Proper headlight upgrade

I was blinding people after my installation of the osram bulbs with the wiring upgrade but i just adjusted them slightly and haven't had any issues since. Just gotta make sure you have your cut off point right.

 

If wanting to go high wattage, then yes. When properly aimed they should not be blinding, though there will be more light throughout the pattern, including uplight above the cut off.

 

Higher wattage bulbs aren't legal for headlights either. They're intended, or at least marketed by the scrupulous sellers, for offroad lights with glass and metal housings. You can safely bet that the Chinese no-name "DOT approved" (no such thing) lights aren't the least bit DOT-compliant.

The headlights on my '04 were beyond awful. They scattered light everywhere and looked dim to me while blinding others. I installed a full front set (headlights/signals/markers) of the TYC CAPA-certified housings with bulbs and seldom even use the high beams anymore. More often it's to flash oncoming cars that have illegal LEDs in halogen housings that are blinding me. It was about $85 for the headlight housings and totally worth it. You know what new housings look like. This is what they replaced:

 

My first post on tacomaworld. I have a question, can not find anything about it in this thread or the original one.

What effect would using 100/90w or 100/55w bulbs have on electrical system? I have a high power harness on order but wondering about battery/alternator issues. I assume it must be minor since I find no comments about it. Too bad that I found 100/55w bulbs after ordering 100/90w, going to try both now..

I have been polishing my foggy lenses for a few years now, not understanding that the damage is not just on the surface, or that I removed the UV protection. New housings installed and that alone made a big difference. Comparing the two I find the reflectors on the old housings to be a bit dull.

Thank you!

 

The upgraded headlight wiring harness will allow you to run the high wattage bulbs and not cause any issues. The OEM alt will be able to power them just fine. It is important to note that halogen bulbs, especially the high wattage versions, will perform better the higher the system voltage is. 14VDC or higher is ideal.

 

not meaning to derail post- just have a few questions.

i am looking to do the ultimate headlight upgrade extravaganza. i have a 2003 yota (with DRL's). i just got new headlight assemblies and a harness and bulbs.

if someone knows, please correct me if i am wrong. since i have DRL's, I am going to use a conventional harness. first, I will disconnect my DRL's. then i should be good to go, right? right?

 

Are you certain you don't have a ground switched setup? Did you verify by testing it?

 

i am not certain. i am going to have it tested prior. but after some digging on the forums, i believe the general consensus is that a 2003 with DRL's is convetionally switched.

is there a video or detailed how to thread somewhere of someone with a 2000-2004 tacoma performing this upgrade?

 

Determining your electrical ground system:
Toyota previously has produced their trucks with ground switched wiring. I’ve done this upgrade on my 3 previous Toyota trucks (89, 94, 03) I’ve owned, and all have used the ground switched wiring. Ground switched is when power is always constant and the ground is completed to activate the circuit, vs conventional the power is completed to activate the circuit. I originally ordered the ground switched harness but it did not work on my 2015 Tacoma. After emailing rallylights.com, the guy that built my harness sent me the following test info, which led me to conclude I actually had conventionally switched wiring.

Ground Test Procedure:
-Looking at the back of the factory Toyota H4 headlight connector, as installed, the outside two connections are vertical & the top connection is horizontal.
-The left connection, when viewed from the back, is the "common" H4 connection.
-On a Ground Switched vehicle, the left connection would have +12 volts (in relation to ground) as soon as the headlight switch is turned on.
-On a Conventionally Switched vehicle, the left "common" connection would ground directly to the chassis and would not have any measurable voltage present. Note that you are looking for 0v vs 12v+. A measurement of 0.xxv is noise and should be considered 0 for the purpose of this test.

I tested the common connection with a multimeter and determined my truck was conventionally switched. You can also use a simple bulb voltage detector for this test.

Testing ground:


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

It might seem intimidating at first, but it is really simple once you try it. A super simple cheap HF multi-meter will get the job done.

 

Hey all,

I recently did the headlight upgrade. I have no auto-technical skills and i got this done in less than an hour (also replaced my headlight assemblies and signal lights). I used the Headlight Services harness. I can't tell you how awesome this upgrade is.

Also, for those wondering- I have a 2003 with DRL. We confirmed that my truck was also power switched, which gives more creedence to the theory that trucks with DRL's are all power switched rather than ground.

** If you are changing out your entire headlight assemblies, save yourself the trouble and buy a bunch of clips prior to installation. Most of my clips broke while taking off the grill.

 

Hi! I am new and trying to do the headlight upgrade on my 1999 Tacoma.
I got the wiring harness, bulbs and headlight housing, but I realized I still don't have the headlights (aka the clear part that gets cloudy)
I saw people recommended the Rock Auto CAPA Certified headlights-- when I go to their site I see the left headlight is CAPA certified, but the right is not (both are the same price $31.79). Is it a typo that the right headlight isn't CAPA certified? Does anyone know anywhere else I can look for these? (Screenshot attached)

 

I would look to price out OEM units. It will be more expensive, but the headlight output will be better than aftermarket which can be a crap shoot.

 

Thanks! I already bought some 'headlight assembly' but it didn't have the lens, I suppose I will return those and go for the full OEM, at $175 each side I was hoping it would be cheaper >_< but nothing but the best for my truck!

OEM headlight assembly + lens: https://toyota.oempartsonline.com/o...jb21hJnk9MTk5OSZ0PWJhc2UmZT0zLTRsLXY2LWdhcw==

 

So for anyone with DRLs who have to disconnect them I think I may have found a solution that lets you keep DRLs. Has anyone tried this harness?

https://tacomabeast.com/collections...y-duty-relay-headlight-wiring-harness-upgrade

It has an option for "Daytime Running Lights" and when I emailed them to confirm they said:

Anyone use these?

 

I've not heard of anyone using it, I also would not advocate supporting that specific company, curious if it is available though other retailers. I'd be curious on how they achieve the reduced voltage for the DRL without using a failure prone resister. @daveeasa any thoughts?

For warm and fuzzy feelings it would be nice if this line was not present when you select a harness with DRL:
➜ Daytime Running Lights (DRL) that utilize the low beam or high beam headlamps at a reduced intensity for illumination must be disabled in order to use this harness.

 

I really can’t tell from that photo how they provide DRL capability but I’m guessing no reduction / resistor.

My ‘02 Tundra “solves” for DRL by having low beams on with ignition. Full voltage low beams.

The high beam harness could reduce with series wiring but that’s difficult to switch to full brightness.

Or they might do PWM dimmers but that’s not needed for halogens and trickier with higher current.

I’d have to inspect it to understand the design I think. Or maybe someone has keener eyes than I do.

 

@crashnburn80 @daveeasa

This is the original manufacturer of the harness- https://www.aspireautoaccessories.c...-headlight-wiring-harness-with-relays-upgrade

On this page it has some more info:

I’m waiting to hear confirmation from them that this will work on my Canadian 1st gen with DRL’s. Will report back.

 

Upon second look, I don’t see anything indicating the harness is ground switched. You’d need to double check your trucks electrical with the test procedure specified in the 2nd Gen thread to determine if you are power/conventional switched or ground switched. Most 1st Gens are ground switched and if the harness does not specify it is most likely power/conventional switched. If the electrical switching doesn’t match the truck the harness will not work.

 

Definitely curious what they are doing on this point. If anyone buys one please post photos.

 

I called Aspire (the maker of the harness) directly and after explaining my concerns he assured me he'd give me a full refund if the harness didn't work as expected. Will post pictures once I get it and install it.