How to wire up LEDs to door jamb switch for courtesy lights (polarity issue?)

[GreenLantern]

I tried hooking up some courtesy LEDs I bought to the door jamb switch today, however I ran into issues with the polarity.

When the door is open and the dome light is on, I connect the LED leads and get no light.

When I close the dome light (turn it off from "door"), I connect the LED and voila... light!

I am not knowledgeable with electrical-related systems so how would I go about fixing this issue? Do I need a relay or just an in-line diode? If so, which one? Thanks in advance :)

[GreenLantern]

Figured it out! I have warm LED courtesy lights on each side of the the step sill/plate for the sliding door. I also added a sheet of anti-slip grit tape for security since the plastic can be slippery when wet.

[cvtroger]

pictures please!!!

[GreenLantern]

Hi fellow Bay Area Previa pilot! I'll be making another thread about my crazy all-out LED upgrade. By the way, I saw your DIY sliding door repair video on Youtube. It'll come in handy when I get around to it, thanks!

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3801/19168031744_0b8406fb39_b.jpg
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/282/19795413651_e4b802a731_b.jpg

[Jonny]

It would have been nice if GreenLantern had explained what he did to fix the lighting after initially asking for help. A solution which was informative to others would have been a simple addition by the OP.
Anyone had this issue, or who knows what was going on, who might care posting to save people from the same problem? This is a great-looking mod.

[cpginkpt]

similar issue to original Green Latern post. My dome lights come on/off fine with the door jam sensor, but my step light does not.

If I ground the step light with a new wire, then the step light comes on, but does not go out when I toggle the door sensor PLUS now the dome light stays on all the time.

hmmmm.