AMP Powerstep and possible remote operation if I can find a reverse ground signal

[MrWayneD]

Thanks Tim, I did call AMP and though he really couldn't help with a diagram, he stated that I would have to use diodes ( Ok above my pay grade) as the steps uses a negative ground to operate and taking it off the dome would require positive activation and that you would have to prevent back feed. Suggestion also was made to use the door locks as power. I just wish there was a clear diagram as to wire this and I agree with a SPDT lighted switch

[Timmy]

Thanks Tim, I did call AMP and though he really couldn't help with a diagram, he stated that I would have to use diodes ( Ok above my pay grade) as the steps uses a negative ground to operate and taking it off the dome would require positive activation and that you would have to prevent back feed. Suggestion also was made to use the door locks as power. I just wish there was a clear diagram as to wire this and I agree with a SPDT lighted switch

Diodes? That's crazy.. Just follow my original instructions for linking your AMP steps to your dome light using a $15 relay from the store. Once you have done that, you are basically there. Then you have my instructions for dome light, their instructions for using the door signaling. Last step, toss a switch between the two options to chose which signaling you want to use, they both do the same thing just at different times.

Also, linking to your door lock won't work because door lock is momentary. You need something that provides constant negative grounding. The dome light provides constant 12v positive, that's why we use a relay switch. It receives that 12v positive signal and charges an internal magnet that in turn close the gate leading to a ground signal thereby providing constant negative grounding the entire time the gate is closed (aka the entire time the dome light is on.) One REALLY fun thing with this solution (for when the doors are off) is that magnet goes bonkers when the dome lights "dim" down, so it gives this little buzzing sound that warns you that the steps are about to retract. Once it's done buzzing, you have 2 seconds to either hop in or press the unlock button on your key fob to give yourself "bonus time."

Here, I whipped up a pretty Visio diagram to explain it better. You could get fancy and go with a three position switch instead of the two position switch I described here. Then you could set it so position 1 leads to the door solution, position 2 goes to nothing and position 3 goes to the dome light solution. By doing that, you'll get a way to deactivate the AMP steps from retracting entirely by putting it into position 2 (basically neutral because you never connect a grounding wire to one of position two's leads.)

[BigKevSeattle]

So I would basically need to buy a switch that is On / Off/ On?

Diodes? That's crazy.. Just follow my original instructions for linking your AMP steps to your dome light using a $15 relay from the store. Once you have done that, you are basically there. Then you have my instructions for dome light, their instructions for using the door signaling. Last step, toss a switch between the two options to chose which signaling you want to use, they both do the same thing just at different times.

Also, linking to your door lock won't work because door lock is momentary. You need something that provides constant negative grounding. The dome light provides constant 12v positive, that's why we use a relay switch. It receives that 12v positive signal and charges an internal magnet that in turn close the gate leading to a ground signal thereby providing constant negative grounding the entire time the gate is closed (aka the entire time the dome light is on.) One REALLY fun thing with this solution (for when the doors are off) is that magnet goes bonkers when the dome lights "dim" down, so it gives this little buzzing sound that warns you that the steps are about to retract. Once it's done buzzing, you have 2 seconds to either hop in or press the unlock button on your key fob to give yourself "bonus time."

Here, I whipped up a pretty Visio diagram to explain it better. You could get fancy and go with a three position switch instead of the two position switch I described here. Then you could set it so position 1 leads to the door solution, position 2 goes to nothing and position 3 goes to the dome light solution. By doing that, you'll get a way to deactivate the AMP steps from retracting entirely by putting it into position 2 (basically neutral because you never connect a grounding wire to one of position two's leads.)

[Timmy]

So I would basically need to buy a switch that is On / Off/ On?

If you are looking to control where you signaling comes from, the yes, just a simple switch to change your grounding source. You don't need a switch if you don't want it. It doesn't have to be a three position, it could be just a two position. I just tossed out the idea of a three position because then you can effectively turn "off" the signaling all together, say if you were off-roading and you didn't want your steps to ever retract.

[BigKevSeattle]

So , switch aside, I took it to another shop today to get them to work off the dome light. They couldn't get it to work either. Printed out your step by step instructions and they still had the same problem. Steps would go down with dome light and then wouldn't go back up unless you manually turn off the dome light with the tree.

[Timmy]

So , switch aside, I took it to another shop today to get them to work off the dome light. They couldn't get it to work either. Printed out your step by step instructions and they still had the same problem. Steps would go down with dome light and then wouldn't go back up unless you manually turn off the dome light with the tree.

If you can take pics and post them here, I can probably help more. It's hard to help without seeing pictures of what was done.

You mention the steps would go up if you manually turned off the lights with switch on the turn signal stalk. So when the dome lights go off on their own, after a bit of time, the steps don't go up? That is odd, odd, odd. What is different with the lights turning off on their own versus turning off via the manual switch? I just can't see a difference. I mean, the lights either have power to them, or they don't! How can cutting the power to the lights via the switch produce a different result than the lights losing power due to the timer turning them off?

Anyway, get me a picture of the relay switch they put in, as best as you can given it will probably be in tight quarters. I'd say post it here in the forums versus sending it to me in a private message as obviously the more we can publish for all to see, the more others can be helped out by this.

[Timmy]

Okay, here's a little diagram. Now, a WARNING!!! I'm creating this from memory, so I may not have the correct wires on the correct posts of the relay switch, but this should get your installers close. I was able to figure this out with nothing but a $5 circuit tester that I would either ground or attach to a positive signal and then touch various parts of the relay as I had the relay hooked up to the ground or amp signaling wire. The point is, any installer worth their salt should be able to look at this, grab a relay, grab a circuit tester and figure it out if what I have drawn up here is not 100% accurate, because the idea itself is so damn simple it's retarded. You have a relay that receives a signal, the relay in turn activates an internal switch that completes the circuit on the opposing posts. When you complete the circuit on the opposing posts, you complete it to a source and destination that you want paired together, (say a signaling wire to a ground, as in our example here, though it could have been external lights positive wire to a 30amp positive feed from the battery so the lights turn on.)

Hope this helps, and as I said before, send me pics of your relay switch and I'll try to help out more.

[BigKevSeattle]

Got down and looked at it. I see the problem. They tapped into the factory door harness with the trigger switch and also into the relay. Going back there this afternoon so they can disconnect from the door harness and reconnect the wire from the dome light and just have the trigger wire going directly to the relay and only the relay. That should solve the problem

[Timmy]

So , switch aside, I took it to another shop today to get them to work off the dome light. They couldn't get it to work either. Printed out your step by step instructions and they still had the same problem. Steps would go down with dome light and then wouldn't go back up unless you manually turn off the dome light with the tree.

You know, in looking back, I see I don't have a diagram of what the relay switch would look like without the switch in place. Obviously getting this working without the switch is primary, so maybe if I whip up a diagram of what that would look like so you can get that working first, then the adding a switch later would be easier. Let me see what I can put together.