3rd Gen BHLM and light mods

austinangus2 · Nov 8, 2021

tjswope said: ↑

Finally got everything installed. They look great, but man, what a pain. I can’t believe anyone is able to get this done in a weekend.

My last hurdle is wiring up the Meso stage one side markers. I incorrectly assumed that they would be plug and play, like everything else that I’ve bought from him, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Can anyone help me out?

Click to expand...

tjswope said: ↑

Finally got everything installed. They look great, but man, what a pain. I can’t believe anyone is able to get this done in a weekend.

My last hurdle is wiring up the Meso stage one side markers. I incorrectly assumed that they would be plug and play, like everything else that I’ve bought from him, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Can anyone help me out?

Click to expand...

I made the same assumption with the Meso side markers… we’re you able to find a wiring diagram or any info what to splice into? Don’t want to tap the wrong wire.

thanks a lot,

no vtec 4me · Nov 9, 2021

austinangus2 said: ↑

I made the same assumption with the Meso side markers… we’re you able to find a wiring diagram or any info what to splice into? Don’t want to tap the wrong wire.

thanks a lot,
Click to expand...

For splicing into your stock side marker plug:

black : white/black
Red : purple
White : unused

if they are switchback you will hook the yellow wire up to your positive turn signal wire. On a TRD that wire is blue on one side of the truck and peach on the other.

austinangus2 · Nov 11, 2021

no vtec 4me said: ↑

For splicing into your stock side marker plug:

black : white/black
Red : purple
White : unused

if they are switchback you will hook the yellow wire up to your positive turn signal wire. On a TRD that wire is blue on one side of the truck and peach on the other.
Click to expand...

awesome, thanks so much for the helpful info.. hopefully I can see how it works out today.

bluelinetaco · Feb 27, 2022

What size rubber caps are needed to seal the housing?

ApocryphonTaco · Sep 6, 2022

Wondering if anyone has experience with, or would be able to possibly provide some insight on, taking a set of 3rd gen headlights that do not have the factory DRLs, and adding a DRL board to them. I have a 2nd set of headlights that do not currently have DRLs, but I would like to retrofit them and add a RGBW DRL board. I know some plastic will need to be cut for sure for the DRL to poke through. I'm going to guess some holes need to be added to mount the DRL board onto the headlights. Just wondering if anyone has already done this and what was your experience?

motorsport36 · Sep 7, 2022

ApocryphonTaco said: ↑

Wondering if anyone has experience with, or would be able to possibly provide some insight on, taking a set of 3rd gen headlights that do not have the factory DRLs, and adding a DRL board to them. I have a 2nd set of headlights that do not currently have DRLs, but I would like to retrofit them and add a RGBW DRL board. I know some plastic will need to be cut for sure for the DRL to poke through. I'm going to guess some holes need to be added to mount the DRL board onto the headlights. Just wondering if anyone has already done this and what was your experience?
Click to expand...

Find a set of busted lights and pull the internal plastics. If you live close enough, I have some. I also have a new set of DRL boards for sale.

ApocryphonTaco · Sep 7, 2022

motorsport36 said: ↑

Find a set of busted lights and pull the internal plastics. If you live close enough, I have some. I also have a new set of DRL boards for sale.
Click to expand...

Not a bad idea. Ultimately though, I'm thinking I may just not bother with adding a DRL. Looking into swapping out the high beam for a projector and adding halos to those and the low beams. Sometimes I find less is more. Any suggestions for swapping out the high beam for a projector style?

Ekuhl · Sep 17, 2022

ApocryphonTaco said: ↑

Not a bad idea. Ultimately though, I'm thinking I may just not bother with adding a DRL. Looking into swapping out the high beam for a projector and adding halos to those and the low beams. Sometimes I find less is more. Any suggestions for swapping out the high beam for a projector style?
Click to expand...

I used these projectors for my high beams. The conversion was relatively easy just a bit of trimming of the stock projector to get them to fit https://www.theretrofitsource.com/High-Beam-Morimoto-Mini-HB-LED
I also replaced my primary projector with these
https://www.theretrofitsource.com/bi-led-morimoto-m-led-2-headlight-projectors-P-M-LED2
Between the 2 of them the light output is insane

GOTH.TACO · Oct 14, 2022

Has anyone done this with tail lights? Have a thread they know of? I’ve been searching. I’m not looking to do much, just paint the inside. Im assuming this application is the same for tails

20tacoma17 · Oct 15, 2022

GOTH.TACO said: ↑

Has anyone done this with tail lights? Have a thread they know of? I’ve been searching. I’m not looking to do much, just paint the inside. Im assuming this application is the same for tails
Click to expand...

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/3rd-gen-btlm-led-retrofit.467712/

I did a few sets of mostly just painting myself. No tinting done on lens. Just looks that way with blacked out interior.

Stock

Painted

GOTH.TACO · Oct 15, 2022

20tacoma17 said: ↑

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/3rd-gen-btlm-led-retrofit.467712/

I did a few sets of mostly just painting myself. No tinting done on lens. Just looks that way with blacked out interior.

Stock

Painted

Click to expand...

Those look great! Pretty much all I was thinking. Bummer it’s not just a bake and pull apart like headlights tho…

motorsport36 · Oct 23, 2022

GOTH.TACO said: ↑

Those look great! Pretty much all I was thinking. Bummer it’s not just a bake and pull apart like headlights tho…
Click to expand...

thats really the issue. Especially since pro black rears are so cheap unlike fronts.

WalkinTaco · Mar 2, 2025

I recognize this is a super old post, not sure if anyone even still does this anymore now that there are aftermarket options. But, I already had the stuff from a failed attempt 5 years ago trying to open the headlights. This project is essentially my "Eleanor" for me lol... This time I made it all the way to installing the bulbs in the RX350 projectors after sealing the lights and broke the hooks on the back of the RX350s...

For anyone who did this with the RX350s, where the bulb is seated, did you trim the headlight housing, projector housing, wire hooks, or did you not have any interference issues for aligning? Figured these RX350s are F'ed now anyways so epoxied the lights in as a short term fix. Probably a moot point now, since it looks like the move is an adapter bracket to mount at D2S which seems to have a slimmer bulb housing. But for my own sanity, want to know how this should have been done.

swils said: ↑

So here's all my compiled information, freshly updated in 2020. Picture, parts list, then tips.

First up, here's all the things I ordered:

For all the painting/blacking out, I used Krylon Fusion Black Satin rattlecans.

From Lightwerkz ("SAVE15" code, prices may change/have changed since then)

MORIMOTOD2S35BAL x1 $110.00 D2S: Morimoto XB35 2.0
D2SMORIMOTOXBHID x1 $50.00 D2S: Morimoto XB HID (Kelvin Rating: D2S: XB 6500K)
RX350PROJECTORS x1 $330.00 Bi-Xenon: Lexus RX350 Projectors: Lexus RX350 (Non-AFS) (Clear Lenses: STi-R Clear Lenses Performance Tuning: (Must add clear lens) Projector/Lens Tuning Service)
HDRELAYH11 x1 $30.00 HD Relay: H11/H9/H8
SPLITTERS x2 $10.00 High Beam Splitter (Single) Version: H11 Male > H11/9006 Female
RRBLACK x1 $17.00 Morimoto RetroRubber Butyl Glue (Black)

I wanted to add an orange passive demon eye to the projectors, so I used orange Caliper paint, a rattle can that I got from Autozone.

Recommend picking up aftermarket gaskets for your headlights, I was pointed towards the following, which still require some creativity but work (NOTE: the ones linked are 70mm, you'll want the 65mm ones, which appear to be out of stock right now)

Auxbeam Rubber Housing Seal Cap Dust Cover for LED Car Lights Retrofit, LED Light Bulb Kit, Pack of 2 (65MM)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B073QP6TZY?ie=UTF8

-----

I wanted to run MESO's Stage 2's, but in all amber instead of white/amber switchback. So I ultimately bought a pair of S2 inserts from MESO, and bought the strips from Diode Dynamics separately. They don't sell a dual controller for all amber at time of writing, so you'll have to wire in two separate controllers per headlight for the LED strips (if you go stage 2)

From MESO:
Stage 2 Sidemarkers (pair), No LED x1 $25.00

From Diode Dynamics:
HD LED Amber Strip (single) x4 $160.00

I also wanted to retain some reflective functionality on my sidemarkers, so I picked up some high grade reflective tape off Amazon. It's the same stuff that we use on our mining equipment for extra visibilty, it's great.
From Amazon:
"Oralite (Reflexite) V92-DB-COLORS Microprismatic Conspicuity Tape: 2 in. x 15 ft. (Orange)"

$25 Oralite V92-DB-COLORS Microprismatic Conspicuity Tape: 2 in. x 15 ft. (Orange)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0041PEC5O?ie=UTF8

------

I bought amber acrylic inserts for the turn signal buckets' fins from "no vtec 4me" on the boards here, and followed in MESO's footprints by applying a perforated vinyl wrap to them.
From VViViD Vinyl on Amazon:
"VViViD Black Perforated Headlight Wrap Self-Adhesive Cover 12 Inches x 48 Inches Roll DIY"

$10 VViViD Black Perforated Headlight Wrap Self-Adhesive Cover 12"es x 48"es Roll DIY

https://www.amazon.com/VViViD-Black-Perforated-Headlight-Self-Adhesive/dp/B01JK3JO5E?th=1

Bought these turn bulbs from ebay:
"PHILIPS 12763x2 X-treme Ultinon LED Bulb T20 (WY21W) Amber Turn Signal 180lm"
https://www.ebay.com/itm/PHILIPS-12...20-WY21W-Amber-Turn-Signal-180lm/293006735643

Used Gorilla Glue Epoxy to glue the acrylic inserts to the fins.

-----

For the DRL's, I used amber tint spray and bought an amber swapped DRL board.
From eBay:
"VANS Corner Bumper Amber Orange Auto Lens Spray Paint JDM 110ml Can VAN0012"

From "no vtec 4me", amber DRL board. You could also look into the Diode Dynamics RGB DRL boards, now, but I didn't at the time.

-----

Bought a set of paint-matched headlight trim plates to replace the stock black ones, from MESO.

-----

Buy a Seal Splitting tool, I use'd this fancy one from TRS and it was a lifesaver.
https://www.theretrofitsource.com/accessories/morimoto-sealsplitter-opening-tool.html

Okay, tips, as I can think of them (might lack organization here, sorry). I've included quotes of advice I was given along the way.

*Commit to the project, don't start on it then get busy and put it aside for a few months, then go through a major relocation, lose parts, have to reorder, etc. Just do it in a weekend.

*Before you begin, cover the outside of the headlight lens in masking tape. It left a lot of residue for me at the end, but that all came off nicely with bug & tar remover, and elbow grease. Helps prevent unnecessary scratches.

*While unscrewing stuff, use a tray to hold the different screws and make a note of where they go. Personally I taped them all to a piece of cardboard along with a letter identifier, and had a map of the headlight I mocked up to mark where each letter went. Saves a ton of headache on the reassembly.

*Once you've got the two halves apart, I wrapped my headlight lens in plastic wrap. Wanted to keep as much dust out as possible (I still kind of failed, but it could've been a lot worse, especially after how long I let the project idle)

*Cleaning the seal out of the channel - honestly, a heat gun applied for a few seconds onto a 3-5" stretch of sealant was what worked best for me. I made a giant mess trying to pull/chip the stuff out while doing the alternating-in-oven method, but got loooong strips of it out at a time with the heat gun. Your mileage may vary. Flathead screwdriver and good needlenose pliers are your friends.

*When running amber-only DD boards in your meso inserts, you'll want to do the following wiring: Red to colored-off-of-stock-sidemarker-plug, Black to black/white-split-off-of-stock-sidemarker-plug, Yellow to colored-off-of-stock-turn-signal-plug, and don't tap the white into anything. There's a picture further down that explains this better, I think.

*If you end up staring at all these cords in front of you like I did - "Your high beam wiring with the splitter---the single part of the splitter goes to the oem high beam plug. One of the split ends goes to the stock high beam bulb, the other goes to the wires coming from the actuator on the projectors. The projectors should have came with a connector for those two wires that will allow it to plug into the splitter. You'll need to modify the connector that goes to the stock high beam bulb, should be pretty self explanatory when you try to plug it in." The modification(s) I found were that I had to cut out the middle of one of the ends, to create a notch to match the stock connection, I took it down basically to the orange rubber ribbed seal. The other small mod I had to do was file down the latch at the tip of the plug, as the latching mechanism seemed to use the one on the opposite side, a bit further back. Verify this for your plugs before filing or cutting.

*When installing the projector, at least for the RX350, pull out the connector on the back with two little stub wires coming out of the solenoid, and instead put in the supplied ~1ft cord with identical adapter. Yeah, sometimes your brain gets fried and you don't make simple connections like that. Similarly, you'll want to make sure you put the bulb in the projector, then latch that down, THEN put the igniter into that. Yup.

*There's a lot of boxes to hang in your engine bay. Self tapping screws, and hang the stuff underneath the headlights behind the bumper, is what I was advised and seems to be the easiest option for me. Might need to adjust the plan if you've got a non-OEM bumper or go through deep water/mud. I was also suggested to "go to home depot and get some ~3" wide flat aluminum metal and strong 3M 2 side tape. Lay out all the components on and cut the metal to fit. Drill a hole at the top and mount it in the engine back close to the headlights.", which I think is an equally strong option, I just don't have the tools available to me right now to cut metal. I might go back and re-mount later.

*If you replace the sidemarkers, there's a big old hole there now. I went and bought rubber feet for furniture legs, cut most of the rubber off and trimmed it down to fit in the ~3/4" hole, superglued it in then smothered it with silicon after running the projector solenoid wire & turn signal led board wires through a hole i'd cut in the middle of it. Ugly but it works (I hope).

*Re-sealing the lights: I used toothpicks to keep the 5x screwholes open while I laid the retrorubber (...in my 2nd headlight. made a ton of difference vs the first). Was advised to bake the whole thing (lens & housing) at 275F for 8 minutes to get the retrorubber malleable. Worked like a charm.

*Painting - One of mine I scuffed up the chrome, the other I didn't. Honestly I didn't see too much difference, but I wish I had. It felt like the Krylon Fusion still flaked off too easily. Maybe you'll need a primer, or maybe I just wasn't gentle enough in handling. I've got a few imperfections in my paint from where I just couldn't be bothered any further to try and touch it up.

*Tinting the DRL lenses - Apply to the back side of the lenses, not the front. Use it sparingly/in thin coats, it pools easily and darkens the nooks and crannies. Also one can was juuust enough to do both for me. If I had to do it again, I think I might not even do this part. The difference in shades of orange in my headlight kind of bugs me now.

*When buttoning everything back up, there's an OEM gap between the DRL lenses and the main housing, and there's also parts of the projector metal visible inside the ring, even before you crack the lights open and start messing around. You didn't grossly mess up (probably), so don't panic. That said, if you don't leave a chrome ring around the projector housing and go all-black, you might consider painting the metal around the projector lens black--it's pretty noticeable once you've got a matte/satin black housing in there.

*When putting the LED boards into the MESO sidemarker inserts, I ultimately found there was better routing if you instead had the soldered end facing the front of the headlight. It may seem counterintuitive, since there's more room to run wires behind the insert on the elongated side, but , it prevented you from pinching the LED strip wires between the insert and the housing.

*When you're messing with the headlight gasket seals, don't leave open cuts. Take it edge to edge. For example, in his write-up, MESO mentions using a U-shaped notch to make room for the igniter. When I tried to mimic that, I made more of a box shaped cut, and as I tried to stretch the gasket around the igniter, it tore the cut further and I had to scrap that gasket. If I'd gone in a long continuous curving cut, it wouldn't have happened.

*CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN. Work in as clean an environment as you can. Painting, you don't want stray specsks of dust or dirt or hair to get in there and cause irregularities. It may look fine while painting, but trust me, it shows later. Keep the things sealed as much as possible. Once I buttoned it all back up, I noticed a LOT more dust on the inside of my lens than I'd thought had gotten in. Oops. I'll fix that in a few years when these start to yellow/fog up. I also somehow got a tiny speck of what looks like retrorubber stuck on one of my projectors. Thats just gonna live there, because I'm not breaking the lights open again. Clean working environment, clean headlights. Do yourself a favor.

*When trimming the sidemarker housing to accommodate the MESO turn signals, cut before painting. Then measure, then measure again, then cut a liiiittle more, then measure, then paint. I used a dremel because I couldn't find an ultrasonic knife in my price range. It was messy, and you should wear safety glasses & a dust mask at least, because you're powderizing fiberglass while you cut. Also, be careful when cutting along the sloped edge, I cut a little too far and had a gap where you could see from front to back even with the insert mounted. Doesn't matter too much once it's all installed, though.

*For passive demon eyes, you only need to paint the metal above the moving parts on the projector assemble. I taped off everything from the highbeam shield down, and painted above that. I went with orange, and I think it looks really good installed now, but it's just one more piece of "almost but not quite the same shade of orange" in my headlight. And, if I'd instead gone with black, I might not see that one damned speck on the projector as often. Oh well.

*When trying to get the projector+highbeam bucket out, what worked best for me was using the headlight seal splitter, along with small needlenose pliers to push the tabs of the three clips in one by one. I started with the rectangular one at the bottom, then the round one above the high beam bucket, then finished with the one on the side of the projector.

*Looking at my finished project, I think the #1 change I'd make would be to get a less-orange DRL tint. And I know I recommended a specific tint spray up above. When the lights are on it looks fine, but passively, it's just a hair too orange/dark for me. It stands out the most against the other shades of orange on my front end (grille lights, turn signal bucket, reflective tape, DRL lens).

For emphasis, here's some key DON'Ts that I found:

*Don't freak out. You've got this.

*Don't let the project sit for a long time. You forget things, you leave it open to dust & damage.

*Don't try to rush the painting. It takes a lot longer to fix a drip than it does to apply a couple more thin coats.

*Don't try to pry the sealant up with a hobby knife. Coulda lost an eye on that one.

*Don't touch the inside of the headlight lens, it's very prone to scratching.

*Don't mess with the DD LED boards/wires too much, I accidentally snapped them at the solder on my first batch.

*Don't take the masking tape off of the headlight lenses until you've got them reinstalled. I've got a few fresh scratches to polish out now. Oops.

*If you can, do a test run on your lights before re-sealing. I thought the inside of my lenses were pretty clean, visibly at least and passed the flashlight test for dust, but once those headlights hit em, they lit up. I wish I'd powered em on first so I could make some sort of effort to de-dust the lens. That's another one I'll have to fix a few years down the line when I open them up for some other reason.

*Personally, I chose not to black out the reflective buckets. I started by blacking out the side facing bits with the horizontal ridges, but changed my mind because I wanted to retain the side-cast light. Also the paint didn't stick well to the chrome (obviously). I'll take performance over full blackout, here.

*Don't be afraid to ask questions. I asked so, so many. I'm pretty sure I'm low-key/unofficially not allowed to pester a couple of the guys on here for at least a few months because I asked so many questions, and even then everyone I've approached has been very patient and very helpful.

Here's some pictures of the parts that I found myself asking a ton of questions for, having difficulty visualizing myself.

This is where I mounted the computer & driver's side ballast for the bi-xenons. Used 1/4" cap self tapping screw, 1/2" long. Make sure you don't try to drive those things in with the driver set to "out" The screws I had, they had a wee little lip to them that made it a very tight fit against the morimoto ballast boxes. Adjust at your discretion, I just made it work. Suggested that you maintain as much downward angle as possible for the sockets so that water won't seep in, I had to settle for this due to cord tension.

Same deal on the passenger side, had to mount it at a shallower angle than I'd have preferred but it's still pointing down-ish. Ran the long ballast cable across the front, zip-tied to the bar in front of the radiator. I think that shows up in a later picture.

Driver's side, at the front-driver's corner of the battery along the side of the truck. Used some strong 3M all-weather adhesive/velcro to mount the DD LED board boxes. I thought I'd gotten 4 sets but actually only got 2, so I made do.

Passenger's side, this time along the front of the truck. Same heavy duty velcro, mounted to the flattest part with the most space I could find. This is between the washer fluid reservoir and the radiator.

For the DD LED wiring, if you have the just-amber boards, you want to splice Red to A, Black to B, Yellow to C, and ignore White & D. A&B are on the back side of the stock sidemarker bulb plug, and C&D are on the back side of the stock turn signal plug.

Click to expand...

Jackalope19 · Mar 17, 2025

Love doing some retro fitting! Currently working on a set of taillights hoping to have them finished this summer!

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