factory stereo dimming

Hey Guys, had my tacoma a few weeks now, and so much is coming up! The archives are great, but...

Weve had some bad weather the last few weeks up here in ny, and have noticed some things.
1, daytime running lights are front only? WHY!
2, to get tail lights on, you must turn on the lights.
3, when lights go on, the dash head unit dims. This is great at night ,but in a daytime storm, theres too much light outside to be able to see the dimmed dash headunit well. Any way to disable the headunit dimming, or to turn the headunit brightness back up? The internal controls dont allow for bypassing the auto dimmer as far as I could find.

Thanks guys!

 

daytime running lights are normally just on the front, turn the parking lamps on (one click, not two on the headlight switch) should have DRLs ing the front and Markers in the back which is what your looking for i think

 

Most daytime running lights are front only. They're meant for oncoming cars.

You can turn the brightness up on the stereo face by going into the settings and changing the brightness level.

 

Never seen a car in my life that has rear DRLs.

As for the stereo, hit options and then on the top right of the screen should be a "button" for display. In there you can turn the brightness back up. I don't think it's permanent though.

 

This +1
1 click of the headlight switch will turn on running lights but not mess with dash or radio lights.

 

thanks guys.
yes, DRL front only...gotcha.
Yes, first click on lights is "driving lights" front and back. Driving lights on means stereo dimmed. When dimmed, and go into "brightness" it does not seem to "brighten" back to same as Driving lights off. It actually BARELY brightens the headunit at all.
Am i the first to notice this?

 

There is a setting in there for day/night mode. Look for that. I've used it, makes a huge difference.

 

My '14 has 3 positions on the headlight switch. 1 click running lights, 2 clicks running lights radio and dash lights dim, 3 clicks headlights turn on.

 

From your main screen (like your listening to the radio), in the top right corner, hit the options button. There should be an option that states "daytime mode". This is all assuming you have a factory touchscreen radio.

 

Wierd. My 13 has four positions.
-1 position is all off
0 position is labeled DRL
1 position is driving lights
2 position is headlights

1 and 2 position dim the headunit. I labeled a -1 position because this position , per the plastic moulding design is not the default setting. To get all the plastic moulding to be smooth, it has to be set to DRL. This is super hard to describe without seeing it...but if youve got it, youd understand

BJBoucher, can you describe where that setting is?? I have already noticed that some options only appear when the car is in park (like bluetooth pairing options) , so can you describe where to find the day /night settings? do they have to be adjusted all the time? I would still like it to dim at night i think...

 

Kapantsky. Thats great. I will look! So, sounds like it has to be adjusted every time though eh? Yes, default touchscreen with bluetooth but no entune

 

It's in the display settings somewhere. I'm laying in bed already or I'd run out and tell you exactly where. It doesn't get greyed out when driving and it only stays that way til you turn it off, then reverts back to normal.

 

That's DRL, running lights, headlights.

The radio does not dim with the DRLs.

 

Thanks BJB. I didnt notice it on my 2013, but sometimes I dont notice my keys even when they are in my hand...so its no surprise. I will look tomorrow as well.

 

Right, Rich...no dim with DRL, but also no tail lights (as we established above). I was trying to achieve front AND rear lights ,and no stereo dimming. Day snow storms ,or bad fog make me want to have rear lights on as well as fronts ,but the glare from the snow and /or fog in the day time makes seeing the dimmed stereo difficult. Gotta find that day/night mode

 

It's a bitch. I'll often turn on my headlights when I leave work so I don't forget when it gets dark because the freaking dash lights are on.
The sad effect is I can't see the clock.
My stereo is aftermarket and dims based on time from the GPS, but I used to have a Caska unit that dimmed with the lights and it sucked on the way home, or on overcast days.

Given the way the dash is wired, it MAY be possible to bypass the dimming. It is possible to switch the dash lights to only come on with the parking lights, but bypassing the dimming would be a bit more creative, and the dash wiring has changed a couple of times.

But shutting off the head unit dimming is annoying when driving at night.

 

Before i swapped out my radio I remember there was a day time mode in my 2013 It was in the settings someplace

 

I prefer lights on in the daytime. Was going to add DRL to my truck, but the older trucks had issues with melting lenses from the excess heat. The solution for me was to install two small toggle switches, one in the overhead compass/temp display, the other through my aftermarket dash kit (aftermarket stereo). Behind both the clock and and compass/temp display is a light green wire from the tail light circuit. I used the switches to break that wire. Headlight switch is on at all times now, I simply dim the clock and compass at night with the two toggles.

It's probably possible to locate a point in the harness to install a switch that would disable all dash dimming, but that was too much work for me. I know there is a dimmer wire to the back of the stereo because I connected it to my aftermarket stereo.

At this point my odometer and aftermarket radio still dim with the lights. That has not been a problem for me, I am happy being able to read the clock and compass/temp now. I know I am shortening the life of the exterior light bulbs and the HVAC display light (led?). It's a good compromise for me.

I would suggest posting in the audio forum and ask if someone knows offhand which wire is the dimming wire behind the stereo. Get a small toggle switch and install it and you're done.

 

WHen your lights are on, push the Setup button, then in the top upper right corner there is an on-screen button for Display. As long as your lights are on, the option for day/night mode should be there. It goes away if you turn your lights off. It simply toggles the brightness of the radio between day/night mode....no other options too it. It's only a temporary change and will revert back to normal when you turn the truck off.

If it's not there, it may be a difference in our software version but I would think this setting would be in all of them. If it's not, there's a software update you can install.

 

In my '14 the day/night mode setting is saved even after powering the truck off.