1. Welcome to Tacoma World!

    You are currently viewing as a guest! To get full-access, you need to register for a FREE account.

    As a registered member, you’ll be able to:
    • Participate in all Tacoma discussion topics
    • Communicate privately with other Tacoma owners from around the world
    • Post your own photos in our Members Gallery
    • Access all special features of the site

15 LED 7x6 Headlights - No high beams

Discussion in 'Lighting' started by lukester78, Nov 3, 2017.

  1. Nov 3, 2017 at 3:35 PM
    #1
    lukester78

    lukester78 [OP] Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Nov 3, 2016
    Member:
    #201425
    Messages:
    885
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Luke
    Vehicle:
    97 Tacoma Single Cab 4x4
    I have a '97 Tacoma.

    Hoping someone might have experience with installing headlights like these 15 LED 7x6 headlights from Amazon. I can't get the high beams to work, and I think it's due to Toyota's light harness switching ground instead of power.

    I ordered this H4 conversion harness from Low Range Offroad that should hopefully correct the ground switching, but they don't gurantee it'll work for LED lights. I figured I'd take my chances anyway.

    If anyone has had a similar situation, I'd love to hear your input.
     
  2. Nov 4, 2017 at 2:37 AM
    #2
    crashnburn80

    crashnburn80 Vehicle Design Engineer

    Joined:
    Jun 6, 2015
    Member:
    #156893
    Messages:
    14,542
    Gender:
    Male
    Kirkland, WA
    Vehicle:
    2003 DCSB TRD OR
    Go Hawks!
    You have literally made an uninformed decision and purchase trash headlights. Sorry, remove and return if possible.

    For best performance, replace your 7x6 headlights with Hella E-code H4 conversion:
    http://www.rallylights.com/h6054-hella-200mm-rectangular-e-code-hi-lo-conversion-headlamp-kit.html

    After the E-code conversion, swap the standard H4s for the Ultimate Headlight Upgrade:
    https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-ultimate-headlight-upgrade-not-led-or-hid.398066/

    The headlight upgrade paired with the E-codes will put output pics in that thread to shame. I can assure you nothing will remotely touch the performance of that setup for the price.

    I have extensive experience in these lighting mods, PM me with questions or reply to this thread if you'd like more help, but the path you are on with trying to fix those LEDs is the wrong one.
     
    ChemDawg likes this.
  3. Nov 4, 2017 at 3:56 AM
    #3
    ChemDawg

    ChemDawg Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 15, 2015
    Member:
    #155296
    Messages:
    2,456
    Gender:
    Male
    Maine
    Vehicle:
    2005 sr5 4x4
    :amen:
     
    crashnburn80[QUOTED] likes this.
  4. Nov 4, 2017 at 10:42 AM
    #4
    paranoid56

    paranoid56 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jul 25, 2012
    Member:
    #83443
    Messages:
    3,373
    Gender:
    Male
    San Diego
    Vehicle:
    14 double cab taco
    hes right on the led choice, but i feel very wrong on the rest. buying old ass ecode lights is just dumb. there are so many great sealed beam LED DOT legal headlights out there that its dumb to keep using old tech.

    find a good DOT legal LED headlight and enjoy the light.
     
  5. Nov 4, 2017 at 9:34 PM
    #5
    lukester78

    lukester78 [OP] Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Nov 3, 2016
    Member:
    #201425
    Messages:
    885
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Luke
    Vehicle:
    97 Tacoma Single Cab 4x4
    These are stamped DOT and SAE on the headlight glass.
    Thanks For the links, I'll be reading through all of those this week. Since I already have the low range offroad harness on the way, I'm going to install it just to test out my theory.
     
  6. Nov 5, 2017 at 8:13 AM
    #6
    lukester78

    lukester78 [OP] Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Nov 3, 2016
    Member:
    #201425
    Messages:
    885
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Luke
    Vehicle:
    97 Tacoma Single Cab 4x4
    Hey @crashnburn80
    After reading through the first gen thread for your ultimate headlight upgrade, I'm curious as to why these LED headlights are so bad. There was no cutting of any kind to install, I'm not throwing LED bulbs in a reflector housing, so most of the issues with LEDs posted in the thread don't apply.

    I'll test with a wall to see if there's actually a cutoff or not, because that's probably the biggest issue I could see these having. I don't doubt that the e-code/upgraded halogen puts out a ton of light, that's pretty obvious from the thread - but I am on a budget and if I can get these lights to perform well in the short term, I can piece together the best possible upgrade moving forward.

    It also seems as though the @Low Range Off-Road H4 ground switched harness I ordered operates similarly to the ground switched Rally harness, but I'm guessing is built with closer to stock wire gauges and lower power relays? What's your opinion on that?
     
  7. Nov 5, 2017 at 8:26 PM
    #7
    crashnburn80

    crashnburn80 Vehicle Design Engineer

    Joined:
    Jun 6, 2015
    Member:
    #156893
    Messages:
    14,542
    Gender:
    Male
    Kirkland, WA
    Vehicle:
    2003 DCSB TRD OR
    Go Hawks!
    You are correct that you are not running LEDs in a halogen reflector housing so you will not suffer the negative effects for that reason. However the lights you have selected are effectively a wall of forward facing LEDs, equivalent to a light bar. A major red flag is also price point. You know how the saying goes, you get what you pay for. Putting out light is easy, actually controlling it takes some engineering. Having a forward facing exposed LED (or any light source) is going to emit light uncontrolled in all directions, just like a light bar. But unlike a light bar, headlights should have cut off and engineered optics to put more light on the road and minimize light to oncoming drivers, not just a blob of forward facing light in all directions, which isn't beneficial to you either because you want the light down on the road not wasted into the air. To control cut off on a light you need to bounce it off a reflector designed for the light source to aim the light, or put it through a projector. While those lights may have a DOT stamp on them, I'm extremely skeptical of its legitimacy. It is also exceptionally common in the LED market to advertise theoretical output while actual may be near half, so I'd expect about half the advertised output, especially for economy priced LEDs.

    It is true that you can actually find 7x6 LED conversion headlights that are properly designed as an alternative to a halogen upgrade, but none are going to be a wall of forward facing LEDs. And they are going to cost more. Here are a few examples:
    XtremeVision
    Which look like Spyder
    or
    Ralu
    Which look like Rigid

    Many LEDs are repackaged and resold under different brands, your lights look to likely be made by Genssi with a different lens that says DOT, as 'Partsam' does not even list those LED headlights in their product offering. Genssi has a note on their product page that these will not work with older Toyotas due to the ground switched wiring and how to correct it. They also do not list those lights as DOT approved.
    https://www.genssiled.com/product/genssi-7x6-h6014-h6052-h6054-led-headlight-sealed-beam-head-lamp/

    For comparison, Genssi does have DOT approved 7x6 LED headlights:
    https://www.genssiled.com/product/genssi-7x6-h6014-h6052-h6054-led-projector-headlight-dot-chrome/

    Low Range doesn't list any specs out of the harness, and by the price point I doubt it is truly built to lower voltage drop for higher powered bulbs as it likely uses thinner wires. You can compare the size of the wires to that of your stock wires. I'd be curious to know. It does have a 30amp fuse, which is the same as the heavy duty harnesses which utilize 40amp relays.

    For being on a budget, one of the worst things you can do is try to save money by buying the wrong stuff which will need to be replaced. And then try to throw more money at it to make it work. While low prices can be attractive, it is cheaper in the long run to buy quality once. You are already in nearly $100 which would have purchased the Hella E-codes.

    If you were running sealed beams, best bang for the buck is going to be an H4 E-code headlight assembly upgrade regardless if you upgrade bulbs. Throw in the set of Volsa bulbs for an extra $20 (no need for a harness) and get a good bump in lighting output too. There are cheaper conversions than Hella, i've run them. But the Hellas are so much better. One cheaper set wobbled in the housing because its specs were not perfect, leading me to try and juryrig some makeshift hack solution to stabilize the light, it was never right. Another set got a rock through the lens shortly after install reveling that I have champagne flutes with thicker glass. Pulling the Hellas out of the box, they are significantly heavier than the others I have tried, the quality is blatently apparent. I now subscribe to if you are going to do something, do it right.

    So for less than $120 for the E-codes and Volsas you can have a significant headlight upgrade, otherwise the LED conversion options start around $200.
     
    Last edited: Nov 5, 2017
  8. Nov 8, 2017 at 1:33 PM
    #8
    Rmodel65

    Rmodel65 Yukon Cornelius

    Joined:
    Oct 1, 2010
    Member:
    #44090
    Messages:
    2,666
    Gender:
    Male
    Jawja
    Vehicle:
    1996 Yota 4x4
    Viper Red paint

    so i was about to replace my stock sealed beams i just need the set of lights 7x6 the new relays and the osrams to make the upgrade happen?? i assume my 96 need the ground switch wiring style?
     
  9. Nov 8, 2017 at 1:58 PM
    #9
    lukester78

    lukester78 [OP] Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Nov 3, 2016
    Member:
    #201425
    Messages:
    885
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Luke
    Vehicle:
    97 Tacoma Single Cab 4x4
    Your points on the LEDs make sense, thanks for the information. What I meant by similar operation of the harness was that it looks like it'll plug in exactly like the Rally harness, just connect to the battery and a headlight socket on the factory harness. Definitely don't expect it to lower voltage drop or improve light performance. Should be in tomorrow, I'll let you know the specs on it.
     
    crashnburn80[QUOTED] likes this.
  10. Nov 8, 2017 at 3:40 PM
    #10
    crashnburn80

    crashnburn80 Vehicle Design Engineer

    Joined:
    Jun 6, 2015
    Member:
    #156893
    Messages:
    14,542
    Gender:
    Male
    Kirkland, WA
    Vehicle:
    2003 DCSB TRD OR
    Go Hawks!
    That is correct.
    -Plug the male low range harness into the driver side factory female wiring harness headlight plug.
    -Plug the female low range harness plugs into each headlight assembly. This will leave the factory passenger side female harness unused.
    -Connect the low range harness to the positive and negative battery terminals.
    Your done.

    Sounds like they have designed the harness to simulate a conventionally switched system.

    Correct, if you want the full upgrade. You can just swap the sealed beams for an H4 conversion and get an improvement over the sealed beams or add a modest bulb upgrade like the Volsas.

    To run that full lighting upgrade you need:
    1) 7x6/200mm H4 conversion. E-codes will provide best performance, I recommend Hella.
    2) Ground-switched high wattage standalone harness to run high wattage bulbs, reducing voltage drop producing more output.
    3) Osram 85/80w or 100/90w bulbs. The 85/80s provide 50 more lumens on low, but the 100/90s provide 500 more lumens on high.

    Here is the first gen thread:
    https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/proper-headlight-upgrade.407879/
     
    se7enine and Rmodel65[QUOTED] like this.
  11. Nov 8, 2017 at 4:35 PM
    #11
    Rmodel65

    Rmodel65 Yukon Cornelius

    Joined:
    Oct 1, 2010
    Member:
    #44090
    Messages:
    2,666
    Gender:
    Male
    Jawja
    Vehicle:
    1996 Yota 4x4
    Viper Red paint
    I'd definitely need to upgrade in driving back woods roads in Wisconsin that are unfamiliar to me on the way to work and back.
     
  12. Nov 9, 2017 at 6:55 AM
    #12
    se7enine

    se7enine MCMLXXIX

    Joined:
    Apr 18, 2013
    Member:
    #102322
    Messages:
    23,186
    Gender:
    Male
    Reno, NV
    Vehicle:
    07 Lexus GX470
  13. Nov 9, 2017 at 7:02 AM
    #13
    1bad2k

    1bad2k Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Aug 9, 2009
    Member:
    #20889
    Messages:
    3,527
    Gender:
    Male
    Lone Star State
    Vehicle:
    2017 Tacoma TRD PRO
    I got the 5x7 LED headlights made by Rigid but sold as Truklite and they plugged right in and work perfectly without any extra wiring or anything. Might send those back and buy some legit ones....
     
    crashnburn80 likes this.
  14. Nov 15, 2017 at 9:21 PM
    #14
    lukester78

    lukester78 [OP] Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Nov 3, 2016
    Member:
    #201425
    Messages:
    885
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Luke
    Vehicle:
    97 Tacoma Single Cab 4x4
    Went with E-code Hellas from Amazon, with the Volsa Plus-100s and they are much more to my liking than the led lamps. True cutoff, plus a more traditional yellower light. Can't wait to see how the harness bumps the output.
     
    crashnburn80 likes this.
  15. Nov 15, 2017 at 10:06 PM
    #15
    crashnburn80

    crashnburn80 Vehicle Design Engineer

    Joined:
    Jun 6, 2015
    Member:
    #156893
    Messages:
    14,542
    Gender:
    Male
    Kirkland, WA
    Vehicle:
    2003 DCSB TRD OR
    Go Hawks!
    On a 2nd Gen the measured voltage improvement is .4-.5v, on an early model 1st Gen I suspect it is slightly higher. You can get a general feel for what that does in terms of light output on the chart below. While Volsa's advertise 'stock wattage', according to Candlepower they actually draw more.
    http://www.headlightservices.com/Wiring.html
     

Products Discussed in

To Top