MY PROJECT
Eric Evans installs a warning light after driving away a few times with the folding step out
Add a warning light to reduce the risk of driving away with the step out
My habitation step did not have a warning light and, having driven away a few times with the step out, I felt one was needed. Fortunately, there was a switch already incorporated in the replacement step, but if one is not there you will need to buy a suitable microswitch and attach it so that, when the step is out, the switch is closed.
Prior to starting, I sourced a 14mm red flashing LED black plastic 12V DC light (stock number 209119) from
RS Components uk.rs-online.com One of the reasons I chose this light was that it flashed so would be more obvious than a light that just came on.
Then I looked underneath the ’van for a suitable route to a hole to run the cable into the cab. My motorhome is a 2002 Fiat Ducato-based Auto-Trail and there was a hole at the rear of the passenger footwell where the cable could be routed into the cab.
The cable used was twin-core speaker cable, but most types of two-core cable could be used.
I then clipped the cable to the bottom of the ’van, leaving enough slack adjacent to the step so that it could be attached to the wiring from the switch. To do this, I used male and female spade connectors crimped to the respective cables.
Use connectors with protective sheathing and also wrap both connectors in insulating tape to protect them from getting dirty. I provided additional protection by taping them behind the inside of the forward step support.
To route the cable in the cab, I removed the passenger footwell moulding and the moulding from the front of the footwell to underneath the passenger side dashboard. I also removed the passenger dashboard moulding, which is held in place by
Phillips screws and an Allen screw at the bottom left-hand corner.
The dashboard screws are obvious, except for the two inside the glovebox and one hidden behind the upper left dashboard cubbyhole. This moulding can be levered out carefully with a small screwdriver and to access the screw located at the top.
I then routed the cabling around the upper edge of the footwell where the moulding overlaps the floor and then up behind the moulding to the dash.
The mouldings, except the dash moulding, were then reinstalled.
I then positioned the warning light so it would be clearly visible. This was more difficult than I expected because of the shape of the dashboard and the width of the steering wheel spokes. The latter cover most of the area a driver can see when behind the wheel.
On my motorhome, there is a small panel to the right of the steering wheel
where the immobiliser indicator is located and this was where I was going to install the step warning light. However, on investigation, I found there was not enough room underneath the panel.
There was no other obvious place and I’d almost resigned myself to having to install a small bracket somewhere on the dashboard or working out how I could install the indicator above the windscreen when I had inspiration. Why not install it in the cigarette lighter socket because we could run the sat-nav off the auxiliary socket to the left of the driver and neither of us smoke. This also had the advantage that I would have to look down there to engage a gear so it would be plainly visible.
To blank off the cigarette lighter hole, I left the body of the lighter in place and made a washer that fitted snugly in the hole. The indicator could then be located in the custom washer and the thin indicator wires run out of the bottom of the cigarette lighter. I cannibalised the flat side of a black piece of guttering to make the washer.
With the washer made, I masked off the bottom of the cigarette lighter with tape to ensure it could not connect to anything, put the indicator light in the washer and fed the light wires out behind the dash. It was then a case of getting my hand behind the dash and gently pulling the wires out so they could be seen.
The indicator and washer were left loose at this stage so I could remove them if there were any problems.
Now I connected the wires. The power source must come from a connection that is only live when the ignition is switched on so the light is not on when the vehicle is parked.
I had previously fitted a dash cam that ran from a piggyback fuse from the electric window supply ( fuse F48 on my vehicle). This type of fuse can be sourced from Halfords.
To make the connection I cut the cable to the dash cam (red), stripped both ends, soldered them together and inserted them into one side of a small terminal block. The red wire to the indicator lamp was then connected to the other side of the block.
I did the same with the return cable from the dash cam (black) before inserting them into a second connection in the terminal block.
The black wire from the light was then soldered to one of the cables previously run from the step switch and the soldered joint taped. This wire provides a feed to the switch. In retrospect, I would have used a three-way terminal block and made the connection through the block.
Then I connected the return cable from the step switch to the other side of the second terminal block and the circuit was complete.
With the engine off, I checked the indicator light was off with the step both in and out. The engine was then started and I checked the warning light was off with the step in and flashing when the step was pulled out.
With these tests complete, I glued (with Araldite) the washer and light into the cigarette lighter hole and attached the terminal block to a suitable position under the dashboard with Velcro. The operation of the warning light was then checked again to ensure no connections had come loose before then reinstalling the left-hand section of the dashboard.