[pcguru2000]

I've heard of the horror stories of burning out the electronics behind the glove box by tapping into the overhead light switch. I also didn't want to be soldering wires onto my door switch. Although these two options would have made things easier. I like the option of being able to remove things without a trace.

I attached an electrical schematic that show how we could setup a lighting system (internal and external) that would turn on when either the front or left door is opened and turn off when both doors are closed.

To detect the door open and close, I will use a magnetic switch. A magnetic switch is a switch that can close or open a circuit based on a magnet coming in proximity to it. The magnetic switch will be installed on the removable left and right panels touching the doors on the dash. The magnet will be small 1mm thick magnetic squares that stick to the door. I could have gone for a rare earth magnet, but my cellphone is by the vent and I don't want to mess up navigation. I also didn't want to mess up any electronics in those areas.

I also included a relay. A relay is like an electronic switch that when current flows through one side of it (part A for example), an electromagnet cause a separate switch to close (part b) energizing up to a 30 amp load separate from part A. Part B is what will power the lights.

Some of you will probably say that the magnetic switch could handle the load of any combination of LED's since they can handle 10 watts at 100 volts and I don't need the relay. The higher the current, the more wear and tear on the magnetic switch and cause it to fail earlier. The 2nd reason is that I'm actually using 2 leftover 10 year old neon tubes. These tubes require a little bit of a current kick to turn on and draw a lot more power. This will be no issue for the relay but again, if I didn't have one, more wear and tear on that magnetic switch.

I'm mounting the magnetic switch so that the three screws face the dash. the sticky magnetic square will be mounted on the car door. As the car door swings open, the magnetic field fades away with distance from the switch and Voila! the switch is closed, which energizes the relay, which closes the swith internal to the relay and powers the lights.

Some additional mods
I've had some thoughts about adding an override so that I could shut down the power delivery to the lights no matter what the position of the door. Yes I could probably power it from the cigarette lighter, but then I can't reach it from the driver's seat.

I have a Power Magic Pro BlackVue which allows my dash cam to stay on when the car is parked, and will shut off the power when the battery goes below 12 volts. The switch is located under the dash, so if I shut it off, it would shut off the lights and my camera.

What do you guys think? Any suggestion?

Any issues with having a small magnetic field next to either part of the dash?