Meso Total Tail Stage 1 - Problem

I'm hoping to find some other people who have this kit installed on their Tacoma and may have ran into the issue I'm having...

I installed the kit on 07/2022 and it functioned great except the common hyper flashing that occurs when you have a turn signal on and put it in reverse. I never bothered with the resistors because I rarely find myself in that situation and it worked for regular use. Today I fired up my truck and to my surprise I now have hyper flashing happening anytime I turn my left signal on, yet the right is still functioning normally.

Anyone have an idea what would cause the hyper flashing to start all of a sudden after 2.5 years of working well? All the bulbs around the entire truck are functioning, the signal functions normal when the truck is powered but engine is off.


** Resistors not installed as it only ever hyper-flashed in reverse with a signal on, up until today **

 

Move the right bulb over to the left side and see if the left starts blinking correctly.

 

Now that's a Common Sense first start in troubleshooting...

 

Not sure why I didn't think about that, excellent idea! I'll give it a go tomorrow and see what happens.

 

Mine is doing EXACTLY THE SAME WAY!!! My problem is the “pig tail” between the OEM light socket- to “pig tail” - to tail light LED, the pig tail connector is “twisted” slightly and it does t take much, but it will work correctly for a short period of time and then for whatever reason, it starts hyper blinking again. I am looking for another pig tail, and my main problem is I bought the Taco used with 34k miles with allot of upgrades and the taillights run $300-$450, and I don’t want to buy a new set over a friggin pig tail connection gone bad!!

 

I just replied to you in your other thread, but if you can get some pics of what you’re referring to, I’m sure I can help.

 

In addition to the above, I would say just install the resistors. Unless you figure out it’s just a bad bulb.

I didn’t get the resistors initially either, and then I had the typical hyperflashing in reverse so I decided to get them. It only took like 15 minutes to take the taillights back out and install the resistors. Totally worth it.

 

That'd definitely be easy!

 

I'd wonder if you have some sort of issue in the wiring, like something is grounding out possibly. I've had mine on my truck for almost two years and I have no issues . No resistor and no hyper flash. I'd email meso, maybe they would help you out

 

A quick check of their vendor page makes it appear that people have been having trouble getting in contact with Meso recently…check out the last few posts.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/meso-customs-customer-service.775638/

 

Meso is garbage. I would determine if the bulb is bad myself (it probably is) and I’d call up VLEDS and buy their version to use as a replacement if so.

 

Swapped the bulbs to opposites sides and it follows the bulb, so that one must have something going on with it.

 

I’d definitely give VLEDs a call and ask to buy 2 of their VTAIL switchbacks. Not V6 triton, but just the standard ones.

VLEDS actually designed the original Meso switchback, which was a good product. Then a year or so later (2021 ish), Meso knocked that design off with their own copy version and started distributing what you got. Same junk that I got when I bought my Meso kit in 2022. I sold that whole mess and got a VTAIL kit when it became available, which is a better option.



Meso’s brake bulbs are crap too. VLEDS are better, though I prefer the appearance of incandescent myself, so I have a tail kit but I have incandescent bulbs for the brakes. Just a preference thing.

 

I appreciate all the information! It's all back to stock for now. I find the Meso harness to be good. I'll give VLEDs a call and ask for exactly what you listed.

 

I'm fortunate that my MESO tail lights have been doing fine for the 2+ years I've had them installed, but if they do fail I plan to completely swap it out for the VLED kit. My biggest gripe with the MESO stage 1 is there isn't enough of a difference in intensity between tail lights and brake lights.

 

Yeah, the meso wiring is fine. I might actually like it better in some ways than the VLEDS wiring. I’d say maybe go back to incandescents for brakes just to get away from the Meso, and then order the two switchbacks. Assuming you still have the 4 tail light bulbs, it will only cost you the two switchbacks. Good luck.

Nice thing about VLEDS switchbacks is they actually blink in time with the TRD level mirror signals. Not a problem if you have an SR/SR5 but on any TRD or Limited, the mirror blinks first and then the Meso is right behind it. It is off by just enough to be really tacky to my eye. The VLEDS are perfectly in sync. Great product.

Don’t let them talk you into the V6 triton switchback they sell, the amber on those is not near as good as the standard, despite the lumen rating being the same.

 

Yep, first thing I did when I got the meso kit was I bought VLEDS tail light bulbs. Which I like a lot better than the Meso, although honestly in the sun I felt like both were difficult to see if the sun was on them. That’s the only reason I went back to stock bulbs for anything red. Otherwise, I like everything about the LEDs better. That said, 4 incandescent brake bulbs is 100% bright enough to be safe, so aside from illuminating more slowly, there are no downsides. Plus they’re cheap so if one goes bad I can swap it for about $3.

 

I have the Meso kit right now too, so far no issues. Does the VLED kit keep the same turn signal relocation? So that it’s a yellow turn signal instead of the stupid OEM red turn signal that you can barely see? That’s really the only reason I got the Meso kit because the stock turn signals were almost like a safety hazard.

 

Yeah, same design as stock. The original Total Tail kit was basically all VLEDS bulbs used by Meso. Meso eventually stopped using their bulbs and got his own made, and then a few years later VLEDS started selling to the public what they used to provide to Meso. I don't mean to imply that Meso bulbs will fail at any moment, but I did not like mine. The brake bulbs were too bright on low mode and not much brighter on high mode - the opposite of how a brake bulb should be. The turn signals when used on a TRD with mirror signals blink out of sync which is really tacky to my eyes. Mainly, the mirror signal starts and then the Meso starts a split second later, as if it has to process the turn signal input first before it can display light. Both the mirror and Meso turn off at the same time, so it's like the Meso is a bit shorter cycle than the mirror. What I am talking about can easily be seen in Chloe's Meso install video that she did a few years back. If paying attention, it's pretty noticeable. The VLEDS turns on amber instantly with the mirror, and off instantly as well, so they are perfectly synced and look much better to a perfectionist.

The brightness of the amber is the same between the two kits, so VLEDS doesn't win in that regard. But I think it is a better product and their red bulbs are definitely better, although I still don't use them either due to the reasons above. Most would like them a lot. But if what you have works and you are satisfied, especially without having mirror signals, there is no real reason to change.

 

MESO as a whole is no good. As for your tails.. VLED is better all around and as a whole.