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Headlight bulb electrical questions...

Discussion in '1st Gen. Tacomas (1995-2004)' started by Ak4T777, Mar 10, 2017.

  1. Mar 10, 2017 at 5:42 PM
    #1
    Ak4T777

    Ak4T777 [OP] Well-Known Member

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    Before I start plz note that I really have no clue when it comes to electrical stuff on vehicles and I apologize in advice LOL

    Anyways......got a 2003 DC and the output of light isn't as good as it should be. I have to drive with my hi beams on at night. If not I cant see but 5' in front of me with the low beams.

    I did "upgrade" to Nokya stage 1 arctic white bulbs when I got the truck to see if that would make a difference but nope. The stock bulbs before did the same thing and sucked. I had the same Nokya lights in my '01 ext cab and was very happy with them. No issues whatsoever.

    In the '03 I did notice the wires were cut and spliced about 6" after the head light plug connectors and connected back to the stock harness. (Not sure if that's my issue)
    My bro-in-law brought his tester over and we noticed the voltage was just over 6amps with low beams on and around 12 with hi beams on. Shouldn't it be an equal amount to both low and hi?

    He said get a good quality HID kit. Would that help solve the problem since the kits has inline ballasts or no? Just don't want to fork out $160 on a kit and have them not work to their full potential.

    Below are some pics. Top pic is low beam and bottom is the hi beam. I know its hard to tell but hopefully you can see the difference. Barely anything on low. Even the "hi beams" aren't nearly as bright as they should be it seems. Pretty much like they are low beams. Not one person has ever flashed me cuz of the killer blindingness coming from these lights. Haha

    PicsArt_03-10-06.19.07.jpg
     
    Last edited: Mar 10, 2017
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  2. Mar 10, 2017 at 7:09 PM
    #2
    Styx586

    Styx586 Well-Known Member

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    Ok you said your voltage was "6 amps" with the low beams on. Amperage is a measure of current, not voltage. So were you measuring current or voltage? If you're only getting 6 volts to the bulbs then you definitely have an issue. If you want to check those splices, you can do a "voltage drop" test by putting your meter in "Volts DC" mode and putting the black lead on one side of the splice (push it thru the plastic to contact the conductor inside) and the red lead on the other side. If you get any voltage reading over maybe 0.1 then you have a bad connection in the splice. But considering both your headlights are equally dim, I'd assume your issue is elsewhere.
     
  3. Mar 10, 2017 at 7:28 PM
    #3
    Styx586

    Styx586 Well-Known Member

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    I just looked at the wiring diagram... It seems they share a ground. Not sure where the ground is (my Haynes manual doesn't specify) but I'd look for it and check it for looseness or corrosion. You can also do a voltage drop test on it to see if there's a problem. Just FYI while doing voltage drop tests the circuit needs to be on.
     
  4. Mar 10, 2017 at 7:37 PM
    #4
    preybird1

    preybird1 02 taco on 37's

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    You have 3 options.
    1. Do not spend $160 on a h.i.d. Try a $35-55 dollar kit (ebay) make sure its a 55w ballast kit not a 35w kit. Get white 5-6k color temp. *Note* you also need a high and low beam kit so you have high and low beams. a lot of kits are only low beams****
    2. use L.E.D. replacement bulbs.
    3. have the original headlights retrofitted with projectors and use a h.i.d. kit of your choice.......The projectors make the h.i.d. work like it is intended and focuses all the blinding white light.
     
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  5. Mar 10, 2017 at 8:03 PM
    #5
    Ak4T777

    Ak4T777 [OP] Well-Known Member

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    Thx for the info and looking for me in the haynes book. I only have the regular toyota manual. Does it happen to mention if theres 2 headlight relays? Theres one under the hood in the fuse box. Maybe one under the dash? Reason I'm asking cuz a few diagrams online show 2 relays but they dont say where they are. Def need to invest in a haynes manual. I'll look to see if I can follow the ground tonight. I looked yesterday for a sec and it looks like it tees off with another wireloom under the motor??
     
  6. Mar 10, 2017 at 8:15 PM
    #6
    Ak4T777

    Ak4T777 [OP] Well-Known Member

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    I've bought ebay hids before and they only lasted about 1 month. Kinda weary about getting a kit from there again. I was looking into DDM Tuning and or Xenondepot. Dont have the funds for retrofit :/
     
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  7. Mar 10, 2017 at 8:33 PM
    #7
    mechanicjon

    mechanicjon They call me "Jonny Stubs"

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    Do you have DRLs? Does it look like the correct color wires are spliced back togeather? FSM has all the info on locations. Just need to know were its at in the list. I'll post relay locations when i get home.
     
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  8. Mar 10, 2017 at 8:56 PM
    #8
    Sicyota04

    Sicyota04 Slowly but surely.

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    Also don't put HID's into Reflective OEM housings. They might seem bright to you but without the projector you get tons of light spray and blind oncoming drivers. Before I had HID Retrofits, I had an Morimoto HID system from theretrofitsource and tons of oncoming drivers were flashing their Hi beams at me all the time. So I bit the bullet and got retrofits and can see so much better at night without the light spray. Best thing I've ever did for driving at night besides my light bar on the front bumper.
     
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  9. Mar 10, 2017 at 9:32 PM
    #9
    crashnburn80

    crashnburn80 Vehicle Design Engineer

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    Assuming your lights are properly aimed, I highly suspect your truck is 100% fine, your problem is likely poor bulb choice.

    Nokya Arctic White bulbs are a disgustingly terrible bulb. Halogen bulbs have no business in the 7000k temperature range of the Arctic Whites. Halogens are naturally in the low-mid 3000k temp range. The coating on the bulb to make it appear at 7000k is so dark and thick that it destroys the light output of the bulb in order to achieve the "cool" blue look, and then tries to sell that to the uninformed as a performance enhancement.

    The Nokya Arctic White bulbs are rated at 720 lumens. This is significantly less than stock and a massive performance downgrade, do not buy their marketing BS about how 7000k makes them better. My reverse lights are factually brighter than your headlights, rated at 750 lumens. Think about that.

    For maximum performance you should always look for an uncoated bulb. This is the highest performance halogen upgrade:
    https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-ultimate-headlight-upgrade-not-led-or-hid.398066/
    If you want the best stock wattage bulbs, scroll down to the end of the thread to the "Other Bulbs" section.

    You can see some first get results of the above thread here:
    https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/proper-headlight-upgrade.407879/

    No.

    1. No.
    2. No.

    No.

    All of these recommendations are exactly what you should not do. Putting HID or LED bulbs in a housing designed specifically for halogens results in further degraded performance, and dangerously blinds oncoming drivers due to the loss of beam control. For optimum performance you need to use a light source designed for the light source reflector.

    Read this thread to educate yourself on why this is an issue and see example pictures of what I am talking about.
    https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/why-leds-should-not-be-run-in-halogen-reflectors.454371/
     
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    #9
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  10. Mar 10, 2017 at 11:11 PM
    #10
    mechanicjon

    mechanicjon They call me "Jonny Stubs"

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    :)
     

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  11. Mar 10, 2017 at 11:12 PM
    #11
    Ak4T777

    Ak4T777 [OP] Well-Known Member

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    Yes I do have DRLs. My old '01 did not and the Nokya lights performed way better than the ones I have now, so I'm not sure what @crashnburn80 means about "propper" halogen bulbs. My old halogen "noncoated" lights before the Nokya ones had the same issues. Poor lighting! I wish I still had the old bulbs to show you guys.
     
  12. Mar 11, 2017 at 12:14 AM
    #12
    mechanicjon

    mechanicjon They call me "Jonny Stubs"

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    Are the wires spliced back together correctly? Also how many volts do you have going to the lights?
     
  13. Mar 11, 2017 at 5:51 AM
    #13
    Styx586

    Styx586 Well-Known Member

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    The diagram I was looking at was without DRLs... My bad.

    ^this is the question we need answered though before anything else.
     
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  14. Mar 11, 2017 at 8:06 AM
    #14
    mechanicjon

    mechanicjon They call me "Jonny Stubs"

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    Ground points see pdf
     

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  15. Mar 11, 2017 at 8:27 AM
    #15
    crashnburn80

    crashnburn80 Vehicle Design Engineer

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    Right, getting the voltage measurement is what is needed.

    The bulb you have chosen is still about the worst performing bulb on the market in terms of light output. You can get over a 50% improvement in lumen output by just switching to a stock wattage quality bulb.

    The mod I posted bypasses all the factory wiring and delivers voltage straight from the battery at a higher level than stock so the bulbs burn extra bright. If you had a voltage problem it would solve your issue. If it was due to your poor bulb choice, it would solve your issue.
     
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  16. Mar 11, 2017 at 8:31 AM
    #16
    SocalOC

    SocalOC Well-Known Member

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    I bought my hid kit from ddm tuning .. its been 2 years and not one problem with them .. well except for being to bright and blinding the cop who gave me a warning
     
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  17. Mar 11, 2017 at 8:34 AM
    #17
    crashnburn80

    crashnburn80 Vehicle Design Engineer

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    They are not too bright, it is bad beam pattern. See the link I posted earlier about why that doesn't work. You need retros to fix the problem.
     
  18. Mar 11, 2017 at 8:39 AM
    #18
    ThunderOne

    ThunderOne Well-Known Member

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    Are those headlights OEM or are they aftermarket? A lot of aftermarket headlights have a shit beam pattern. Nothing you can do to fix that even with an HID kit, unless you put HID projectors in your housing. Can you pull up about 20-25 feet from a wall and take a picture of what the beam pattern is? (High and low beam).


    Never mind, I can tell by the reflector design they are aftermarket. You can see some subtle differences between OEM reflector and aftermarket here:

    OEM looks like this (see how the outer edges are smooth):

    IMG_9221.jpg




    Aftermarket looks like this (lots more "ridges" along the outer 1/3rd edges):
    IMG_9222.jpg



    Now as far as aftermarket headlights go I cannot say whether or not the ones that "look OEM" are any better than the ones with a reflector design that do not. But I do know from experience that the ones you are using have a horrid beam pattern.

    I think if you need to purchase replacement headlights that DEPO or TYC brand are good. I cannot 100% vouch for this because I immediately put projector HIDs in them when I do use them.


    https://www.ebay.com/itm/292003973292
    https://www.ebay.com/itm/332096418381
     
    Last edited: Mar 11, 2017
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  19. Mar 11, 2017 at 8:47 AM
    #19
    SocalOC

    SocalOC Well-Known Member

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    I Got the 10k light not legal in CA but also i had not adjusted them lower since i had a leveling kit up front thats why they blinding everyone for a few day
     
  20. Mar 11, 2017 at 11:44 AM
    #20
    beez

    beez Well-Known Member

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    Yeah, don't use HID drop ins, they suck and people will hate you.

    I would check the splices, I have had trouble with electrical because of poor splices.

    I use this method, and heat shrink over the splice:

    western-union-or-linemans-splice.jpg

    Always take the existing ground and connect it to a short proper gauge wire and ground it to the body somewhere close, but I doubt it's that.
     

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