ANY THOUGHTS? 5th Gen Stalled Multiple Times in Traffic

At this point if I were you I would 100% swap the OEM headlights back in to verify it's not causing the problem. Very often aftermarket wiring causes all sorts of issues.

 

Hello All - I wanted to post an update on how everything has been in case anyone wanted some more insights.

After I got my 4r back from the dealer, I completely disconnected the raptor lights from the fuse block under the e-brake pedal, disconnected the AJC lights from the engine fuse box and the pod light from the battery. Since then, I have not had any issues at all. I still pucker up a little when the radiator kicks on at stop lights but everything seems good (knock on wood).

After talking to a few folks and reading all your replies, I've made the conclusion that the issue lies in connecting the AJC lights to the engine fuse block. At some point, I'll splurge and install a good switch panel and get my aftermarket set up going again but for now, running bone stock lighting lol.

Thanks for all the help gents!

 

It’s amazing how sensitive these modern cars are to electrical modifications. It would be interesting to get an explanation from an electrical engineer.

 

I completely agree - very frustrating but glad I'm back up and running without really spending much.

I think their explanation ran along the lines of the aftermarket wiring went bad and because it was hooked up to the main engine fuse box, instead of an auxiliary fuse block like the switch pro 9100 or auxbeam, it caused the computer to go into auto-shut down mode.

Someone smarter than me can probably speak better to that lol

 

I can't say without looking, but my first guess is that the lighting system on that circuit changed the impedance, which could affect anything sensitive to the shape or timing of the waveforms it was intended to carry.

 

Interesting read. Nice to come in at the end and see what the issue was! You for sure could have chased parts all over the place to no avail on that one.

 

That would be my guess too.

 

Your experience is not unusual. Aftermarket lighting systems sometimes use high frequency switching circuits to drive the LED arrays and depending on how close they are to other 4Runner electronics, or where you connect to the 12V source, they can introduce unwanted electronic noise on power or ground lines. If the noise is a high enough level it can intermittently raise hell with various 4Runner ECMs.

Here’s one case where some aftermarket plugin LED headlight bulbs caused enough ground noise on the Skid Control ECU for it to throw error codes. This was so common that Toyota even issued a TSB.
The solution was to remove the LED bulb and restore the OEM bulb.

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/20...72379-9999.pdf

Tech Tip T-TT-0597-2
“Some 2014-2020 model year 4Runner vehicles may experience the ABS Light ON with DTC C0226, C0236, C0246 and C0256 stored current in the ABS system.”

 

I was just about ready to pull the trigger on aftermarket LED headlights for my 2019. Thank you for this post. I will not be doing this mod now.
I work in aviation and I am aware of the sensitivity of voltages (some fly by wire flight control systems operate in millivolts) and databuses. I guess I need to start thinking of my truck in the same way. I did upgrade (?) my interior lighting to LED, and so far, no problems yet. I will keep in mind to revert back to incandescent bulbs if something pops up.

 

Thats a good decision. If you want better headlight performance for little money you could try using higher output halogen bulbs, the low beam H9 conversion and the high beam 9011 conversion.

For converting to the Toyota LED headlights here’s a good thread that explains it:
https://www.4runners.com/threads/oe...for-14-20-halogen-4runners.25899/#post-349525

 

I don't plan on adding any aftermarket lighting, especially in light (ark ark) of what seems like an uptick in seemingly unrelated electronic issues, that turn out to be related in some way to aftermarket lighting. I'm just curious, though, does it seem these are cropping up more in later model 4Rs with more electronic gadgetry, or is it across the board on all 5th gens...?

 

I’m guessing that all the 5th gens share the same ECUs. It’s probably cause more people with late gens are interested in aftermarket upgrades.

Marketing is doing their job!