There certainly should be! If not we're going to have to figure out a fix for that.

 

I take the bulbs out when Van camping so the interior lights don't come on every time a door is opened.
The switches are "hard wired". I put the bulb in the lense cover and re-install later.
TO MUCH SH#T on new vehicles now! If I want a light "I" will turn it on/off

 

Managing Interior Lights with slider or back door open



Well, while working on building a bed in our new transit cargo van, the battery died.. the A,B, and C positions only work when operating the driver or passenger door, the interior cargo lights stay on all the time when either the slider or the back door is open. I am hoping that someone has an easy fix...we don't have an LCD panel or user defined switches--just the basic model.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

I ordered the LED's in the cargo area, assumed they would be switched, sure hope so.

 

I also looked for a switch at the Ford tour and did not find one. I have a feeling one of my 4 "user defined switches" will be useful.

 

This is an issue. My old Sprinter did not have any cargo lights optioned. However the harness was tucked up into a channel in the cargo bay. I fabbed up some rails to span the length of the cargo bay and flush mounted a cheap set of 8 LED landscape lights into the rails. They consume virtually no wattage and are 12v. Wired them to a standard wall switch with a stainless cover plate and powered them up with the factory harness. I tested the harness for constant power befor beginning the project. It's perfect lighting for loading and unloading or looking for tools.

The transit must have a pigtail in the back to accommodate those who didn't order the cargo lights. So im betting this is the spot to add a simple switch. The user defined switches seem more suitable for higher power stuff like the giant LED light bar I'm going to mount out back as an auxiliary reverse lamp / tailgater deterrent.

 

The user defined switches seem more suitable for higher power stuff like the giant LED light bar I'm going to mount out back as an auxiliary reverse lamp / tailgater deterrent.

Exactly what I was thinking, except I'd use it for an LED driving light bar in the step/slot in the front bumper. I'd use one of those switches for aux back up lights except that my kids would probably play with it and get me into trouble. I also like the idea of rewiring one of those switches to use as a master for all the aux electrical in the back.

 

A safer option that I'll use for the rear cargo lights will be a rotary timer switch or any type of none powered type timer dial something that's adjustable on the fly and will go up to my specific needs, in my case would be 15 min max. This could be mounted anywhere that suits the owner. Those who have inverters and can use 120volt LEDs in the cargo area may even put in a motion switch in line with this, now you have no need for a switch and the light stays on for a minimum amount of time.

 

When stealth camping, isn't there a designated fuse that could be pulled for the dome lights?

 

Sure, but way to inconvenient to do on any kind of regular basis.

 

Are those LED bars street legal for driving lights? I considered one up front but I know they are "light up the night" bright and don't want to be a cop magnet. I am going to look into some LED strobes or emergency flashers integrated into the headlight and tail light pods for when I park illegally to go get coffee and other important stuff.

 

I don't believe they're legal. I think you'd need to use them with discretion.

 

In the socialist paradise of canuckistan we "commercial" vehicle drivers are regularly detained for "safety checks" or "blitzes" as our LE implements call them. Still gonna light up the night though.

 

Hah! I'm lucky in that where I live there are no vehicle inspections, not even for emissions. I'll only get busted if I get caught using them in traffic. Not really any different than all the big 4X4's with giant arrays on their roll bars and bumpers. Light 'em up! [emoji2]

 

That sounds fantastic. Where is this automotive paradise you live in?? How about DUI checkpoints? Yes or no??

 

Northern Oregon. No DUI checkpoints

 

I have the base radio that come with the prem package. Does not have any controls for the lights or anything other than radio settings.

The info window has nothing else either about light settings.

So it does look like a switch, or pull the fuse and use a 12 volt red light plugged into an outlet.

At least I can turn them off. Next to figure out if the parking lights are always going to blink when I lock it. That is a problem at star parties too since they are so bright.

Dean

 

Not sure how much of this you are going to be able to toggle off, especially the parking lights flashing when you lock her up. If you are serious about being light-stealthy at your night sky events, it may take some creativity including more-in line switches and "eye patches" for the turn signals positioned ahead of time. Yup, a pain alright . . .

Too much automation which takes owner choice out of the loop . . .

PS -- Do you have a hard copy of the owner's manual?

http://www.manualslib.com/manual/745073/Ford-Transit-2015.html#manual

Edit -- instrument lighting dimmer:

http://www.manualslib.com/manual/745073/Ford-Transit-2015.html?page=71#manual

You can lock and unlock the doors with the key -- not sure if the lights will blink:

http://www.manualslib.com/manual/745073/Ford-Transit-2015.html?page=47#manual

 

I have the owners manual but lacks in these kinds of details. At least is shows what fuses are for what general items.

I have seen people make magnetic covers for the marker lights, maybe some in my future too. haha.

But star party people are generally very trustworthy some not locking vehicles at night is not big deal.

 

Star parties are great here in San Diego. I agree star-party-folks are usually trustworthy.

Interior Lights- Cover using dark felt material when at a star party. Attach with velcro or magnets.

Flashing Exterior Lights- Neodymium magnets glued to felt would work great. They would pack away nicely.

AVIOD cutting or modifying the electrical system. Ford will find a way to permanently void the modified parts. Possibly voiding entire interior wiring harness warranty. Not cool.

 

Our plan is to re-wire the lights, creating a new harness that pulls power from the courtesy light above the seats. Since that light has proper switching we know it has a hot leg. Then we'll wire the lights with two, three-way switches, one by the cargo door and another by the back doors. This will allow for always-off and always-on lighting, with a rocker to turn on the lights when we enter via the cargo door, and turn them off while we're laying in bed.

We have already replaced the 10w bulbs supplied with 1w LEDs that fit perfectly into the sockets for more light with 1/10th of the draw. Photo shows the illumination difference.

 

I would love to find someone to install a switch for me. In the meantime, can you pass on the vendor and part number for the replacement led bulbs that you used?
Thanks

 

I hope I can convince the dealer that a switch should have been supplied and ask if they can install one. Should not be a big deal for an auto tech. Would be nice to have a 3 way and have the switch by side and rear cargo doors.

 

Any progress on getting the dealer to install a switch? Not that it's beyond me, but I think this should have been done by Ford... and yes, I worry about the warranty once I start hacking into the wiring.

 

I didn't press the issue, installed a Blue Ox inline switch. But I agree it should have a manual over ride switch of some kind.

 

Richard, what is the LED bulb # that you used for the cargo lights and where did you get them?

 

Buy this, connect a switch with a 10 amp fuse and your good to go. Way cheaper than the Blue Ox I did.

[ame]http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001TCXOTW/ref=s9_simh_gw_p60_d0_i2?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=desktop-1&pf_rd_r=0D8TRBM5W7D245BTEV54&pf_rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=1970559082&pf_rd_i=desktop[/ame]

 

Buy this, connect a switch with a 10 amp fuse and your good to go. Way cheaper than the Blue Ox I did.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...1&pf_rd_r=0D8TRBM5W7D245BTEV54&pf_rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=1970559082&pf_rd_i=desktop

Thanks for this link. Just installed mine with a switch attached to the fuse panel. Works great. Most seem to be saying their lights would turn off automatically after 15 minutes but that wasn't the case with my van. I waited over an hour with the rear door open and they never turned off.

 

After leaving my door ajar killed my battery twice I installed a switch to turn off the cargo lights. If you cut the white wire with a blue stripe before it goes to the 1st set of lights it turns them all off. To pop the wire cover off, push on the center & pull up.

 

Superbrightleds.com for replacement led dome bulbs.

Keeping an eye on this thread for good switching ideas - I like the idea of a 3way switch at the side and back door...

 

I discussed this situation with the service department at my local ford dealership. Thy offered to install a switch and move the wire to the auxiliary battery. They estimated cost to be $400. That sounded very high to me.

 

The fuse bypass switch is around $70 and installs easily in less than an hour. Leaves everything else intact.

 

Interesting. Was the key in the ignition? What position was the interior light switch set to?

 

Key was not in the ignition. Had side and rear doors open (left them open, didn't close and re-open.) Interior switch was in the off position. I tested it twice, waiting at least an hour each time before giving up. Oh well, the switch is a sufficient solution. I will likely install separate lighting once I add an auxiliary battery.