New member here looking for help!

A few weeks ago I picked up a 2012 Tacoma that already had quite a few goodies installed. I used to have a 1st gen Tacoma years ago and regretted getting rid of it and was always looking for another.
Well as I got older and had more money to spend I found this nice 2012 Tacoma with the 4.0, auto trans, 3 inch lift alpharex headlights, taillights, and a few other goodies.

It does have a few issues though and the one I'm most stumped on is the driver's side high beam gets stuck on. Like it doesn't matter if I unplug the headlight bulb, pull the fuses, shut the truck off, pull the stalk towards me to flash high beams or anything. After a day or so it'll turn off and be back on low beams but as soon as I turn the high beams on then it stays on. The headlights still turn on and off like normal but the driver's side stays on high.

I'm not an electrician by any means either. I can take apart engines and assemble them blindfolded but wiring makes my head hurt!

 

Pulling the 10A Left Headlight HI fuse does NOT kill power to the bulb?

 

It does not kill power to the bulb. And the fuse is good

 

Welcome to TW.

 

Thank you!

 

I'm betting it's the quality of the headlight housing/setup. I don't really hear much good about aftermarket housings when it comes to long-term reliability. I'd replace with OEM Toyota Housings, from Toyota.

 

It has nice alpharex headlights. I just put LEDs in it too. However the issue still happened with the halogen bulbs that were in it previously. Why would the housing affect the way the high and low beams work?

 

Did the previous owner use the OEM headlight harness or did they build their own?

 

Welcome To TW...

 

Oem harness with what it looks like an adapter harness from Alpharex

 

Those are obviously after market headlights. Lots of people when installing those screw up the wiring, fuses etc. sounds like someone bypassed the headlight fuse and other things too. You need to troubleshoot the entire headlight wiring or take it to a professional to figure it out.

 

Welcome

So you can educate yourself on good headlight light https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-ultimate-headlight-upgrade-h4-not-led-or-hid.398066/

what you have has about a 2 year life span before the start leaking, and reports are customer service blows

 

Well I'm pretty sure these headlights are a plug and play. Looking at the wiring there is no cut and splicing anywhere.

 

It's not just about the housing, but the modifications needed to run the different housing. Sounds like the wiring harness adapter could be the culprit if you think no other wiring mods were needed.

Also, take the time to read about putting LED bulbs in a Halogen Reflector housing. You are better off with a halogen bulb.

And to 2nd what @CraigF said, pretty much all aftermarket housings are a complete crapshoot on lifespan. Most fail prematurely. The seals fail, water/condensation builds up. Corrodes stuff, ruins bulbs, you name it. Aftermarket taillights seem to have a way better ability to withstand the elements, maybe because they aren't being force fed water at 70mph when it rains? On the front, I'd stick with OEM if you want something that will work, and last.

 

Looks like you could pickup a new adapter harness on Amazon for like $50. Might try that?

 

I read through that earlier article. These aren't reflector housings though. They're projectors. If they were then I'd 100% be on the prowl for factory housings. And I didn't buy these headlights so I'm just making them work for now. When they inevitably do fail then they will be getting replaced with factory housings

 

Could be worth a shot!

 

This might help https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/headlight-dimming-problem.821156/#post-29448916