rear deck light and switches
Awhile ago I did the 4crawler Deck Light mod so that the rear cargo lights can be used without the parking lights being on. I also previously used 2 single sections of flexible LED ribbon to light up the cargo area as the original light which never was very useful.
So now I wanted to consolidate the controls and add a rear "patio" light to illuminate the area immediately behind the 4runner. I didn't want a huge bright light since I like to stay as dim and low key as possible while camping, and a dimmer light won't kill my night vision as much. Besides, if I want to light up a big area I can just turn on the reverse lights. I also wanted the switches up higher, out of sight and easy to find in the dark so I don't have to fumble around as much to find them if I'm sleeping in the back.
Here's one of the Deck Lights that I installed awhile ago
http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/k...ecklight01.jpg
I was using the factory deck light switch in the rear for awhile, but things tend to get piled up and block its access. This is how I'm going to wire it using a SPDT switch
http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/k...ecklight02.jpg
I build a switch panel using some spare aluminum sheet that I had laying around. After measuring and drilling the panel I traced it onto the rear fiberglass shell so I knew what I had to cut. I made sure there was a decent size lip for the panel to sit against.
http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/k...tchpanel02.jpg
The panel with switches installed - the switch guards are just $.75 double nutted J-hooks that I found at some big box home improvement store.
http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/k...tchpanel01.jpg
I fished all the wiring I needed up through the "D" pillar along with 3 extra 14 gauge wires for future use. Since I don't need the illumination for the PW switch, the connector had 2 extra spots in it that I was able to use for the deck lights. Every wire is running through a connector so the shell can be taken off later without having to figure how to hook up a bunch of single unmarked wires. Here's the PW connector before I connected the wires:
http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/k...tchpanel03.jpg
The toggle switches I got use a screw through an eyelet on the end of the wire so nothing should ever come disconnected. I ran power for the patio light from the "common" pole of the SPDT switch through another toggle - the patio light can never be on just by itself, the deck lights have to be on. Here you can see the cheap riced out LED driving light that I decided to use, it should light up the tailgate area perfectly and is mounted up in the rear spoiler.
http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/k...realight01.jpg
switch panel installed
http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/k...tchpanel04.jpg
and the layout
http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/k...tchPanel06.jpg