No headlights!

Hello, I'm new to Tacoma ownership, new to this forum, and new to trying to fix cars on my own. I just bought a 1996 2.7L 4x4 regular cab. I love it!

However...

When I turned my headlights on last night, only the left running light came on. When I pulled the high beam lever toward me, still nothing. When I pushed the high beam lever away, the left headlight came on. The high beam indicator does not illuminate in the dash. I made it home on the one headlight.

Today, I started doing some troubleshooting. The fuses are fine. At first, there was current flowing into both sides of the plug in the back of each headlight, regardless of whether high beams or low beams are on.

But, after some fiddling around, something happened. The one headlight no longer turns on when I push the high beam lever, and all of a sudden there is only current flowing in one side of the plug in the back of each headlight.

What the hell did I do and how do I fix it?! I'm screwed without your help!

 

Welcome to TW! Sorry this is your first post. Have you checked for a bad ground? Are the bulbs even good?

 

I would first try to replace the bulbs.

 

Would both bulbs, and the right running light, all go out at once?
And would a bad bulb cause the high beam dash light to not illuminate?

Changing, or even checking, the bulbs seems like a bit of a pain. Also, the person I bought the truck from claimed he had just replaced them.

 

Toyota's do a lot of wacky things in This area. This could be related to a lot of things.

 

If you're having other electrical issues, replacing the bulbs will be the least of your worries

 

@eccracer104 any suggestions for the young man?

 

Only thing I can think of is to check the wiring loom, maybe there's a short somewhere. Somewhere the wires may be frayed causing them to work sometimes but not other times.
Past that unfortunately I'm lost. Best of luck OP!

 

Yes. If both low beams are burnt out the high beam indicator will not work. It's the weird way Toyota wires it.

Is it possible the right running light was burned out before, but you just never noticed it?

You said the plugs had current. Did you mean voltage? They should both have voltage, but the current has to go through the headlight switch for the bulbs to light.

If you get new bulbs never touch the glass with your fingers or get the glass dirty. Any oil can cause the bulb to heat unevenly and burn out.

 

I did mean voltage. What does it mean that only one side of the plug has voltage? Does that mean the bulb itself is breaking the circuit?
Is there anything else that could have caused it to stop working while I was fiddling around with it?

 

I'm not sure what you mean by "one side of the plug". When you turn the headlights on part of the headlight switch turns the headlight relay on and supplies voltage to the headlights. The headlight switch also has a separate circuit that grounds the wires from the high/low beam bulbs which allows the current to actually flow and light the bulbs.

Find or search for a wiring diagram. I think some have been posted recently.

 

Ok, after some more fiddling I've convinced myself that the headlamp switch is faulty. I've looked around for info on replacing it, and everything points me to a switch with an integrated electrical harness.
But this is definitely not what is sitting in the steering column in my 96. The best I can find online is this:


Any tips on removing and replacing this part?

 

On the type in the bottom picture the switch just controls the parking lights and the headlight relay. There is another switch controlled by the lever action. It has several leaf spring switches in it that control the low/high/flash positions.

If you take that switch off be careful there is a small ball bearing and a spring on the end. It's held in by a metal clip and 2 small screws. It's very difficult to get it back together.

Once you get the steering wheel off you can remove the assembly that includes the headlight switch, turn signal switch and wiper switch, then you'll have access to the other part of the headlight switch. It's on the back side.

 

This is 96 meaning H6054 sealed beam is in there. It is PITA to replace (You have to remove the front grille). Luckily the headlight plug is compatible with standard H4 bulb. So regardless of the PO claims just get yourself new H4 bulb, plug it in one side (you can leave the bulb hanging in the engine compartment) and then test your lights. Now when you are 100% sure lights don't work with good H4 bulb then you can start chasing the the gremlin.

I recommend everybody with 95 and 96 truck to replace stock H6054 sealed beam with either Autopal or Hella H4 housing. There are tow benefits:
1. Replacing burned H4 bulb is easy and can be done with no tolls other than your fingers.
2. Autopal and Hella housing (Diamond cut or E-Code) have much better light pattern than stock H6054.

Hella are known to be the best but quite pricey, Autopal is still very good for 1/3 cost of Hella housing. Don't go for "noname" or "fancy-name" brands straight from China. Also, get brand name H4 Bulbs (throw away the no-name bulbs that came with housing) - Silvana and Phillips are good quality. It is not about the bullshit marketing "power output", but precise geometry of the bulb and housing. And finally after you done the H6054 to H4 swap do not (really: DO NOT) put H4 LED bulbs in there. It will ruin the whole swap.