Dim headlights won't work, brights, markers, tails do

So I jumped in my truck to head into town very quickly and noticed my lights were off, then realized they weren't. The high beams work fine, markers work fine, tails work fine, fogs make the switch from low to high. Everything seems ok except the actual dims won't work.

I've checked all the 10amp fuses under the hood, there are none for head lamps under the dash and I swapped the blue relay block from the heater to the 'Dim' marked block to see if that did the trick (heater and dims have identical blocks from what I could tell)

Suggestions? I'm sure everyone around town would like me to not blind them anymore and I'd love to avoid the Dealership if at all possible.

2011 DC LB well outside the warranty so I'll be paying for a visit to Toyota.

 

you didnt mention the bulbs...you checked those?

 

I haven't yet. It just seemed very unlikely to me that both bulbs would blow at the exact same time, and reset my clock...

forgot to mention my clock was off time for no reason

 

I don't think the clock circuit is connected to the low beam headlights...

Check the bulbs.

 

Any chance you put in any eBay LEDS? I have had nothing but problems with then shorting and blowing fuses.

 

Lighting is all stock

 

There are fuses behind the change holder to the left of the steering wheel on the dash and under the hood on the left side of the engine. Make sure you check ALL of them... If there's no blown fuses, check the column switch. Have you done any mods to the lighting system? (IE fogs anytime, etc...?) Look to see if there are any wiring problems under the hood like disconnected or broken harnesses, etc...

 

Not sure if this option is one your Radio .... My past Radio LED screens would dim when I turn on the lights. (so it is dimmer at night and not wreck your night vision). So there has to be a wire/connection to tell the Radio the lights are on.
I mention this because this might be the link between the radio time resetting and the lights. Try disconnection the radio and give it a try (i.e. pull fuse ?)

Good luck!

 

I had the same thing happen to my 07 with Sylvania's in it. Both low beams took a shit at the same time. I thought it was highly unlikely, but changed them out and they have worked fine for a year.

 

I had to work all day but I'm going to head out to buy new bulbs this evening. I leave the lights on all the time and am thinking that I somehow got a power surge that reset the clock time, the trips and blew the dims on the bulbs as that switch was open.

Nothing has been changed with the radio or lighting systems so I know I didn't screw something up there. I do live on a rough dirt road and have over 80k miles on it so there is a good chance that I rubbed something somewhere causing a power issue.

The fuses behind the change holder in the cab only have fuses for lighting the reverse lamps, tails, and plate marker lights, and they're all working fine.

 

both bulbs were blown. let's hope these stick.

thanks for the insight guys. Still no idea what caused it though.

 

That is tied to the taillight circuit... not the low beams.

Well... the clock resetting is interesting and could portend a battery on its last legs... but on the headlights, are you positive they both went together? I've driven with the passenger light out and not noticed it until pulling up to a wall or looking at my reflection.

 

A sulfated battery or corroded connections can be an indirect cause of voltage spikes too - as the battery won't absorb the spike the way a good battery with clean terminals will. Which could explain both issues - I'd clean the posts and have the battery load tested.