Wiring in an indicator for toolbox doors

[gremlin]

I have a custom service body on my ranger and it’s impossible to see if the doors are open in the mirrors when you’re in the truck, there are three one on the back, and one each side, I live in fear of not realizing ones been left open and driving the truck away. Has anyone figured out how to add a wire into he door ajar sensors for the rear doors or something so you’d at least see some sort of warning?

Thank you

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[Fawnbuster]

Plunger switches?

 

[gremlin]

Ah, yeah sorry, maybe should've been more clear, I'm not sure where to attach those too to make them light up, was wondering if anyone had figured out the colour of the wire in the harness to tap into to make it work.

 

[myothercarizahearse]

there aren't any work Rangers around here. mind sharing some pics?

 

[gremlin]

Custom service body | 2019+ Ford Ranger and Raptor Forum (5th Generation) - Ranger5G.com

 

[Bsthroop]

I tapped into the hood sensor to monitor my tailgate. The wires are right at the latch and you can split one and do a series through switches on your doors. Makes the warning come on in the dash and also triggers the alarm.

 

[Dereku]

Lets see a picture of the service body. Im intrigued.

 

[Danager]

My son drives a F-550 with service body. If any door is open or if the crane is not locked in place, there is a light on the front of the bulkhead that he can see through the back window.

 

[dmeyer302]

If this was a supported feature, it would be in the Body Builder handbook. What you're asking for doesn't appear to exist. It looks like you need to install your own separate indicator light with a switch similar to what is in Post 2.

 

[gremlin]

Lets see a picture of the service body. Im intrigued.

See my post above with link to the thread that shows the body.

Thank you for the post, I had the body builders handbook from the build (sort of obvious) so I had already looked there. I'm going to look at wiring into the hood switch, otherwise I can of course always install an LED somewhere in sight that connects to the already existing lights in the box.

One thing I did find that is nice is a cute little programmable timer module (Timer WIFI 10 AMP 6V 12V 18V 24V TIME ON OFF DELAY CONFIGURABLE, CYCLING and OPTIONAL TRIGGER - - Amazon.com). I have the trigger input connected to the dome lights in the cab, and then the output feeding the lights in the box with a 20 minute delay. So whenever the cab lights come on (like form un-locking) the box lights will be on for 20 minutes. If I'm still needing them after that I can open the cab door again for another 20 minutes. Installation and programming were easy enough through a phone with WiFi.

I used the 12V Aux source under the box with a harness someone pointed out on this forum to power a 12V RV Water pump underneath that pulls from a 10 gallon tank under the box, I can use this to hose things down.

 

[OFC Ranger]

Why not just have a giant pink dildo on a springed bracket that pops out, within view of the driver side mirror, to alert you that the tool box is open.

Kind of crude, but it should work. I suspect it would result in a 0% failure rate of keeping the tool box closed.

 

[gremlin]

I tapped into the hood sensor to monitor my tailgate. The wires are right at the latch and you can split one and do a series through switches on your doors. Makes the warning come on in the dash and also triggers the alarm.

Where did you find the hood sensor? I've been staring under the hood with a flashlight for 20 minutes and I'm embarrassed to say I can not locate anything that looks like a sensor for that, given how prominent that is on the dashboard that would be ideal.

 

[Skit hjälm]

The switch is built into hood latch mechanism.
At minimum, You'd have to remove the big plastic cover piece to get to it.
As I understand, it's a normally closed circuit.
It's probably simplest to just connect right at the hoodlatch. But if you have wiring schematic or alot of time to track it down, you can probably access the hoodlatch wiring somewhere closer to your service body.
Fwiw, I'll be doing a similar thing with my SmartCap.
I'm adding door position switches as well as remote unlocking.
At least as soon as I can find a suitable actuator to incorporate to its hatches.

Where did you find the hood sensor? I've been staring under the hood with a flashlight for 20 minutes and I'm embarrassed to say I can not locate anything that looks like a sensor for that, given how prominent that is on the dashboard that would be ideal.

 

[gremlin]

The switch is built into hood latch mechanism.
At minimum, You'd have to remove the big plastic cover piece to get to it.
As I understand, it's a normally closed circuit.
It's probably simplest to just connect right at the hoodlatch. But if you have wiring schematic or alot of time to track it down, you can probably access the hoodlatch wiring somewhere closer to your service body.
Fwiw, I'll be doing a similar thing with my SmartCap.
I'm adding door position switches as well as remote unlocking.
At least as soon as I can find a suitable actuator to incorporate to its hatches.

Thank you,

I used some amazon actuators for the locks on the body, and I used this relay to make sure I wasn't overpowering the lock signals going to the tailgate harness with the 8 new actuators.

Amazon.com: Forward and Reverse Relay Module for Motor/Linear Actuator, Reversing Relay Module (DC 12V) : Automotive

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