Irrelevance

Congrats on the truck. I found a 2017 TRD OR 4x4 V6 DCSB MGM MT after searching high and low this past August. I like what you did with the center console, I'm deep in my chrome delete project. I'll be doing the in cab 120v outlet too when my parts arrive. Where did you get the "Black mirror adjuster"? My search for that is what brought me here to your thread.

 

It's the holy holy grail of chrome delete items. I was blissfully unaware of the chrome prior to joining TW. Oh the horror of that ring.

eBay, $20, from a 2016 Prius of all things. Seemed rather fitting since this Tacoma replaced my 2013 Prius.

NOPE, I'm wrong, it was $26:

 

Thanks! I too was unaware of the chrome scourge until I got this truck. I didn't seem to mind it too much on my '03 Tacoma. It's when they started putting it INside the truck when it became a problem.

 

Figured I’d give an update on the play structure given that my truck mod work is mostly wiring and painting which isn’t terrible photo friendly until it’s all done.

Thanks to @Malvolio for answering all my questions and advising me on how to proceed with all things climbing.

 

Inching closer to done on the left side. Trying to psych myself up for LSP8 once I wrap on the driver cubby and puddles.

 

Spent the evening putting together what I hope is my final tap of the A pillar. Switching from 4+ 2 JST to a single 5 pin JST which is the same as the original with the addition of dimmed ground. I need to depin the lead for that and tap it which means I’ll need pin terminals, hoping my pal has a couple goodies in the the mail, otherwise I’m gonna go shopping.

I decided to use a legit 090 connector on the receiving end and since I had plenty of 6’s I added a legit chassis ground as white (it would have been a good chance to use my white w black stripe but I had a spare from the first trailer harness and I wanted to match the RedArc harness as close as possible so it’s just solid white.)

The output from the 6 has double taps for most pins except chassis ground (only needed for puddles) and parking lights (which is a triple).

Outputs include one 4 pin to feed the puddle switch then lights, one 2 pin for chassis ground and dimmed ground to feed the puddle switch, one 2 pin for dimmed illumination in case I want that in the future and a second 4 pin for the domerock and Switch-Pros.

 

What's the total amps added?

 

On the A pillar tap itself? Or the driver cubby in total?

A pillar tap feeds:

• MESO puddle pod switch and eventually MESO puddle pods. The system is wired normally with the exception of the ground to switch illumination. That is fed from dimmed ground with an inline 2.7k resister per @Puppypunter’s configuration. Chassis ground provides the feed for the lights and will share the OEM ground bolt in the driver kick panel with the trailer brake controller.
  
• The second 4 pin feed is to a Y splitter which sends parking light and ignition directly to Switch-Pros triggers and then the dome - and +12V to the domerock which in turn supplies the pink Switch-Pros aux trigger wire. This should allow me to avoid any trouble with having to configure a negative trigger in the app.
  
• That’s it off the A pillar tap. No rock lights or other lights fed from the domerock. If I do add some in the future I would likely want to source +12V from somewhere else or use a relay. I believe DSIM is working on a new option for lighting which won’t employ the domerock module at all. Since this is a modular system, I can revise some of the feeds without having to mess with the A pillar in the future.

One of the primary goals was to minimize bulk in the A pillar since the airbag is right there. Right now I have a 4 pin and 2 pin tap and some harness tape. I think this specific T should try to be as lean as possible to avoid messing up the side curtain airbag. You can see some of the bulk in the current photos.

 

As for total power consumed by the driver cubby, in addition to the A pillar draw for the not yet installed puddle pods, the other additions are the Switch-Pros 9100 and RedArc trailer brake controller.

The Switch-Pros is wired to their spec outside of the trigger wires which feed off the A pillar tap. I’ve assumed the current draw for a trigger is minimal. I should go back and read the doc though. They are 16 gauge which I found annoying and challenging to fit into a 3 pin JST. The result was a bit of a stuffed sausage. But it does avoid using add a fuse to tap those portions which was a nice benefit.



Last is the RedArc brake controller. It’s now fully wired up. I used a 1’ network cable instead of the one provided on the assumption that it was a standard patch cable. If that assumption is a bad one I can switch but it’s nice having less bulk in an already crowded spot.

I do not have it connected yet at the source connector. Because I’m currently using that power for seat heaters and USB charging in the cup holder location. I need to source aux power for that. Fortunately I have plenty of 8 gauge from old car stereo installs and of course adequate 10 gauge. I’m trying to decide where to cross the firewall, driver vs passenger. Driver is so busy that I’m leaning toward passenger on this line. Which means I should finish my aux power distribution on the passenger side and tap off that. One downside is I only have room for two circuit breakers there, one will feed the amplifiers and one will feed the compressor. But I will have a 225 amp fuse on the 1/0 cable to that spot and the 50 amp maxi fuse in the kick panel before it reaches the cup holders. So I’m not super sure I need to branch it in the engine bay too. It would be nice, because 8 gauge can’t handle 225 amps and a short in the wire to ground wouldn’t be nice but I am planning to be nice about loom and tape and zip ties.

The Switch-Pros power module is fed off the battery terminal per their spec with their cable which has an inline 125 amp ANL blade fuse. It’s not yet but soon to be attached to a blue sea MRBF bus fuse holder which has a 125 amp bus fuse. This double fuse is probably silly and definitely unnecessary but I really like the MRBF fuse location and I also like the look and feel of the supplied Switch-Pros power cable which is the perfect length too. I especially like how it attaches to the power module. And they seem rather picky with their instructions. Perhaps I’ll move it to directly off the terminal when I actually connect it.

 

Coming along nicely!

 

Tinkering with seat heater switches. Why does everyone seem to love lime green so much?

OEM version


Aftermarket version from the heaters:

 

Figured I should add a few more recent truck mod photos.

Ground Bus #3, trying to refine:

For the A pillar tap, I'm trying to go to a single 5 pin JST connector so it's a clean tap, then down to the kick panel to branch out for feeding to puddles, domerock, switchpros, etc.

 

I think I start to figure out what I want the 2nd time I try to build something. At least outside of relationships that is.

Tonight was a 2nd iteration type of night. Everything I worked on is already functional in first gen form. I just wasn’t fully satisfied with it. And to be honest, there are still refinements which could be made. I’m never truly satisfied and there is no actual finish line. But I do think I have a higher level of personal satisfaction at the end of the 2nd generation. From there it can be somewhat diminishing returns.

First up was finishing the A pillar tap. I have one done by @Puppypunter which works perfectly. At the time he made it for me I had no hope of doing it myself. Since then I’ve gained some tools, supplies, a s ton of wire, and a greater desire to self help. Here is a photo of the current one made by mr ‘punter.



It is a little hard to see, but there are two feeds, the regular 4 pin for puddles and dome rock, then an extra two pin for switch illumination.

The JST pins I bought came with male and female connectors up to 5 positions. And when installing the one above, I realized I don’t love adding bulk in that spot. So I wanted to go from a 4 and a 2 with a redundant connection down to a 5 pin. Tonight, after arrival of some 28 gauge wire, that became a reality.



One point of confusion with these, as observed in the first photo, they double up on the female side which sits below the male. Which maybe works ok if the plan is to stuff a puddle switch in the overhead console but it’s not ideal for routing to the kick panel. It would make more sense to double on the male side so the pigtail is facing down. Or at least that’s my opinion. So I left the tail long enough to double back and face the desired direction for my configuration.

I also got some JAE connectors in today, males only, but I already had two spare females. So I threw together a dimmed illumination T harness to replace the one I have in place. Not really for any good reason other than I sort of mangled the first one and while it works, I am not completely happy with it. So this is switch illumination injector v2



Last in the pile of goodies received today are these fine fellows in a darker than normal yellow. I’m not sure when I’ll get around to trying them out. I am contemplating a legit first road trip with the truck this weekend to go find feet of snow for the boys (rather than the inches we found last weekend). So it’d be really slick to have them around for that but at the same time my sports will probably do just fine. The thought of all the work I’ll need to do to swap fog lights between the Tacoma and Odyssey just to try them out for a while makes me a bit apprehensive.



Thanks to @memario1214 for the quick delivery.

 

First trip to the dealer tomorrow. Cup holders back in to go into stealth mode. Looks so normal. Very strange.

 

What was the cup holder like before that you had to make it stealth mode?

 

Chrome trim ring and shift boot collar. Should be some photos a few pages back in this build thread.

 

My older son apparently decided to mod his “race car”. Black is the seat back and he went with LED headlights. Working on the taillight selection. Straight pipes for exhaust, I suspect he learned that from MESO?

 

Thanks to tons of advice from @MikeyMcFly I got some winter tires bolted on yesterday. Completely ridiculous for SoCal but I love the pressure to go explore snowy destinations. I honestly have near zero need for a good quality AT or even HT until my OEM tires are dangerous since I put on 1000 miles in the last 9 months. The truck’s only potential purpose would be for winter fun since any summer travel is way easier in the Odyssey.

 

Just wanted to say that your build thread gives me so much inspiration. There are several mods that you've done which I have now added to my "to-do" list. I'd really love to join the LED headlight club, but the cost is so prohibitive when I haven't even completely fulfilled my armor needs yet. Maybe someday...