Electrical Rear LED LIghts

G Daddy

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Dec 6, 2015
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Toowoomba
Need help finding were wiring for the Top LED lights is running from the bottom tail, brake & indicator lights. Can't find how those little Jayco devils get the wires to the top lights?

1527143692794.jpg
 

Drover

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Nov 7, 2013
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Oh !!!!!!! thats somewhere I never want to go again.............I lost the wires to my top light on the 14.44 I ended up using some heavy fencing wire to force a run down to where the tail light mess was so I could run a new set , it was not fun at all.

I had to remove rear lower lights so I could get into the thing and the wires ran up the rear corner of the van inside the cavity formed by the rear pod....
 
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Boots in Action

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Mar 13, 2017
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Oh !!!!!!! thats somewhere I never want to go again.............I lost the wires to my top light on the 14.44 I ended up using some heavy fencing wire to force a run down to where the tail light mess was so I could run a new set , it was not fun at all.

I had to remove rear lower lights so I could get into the thing and the wires ran up the rear corner of the van inside the cavity formed by the rear pod....

Hi @Drover , if @G Daddy has not yet lost the wires going from the top lights to the bottom set, can he get access to the "tail light mess" from inside the van or does it have to be "key hole stuff" through bottom light opening?? Sounds nasty if cannot get access to parallel connections at bottom lights!! No ideas coming fourth - just sympathy for what may have to be done. Sorry @G Daddy.
 

G Daddy

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Dec 6, 2015
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Toowoomba
I want to mount extra tail,stop, indicator combination lights up high under the current led lights (as photo)
. Was going to use current wire to draw in new cable but can't find the wires in the bottom rats nest behind lights.
 

Boots in Action

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Mar 13, 2017
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Ferny Grove, Queensland
I want to mount extra tail,stop, indicator combination lights up high under the current led lights (as photo)
. Was going to use current wire to draw in new cable but can't find the wires in the bottom rats nest behind lights.

@G Daddy , are you able to parallel the connections from the current LED lights? Or am I missing the point? Is it the wire problem to the new lights you want to fit?
 

mikerezny

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Sep 11, 2016
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Hi @G Daddy,
have you had a look at the wiring behind BOTH top lights and bottom combination lights? It might be that the wiring of the one in your picture goes ACROSS to the other side and then DOWN to the combination lights. Just a thought.

cheers
Mike
 

Drover

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Nov 7, 2013
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Recall, I removed my rear lights and slowly unravelled the birds nest to figure which one did what by unplugging where I could but as for getting an extra run up the shute I found a tight spot, think it may have been some foam, not sure but trying to run a new line up could require some force and may break the clearance light cable, then again my old 14.44 may be differn't.....I had an arm thru a hole, a torch inside and tried looking thru the other hole, proper pain.
A hidden run up the inside of van thru a cupboard and out may be the way to go.
I had thought similar but dropped the idea when I saw the cost of the lights I wanted to use and when I replaced the clearance light and lost the cable I'm glad I did.
 

mikerezny

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Sep 11, 2016
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Hi @G Daddy,
if you do eventually decide to pull through some new cable I would strongly suggest to NOT use the existing cable to pull it through.
My suggestion would be to use the existing cable to pull through a piece of much stronger wire of a similar size AND a smaller wire.
You keep the smaller wire aside for the moment to serve as a backup in case something goes wrong. Tie it off at both ends so you don't loose it.

You then connect your new cable to the stronger wire. Don't be in a rush to make that connection. Try to carefully join the wire so there are no sharp edges to catch when you pull it through. Also try to avoid the join being substantially thicker than the wire. I have sometimes stripped off all the insulation soldered the cable to the draw wire and then put heatshrink over it all. I have found that one of the wires in 240V house wiring cable has the required strength and flexibility to do the job. Since the conductor is copper it is easy to solder to your new cable.

If you get resistance pulling it through in one direction you can try pulling the cable through in the other direction. Another trick if you get resistance is to rotate the wire as you try to pull it through that point to get the cable over the 'lip'.

Once you have the new wire through, you can pull out the smaller backup wire unless you think you may want to pull other cables through in the future.

The main ingredient in this exercise is patience. I learnt all these tricks back in the late 60's in my days at the PMG as a technician in training. The linies in those days certainly knew all the tricks. They were still pulling huge lead covered cables with paper insulation over the conductors.

cheers
Mike
 
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The escapist

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Nov 9, 2016
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@mikerezny , those cables are still in the ground and in use in some areas!! At least, they were still there back in 2004 when I was a field tech. I could also see them on the plans as a cable assigner in 2005! I’d bet they’re still there now!

I agree with the above comments, use patience!
I’d also disconnect the wires you want to use as a draw wire. Then, with the mess of wires underneath, test the individual pairs, looking for an open circuit. All the others should show some degree of resistance through the globes that are plugged in. Once you find an open you’ve found the wire that you want to use as a draw wire.

Unless you’ve a blown globe you don’t know about... that could be a cause for confusion!!
 
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Boots in Action

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Mar 13, 2017
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Hi @G Daddy,
if you do eventually decide to pull through some new cable I would strongly suggest to NOT use the existing cable to pull it through.
My suggestion would be to use the existing cable to pull through a piece of much stronger wire of a similar size AND a smaller wire.
You keep the smaller wire aside for the moment to serve as a backup in case something goes wrong. Tie it off at both ends so you don't loose it.

You then connect your new cable to the stronger wire. Don't be in a rush to make that connection. Try to carefully join the wire so there are no sharp edges to catch when you pull it through. Also try to avoid the join being substantially thicker than the wire. I have sometimes stripped off all the insulation soldered the cable to the draw wire and then put heatshrink over it all. I have found that one of the wires in 240V house wiring cable has the required strength and flexibility to do the job. Since the conductor is copper it is easy to solder to your new cable.

If you get resistance pulling it through in one direction you can try pulling the cable through in the other direction. Another trick if you get resistance is to rotate the wire as you try to pull it through that point to get the cable over the 'lip'.

Once you have the new wire through, you can pull out the smaller backup wire unless you think you may want to pull other cables through in the future.

The main ingredient in this exercise is patience. I learnt all these tricks back in the late 60's in my days at the PMG as a technician in training. The linies in those days certainly knew all the tricks. They were still pulling huge lead covered cables with paper insulation over the conductors.

cheers
Mike

Yes Mike @mikerezny , good advice there. But the biggest hurdle initially is getting that extra wire through so you have something stronger to attach to the new wires you are adding. But I agree, not a good idea to use existing wire/s as pull through wires for the extra cables. Patience, patience and more patience, plus a lot of perseverance too.