I agree with Marx, but if you really want them on only when the truck is locked, I have a simple solution that isn't really that simple. Open the door panel and look at the locking mechanism as a whole. You will see various moving parts when you lock/unlock the door. Get a small momentary power switch. Find a place that fits that switch and will push on it when locked. You'll need to come up be a bracket to hold the switch. Most of the small switches will run enough current for a couple of LEDs, but to be safe I'd just run the switch to a relay. They make some trip lever style switches that might be easier to use.

Not that easy to do, but it's simple in how it works. If I recall, the manual part of the lock has a nice long metal rod. You can tie into this to trip a switch.

 

doesn't Jack in the Box have antena *****, get one of those to find your truck, problem solved.

 

HA! Now an antenna ball (tennis ball) with LEDs would certainly stand out!!

 

haha, that's a good one. It gave me a good laugh too.

The only problem with the whole idea is that the lights will turn on everytime you hit the unlock button That means you'd be going down the road with Mr. Homie's flareware all under your cab or in your headlights attracting the attention you wanted to find the vehicle in the first place. Attention isn't always a good thing.
If you had a simple alarm interface, you could install that very easy to lock/unlock flash or stay on for a preiod of time and then go out when just using the remote.
You could also get a time delay unit and a relay and use the ignition as a break away so this way when you are in the car driving, the lights cannot flash. They would only be able to flash with the key off or out and the either the fobb or the door buttons will activate the lights. An alarm module that has a seperate remote fobb can be programmed to activate with the fobb only or the fobb and the door panel. Most are fobb only I believe? This would not illuminate the lights when touching the door panel functions. There are also extra function buttons that you can push the would turn the lights on/off.
I would think that that Parking Assist Lamps would be what you want that doesn't cost a thing. I think you can set a delay for the lights to stay on for like 15- 60sec so the headlights, parking lights and tailights would be illuminated for that amount of time when you unlocked the doors. I know it's def when you get out of the truck, but I have mine turned off and I don't remember if it's the same when unlocking? or if it even keeps the tails on?

 

That's a good point Dirty. I tend to think cheap for what I have on-hand. You'd have to add a "normally on" relay to the power and wire it in with the accessory power. That way when accessory power is applied, the relay shuts off and kills power to the lights/switch.


But like Marx said, you could just wire it to be on all the time. If you use white LEDs, I don't think there would be any probs with the cops. Around here at least it'd be sate DOT approved to use white or amber.

 

Well I give up I think I'm just going to install a toggle switch under the dash to turn the leds on and off with . I didnt think it would be that hard to tap in to a wire that was hot only when the key was turned off or into the door locks.

 

Or you could go nuts, install a relay activated by the horn. (when you lock the vehicle) It needs a diode to isolate the horn signal and two sets of contacts. Run +12 to the common of both sets of contacts, run one normally open contact to your resistors and LED's and the other to the relay coil where the horn power comes in. Then instead of running the other end of the relay coil to ground, run it to the cargo light positive, letting the relay get it's ground through the cargo light bulb filament.
So when you lock your truck, the horn power runs for a short pulse, which energizes the relay, which has one set of contacts "latching" it to the on state, and the other set powering your LED's. When you unlock it, the cargo light flashes, providing +12V on the ground side of the relay, which kills the current and "unlatches" it.

Can you say Rube Goldberg?

 

Or just use a Bosch style relay that has normally open (87) and normally closed contacts (87a)

85 to a key on powered fuse
86 to ground

87a to the hot side of your LED's
30 to battery power (through a fuse)
87 not used.

So when the truck is off the relay is not energized and current will flow from battery through 30 to 87a then to your lights. When the key is on the relay is energized and is switched to 87 (that is not used) and will turn out the LED's because there is no power to them.

 

I was thinking about this all day, and you beat me to it lol

 

HouseApe I like your idea but I'm a little confussed you said to connect 87a to the hot side of the leds meaning the + and 30 to the battery through a fuse to the hot side of the leds how can you connect both hot sides of the leds to 87a and 30 ? where do you connect the - of the leds ? can I just grond it to the frame .