1. Welcome to Tacoma World!

    You are currently viewing as a guest! To get full-access, you need to register for a FREE account.

    As a registered member, you’ll be able to:
    • Participate in all Tacoma discussion topics
    • Communicate privately with other Tacoma owners from around the world
    • Post your own photos in our Members Gallery
    • Access all special features of the site

Led under dash lighting

Discussion in '1st Gen. Tacomas (1995-2004)' started by 2002, Dec 9, 2013.

  1. Dec 9, 2013 at 12:29 PM
    #1
    2002

    2002 [OP] Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Nov 13, 2013
    Member:
    #116498
    Messages:
    110
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Andrew
    Louisiana
    Vehicle:
    2002 Prerunner sr5
    3 inch skyjacker lift 18x9 rockstars Plasti-dipped emblems 32" BFG all-terrains K&N cold air intake Retro fit projectors with 5k HID LED Light Bar mounted behind bottom grille
    does anyone on here have any experience with putting like an led strip under the dash and like how tp wire it and such because i dont even know where to start
     
  2. Dec 9, 2013 at 12:36 PM
    #2
    MJonaGS32

    MJonaGS32 MJ on a GS

    Joined:
    Apr 14, 2009
    Member:
    #15949
    Messages:
    12,404
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    MJ
    SF Bay Area (East)
    Vehicle:
    07 LT 4x4 DCSB 6spd Vagabond
    Drifter wedge camper, Dual battery, OBA, ARB locker, 4.56 gears
    I made this diagram for my LED bed lights. Same concept, except in your cab :D

    [​IMG]
     
  3. Dec 9, 2013 at 12:41 PM
    #3
    floodedkiwi

    floodedkiwi Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Feb 27, 2013
    Member:
    #98631
    Messages:
    1,787
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Ken
    Naw'lins, Louisiana
    Vehicle:
    2019 GMC AT4
    Dog.
    No see diagram?:confused:
     
  4. Dec 9, 2013 at 12:44 PM
    #4
    2002

    2002 [OP] Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Nov 13, 2013
    Member:
    #116498
    Messages:
    110
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Andrew
    Louisiana
    Vehicle:
    2002 Prerunner sr5
    3 inch skyjacker lift 18x9 rockstars Plasti-dipped emblems 32" BFG all-terrains K&N cold air intake Retro fit projectors with 5k HID LED Light Bar mounted behind bottom grille
    The diagram did not show up
     
  5. Dec 9, 2013 at 12:44 PM
    #5
    Madjik_Man

    Madjik_Man The Rembrandt of Rattle Can

    Joined:
    Dec 2, 2009
    Member:
    #26893
    Messages:
    19,470
    Gender:
    Male
    Colorado Front Range
    Vehicle:
    1998 Ext Cab 3.4 4x4 TRD 5MT, 2004 DC 3.4 4x4 TRD
  6. Dec 9, 2013 at 12:46 PM
    #6
    PcBuilder14

    PcBuilder14 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 19, 2011
    Member:
    #58522
    Messages:
    23,310
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Brent
    Nor Cal
    Vehicle:
    2018 Tacoma TRD Off Road 4x4
  7. Dec 9, 2013 at 1:19 PM
    #7
    stikle

    stikle Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Apr 26, 2013
    Member:
    #102916
    Messages:
    1,201
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Seth
    The Sovereign State of Eastern Oregon
    Vehicle:
    1997 LX Xtracab 4x4 V6 3.4L
    Eh, see my Build Thread sig link. Too many mods to list.
    Adding LED strips is really, really, really easy. :D

    The hardest part is running the wiring and figuring out where to pick up your power/ground from, which isn't that hard. Really. I just have a habit of making things harder than they need to be. After you've figured that out once, adding more is easy.

    Here's one thing I've learning from doing mine:

    Say you're looking for your ignition accessory + wire. When you've found it, splice into it using a wire splice (available at any auto parts store) and a nice 10-12" long piece of wire. That way you're only spicing into the main wire once. Anything else you want to connect to your accessory switch, just splice it onto your pigtail. If you screw something up, the worse case is you are messing up your pigtail and not the factory wiring. Also, tape or cap off the end of your pigtail so you don't have an errent short from it floating around and grounding out on something.

    Do the same thing with the ground once you've found it. The same ground should work for everything. When I first started modding my Yoda, my big mistake was trying to use the body as ground. You'd think that would work (I did). I couldn't get anything to work and couldn't figure out why. It drove me crazy for days. You need to find a ground in a wiring harness somewhere and then do the same pigtail thing.

    Funny story: I was installing a backup camera. The rearview LCD is built into the rearview mirror and needs power. So I busted out my multimeter and finally found a random +12v and ground. Hot damn, it all worked! Put the Taco in reverse and the camera and LCD turn on. Until I put everything back together and went to back out and go to the store. No LCD. WTF? Pulled it back in the garage, took it all apart again and tested...and it all worked. W.T.F.? It turns out...the +12v I found was for the seat belt sensor. It's +12v when no seat belt is engaged. When I went to back out of the garage, I was a good boy and put my seatbelt on, which killed the +12v. ARRRRRRRRRRGH! So, back to finding a +12v. :eek:

    I ended up getting an Add-a-circuit and using the fuseblock under the dash.
     
    Last edited: Dec 9, 2013
  8. Dec 9, 2013 at 2:06 PM
    #8
    MJonaGS32

    MJonaGS32 MJ on a GS

    Joined:
    Apr 14, 2009
    Member:
    #15949
    Messages:
    12,404
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    MJ
    SF Bay Area (East)
    Vehicle:
    07 LT 4x4 DCSB 6spd Vagabond
    Drifter wedge camper, Dual battery, OBA, ARB locker, 4.56 gears
    lol fail

    here u go

    [​IMG]
     
  9. Dec 9, 2013 at 2:26 PM
    #9
    stikle

    stikle Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Apr 26, 2013
    Member:
    #102916
    Messages:
    1,201
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Seth
    The Sovereign State of Eastern Oregon
    Vehicle:
    1997 LX Xtracab 4x4 V6 3.4L
    Eh, see my Build Thread sig link. Too many mods to list.
    Well, MJ's diagram is valid also in his scenario. There's a bunch of different ways to configure things, so there's not one correct answer.

    Maybe the newer Tacos are wired really different, but in my Gen 1, I was on bare metal to the frame and didn't have a good ground, which made no sense to me at all. So, your mileage may vary.
     
  10. Dec 9, 2013 at 4:30 PM
    #10
    2002

    2002 [OP] Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Nov 13, 2013
    Member:
    #116498
    Messages:
    110
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Andrew
    Louisiana
    Vehicle:
    2002 Prerunner sr5
    3 inch skyjacker lift 18x9 rockstars Plasti-dipped emblems 32" BFG all-terrains K&N cold air intake Retro fit projectors with 5k HID LED Light Bar mounted behind bottom grille
    Yeah i have a 1st gen and all i want to do is light up where my feet go the samr color as my gauges on both sides and have a switch to turn them on and off and thats all
     

Products Discussed in

To Top