Installing LED Raptor lights on a 2021 Ram Rebel 1500

[lordquentin]

Planning to install LED raptor lights on my 2021 Ram 1500 Rebel and i want them to turn on automatically with the dash lights rather than using a separate switch. I've been digging through the manual trying to find a fuse related to gauges, interior lights or dash illumination that I can tap into, but haven't had much luck. Just looking for ideas or suggestions on the best way to wire this up so they come on when it gets dark.

 

[Big.Syl]

Planning to install LED raptor lights on my 2021 Ram 1500 Rebel and i want them to turn on automatically with the dash lights rather than using a separate switch. I've been digging through the manual trying to find a fuse related to gauges, interior lights or dash illumination that I can tap into, but haven't had much luck. Just looking for ideas or suggestions on the best way to wire this up so they come on when it gets dark.

I think it should make a lot of sense to tap into the parking lights or instrument panel lighting circuit, they usually fire up with your dash dimmer and since you've checked the manual without luck, a good move is to use a multimeter or test light to find a wire that gets 12V only when the dash lights are on or you could piggyback off the headlight switch's accessory or illumination wire

 

[CeeThreePeeOh]

Planning to install LED raptor lights on my 2021 Ram 1500 Rebel and i want them to turn on automatically with the dash lights rather than using a separate switch. I've been digging through the manual trying to find a fuse related to gauges, interior lights or dash illumination that I can tap into, but haven't had much luck. Just looking for ideas or suggestions on the best way to wire this up so they come on when it gets dark.

Try to look for a f51 or f90 fuse or "park lamp", "cluster" or "illum" label then with multimeter verify the voltage when the headlights or dashlights are on. Now install "add a fuse" to that slot and run power wire to your raptor lights.

 

[galactica09]

I think it should make a lot of sense to tap into the parking lights or instrument panel lighting circuit, they usually fire up with your dash dimmer and since you've checked the manual without luck, a good move is to use a multimeter or test light to find a wire that gets 12V only when the dash lights are on or you could piggyback off the headlight switch's accessory or illumination wire

Thanks for breaking it down! Quick question, if I tap into the headlight switch's illumination wire, does that affect dimming at all? And when using a multimeter, how do you safely test without blowing a fuse?

 

[lordquentin]

I think it should make a lot of sense to tap into the parking lights or instrument panel lighting circuit, they usually fire up with your dash dimmer and since you've checked the manual without luck, a good move is to use a multimeter or test light to find a wire that gets 12V only when the dash lights are on or you could piggyback off the headlight switch's accessory or illumination wire

Thanks, that makes a lot of sense. I was leaning toward tapping into the parking lights, but i'll break out the multimeter and check for a clean 12v source that only comes on with the dash lights. Do you happen to know if the Rebel's headlight switch has a dedicated illumination wire that's easy to access, or is it tucked deep behind the dash?