have touch control to turn them off which works great.

I'm still trying to get to the bottom of what I will do next. I'm having a pop top installed, and therefore the lights will need to move. At the same time, I'm ideally wanting to swap to warm white, and add a dimmer in too... but the thing I'm still unsure of is that lots of the LED lights seems to be OFF by default (meaning that you have to touch them individually to turn them on - which is a tad annoying for 6 x lights!... Still therefore trying to find warm white LEDs that are ON by default, if anyone out there has any ideas?