LED Lighting Conversion

Have you checked to see whether it is a pop out bulb or is it soldered in, could be tricky...

 

Did a major LED upgrade over the past two days, and boy-howdy did it turn into a fiasco.

I ordered everything from DD while they had their BF sale going on.

Map lights: Fit fine, but it's a pain in the butt to extract the OEM bulbs. Just center the bulbs Toyota!

Dome light: DD LED replacement didn't work out. The ends were too large in diameter, so it couldn't lock
in place. After having it pop out for the sixth time, I gave up. Awaiting alternative replacement.

License plate lights: Real fun to get to, but the new LEDs fit without any issues.

Backup lights: No issues and very bright.

Third brake light: The LEDs that were listed and sent were not correct. Waiting on replacements.

Brake/tail lights: This is where the fun started. Some people have stated that they didn't get any hyper-flash with certain LEDs, so I thought I'd try the install without resistors. I installed the bulbs one at a time, testing everything as I went, and didn't get any hyper-flashing. Yea!!!

The next morning I left for work, and at the first turn... hyper-flashing!!! WTF?!?!

Through trial and error, I discovered that the LEDs will only hyper-flash with the engine running and the
headlights on. Engine off and headlights on, they're fine. Crazy.

Since I had to go back in to install the resistors, I figured I'd also installed the Tail-as Turn modules.

The bullet connectors on the Tail-as-Turn are too small for the gauge of our main turn signal wire, so I had to cut that
off and splice the wires manually. No big deal, as I prefer that method anyway.

I installed the resistor and Tail-as-Turn on the driver's side, only to discover that the module only worked about
50% of the time, or less. Coincidentally, or not, this module was also loose inside the plastic case. Junk. I didn't even bother doing the passenger side. I'll let them operate as stock for now.

Needless to say I have a lot of wire splices and patches on the driver's side now, but at least the LEDs function properly.

Oh... and I also installed the Subaru/JBL tweeters. It was about 40 degrees outside, which I'm sure contributed to one of the locking tabs snapping off the tweeter cover and falling down into the dash. Hard plastics suck. Good times.

 

I'm hoping to get my DD stuff by tomorrow. Anxious/excited.

Re 3rd brake light - do you have double cab? I have a double cab and my understanding from mesojdm is that the OEM is already LED. I saw that DD offered a red LED bulb and asked about it when I ordered. They said "some" will accept that bulb. on the double cab it is a real pain to access 3rd light - have to remove roof liner in back.

Excuse my ignorance, what is the Tail-as-Turn module? I'm assuming something related to the factory turn signals only flashing on upper part of tail light??

DD recommended the resistors so I ordered as well. New to the LED thing.... I did not know that hyper flashing only relates to the turn signals. BTW, how are you able to tell they are hyper flashing? Are you just testing and then getting out to look?

Thanks!

 

Great, thanks.

I went with low draw ballasts so not much wiring and all weather sealed connectors so better than the fan in the LED for now. I’ll be ready for the next gen.

 

Bowhun2r,

I just purchased a 2018 4Runner. I want to do some upgrades on the low, high, and fog lights. I ordered DD hid bulbs for all three, but now I am worried I shouldn’t put them in the high beam and fog light because of melting. Can you give me some advice on what I should do? I really want the fogs and lows to have same color. I ordered everything in 6000k. What are you running in highs and fog?
Thanks

 

Never had a problem with melting lights and I've had/have the 6K HID in my T4Rs and Tacoma for a couple years now.

I disabled the T4R DRL's in my limited ( ) because the LED HB will be full intensity and you will blind people. If you use the capacitor the HB's will flicker. So.. I wanted to keep my auto headlights and have LED HB's ...this was the best option for my use case. So if you have the limited you may want to research that thread.

My HB LED's were from XenonDepot because DD didn't have these yet in stock when I did my trucks. My LB's were all from DD and I used their 6K HID kits and very pleased with them. I've used different fogs all from DD from the medium intensity to their highest output intensity. The ones on the T4R have the built-in fan to dissipate heat. The ones for the Tacoma were the bulb 6K w/o the fans (lower light output). I've not had problems with either setup. Make sure you get the heavy duty harness with relay for the HIDs. They make a great kit and you should be able to make a very clean install with the T4R panels on the side of the engine bay to hid the gear. The Tacoma and T4R both have projection style LB's but they are positioned differently. Didn't have a problem with either truck setup. The best is the very crisp cutoff so you won't be blinding people on the road.




Here are the part numbers and costs I used for my T4R Trail (the Limited has the same setup except for different fogs... they have the higher output ones with the built-in fans)

 

Thanks for the response time of my post.
There are no fans on the hid fog or high beam from dd. I do have the limited 4runner.
I did not get the heavy duty harness. Do you think I should run led for high and fogs?
Are the high beam lights on as daytime running lights. I am kinda of new to this.
Do you think I could use hid fogs from dd without any problems? What does the heavy duty harness do?
Thanks

 

I have the access cab, so the third brake lights are 168 series plain old bulbs.

Tail-as-Turn allows both the top and bottom portion of your taillight to flash, instead of just the top portion. Makes it a bit clearer to the people behind you of what's going on.

You'll be able to hear and see the hyper-flashing. The indicator sound will be a lot faster, and the indicator in your gauge cluster will blink a lot faster.

Good luck with your conversion.

 

The HB LED will have blades of copper or aluminum to fan out for cooling. Spread them out and that should be fine for cooling. My HB's are only on when I switch the HB's on so they do get used...just not as much if they were also being used for DRLs. If you don't do the DRL mod I linked too then they will be on all the time (unless you manually turn them off...then your auto headlights will be deactivated). They are not like the factory halogen where the go to a lower output during DRL mode and then go bright when HB is activated. The LED's will be one brightness and IMO shouldn't be used for DRL's. The capacitor they sell will cause the DRL's to flicker. So if you use the LEDs for HB you should consider doing that mod cause you will get flashed at dusk when the LED DRL's are blinding people. The 4Runner leverages the HB for both DRL and HB duty...

The heavy duty harness with relay is "optional" but I personally prefer running that power over the heavy duty harness directly off the battery than on the factory wiring that was not designed to run HIDs. I've done that for all my trucks w/o issue and it's pretty easy setup.

If you only do the LB and fogs they will look great and give way better night vision compared to factory. I personally just couldn't stand the yellow DRL/HB so I did them all to match...but had to disable my DRL's because of what I mentioned before.

Never used HID fog on any vehicle, just the LEDs.

 

So...one of my Morimoto 2strokes burnt out and instead of pulling the headlight out I tried getting the bulb out forcefully which was the same way I managed to get the bulb in a year ago...welp I broke the tabs on the bulb socket and now have to get a whole new headlight.

If the manufacturer says to pull the headlight out vs. trying to wedge the bulb in I suggest pulling the headlight out....$550 mistake.

 

Currently have leds as my turn signals with resistors on both. One of my bulbs went out and need to replace them but temporarily want to put my stock halogen bulbs back on until they arrive. Will using the halogen bulbs with these load resistors cause any issues, draw more power and blow a bulb, or anything bad? Or am I safe doing so?

 

There is a chance it won't work at all. It won't blow a bulb because the resistor will reduce some of the current flow that was intended for the bulb...but I'm not sure if you'll have enough if you'll have enough to even light the halogen bulb.

 

@Leo4x2 I'm still waiting for my DD LEDs to arrive. Just curious what brand you went with and how long they lasted you? wondering if I should order backup set?

 

I would order a back up pair so in case one does go out you will have one on hand instead of trying to find one in town or having to wait from Amazon. These are the ones I went with
.

iBrightstar Newest 9-30V Super Bright Low Power 7440 7443 T20 LED Bulbs with Projector replacement for Turn Signal Lights,Amber Yellow

https://www.amazon.com/iBrightstar-...d=1512573809&sr=8-1&keywords=ibrightstar+7440

They were bright as hell and worked perfectly I loved them but I recently installed a grill that has the raptor lights and I spliced them into the parking light wire and ground wire on the driver side harness and after like 3 days the light went out. So I went and bought leds from Oreilly's yesterday so I wouldn't have to wait. Not as bright but it does the trick. Also switched the grille lights and tapped into the side marker light.

 

@toyomaniac71 these are the leds in the link I shared. Mind you my headlights are completely blacked out including the reflector buckets and the turn signal/parking lights are still super bright. Imagine w/o blacking out the reflectors..

 

Leo4x2 - I like the raptor lights! Which set do you have?

If you get quality LEDs, you should not have to order any spares because LEDs will last a lot longer than halogen bulbs. When LEDs die, it's usually because the construction of the housing has caused the simple circuit (inside the housing) to go bad. That could be from bad heat dissipation, or to poor protection from the extreme elements (vibrations, water, heat, etc). This is why I don't mind spending extra on LEDs from a company like Diode Dynamics or VLED...they warranty their stuff because they have taken the time to do quality work. That's not to say that you can't find some good ones on Amazon or ebay...but it's a crap shoot sometimes. lol

 

@ToyoDrew The grill insert I got off a member here and already had the lights on them so I am not sure the brand or place where they were purchased. But I think the reason it went out is bc I had already spliced into the wirings for the resistors on both side then spliced into the driverside again for the raptor lights. Maybe it was too much to handle?? I didn't have one go out since I bought the leds until after adding the grille insert. I did switch the grille lights to go on/off with the side marker light and also I bought some
Sylvania LEDS to replace the parking lights. So far no issues. But I do agree..the next set of lights I buy from will definitely be from Diode Dynamics or VLED.

 

Thx!

Just curious, who did your headlight mod?

 

I did them myself
I had a couple people tell me they would but kept putting me off for months so I decided I'd risk it. Came out pretty damn good if you ask me.