Electrical Mods/Warranty?

So, I’m considering doing some minor electrical mods to my 21’ OR. Possibly a light bar for my Prinsu rack and maybe some raptor grill lights.

I’ve never done any electrical mods to a vehicle before, so I’m just wondering how much of a risk it is with possibly voiding the warranty? Has anyone ever had electrical issues after installing anything like those two aforementioned mods? From what I understand the raptor lights just hook up to the fusebox with an add-a-fuse and the light bar would just hook up to the battery and switches in the dash (should I choose).

I suppose I’m probably being overcautious, but I’m just a little weary about diving into the electrical system on the first brand new vehicle I’ve ever owned. I’m also not entirely sure how strict Toyota is with their warranty..

 

The electrical systems on these can be finicky, I'd do plenty of research and take your time, and you'll be okay. If you do have electrical gremlins, the dealer may have you disconnect your add ons first.

 

You will not void your truck's warranty by adding a light bar and/or raptor lights. If you have an issue that arises from the install or operation that affects other systems (either from a bad install or stemming from their operation) the dealer will not fix those issues under warranty. Basically, if a problem presents itself that the dealer can trace back to your electrical modifications, you will not get those problems fixed on Toyota's dime.

I do not have a light bar or raptor lights, but I do have some other electrical mods - I would recommend that ANY electrical add-ons/mods you perform on your truck be done after you disconnect your battery. Our trucks are sensitive to changes in current draw and I've seen some pretty gnarly headaches stem from a simple electrical add-on. Another recommendation is to search the forum for plug-and-play electrical harnesses for the lighting you'd like to add on. @daveeasa makes several harnesses that keep you from stripping wires and provide factory like connections for almost any electrical mod you can think of. Here's a link to get you started:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/custom-vehicle-harnesses-made-to-order.722666/

 

General advice: disconnect the battery before doing electrical work on the truck.

 

This is an excellent reply and basically sums it all up. A couple of things:

• I would emphasize @Natetroknot 's statement about disconnecting the negative battery terminal before ANYTHING electrical. People have had odd consequences just changing out interior lights for LEDs from leaving the battery connected.
• Avoid splicing into wiring
• For electrical add-ons like bed lights, etc. there are OEM options that will avoid your concerns entirely. Consider them in your choices.
• Some dealers are better than others with mods and warranty claims. Some will give you a hard time and refuse a warranty repair if they can even remotely justify a connection between your aftermarket mod and the warranty claim. Others will be more reasonable and work with you.
• Your concerns regarding warranty apply to all mods, not just electrical. Lifts and tunes are some of the more common and you should consider risk vs reward whenever you stray from OEM add-ons.

Mods in general are a "pay to play" kind of situation. Only you can decide if what you get from the mod is worth the potential risk.

 

I had raptor lights tapped into the INJ fuse and one day after getting an oil change my truck just stopped dead in the road with no notice. Restarted and drove it home and it happened a few more times. Had it towed to the dealer and after several hours they couldnt find the culprit. They decided to pull the fuse tap as they were outta ideas and that fixed it. Not sure what the tech did during the oil change to cause that but the dealer could of played ignorant and easily charged me for the tow and 6+ hours of labor to diagnose it. So in my opinion. use a proper relay and tap into the battery. Dont attempt to tap into the INJ fuse or splice into existing wires if it can be avoided

 

I knew nothing about the electrical stuff on my Tacoma until last year. Take your time, do your research, and have fun.

 

Agreed with getting OEM electrical mods where you can.
I'm glad I spent a little extra on the tailgate lock from Toyota. Plug and play. Hardest part was laying on the ground to run the wire from the front of the truck to the tailgate. Lol

 

In general, try and separate your wiring from your trucks wiring. Any wire you tap into, cut, or splice, makes you someonwhat responsible for everything else connected to that wire.

So I would make your connections onto your own buss bar and then that buss bar to the battery. Handle your own wires runs and fusing for your circuits and then you are pretty bullet proof

 

Good advice. Military terminals with copper or brass buss bar is the way to go. I also make a buss bar to fit the OEM terminal.

 

Every other post already said the big points(disconnect battery, don't touch oem wiring)

Just want to add... buy quality parts, particularly wiring/connectors. Spend some time researching proper wire connections, cable routing, etc.

You don't want to do a poor quality wiring job and run the danger of causing an electrical fire in the engine bay.