Ignition Light Ring Mod help!!

I went with red to match the rest of my dash mod LEDs.

I'm also leaning towards just wiring it in with my alarm LED mod.

That sucks. So...move down south a little bit.

 

So I have all the parts ready to go for this. I staring at my A pillar, and I am seeing these 5 wires. Anyone have an advice for me?

I have a 2003 Tacoma with a dome light and map lights. Do you think I can use either black wire as my power?

Also, for the guys that spliced into the harness under the dash, how the $@#$ did you manage to get in there? It's awful compact down there and I'm no contortionist.

 

Well, here it is:



Superbrightleds.com part #: 74-xhp3 in red.

I wired it to the dimmer circuit that I picked up off of the ECT button near the ignition. That way it's on when the cluster lights are on.

The downside that I discovered on the way to work today: There's a red reflection on the window in my line of sight. I might have to rethink that.

 

Since I have a triple gauge stack on that A pillar I didn't want to pull that so I yanked the kick panel in the drivers footwell and used the red wire with a white stripe that lives there it's hooked up to the pinswitch.As for my access to the footwell area I found that all that really needed to be "in there" was my head & one arm, sometimes two.If I kneeled on the ground outside (door open )pulled the foam out that lives there there rest was pretty easy. All kidding aside though I agree.....this is one area to work in that really gives me a large pain in the old Crack as well.

 

use a AA or AAA battery to check. Forward voltage won't destroy it if applied backwards. 12v very well might if it's already got a resistor integrated...

Or use a multimeter on diode check

 

The bulb assembly unscrews from the light ring. It's just a bulb and two wires. Just touch them to each post of your battery and see if it lights up. If not, reverse them and it should, telling you which is which. It's a 12v bulb, so an AA isn't going to cut it.

 

Not if you're going directly to the battery, no.

That's the first thing I did when I got mine, just to A] see if the included bulb worked, B] See how the light ring looked lit up, and C] identify positive and negative.

I just cut the connector off the other end from the bulb, stripped the wires, and touched them to the battery posts. There's no place for you to plug that in anyway, so you don't need or want the connector.

I ended up soldering on some hookup wire to extend the length of the wires, but that has no bearing on your current issue.

 

Well, I suppose you could send it to me and I can take a look.

I really don't know what else to suggest - it's about as straightforward as wiring can be. There's no circuit or electronics involved - just a bulb, bulb holder, and two wires.

If you have a good bulb in place, you should have continuity (with an OHM meter) between the two wires. (SHOULD...I think.)

Maybe the bulb holder is messed up or the wiring is broken in-line.

 

Here's an idea - use an OHM meter to test continuity from the end of each wire to the contact point in the socket. Make sure that path is good. After that...it's gotta be the bulb.

 

If it's an LED it would allow a nominal amount of current and allow it to light up even if it is only a few mA. See below.

Are you using the stock incandescent bulb or an LED assembly? Probably should have asked that in the first place; I was just assuming as that's what most people have done in this thread.

 

You shouldn't need to cut the clock bezel. I removed the trim ring and drove around for a week and a half before the new (used) one I ordered showed up.

That's weird about the bulbs not working but an LED does.

Sorry I don't have any input on the A-Pillar wiring...that's not where I hooked mine up to.

Keep at it and don't give up. Walk away for a week and come back to it and try again.

 

My ABS light flashes every now and then because of my ultragauge....

Try unplugging your scan gauge and see if it goes away.

 

Oh...one difference is I've got a first gen first gen...95-97. You've got a 2003. So that might explain some of your fitting difficulties.

 

'03 should have the same as my '01.

I made a super quick write up when I installed mine.

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/1st-gen-tacomas/273953-modding-camry-ignition-light-ring.html

Went back together seamlessly and there was no struggle to get the whole thing in.

The A-Pillar is the easiest place to get to the overhead light; I was struggling with getting it from the harness in the footwell and I almost burned the whole thing down but got it in the end.

One thing to potentially check, is to make sure you were using the right side of the cut for ground/12+. I've made that derp move before and had to step away and then promptly smack myself in the forehead for such an obvious (and easy to make) oversight.

 

Edit: I gave incorrect information in this post.

 

My Scangauge II gave me problems with my Smart fortwo's ABS/ESP system as well, like yours it wasn't immediate & would even come & go.....I contacted Scangauge & they sent me a modified plug/harness to use, & no charge! Might be worthwhile emailing them.

 

How did you modify the ring? I posted a link to the one that I originally modified and it fits fine.

The only thing you need to do is buy a 4runner surround and replace it.

It should sit flush with the cylinder and is a direct replacement for the OE Tacoma one.

 

The black wires SHOULD both be ground; if you managed to find your multimeter I would say check for continuity between the two/voltage between there and your battery.

If you could post close up pictures of your ignition cylinder we might be able to help a little bit more should you opt to continue on this project!

Don't give up yet!

 

^^^^^^^^
Any updates ?

 

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