Proper headlight upgrade

The tricky part will be getting the 2 horizontal projector lights lined up evenly.
The lights on the projectors You'll probably have to play around with that to make that happen.

So do not glue anything in place Or tighten down that nut until your horizontal line are perfect.

 

My '04 uses the ground-switched design (because it does not have DRLs. Also, I just tested it using crashnburn80's guide)

Ground Test Procedure:
-Looking at the back of the factory Toyota H4 headlight connector, as installed, the outside two connections are vertical & the top connection is horizontal.
-The left connection, when viewed from the back, is the "common" H4 connection.
-On a Ground Switched vehicle, the left connection would have +12 volts (in relation to ground) as soon as the headlight switch is turned on.
​

[I saw 12+ at the left AND right connection with lo beam, and 12+ at the left connection AND top connection with hi beam. All I know is that my stock headlight system works as designed. Again, this if looking at the "back" of the harness connector, while obviously poking the test probe into the "front" of the connector unplugged from the bulb.]

-On a Conventionally Switched vehicle, the left "common" connection would ground directly to the chassis and would not have any measurable voltage present. Note that you are looking for 0v vs 12v+. A measurement of 0.xxv is noise and should be considered 0 for the purpose of this test.​

Any idea why Mike said the positive-switched harness he makes is the better harness?? Maybe I'll ask him myself. I'm not against using his "better" harness but would prefer no surprises with the dash high-beam indicator. Also wondering why his ground-switched harness uses 3 relays.

Step 1 for me is ordering the TYC Headlamp Assemblies from RockAuto. Part # 20607400SET ... my OEMs are completely fogged over and piss-yellowed. I ain't gonna try and polish them.

 

My last high wattage Osram finally burned out. Got a solid two years out of it. Iirc they don’t make the high wattage ones anymore or I had trouble finding them last time. I went with some bulbs from RockAuto.

they’re a bit whiter than stock and a tad brighter. Not bad for $12, we’ll see how long they last.

 

It’s been awhile so I don’t remember. These were the ones I got:
Premium Plus Power-Switched Headlight Harness.
Been on the vehicle for a year now with no problems at all. I have an 02 with DRL. The harness is well built and the wires are thick gauge. I would buy them again.

 

Here's the follow-up to my question above. I don't think Mike would mind me quoting it here:

 

Hey guys. Fantastic thread here as well as the original! I recently lost my 96 Tacoma due to an unfortunate collision with an elk in the wee hours of the morning. Purchased a 97 Tacoma and immediately started researching headlight upgrades which lead me to these threads. I purchased some hella e-codes and a new wiring harness from rally lights. Still uncertain which bulbs but for now have Phillips extreme vision 130 60/55. I saw a couple pictures of where a couple of you guys mounted the relays but was wondering if anyone would be willing to share pictures of there set ups as well as how they mounted the relays?

 

I started with the Osram 80w bulbs but they burn out quicker than standard bulbs. A 70W bulb should give you a good balance of longevity and brightness. As for where the relays are mounted I literally just zip tied them to the firewall next to the battery. Nothing fancy going on there

 

That would do the trick! Did you do the same for the fuse?

 

Yeah I pretty much packed everything in between the firewall and the drivers side headlight just secure them wherever they fit. You can make it as neat or as messy as you want, as long as it’s functional

 

Alright cool! Anyone else have any pictures or ideas?

 

Excellent choices on headlights and bulbs. Follow the headlight thread for the latest bulb updates. The high powered Osram Superbrights will give you crazy output, but if looking for best performance in stock wattage the Philips Racing Vision +150 are the low beam champion thus far. However the brand new +200s will be tested shortly. However the Philips performance bulbs do have reduced high beam performance.

 

I had the hella e-code lens about 5 years ago with HID,
They worked great, fantastic output high and low beam for what they are.

THEN CAME one day when I got caught in some heavy snow at night.
I couldn’t see 20 feet infront of me on the highway, was a wall of reflection.
Probably the scariest 15 minutes of my life thinking I was going to be Rear ended or drive off the highway.
Just be careful and know you MIGHT have the same problem if caught in heavy snow or fog and be prepared.

I have retrofits projectors mins with Philip extreme (195.00 set for the bulbs) now that trump the hella e-code easily, but not crazy about the low beam cutoff design.

 

For the last 4+ years I run Silvania Silver Star (stock wattage with stock wiring) on Autopal Euro-cut reflectors. Funny thing I bough Hela set few months later and would like to test them Phillips bulbs but Silvania bulbs do not want to burn and rocks are staying away from my Autopal lamps. The performance (compared to stock or "cool looking" LED lamps) is amazing so I will run that set till something breaks. Finally I was able to take night driving pictures on unlighted dirt road so I can present what they look like: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...-or-rysium-build.457350/page-10#post-24429593

Pictures were taken with my phone which did not change exposure nor aperture between shots so the comparison is real.

One note about e-cut low beam cut-off. The cut-off line is sloping up so it is easier to see road signs and possible pedestrians. Having this required in Europe I think they overdid road signs reflective coating a bit - at night all road signs are almost blinding. So if there is nobody around I prefer to use high beam, so I don;t have these bright spots passing me at close.

 

Awesome thanks everyone for the feed back! Was able to get everything installed today, the new system is up and running! Will have to go drive around tonight and see what the results are. Should be able to test them in a snow storm this weekend, at least that’s what the weather says. Inside the hella e-code box was a Flosser 100/90w 12v bulb anyone have any experience with these?

 

Flosser is a German made bulb brand, I've tried their high wattage H11s but not their H4s. The best H4s I've tried were the Osram SuperBright 100/90w. For the 100/90w bulbs be sure to have the harness installed.

 

Yep harness is installed although I wish I would of seen your harness comparison before I bought the rally lights one. Oh well I can always change out later!

 

What are e codes I'm looking to upgrade my 97 Toyota Tacoma 4x4 headlights and I'm not I don't know much about these things but I like to see if someone can tell me exactly what I need so that I can buy it and how much it cost me thank you need more light because I'm going to type two diabetic and can't see too well I need brighter lights

 

Here are the e-codes

$130 Hella 200mm Rectangular E Code H4 Halogen Replacement Headlight Kit with Standard 60/55W H4 Bulbs

https://www.amazon.com/Rectangular-...8&qid=1489963539&sr=1-5&keywords=hella+e+code. If you want to use higher wattage bulbs you need to upgrade the wiring harness which can be found here: https://www.rallylights.com/hl282s-upgrade-headlamp-harness-for-switched-ground-vehicles.html HL28200S is the part number. Or the one I wish I would of found is this : http://www.headlightservices.com/4runner3.html.

 

Welcome to the forum. E-code are ECE European beam standard. Specifically these for the performance assembly upgrade, then select your bulb upgrade:

Hella 200mm Rectangular E Code H4 Halogen Replacement Headlight Kit with Standard 60/55W H4 Bulbs

$130 Hella 200mm Rectangular E Code H4 Halogen Replacement Headlight Kit with Standard 60/55W H4 Bulbs

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FLWSX6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fabc_wqIPFb4KP5NN9