The ultimate headlight upgrade H4 (not LED or HID)

My osram 70/65 bulbs come in tomorrow. I'll be finally doing this over the weekend. Definitely looking forward to seeing how it works out.

 

Wedge moose,
Here is the thru hole where I inserted a bolt to mount the relays. Hard to take a pic, hope it makes sense. Godspeed.

 

I got my harness and osram 70/65w bulbs installed this afternoon. My only chance to install it was in the afternoon so I didn't/couldn't take any decent pics. I drove it around a few minutes ago and it really is a noticeable difference. I can't wait to get it out of the city and really see how it looks. Another satisfied customer here!!

 

Installed mine yesterday with 85/80w bulbs and they absolutely don't blind oncoming traffic. Only time I noticed anything was going over a RR grade- there were cars stopped on the other side- my lights were above the horizon line as I came over the top- brightness. I flipped the lights off till traffic got moving. Out on the road- awesome. Lots of light right where it belongs. Thanks man!!

 

@crashnburn80

Is there a way to keep the DRL functioning with this mod?

 

DTLs are unaffected and will operate like stock.

 

Weird... Mine sure don't.

 

As you can see- ordered the HL28200 harness and 2 H4 hyper bulbs. Not sure why it's not working.

 

Spoke to the guy over at Susquehanna MotorSports that wires up the harness. Super nice guy, this is what he had to say:

The DRL circuit runs the high beams at reduced voltage. If the coil voltage to the high beam relay is lower than 8vdc it won't trigger... And if it was my high beams would be running full voltage of course...

If that's case then I'm fine with not burning my high beams all the time- in theory this makes perfect sense but something tells me that crashnburn80 would not be ok with running his high beams full voltage as DRL's, so I'm skeptical.

Talk amongst yourselves

 

Apologies for the delayed response, I've been on vacation for the past week. Drove the Tacoma from Seattle to San Francisco and were sure to wear our Hawk jerseys downtown.

Are you running the 85w or 70w Osram bulbs? I just tested my truck this morning, there is no change in operation to the DRL from low beam to high beam. Maybe it is because I have been checked out for a week, or haven't had my coffee this morning, but are you saying your DRLs work on low beam, but not on high beam?

 

Welcome back Crash. Must be nice to have a vacation...ha Just to confirm what Crash is saying, my DRLs work perfect also. Both high and low beams.
They work in all three positions. DRL, Parking lights and beams(hi & lo). In other words always on when any positions beside "off" is selected.

 

Welcome back man. Not jealous at all...

My truck has no DRLs in any position. I'm running the 85/90w bulbs.

What confuses me- if the original harness is only used to trigger the relay (one for high, one for low beam) and the relays both are wired direct to the battery... And the load is low beam (on relay 1 let's say) and the load is hi beam (relay 2)

Then it absolutely makes no sense that your DRL's (high or low) are burning at anything less than 12v.... The low voltage (whatever they send the DRLs) is only going to the relay coils. If the relay fires, full voltage is applied.

I haven't cared enough to measure voltages, but I'm sure I will. Am I making sense? I'm a controls engineer so I know we can have meaningful electrical conversation. You know your stuff.

 

H4 Philips Xtremevision LED's. I like them. They have treated me fantastically since I have had them for over a month now. Increased vision over stock halogens, no need to tinker with wiring and have an integrated cutoff similar to OE halogen bulbs.

 

DRL on 2nd Gen, if equipped, uses signal light at hi brightness, and does not use headlight beam. Once headlight beam is on, DRL is off.

 

Link? Looks like they are about $300 online. The guy that offers LED's here quoted me less for his.

 

http://www.xenondepot.com/h4-philips-12953BWX2-LED-Bulb-p/12953bwx2.htm

I posted a review on them about a month ago as well. Install is simple and painless.

One more thing is that I have been running LED headlights for about 2 years now. With all the ones I have ever ran (4 different models including the Philips ones) I have NEVER had to cut into the factory headlight housing protective rubber boot and never have had moisture issues from within the housing. Beedless to say I am still using the original boots.

 

THANKS to crashnburn80 for posting this thread, and goldentaco03 for referencing it in the 1st Gen forum!

When I spoke with Ray at Susquehanna Motorsports today, he reiterated crashnburn80's recommended Ground Test Procedure. Based on crashnburn80's and goldentaco03's results with their '03s, I expected to find Ground Switching in my '04. Interestingly, the results indicate Conventional Switching. I suspect DRLs MAY be what drives the difference. (My '04 and crashnburn80's '15 both have them. He confirmed none of his older trucks, including the '03, had them. Waiting to hear from goldentaco03.)

Can anyone confirm/deny my theory (i.e., NO DRLs = Ground Switching while DRLs = Conventional Switching)?

 

I have NO DRL's and am conventionally switched. I used the ground test procedure recommended/described by @crashnburn80.
The harness I ordered from Susquehanna Motorsports works perfectly with the Osram Hyper 70/65's

 

Interesting. Thanks!

 

I've read through this whole thread, and was wondering, has anybody used the either the 70/65 or 85/80 with the stock harness? I've been complaining about the stock light output since I bought the truck, but don't have the cash for the bulbs + harness right now.

From what I've read, it sounds like it would be safe to do so, just have a slight voltage drop of about 0.5v?

Also, I'm curious about using the harness on a Canadian Tacoma, as our dtrl's are always on, with no selectable switch. Would that make any difference?