This page preserves an archived note, a hand-drawn two-location lighting circuit and two installation photos. The drawing labels the cab switch DPDT and the bed switch SPDT, with a separate lamp-wiring sketch for the illuminated switch. Read these as references to one particular arrangement.
Identify The Archived Material
The first image separates the main switching sketch from a smaller illustration of the switch lamps. The two photos show a switch near the bed/tailgate area and an illuminated cab switch. They show locations and appearance.
Archived Switch Notes.
The first-person passage below is retained from the saved page.
Here is how I wired mine for that exact purpose, But I also wanted the switch to illuminate with the lights in the bed as an indicator. End result with my setup is one light on my switch comes on with the headlights, the other when the bed lights are on, no matter what position the in cab switch is in. Only difference in wiring is that I tied the dash lights to the lower light and the bed lights to the upper light in the switch. That way the words illuminate with the headlights. After I did this I also discovered that tapping into the dash light circuits also ties into the dimmer.
Keep Switching And Illumination Questions Separate
When discussing this reference, distinguish the load-switching function from the indicator/backlight function. Record the exact switch part number, its manufacturer terminal diagram, the intended lighting load and the vehicle documentation used to identify any existing circuit.
The sketch’s terminal legend contains overlapping “outgoing” and “unused” labels. The saved text also mentions a dash-light/dimmer connection.
Keep these unanswered questions with the complete equipment-specific design before work. No terminal assignments, cable sizes, protection values or vehicle-circuit connections are prescribed here.
Keep The Reference With The Planning Record
Use the decision log to keep the source image, switch datasheet and unresolved questions together. For a different control example, see the Raspberry Pi relay-board reference.
Reference guide expanded October 20, 2026. Original publication date and archived references retained.