Disconnect battery for bedlight installation?

Do I have to disconnect the battery to install the bed lights? Toyota's instructions say to disconnect, but the videos I've seen on YouTube don't. Thanks folks.

 

Just make sure your dash cargo light switch (if you have one) is turned off. Disconnecting the battery shouldn't be necessary.

 

Nope

 

At a dealership sure.

I left mine connected when I disconnected and then reconnected my passenger seat airbag connectors. I think you'll live (and no I didn't disconnect the battery for the bed lights either).

 

Personal opinion.

If someone feels the need to ask this question the answer should just be yes.

 

50:50 chance to wake up the power monkey, especially when you mess with the always ON vehicle systems, but what do I know...

PSA_FYI-Ground terminal from battery

 

Power is off beyond the switch. Regardless, disconnecting power when working on electrical is always the best practice.

 

I always disconnect the battery when doing ANY electrical work on my truck

 

YES. The 3rd gen Tacoma is super sensitive to electrical changes. One arc when hooking up the wiring could lead to other issues. Just do et.

 

Thanks guys - The only thing I know is how little I know.

 

Isn't disconnecting the battery a big electrical change?

 

I didn't, no problems... it is the right way to do it though.

 

I installed mine yesterday and didn't disconnect the battery. Nothing bad happened. You're not terminating bare wires, just plugging connectors in... you don't disconnect the battery to plug stuff into the 120V outlet or USB ports, do you?

 

I turned the switch to "OFF" and plugged them in. Turned the switch to "ON" and it worked. I did not disconnect the battery.

 

I rarely do, unless Im poking around the fuse box. So I didn’t disconnect the battery when I did my bed lights.
If you are concerned, then do what you are comfortable with. Disconnecting while you do the install wont hurt anything.

 

It's a really good habit to cut power to these trucks every time you tinker with wires - it may seem trivial for something plug and play like bed lighting but who doesn't have a 10mm wrench and an extra 30 seconds? There are no cons to taking the extra precaution, and it could really save you a headache down the road!

 

Yeah, better safe than sorry

 

By removing the negative terminal first there is no possibility of having the wrench short against the frame ground from the positive terminal.

 

It is always a good idea to disconnect the battery when working on a vehicle electrical system. Do we all do it... I know I don't always, but I use a voltmeter to make sure the circuit is not powered. If you don’t have a multimeter, then if you let the smoke out of the wires then you know the circuit was powered.