Ken the electrical guy Q n A

If you can send me a picture of the face of the switch. I did an internal search through my normal connector finder websites and didn’t come up with anything. Maybe if I see the face I can get more info. If the guy at the dealer couldn’t get you the info I’d try another dealer. Most of the time if they can’t get the info it’s because they are lazy and just dont want to dig deeper. I mean what would they do if you brought the vehicle into have it fixed there? Just say op can’t find it? No they’d figure it out lol. Anyways lemme know

 

@Kens04Taco

I'm using OTRATTW Contura lower independent switches. From their website- Lower Independent: Text area lights up when dash or ignition is turned on, graphic lights up when switch is activated.

edit- move the pink “locker power” to the far left switch.
I think I've labelled this properly and would like to use the far left (locker power) as a master switch for my locker switches (two on the far right) but I can't for the life of me figure out how to do that. I don't want the locker switches to have power until I turn on the locker power switch but I want all six switches (others are for lights) to illuminate the lower area when the dash lights are on. I've also attached the wiring diagram from the OTRATTW site.

 

remove the switched 12v+ power from the two switches you want to use to power the locker(s). Replace with a (Y). The tail end will go to the output of the main locker power switch. The other two ends will replace the 12v switched power wire you removed. Please be sure to know how much load your locker switches will be flowing. Most switches will only carry a 20 amp load more or less. I would recommend running relays unless it’s a low load flowing through the switches.

 

Edit- I fixed the diagram to where the actual switches are.

Thank you very much...I'm still confused about a few things though(this is Greek to me). Each locker (front & rear) come with their own relay but I'm not sure how to wire these in. The lockers are 3-4 amps each. I think that they should go to their respective switches (two on the right side). This is where I'm stuck. I know that the (Y) needs to go to the #2 (left middle) on the two locker rockers and I think this is how the locker power and locker switches need to be.


Each of the light wires goes back to a relay (w/fuse) in a Bussman. What gauge wire do you recommend for the daisy chain? Can the ground wires just be grounded inside under the dash?

 

Hello Ken!
I have a '08 OR and wonder if there is a schematic identifying the unused connector(s) snapped into the back of the switch blanks next to the mirror controls. VSC stuff that nots available on the '08 OR? I would like to see where they go or tap off thinking I might use the dimmed green circuit for adding a switch.
Any help appreciated!
Dan

 

This is probably answered already in the thread but search is questionable:

I'm going to add some SAE driving lights to my truck, which I want to come on with the regular high beams. They'll be fused/relayed independent. What's the easiest way to tie into existing relay circuit for the high beams?

I will not have a secondary switch to control these.

Edit: 3rd gen.

 

you’re really close... the y wire that’s powers the locker switches. Move it to the output of the main locker switch. The way you have it drawn it’s hooked up to the input. So leave everything the same but change the tail end of the Y so it’s just down to the lower left contact on the main locker switch.

the ground is just for the LED. You can ground it anywhere that’s a decent ground. There’s some sheet metal brackets that you bolt the dash to inside the truck. Normally you can get enough ground to turn of leds with that.

with regards to relays. If you change the wire like I mentioned above then all you have to do is get the number 30 wire coming out of the relay and fuse it from the battery. Then you have to run the 87 wire coming out of the relay to your power wire going to the locker. Some lockers aren’t polar sensitive but you’ll have to follow the manufactures wiring diagram. Finally just ground the ground wire opposite of the trigger wire on the relay and you’re done

 

Thank you again!! So much! I fixed my wiring picture and it looks correct now....


I don't have the lockers yet (which come with wiring and relays) but I'll use this info to make sure it works. I used the below pic from one of @ZUK 's installs. You can see the wiring and relay that is included with the Harrop e-locker.

 

Hi Ken!
Newbie here. I installed raptor lights to my truck and used the grounding point on the side of the engine bay next to the fuse box. My question is that I have ditch lights that I’m going to install. Red (battery) a relay box(has an in-line fuse, not sure if I have to do anything with this, but it did have a metal clip on it) and the black ground cable. Do I mount this to my negative on the battery or do I put this on the same ground point where I installed my raptor lights (body inside the engine bay next to the fuse box)

3rd gen tacoma

 

Hey Ken,

Just ran across this thread.. I'm so used to my Ford and Dodge vehicles in the past, call Helm Inc. and order the wiring diagram, NO not Toyota!!

Any idea of a part number on this connector, both sides.. It resides behind the change pocket left of the steering wheel, it carries the rear view mirror signal from the rear camera to the mirror display



it is a 4 pin connector just above and to the left of the fuse box. I believe it's the same for any Tacoma with the rear view camera in the mirror..





For the life of me I can not get that bugger de-pinned and I'd like to just leave the factory one there anyway.. Toyota probably uses this same connector in 100 different places on the truck but I've not been able to find me one in the Junk yards here in Florida.. I'd just like to remove it and plug a new one in with my pins / harness going to my Dasaita Stereo head for the camera..

RJ

 

Lookn good bud, update me when you get the locker installed and working

 

hey buddy. If the fender bolt on your truck has a smallish wire going to the negative post battery then you can ground your ditch lights there. Depending on your truck, the factory grounding system, if you’ve upgraded that grounding system can make you have a lot more options for grounds.

The battery is always 100% going to give you the best ground. But some times it’s full of other wires and we don’t really need 100% powwwaa to run small shit. So I’d say try the fender bolt and if it turns on and runs normally then ur good. If not just hook it up to your battery.

 

Hey RJ, sorry but your frustration with the connector. I remember when I first got into electrical I fought and fought with those things till I just said fuck it and bought all the correct de pinning tools. Those look to be like the style with just a small tab that runs down the center of the connector between the terminal and the connector but I could be wrong.

if you get really can’t find the connector you can always just wire in a different style pig tail on each end The wires don’t care how they are put together as lose as they’re together.

 

Yea, I have like an 8 piece de-pinning tool from SnapOn and still can't get it.. I cut out the same style connector but 12 and 24 pin from a junk yard truck, practiced pulling and putting the pins back in half dozen times each, thought I'd got the feel practicing on them, no joy on this 4 pin connector.

RJ

 

Greetings Kens04Taco, had this on the back burner for a while.

No debris in connector.

Located, unscrewed, examined, and re-tightened ground near light wires:





Green- main trunk of light wires
Orange - ground wire to grounding point (Red)

unscrewed, connections looked good, no corrosion.

what's next? bad relay??

cheers

 

Can you quote your original post? I went back a few pages and didn’t see it.

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/ken-the-electrical-guy-q-n-a.632969/page-11#post-22208644

thanks

 

Hi Ken,

2006 Prerunner 180,000 miles

My original blower resistor started to bite the dusk last year, I replaced it recently but LOW and became medium low power (not low). I checked out the connector and it seemed burnt so I replaced that, fixed the previous problem but now M2 (medium high) is low. So now it's:
Off - off
Low - low
M1 - medium low
M2 - low
High - high

any ideas? Wiring seems fine, but who knows without inspecting it all. Could it be the blower or the control dial or even a bad new resistor? I confirmed the new connector wiring is identical to stock but maybe I need to swap some wires in the connector for the new resistor to work right?

thanks!

 

I would be suspicious of wires being melted or burnt somewhere in the circuit. Do some ohm tests across the pins of the connector that goes into the resistor. See what you come up with you may have wires melted and touching. So when you turn the dial to a certain position it’s powering another. You can also do a voltage test.


1)Remove connector from resistor
2)Key on
3)Voltmeter hooked up to a solid ground
4)Control dial turned on low
5)Test each contact of the connector
6)write down what you find
Ex: dial on low. Pin 1 0 pin 2 12 pin 3 0...
7) if your observation matches what it should then I would be suspect of your resistor...or.....double check that when you replaced the resistor you wired the pigtail in correctly. You may have swapped a wire or two