Tapping the Dash Lights Circuit

Below is my fuse diagram. Are any of these the dash light circuit?

 

I think you're looking in the wrong fuse panel. Check inside the cab near the driver door under the dash near the hood release.

And check out this product https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/custom-fuse-cover-extended-height.519448/

 

Thanks, this is precisely where I pulled this cover from. I think it's different for different years. In my model it doubles as a change drawer.

 

Pull the guage fuse and see if that's your cluster lights

 

How many times can you tap a wire? I have 3 switches I'll be installing on the left side of the steering wheel. Can I tap all three into the same green and brown wires as mentioned above?

 

How did you remove that panel and/or switch to access the wires?

 

I just put my hand in the pocket and pulled straight out while using a pry tool on the sides

 

Old post but I didn't see an explanation so here's how it works. Both wires have positive voltage but one wire varies between 8.5v and 12v. When it's at 8.5v then the difference is 3.5v and the lights are brightest and when it's at 12v then the difference is 0v and you get no light. Comprendez?

 

Gotcha. Thanks for the el explanation-o.

SB

 

The common way to do this is to daisy chain the connections so that one tap feeds all of the switches.
Tap > first switch with 2 wires crimped into the switch connector(1 in, 1 out) out> second switch connector also with a second wire crimped which feeds switch #3, etc, etc. the LEDs fed by the dimming circuit use very little current for illumination so you can run a bunch together. If you think you might add more switches later then put a second wire into the last switch connector as well with an insulated spade connector male/female with no wire stuck into the male extension side.

If you don't use the dimming circuit then they use significantly more current, re: DAMN BRIGHT! Daisy chain them like this and you may not blow a fuse but you'll likely be replacing dead LEDs, most of which are made for ~3v source.

 

Pulled the dash apart today to replace the center switches and while I was in there stripped the tape back from the AC control llumination wires so I can tap them below in the switch area. The flyeyez instructions are pretty much all you need for this. While I had access I checked and the dimmer switch on my 2014 does indeed use the green-green/white for the dimmer circuit.

 

I measured the corner wires on my 2016 tacoma. Wires green and light brown. The brown one shows a variable voltage, positive, that responds to dimmer changes. But when I connect to that I get a "check charging system" warning on the console display behind steering wheel. I get the impression that the +/- dimming lines are not ground-based, so connecting to either of those creates some sort of unexpected current back to the controller, hence the warning. I'll just tap panel so will give up dimming. Or tail.

 

I tapped 5 switches into the one. I guess time will tell if it's OK.




Does anyone know what wire I can tap into for illumination in the overhead area? I'll be adding a toggle switch up there and want to light it up the same way.

 

You could probably run the illumination for 20 switches from one wire tap. I wouldn't use just one wire tap for switch power though. Even using relays, consumption is ten times the led draw and possibly more for non-relayed switches. A fuse tap is a different consideration allowing much more current since you supply both the wire and fuse so the limit is more what the fuse panel will allow for any single fuse location.

Any 12v source will do for illumination power since the current draw for leds is so meager. You could use switch power or check the stock switches to see which wire is used for illumination

 

I don't want to plug it into any 12v source because it would be lit all the time. I'm planning on tapping into the rear differential lock switch right there. It only has 4 wires going into it. One has to be for illumination

 

Actually you need two wires, illumination power and illumination ground. The other two are switch power and switch output. Can you drop the overhead panel and take a pic of the switch and connector? The internals are all pretty much the same for each switch style, just the laser etching differs. Inside there's a printed circuit board with two leds, two resistors, and one push button switch. If the leds dont match either in color or brightness you can easily (and I mean rank beginner level soldering easy) swap in a different 3mm led or 1/4w resistor.

 

For the illumination ground I'm just going to ground it to the chassis. I did the same with the switchs I installed on the left side of the steering wheel over a year ago and there still working fine. I tapped all 5 into the same illumination wire coming off one of the switchs there, and then just grounded all the wires, screwed them to the chassis.



Below is the back side of the upper center console

 

Only need illumination ground if you want dimming, otherwise chassis ground is fine. Keep in mind that one of the more common electrical issues is bad ground which is why some prefer to use a ground wire or buss that is connected to the battery, no rust issues.

 

4 wires on diff lock left to right:
Black(?) illumination ground
Black/white(?) illumination power
Red/white 12v switch power
Tan switch output.

Since the aftermarket switches seem to have the same layout as the oem ones this would be my first choice for verification.

The (?) are because I'm not certain of the colors I'm seeing in the pic which is why left to right is also listed.

 

2 of the 4 wires will have 12v but only 1 will always be hot with ignition on while the other should only be hot with the headlights on as well.