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Rock light tapped courtesy lights blink

RJinPV

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RJinPV

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The 6V measurement is very odd. It sounds like an unwanted voltage divider network. Anyway, here are some trouble shooting ideas:
  • Is the blinking at a constant rate and keeps going until the door is opened?
  • Does the blinking only blink once like the parking lights do when the key fob unlocks the vehicle?
  • Disconnect the diode block from the circuit and measure the voltage at both the Aux source input and the courtesy light input to the diode block. Are there differences?
  • Reconnect the block and measure the voltage at the diode block output to the rock lights. When the lights blink is the voltage oscillating between 12V and 0V, or 6V and 0V?
  • Disconnect the rock lights and make the same measurements. 6V?, 12V? Blinking voltage at diode output?
 

sharpsicle

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The courtesy light source is a yellow wire with a violet stripe according to the wiring diagrams I'm looking at. Here is a link to the diagrams:https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/forum/threads/gladiator-wiring-diagrams-shared-with-jl.34896/

I'm looking at the Interior Lighting pdf file
Quite right. I was looking in the wrong spot.

There is a Violet/Yellow wire which could be in the same spot, which I believe is for the door ajar sensor. Wondering if it's just tapped to the wrong wire. Would be the simplest explanation, as anything else we're talking about would trigger other problems in the truck. If the actual courtesy lights aren't blinking with the rock lights, then he's tapped into a different circuit.

The low voltage tells me he's tapped into something else, something the computer is hooked up to and when he opens the door it backfeeds on that line to a +12v source. The blinking could be anything, from the computer controlling something on that line to a periodic response to the lower voltage. But it all lines up with having the wrong wire. Really don't need to go further than to re-test and confirm he's actually using the right wire. Chasing voltage ghosts could go on for a long time.
 
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culdbbi

culdbbi

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The 6V measurement is very odd. It sounds like an unwanted voltage divider network. Anyway, here are some trouble shooting ideas:
  • Is the blinking at a constant rate and keeps going until the door is opened?
  • Does the blinking only blink once like the parking lights do when the key fob unlocks the vehicle?
  • Disconnect the diode block from the circuit and measure the voltage at both the Aux source input and the courtesy light input to the diode block. Are there differences?
  • Reconnect the block and measure the voltage at the diode block output to the rock lights. When the lights blink is the voltage oscillating between 12V and 0V, or 6V and 0V?
  • Disconnect the rock lights and make the same measurements. 6V?, 12V? Blinking voltage at diode output?
I will try all this tomorrow.

But they blink and continue to blink until the door is opened.
 

RJinPV

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Quite right. I was looking in the wrong spot.

There is a Violet/Yellow wire which could be in the same spot, which I believe is for the door ajar sensor. Wondering if it's just tapped to the wrong wire. Would be the simplest explanation, as anything else we're talking about would trigger other problems in the truck. If the actual courtesy lights aren't blinking with the rock lights, then he's tapped into a different circuit.

The low voltage tells me he's tapped into something else, something the computer is hooked up to and when he opens the door it backfeeds on that line to a +12v source. The blinking could be anything, from the computer controlling something on that line to a periodic response to the lower voltage. But it all lines up with having the wrong wire. Really don't need to go further than to re-test and confirm he's actually using the right wire. Chasing voltage ghosts could go on for a long time.
The 6V measurement is strange and could be a red herring. There is a wire that is violet wire with a yellow stripe that is the rear right door ajar sensor. Its color coding is the opposite of the courtesy lamp line. If that is tapped into and the doors are closed then that should read a voltage that is likely not 12V. When the doors open then what V?

I agree the source that is being tapped into needs to be verified to be correct. One way to do that is to measure the tapped wired voltage when the doors are closed and the courtesy light is turned on and off manually with the switch on the dash.
 

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RJinPV

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I hope you make progress. The failure hypotheses I have are:
  • diode pack does not work,
  • or as @sharpsicle says the sources may be the wrong ones
  • or the positap isn't making good contact.
You should verify the sources can actually produce 12V open circuit (nothing hooked up to them).
  • Measure the voltage with each soucre switched on and off. Doors opened and closed
  • Then verify each source can power the rock lights without the diode or the other source hooked up. That should verify the positap
  • The diode can be rudimentally checked with an ohmmeter. There should be an open circuit measurement between each IN terminal to the other. Open circuit with the red ohmmeter lead on the Out and the black on each IN terminal. It should read low ohms, or continuity, with the red ohmmeter lead on each IN with the black on the OUT.
If that checks out then you should hook it up and it should work.
 

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"You should verify the sources can actually produce 12V open circuit (nothing hooked up to them). " Since the lights work correctly when the door is open apparently whatever circuit you've tapped is capable of producing enough voltage and current (sometimes) to drive the rock lights, but for whatever reason is running at lower power when the door is unlocked.

That's the first place I'd look, I suspect that you've inadvertently created an "RC Oscillator" circuit, which is causing the LEDs to flash.

The solution would be to wire the output from your diode to the #85 pin on a relay which will turn on at <6 volts.
 
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culdbbi

culdbbi

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I checked the yellow with purple stripe and it's 6v at unlock before opening the doors and 12v once you open the doors. I didn't trace it upstream since that verified what I was seeing yesterday. I'll think about the relay idea, but was hoping I already had the solution.
 

RJinPV

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I checked the yellow with purple stripe and it's 6v at unlock before opening the doors and 12v once you open the doors. I didn't trace it upstream since that verified what I was seeing yesterday. I'll think about the relay idea, but was hoping I already had the solution.
If you measured the 6V without any load then I question whether it is really the source for courtesy lights. Those light up when the doors are unlocked but don't get brighter once a door is open. Make sure nothing is connected to that line when you measure the voltage.
 
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culdbbi

culdbbi

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If you measured the 6V without any load then I question whether it is really the source for courtesy lights. Those light up when the doors are unlocked but don't get brighter once a door is open. Make sure nothing is connected to that line when you measure the voltage.
I had it unplugged from the light when I measured. I didn't measure the white with brown because I was running out of daylight (had to work late today). They are mighty small wires to check when all the doors are closed and your body is sprawled across the front seat trying to hit the unlock button and all.

I'll see if I can check the white/brown wire, but something has to power the light when you are driving for ambient light and I'm pretty sure that is it.

I might check a different wire, ie bed lights or something to see if that runs different.
 
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RJinPV

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I had it unplugged from the light when I measured. I didn't measure the white with brown because I was running out of daylight (had to work late today). They are mighty small wires to check when all the doors are closed and your body is sprawled across the front seat trying to hit the unlock button and all.

I'll see if I can check the white/brown wire, but something has to power the light when ypu are driving for ambient light and I'm pretty sure that is it.

I might check a different wire, ie bed lights or something to see if that runs different.
The Interior lighting wiring diagram shows a wht/brn wire is the CAN bus. You don't want to tap into that. I wonder how accurate these diagrams are. I think I'll go pull my dome light and make some measurements.
 
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culdbbi

culdbbi

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If I buy a step up converter to get the 6v to 12v before the door opens. Will it fry the converter when it sees the 12v once I open the door?

Looking at this one, says 5v-11v input, https://a.co/d/gk6EnCD
 

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I really think you’ve got the wrong wire here. I would advise against trying to make it work anyway by adding more components. You don’t know what it is or what it might interfere with long term if it’s not the right one.
 

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Could your issues just be that the vehicle is seeing the increased power draw on the foot well light circuit (due to your rock lights) and is cutting power since it's getting overloaded and trying to protect itself? I'd try to set up a relay circuit so that the foot well lights just activate a relay to pull power on a separate new circuit straight from the battery.

These jeeps are way smarter than they used to be; this same thing is the reason people get flickering issues with turn signals and reverse lights when changing to aftermarket lights.
 
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culdbbi

culdbbi

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Could your issues just be that the vehicle is seeing the increased power draw on the foot well light circuit and is cutting power since it's getting overloaded and trying to protect itself?

These jeeps are way smarter than they used to be; this same thing is the reason people get flickering issues with turn signals and reverse lights when changing to aftermarket lights.
I get 6v, whether the rock lights are tapped or not, so I'm thinking this isn't the case. I literally unplugged everything, the posi-tap and footwell led and tested the circuit and only got 6v before opening the door.
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