Dim headlights

hi all, new here. I bought a 2013 Tacoma in the spring of 2015. I didn't notice my headlights were dim until the shortening of daylight forced me to drive in the dark. By then what little of the warranty that was left, was gone. I decided to replace the lights with HID's. They were dim too. I figured cheap Chinese crap, so replaced the HID bulbs and associated electronics with the brightest halogens I could find. Still dim, even the brights are too dim. Tried to adjust aiming but didn't seem to do anything. Don't have to drive it at night too often, when I do it's just not safe. I'm a pretty advanced old school back yard mechanic, but these fly by wire cars make little sense to me. I'd hate to pay too much, at dealer prices, if something easy to fix. I'm getting no codes indicating alternator or battery problem, drives great, no problems starting. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance, Ron

 

This might help to start

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-ultimate-headlight-upgrade-h4-not-led-or-hid.398066/

 

Wow, nice article Tacospike. Very dense with information. I'm going to have to read it a few times. Thanks.

 

Yeah, it's a lot to take in at first but very helpful.

 

If your headlights are actually dim, you may have a current flow (or lack of current flow) issue. A bad ground can cause all sorts of problems. Then again, what kind of shape are your lenses in? Are they oxidized?

If you go with the (highly recommended) Ultimate Headlight Upgrade, the new HD harness will probably solve most of your current problems. If you have lens oxidation issues, there are numerous decent headlight restoration kits available out there that should solve that issue.

 

thanks for the reply, Stroked. Lenses are clear, no bad scratches or oxidation. I'm pretty much coming to the conclusion the upgrade is what I need. This grounding issue, is that something I can inspect the harness plugs, to look for corrosion, causing bad grounds?

 

Alternator might be lacking as well.

 

Wouldn't that throw a code, Texas T? Like I said above, always starts with no problem, even after sitting days, no indication of weak battery, even during very cold weather.

 

Alternator draw probably wouldn’t throw a code. I have a 2014 and honestly don’t drive enough at night to know but the brightness has never been a problem as far as I know on stock lights.

 

I could be way wrong and you just might want more. Either way best of luck to you

 

No, low voltage won't always throw a code unless it is excessive. Use a multimeter and check the voltage across the battery terminals with the truck running, you should see ~13.6v+. Turn on the headlights and recheck. It should still be at 13.6v+. If it is less that signifies a problem. You can also check it with the truck off and it should be 12.6v+, if it is less that signifies a battery or charging problem. Low voltage will lead to low light output.

The upgrade mentioned will significantly increase output over stock, but your charging and battery needs to be in proper working order to support it.

 

The alternator is probably fine or you'd have other symptoms also.

The stock headlights are pretty unremarkable on these trucks. Any burned or melted headlight connectors?

 

How many miles on that there pick up?

 

Not saying you’re wrong but this might be the only symptom noticed right now.

 

Thanks for the replies. Let's see if I can answer all the questions. crash, sounds like a pretty standard way of checking voltage, never thought to check, I believed these super space age cars through codes for something as important as alternator problems. I'll check it, thanks. b_r_o, I would think there would be other symptoms too, if alternator. Last I looked nothing seemed burnt, cracked or melted. I'll check closer. Texas around 90K, but this light problem goes back to soon after I bought it with about 18000, 5 years ago. Haven't bothered with it because I've been able to avoid much night driving, until it recently became an issue.

 

If it’s been dim or sub par for you for 5 years it’s extremely likely that you just need something brighter. If it were any other problems you would have likely ate shit by now.

 

My truck has nice bright halogen headlights, and no obnoxious glare to other drivers. HIDs always seem brighter, but I genuinely see better with these halogens in stock housings. It's the best headlight setup of any car I've ever had.

Do the upgrades suggested above. I use the 80/100 W bulbs, I think made by Hella.

New housings might be called for also. I periodically "restored" mine (which were 2x older than yours--I'm an 05), but finally just replaced them and it made a pretty big difference too, if not in overall light, then at least in focus and glare.



That's freshly "restored" vs. new.

If you have an alternator issue, or big-3 grounding/wire issue, you can see it with a multimeter at the battery, or with essentially any other voltage readout on your car, such as a cigar lighter style voltage meter. But more likely than not, you'll have a weak, short lived battery as another symptom of continuous under charging.

If you have a problem with the headlight wiring (i.e., a current flow issue), then the voltage will only be reduced at the headlights, not at the battery. You'll need to carefully measure the voltage at the bulb terminals, while the bulb is on. This is most easily done by removing the bulb from the housing, and leaving a gap at the connecor to probe the terminals. Dont burn yourself.

This test is what I did before deciding not to upgrade my wires--even with 80/100W bulbs-the voltage drop was acceptable to me, i forget what it was, but maybe 0.1 to 0.3 V difference (compared to the battery voltage) is okay. Yes, any voltage drop will reduce brightness, but 0.3V isn't going to make a night and day difference that is worth totally rewiring your headlights with a relay. (Perhaps my headlight relay might wear out faster, but I've never heard of this happening, and if it does I can replace it or rewire it then.)

I did however upgrade the connectors to the ceramic ones. Do that if you're switching to higher wattage bulbs.

Also, you already did this I guess, but change your bulbs regularly. They get dimmer with time. Don't waste money on the stupid brand name bulbs gimmicks like silver ultrastar lazervision extreme that claim to have 20% more clarity or 30% more vision. That is a load of crap, what matters is lumens and lifetime, and all the gimmick ones all have crappy lumens and lower lifetime, because they are all stock wattage with stupid coatings to increase glare. Buy regular bulbs with the desired wattage, and change them once a year.

If none of that helps, maybe try removing your sunglasses. Always works for me!

 

Lol, pretty much what I've been trying to get my head around Texas. Old school apply 12 volts to headlights with good ground, it lights. No computer messing things up.

 

"If none of that helps, maybe try removing your sunglasses. Always works for me". LMAO, I actually did that one time, coming home from a fishing trip. Thought alternator had died and using battery, that was going to die before getting home. Thanks for the info and recommendations, mk5.

 

Also, FYI, I don't know about 13s, but in my 05, the computer does not control or do anything else with the headlights. It's just a switch, a few relays, and a couple dash indicators. You can find the wiring diagram here:

http://web.archive.org/web/20110102225436/http://www.ncttora.com/FSM/2006/Toyota.Tacoma.2006.SIL.zip

The computer also doesn't control the alternator or its charge voltage. The charge system uses a conventional regulator with a voltage sense circuit at the fuse block. People often add a diode here to boost the voltage when upgrading to an AGM battery. I would not recommend this unless you have an AGM battery, it will not make your headlights dramatically brighter and will overcharge a conventional battery, whick will kill it in short order--especially in Texas heat.

Toyota has since switched to computer controlled voltage regulation but I think it's a 3rd gen thing.