Intermittent 12 volt connection

[newenglandpaintandtile]

Hello guys we have a 2020 ford transit connect I am in need of a 12v power source that comes on when doors open and shut of when closed , where can I tap into ? 

[jrm223]

These new vehicles use digital CANBUS and door modules to figure out when doors are open & closed, so there's no door ajar switches to tap into like on older vehicles. I suppose you might could use the cargo light to energize a relay and then the relay powers whatever accessory you're needing to add, but the limitation there is that the cargo light only stays on for 10 or 15 minutes. Are y'all looking to add more interior lighting or something else? 

[newenglandpaintandtile]

Thanks for the reply , we are a delivery business witch utilizes body cameras , we have a trigger that once gets 12v source will remotely trigger the cameras , are issue is finding a source that gets hot when the door opens and shit off when closed is there another feature that pushes out 12v when the doors open an cuts the source when they care closed? 

[jrm223]

In that case, the cargo light would suffice - it turns on & off with the doors. Since it's only acting as a 12V+ signal, and not supplying amperage, you wouldn't need to mess with relays or anything. I don't know of any other source to use, but I've never researched that since I have no need for it. IMO, cargo light would be the simplest to tap into, at least assuming that the doors aren't being left continuously open longer than the light will stay on. 

[newenglandpaintandtile]

Thanks Jrm223 now we tried to tap into the front dome light plug and did not work , is that because it is on the CANBUS system and the cargo light is not ?  Our problem was both plugs on the front dome  light were hot and the light  did not operate if our switch was connect I assume this is because of the CANBUS system 
 

If I understand correctly the CANBUS is Integrated and nothing can be wired in ? 
 

that our only option is to jump off the cargo light ? 
 

 

[Don Ridley]

Note that the dome lights turn on and off by slowly dimming. Ford calls this theater lighting. The lamp has +12v on both terminals when off. It turns on by slowly lowering one terminal to 0v (ground) and off by raising the voltage to +12.

[jrm223]

14 hours ago, Don Ridley said:

Note that the dome lights turn on and off by slowly dimming. Ford calls this theater lighting. The lamp has +12v on both terminals when off. It turns on by slowly lowering one terminal to 0v (ground) and off by raising the voltage to +12.

 

Oh, wow, good to know! So much for that option, then. 

 

Yes, CANBUS is an integrated computerized system for controlling basically everything in the vehicle. A buddy of mine is a school bus mechanic and he said he can rewire a switch onto any wire and the computer will still know what the switch controls, because each switch has it's own specific resistance that the computer system detects. Makes factory type stuff easy (for example, I added cruise control to my own van by just buying a CC steering wheel and then enabling CC & ASC in the computer), but aftermarket add-ons aren't always so easy.