Ignition Light Ring Mod help!!

Hi everyone. I picked up an ignition ring light from a 98 tacoma from the wreckers a few days ago and I have been trying to wire it into my 02 Tacoma but Im having some difficulty. I have read several threads but they are less than specific or I have just not found the right ones (And I have searched like crazy) I was hoping some one could point me in the right direction as to where to wire the light. I want to wire it in so that it lights up along with the dome light when the door opens, and when the door unlocks, and then turns off when I turn the ignition on. Just like how the courtesy light works. As of right now its wired into the black wire in the "A" pillar and grounded into the frame....which is just keeping the light on at all times. Please forgive me for being part retarded but is anyone familiar with this and can give me a hand here?....Im about to lose my shi# because ive been at this all day and its snowing outside and im freezing......any and all help will be appreciated!!!

 

Ok, I think I figured it out. I have to use the same ground as the courtesy lights rather than the frame as a ground. Ill try that...I think its a black wire with a white stripe...I just have to find it. If im wrong...Ill let you guys know if I blow anything up.

 

Ok I was right!! Works like a charm. Looks great too. Except its green...for now. All I did was use the black wire for power (there is only one in the "A" Pillar which is a constant 12v power) and used the Black one with a white stripe as the ground. I spliced into them both at about half way up and ran them down the "A" pillar then under the steering column right into the Ignition ring. There are only four wires in there. 1 black (power), 1 black with white stripe (ground), 1 green with white stripe (power for third brake light) and 1 white with black stripe (ground for third brake light). Also, Im not sure why but there is a coaxial cable in there too but mines cut at the top and cut at the bottom of the A pillar so I have no idea where it went to or where it came from..its only about 2/12 ft long so if anyone has a clue what it was for please let me know as I'm very curious. Anyways there you go. Go get a ring from the wreckers. Oh and one more thing. If you find one, make sure you grab the little black plastic ignition ring cover as the your current one wont fit over the light ring.

 

Yea I read a few threads where some guys have used the clock power as a source to light the ring but I wanted it to function the way it was intended. I wouldnt want it on all the time myself but thats just my preference. FYI, if you get a ring from a 98 or older, the actual light rings wires are a red with green stripe (ground) and a blue with yellow stripe which was the power. So just match the red/g to the blk/w and the blue/y to the black..I know its not the most detailed explanation but it will work for any 01-04 tacoma. Hmmm the glove box and console lights are a good idea. maybe Ill try that next.

 

No pix sry, I should have taken some pix I suppose huh?! I plan on going back into my dash and "A" Pillar to add more lights in the very near future. I will do a picture tutorial of how to install the light ring while I'm in there if everyone wants me too.

 

sub'd for pictures. I'd like to see this

 

I've got all the parts and planning to get this done. Very good info OP! If anyone else has already done this and has pics to show where to tap that would be great

 

KerlyQ, you are the man! I just got this mod done and lovin it!

Instead of taking the A piller panel out (I hate doing this), I crawled underneath behind the fuse box and found those wires you were talking about. On my 04 Double cab I found a wire harness that was wrapped in gray foam like material.

Just like you said, Black is positive, black with white stripe is negative.

I tapped into those wires and the ring lights up and dims just like the dome light! This should have been standard on the tacos! I still need to get rid of the green light too and swap it with a natural white LED.

Here's a pic of the wire harness I tapped into:

 

funny that I found this thread because I was just looking at the light ring in our landcruiser and realized I wanted one in my tacoma.

anyone find a place that sells them online other than ebay? I've searched partsgeek, but no luck.

 

I grabbed one for a 97 Camry on Ebay for 6 bucks...fits fine after a small but of dremeling

 

I finally found one from a 4runner on eBay from a tip from BigOly.

Have you guys replaced the bulb with an led or just leave the stock green-covered bulb in there?

I'm going to try and track down the led size for a white led color.

 

If you pull the bulb out from the ring, use your fingernails and you can peel off the green covering and underneath will be a "soft white" LED bulb. If you want a different color though or more of a "pure white," than custommleds.com has that bulb size.

 

Nice! I still havent attempted to swap out the stock bulb with an LED yet (I plan to swap it with a white LED as well), but I'm pretty sure it may need a couple of 1w 100ohm resistors due to the fact that the wires we tapped into go directly to the dome light. I have read that people with 01-04 tacos have reported having issues when installing LEDs in the dome light and a couple of resistors fixed the problem.

I'll report back once I attempt to change the stock green bulb (currently working) with an LED and if it needs resistors. I think the stock bulb is a #74 when I was fiddling with it but you may want to double check.

I did noticed one side effect with this mod, when tapping into the dome light wires, when the dome light is switched to off, the stock green bulb starts to blink for some weird reason. I wonder if OP or anyone else has notice this? It only happens when the dome light is switched to off. If the dome light is in the "on" or "door" position, the ring light is normal so it's not a deal breaker for me.

 

Good idea, but correct me if I'm wrong but I'm pretty sure you meant incandescent, not LED when you peel off the green rubber. I did try this, out of curiosity, and the color is a bit of a dirty white, I prefer a natural clean white that a LED produces.

 

^Yes sorry lol I'm even positive if LEDs were around pre-2003 lol.

 

So here's an update:

My order of white LEDs (5 led -3 on top 2 on sides- 360 angle type) came in the mail so I had to rush home from work to get going on replacing the weak green incandescent bulb in the 4Runner light ring. Here it is connected to the light socket:


On my way home I hit ratshack and got me 2 packs (I only really needed one pack but never hurts to get an extra) of 1 watt 100 Ohm resistors:



Then I took a pair of them and secured them together using a couple of butt connectors:



Plugged everything together and the white LED lit up!! WOOT!!! I also notice that the ring light blinking issue I posted earlier went away when turing off the dome light. WOOT X2!!!!



I have two more of these white LEDs that fits snug in the 4Runner light ring that I don't need so if anyone needs one PM me (you will still need resistors if you do this mod) otherwise I'll just keep them as backup. I'll sell them at $5 each shipped first class anywhere in the USA.



White LED ignition ring all wired up in all it's glory:

 

^looks great! mine is on it's way.

did you dremel the existing black plastic ring around your ignition to fit with the light or does it replace the black plastic part?

 

I used a black plastic surround off an old 3rd gen 4runner limited. The existing black surround of the taco will not fit, the surround is to large/hole is to small.

You could probably dremel the existing surround to make the ring fit but not sure how well that would look, unless you have really good dremel skills (mine suck). A detailed install of how I put it all together here.

 

Okay my electrical engineering skills aren't up to par -- what do the resistors do re the LED bulb?

 

I picked up one of these from a '99 4Runner thinking it would fit my '95 Tacoma but hole too small to fit over my ignition. CRAP!!
This one also has the ACC / IGN, labels on the black outer ring of the light ring and my truck has these on the metal ignition.
Any idea what other vehicles/models/yrs I could look for that would fit? I see Camry ones regularly but never an actual Tacoma one.

BigOly do you have fully lit picture (not in the dark) showing final fit?