cago light

[robroute66]

I have a very basic model 78 sierra c15 with no headliner, a bench seat and not much else. A true basic work truck. I'm wanting to add a cargo light. I'm wondering if the wires are somehow routed under a hidden channel or do you have to install a headliner or other interior parts to hide the wires?

[VileZambonie]

The wiring will not be there nor will the holes be cut in the cab if it wasn't equipped. Do you have a dome light or just the floor light? They sell much more efficient LED lighting for the bed you can install without having to cut and drill the cab.

[75gmck25]

I pulled the cargo light, switch and wiring from another truck and added it to my '75.  It was fairly easy to just cut a hole in the right place at the top of the cab and snake the wires down into the void between the two layers of the roof.  I already had a factory dome light, and the cargo light splices into the dome light circuit so that you must have both the dome light on and the cargo light switch on for the light to operate. 

FYI - the wiring for cargo and dome/interior lights is different than other accessories.  Most accessories switch 12 volt power.  However, the orange wire has constant 12 volts to the interior lights, and the dash switch and/or door switch ground the white wire to turn the interior (and cargo) lights on.  This means that the light bulb sockets must be insulated from the truck, so getting the insulation bushings in the right places is key to avoid blowing any fuses.

After all that work I then realized that the factory cargo light really sucks, and when I added a headache rack it blocked even more of the light.    If you want good lighting for the cargo area I would look at some of the relatively cheap LED lights that are out there on Amazon and eBay. I already have high mounted LED brake/turn lights on my headache rack, and may add the LED cargo light to the mix.

Bruce