Ken the electrical guy Q n A

That's why I really want to turn these limit switches into circuit breakers because me pushing 12v without knowing what's going on is a recipe for me getting stuck.

 

@IvanhoeTaco Wire these like fuses. But they are resettable (circuit breakers).

https://www.bluesea.com/products/category/14/26/Circuit_Breakers/Push_Button_Reset-Only

 

Hi Ken,
I've been having some issues with a newly installed Morimoto HID Kit on my 2014 Tacoma.

Here's the hardware I've got installed (recommended by The Retrofit Source for use with these H7A bulb headlights : https://www.ebay.com/itm/For-2012-2...ctor-Headlights-Black-Left-Right/303149869255):

• 2x Morimoto XB35 Ballasts (35watt)
• 2x AMP: Morimoto XB Igniters
• 2x Morimoto H7A: XB 5500k bulbs
• 1x Motocontrol Bi-Xenon: H4/9003 Wiring Harness

I've watched the Retrofit Source's videos on troubleshooting to narrow down the fault, but I can't pin it down. Every time I swapped the ballasts, the bulbs or the igniters, the issue randomized, no results were consistent.

Here's a log of what I've observed each time I turned the truck & lights on (I didn't make any changes to ballasts/wiring/bulbs throughout this testing):

• Morning 1: Driver side out, flicked stock off/on multiple times and both lights finally came on
• Morning 2: Both lights turned on without issue
• Evening 3: Neither light fired up. Left truck on for 5 mins, flicking the stock multiple times - no light. Returned to truck 15 mins later, turned on truck, both bulbs fired up.
• Morning 4: Passenger side did not fire up. Flicked stock off and on 15 times, nothing. Arrived to destination 20 minutes later, turned truck off and on, and both lights fired up immediately.
• Evening 4: Both lights fired up immediately after turning truck on
• Morning 5: Only driver side came on. Turned truck off and immediately turned back on, both lights came on
• Evening 5: Only driver side came on. Turned truck off and on immediately, both came on.
• Morning 6: Neither light turned on. Turned truck off and back on immediately, and both lights came on
• Evening 6: Only driver side turned on. Turned truck off and back on, and both lights came on.
• Morning 7: Both turned on without issue
• Evening 7: Both turned on without issue
• Evening 9: Only drivers side turned on. Shut off truck, started truck, and both lights came on.
• Morning 10: Both lights turned on without issue

Couple notes:

• I always turn the headlight stock to the on position when turning the truck on, and always turn it to the off position when turning the truck off.
• The driver's side ground on the H4 harness slipped off when I was installing it - I crimped a new ground ring back to it.
• The Retrofit Source support said it was "strange to have a ground for each side of the harness". I tried with each ground exclusively, issue persisted
  • https://www.theretrofitsource.com/media/custom/upload/Harness-MotoControl.pdf
• I've tried putting both grounds beneath the OEM grounds, directly on the chassis, but the issue persisted
• Replaced both Headlight-LO fuses
• I get pretty consistent firing of both bulbs if I turn the truck on, turn the lights on and then off, and then wait 60 seconds and turn the lights on again.

My only guesses right now are that I have the wrong wiring harness, the existing H4 harness is defective, or I did a poor job of re-crimping the ground that fell off. Here are some pictures of both grounds (red circle is the one I redid).

 

Wow. Totally sucks, sorry to see this.

Just to clarify, the one on the left is how it was shipped to you? If so, that is some poor quality work - sorry, just calling it how I see it.

I would verify all of your other wiring is correctly installed per their instructions in the PDF you linked to. Regardless of what the support rep told you, I'd try first following the documentation as it was laid out. Ground out the drivers side to the chassis and the passenger side to the chassis (noted in the instructions).

Also, highly suggest re-doing those crimps. CANT believe they would wrap the excess around the ring term like that. That would completely trigger my OCD.

If it still doesn't work and you have verified its all wired correctly, might consider asking the seller for a return. Be safe, don't risk a car-b-q.

 

I cringe every time I see this in a car.

 

That's my crappy handy-work. I'll re-crimp both of those in picture #1 (the non-circled one is for a separate LED).

 

Alright, I've cleaned up the ground a bit, and relocated both grounds to their own bolts since TRS support has stressed not piggy-backing off factory grounds. Are the bolts below suitable ground locations? They have exposed metal underneath.

I did test the headlights again after re-locating the grounds, and both fired up. Came back out ~30 minutes later, and only the drivers side fired up. Waited about 5 minutes with the lights & truck off, and then turned the headlights on a both turned on.



(drivers)


(passengers)


underneath

 

Crimp looks much better. Not sure what to tell you. Go back to the ground locations you had before. See if the behavior is the same.

I'm really leaning toward an issue with the product itself. You verified all your other connections and checked everything else?

 

I have a question regarding a waterproof/water resistant fuse block I'd like to add to my 2017 Tacoma TRD Sport - is there anything out there that someone can recommend? I've searched the forum for some time, and see lots of mention of the Blue Sea Systems' Fuse Blocks, but they look to be exposed to the elements even with the see through cover on (unless I'm mistaken). Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm planning on adding the following in the near future:

• Smittybilt XRC 9500
• 20" LED Light bar
• LED bed lighting

Your question may be - why would you want it waterproof/water resistant? I'd prefer to keep as much water away from my electrical stuff as possible, and I live in Northern Canada, and our winters are conducive to getting all kinds of moisture everywhere, including under the hood.

Any suggestions and insight is greatly appreciated.

 

There are some waterproof aux fuse panel builds here and here. GL!

 

Thank you Ken, appreciate the links. I'll have a read and see how people made out with them. I guess I could always use the Blue Sea fuse block, and put it inside of a waterproof/resistant enclosure as well.

 

busman sells a water tight fuse/relay block if you feel that it’s possible for your circuits to get wet. I have mine mounted up fairly high in the engine bay and under the hood. If my fuse block is under water I’ve got bigger problems than wet circuits lol. The busman unit will require some special tools and skills but is overall a solid unit. The blue sea fuse panel with the plastic cover is a great unit. However if you want to be absolutely sure it won’t get any moisture I’d recommend the busman.

 

Ive used these:

$22 True Mods 12V DC Auto Waterproof Fuse 5-Pin Relay Box Block [6 Bosch Style Relay Holder] [6 ATC/ATO Fusible Holder] Universal Relay Block Box for Automotive Vehicles Cars Marine Boat Light Equipment

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MR64XK1?ie=UTF8&psc=1



Scroll down to middle of this section of my build thread to see the underside in progress:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/cudgels-build-thread.600420/#post-20174417

 

So I was digging around under the hood yesterday trying to solve my DRL issue, and I did! However, I found several wire looms with connectors that just seem to randomly terminate, and I haven't had any luck identifying them. Seeing as there isn't an electrical/wiring forum, I figured my best luck at identifying them would be here.

Behind driver's side headlight:


Behind the grille:


Behind the passenger's side headlight:


I appreciate any insight provided because I am stumped

 

If you are referring to the factory gray connectors that are just hanging unconnected I have those as well. I believe they are probably for a factory alarm or some feature that wasn’t a standard feature. If everything works as it should I wouldn’t worry about it.

 

There's one grey connector, but the rest are black connectors. I spoke with a former Toyota service employee who thought that the loom setup behind the grille is part of some sensor array. I haven't had the truck a month yet, so I'm not sure if everything is working as intended.

 

Ken,

I am planning an overhead switch panel that will have space for five new switches. I have been wondering if I can run one positive feed up to a bus bar close to the switches, rather than running a dedicated feed to each switch?

 

Of course! Are you going to use the switches to trigger relays or just have them flow to the load ?

 

Huh well that’s interesting. The only sensor I can think of up there would be a crash sensor for the air bags. But I don’t think that’s in the grill. It’s hard to say without being there but it looks like your loom has been modified at one point and time

 

Yes, I have relays and a blue sea fuse box. So I see a 14 gauge wire on a 15 amp fuse running up to the bus. Is that over kill for five switches?

Then also I presume each switch would have a smaller fuse in each switch circuit .

This is as far as I’ve got.


Thank you.