When camping I like to turn off the interior lights using the stalk near the steering wheel. This prevents the interior lights from running a long time and draining the battery when I have the tailgate open. Battery life is important to me because I have an inverter I use to charge electronics like my GPS, camera, and phone. Not to mention I want the Jeep to start up the next day!
One annoying thing about turning the interior lights off up front is that I can't see anything in the trunk after dark. In my previous Jeep, an XJ Cherokee, the trunk light had a push-up switch to turn it on manually. I miss that feature in my KK, so I rigged up a light switch this afternoon.
The circuit schematic goes like this:
Battery + to my homemade fuse panel under the dash.
20 A fuse on the line to the rear, which powers the inverter, trailer wiring harness, and now my light switch.
+ wire to Switch
Switch to yellow + wire going into rear overhead light.
Light to battery using OEM ground wire (- black).
When my switch is in the off position: all overhead lights behave normally.
When my switch is in the on position: all overhead lights go on regardless of input from doors, driver, etc.
Now when I'm camping and need to find something in the trunk at night-- flip the switch and there is light!
One quick question for you KK electrical gurus:
The interior lights shine a bit brighter when powered by my switch than they do when the Jeep's open doors turn them on. They also get hotter, I think. Does the OEM wiring diagram contain a resistor to make the lights dimmer than they would be at 12V? The last thing I want to do is start a fire! Thanks for your input.
