OEM LED headlights conversion adapters for 14-20 halogen 4Runners!

Cool news, I have finally secured a test headlight. I’ll get cracking on a test harness adapter to the older headlights so I can test the conversion harnesses.

anyone have the triangle connector pinout handy? Turn, parking and ground I believe?

also, does the 4 position connector dangle or is it attached somewgeee obvious that I’m not seeing?

 

I have a chance to pick up some 2021 Nightshade take offs and they would be going on my 2020. I never use DRL.

What would be the best harness to go with? All the shutter, beam, bulb talk confuses the heck out of me

 

If your headlights are pinned for shutter it makes the most sense to get a harness which can make use of that b/c the LED projector is a nice setup. If your headlights are not pinned for shutter (only 2 terminals visible in the 4 way connector vs 3) then you gain nothing by any of the nicer harnesses and should just go with the "no shutter" option.

Given a nightshade is a limited, I'm going to assume the shutter would be pinned on them for sure.

From that point your choice is Quad High Beams or LED High Only. The former is the max output you can get, both bulbs on with high beams. The latter is an exact match to the behavior of a stock T4R with these assemblies, the 9005 bulb is _only_ used for DRL, not for high beam. Quad High Beam is the crowd favorite but some are hyper intent on stock behavior. The LED High Beam only is a bit more of a pain to build so it's a little more expensive.

If you can add/revise the product description in clearer terms or you feel a significant piece is missing, please do attempt to help the future you's out by making a suggestion. I have been so overloaded building these things that I can't really get around to sitting at a desk trying to write better words, not really my favorite activity anyway

 

Thanks for the detailed and clearer description! I need to see if I can pick these headlights off FB marketplace first! Sounds like the quad high beam set up is the way to go.

 

@daveeasa @mynameistory you guys are wizards, can’t thank you enough for all the effort you’ve put into this! I think I have a new predicament for you though. I have a ‘21 TRD Pro (Canadian model - doesn’t have Bi-LED) I have halogen DRL, LED low beams, halogen high beams. Based on your recommendations in this thread, I’d like to do the 9011 upgrade. But, I’d like to remove the pwm DRL from that bulb and find a DRL trigger for some DD SS3 backlights. Finding a switched source for an auxiliary DRL shouldn’t be too hard, but, how would you go about isolating the high beam from the pwm DRL?

 

It would be tough to be able to use the stalk to control a different set of lights in lieu of DRL and to still use the high beams as intended.

Also, don't count on using SS3 backlights for anything other than accent lighting. They're barely visible even at night. Not something that is safe to replace DRL with.

Would you be opposed to tapping into the parking light circuit for the backlights and using the stock DRL as-is? I promise you won't be able to see these things during the day.

 

I have DD switchbacks in the corners / turn signals that look pretty bright in the videos I’ve seen (haven’t installed them yet), but I’ll look into it. I don’t like raptor lights but maybe find another way to add something to make the vehicle more visible. I’m trying to get away from the yellowish halogen look during the day but I don’t want to sacrifice the halogen high beam performance. And, as Dave pointed out, the lifespan of the 9011 HIR may be reduced if it is performing PWM DRL function.

I was thinking the quad high beam harness would work, but I’d pull the shutter trigger and use that to close a relay to the 9011s. Try to cut the PWM out of the scenario. I originally bought the DD HP48 LED replacements thinking I could just wire my DRLs in parallel like everyone else with a 2021 TRD Pro, then I realized the Canadian models must be different.

Edit: Canadian models don’t have DRL control on the stalk, DRL is on when low and high beams are off, whether the stalk position is off or auto. I’m not sure what the parking light setting does as far as DRL operation while the vehicle is in motion. As far as tapping into a circuit for backlights, I’m fine finding something - probably use the parking lights or find something else that is switched when the keys are in, 12v to the inverter maybe? I might also add interposing relays to disable the backlight when the DRLs would be off. But it’s good to know that the backlights won’t make a suitable DRL. I’ll have to come up with something else if the DD switchbacks aren’t bright enough. Maybe some SS C1s flushed into the heritage grille on either side of the TOYOTA lettering (I haven’t investigated this at all). I just checked though and the HP24 switchbacks have a 410 lumen output while the HP48 have 250. I understand that they are in a totally different reflector housing and were designed with different functions in mind, but I’m still kinda holding out hope that they will make a suitable DRL.

 

If you don't want DRL functionality, you might just need the harnesses with the shutter wires (no relay and cheaper). It looks like FBC doesn't offer the shutter harnesses any longer but I might be able to dig mine up for the price of shipping if you like.

 

Yeah, I'm doing full pnp due to interest.
I could do QHB w aux DRL instead of the 9005/9011 not massively more complicated than the LED only harness. just dunno what you do with the PWM output.

ETA: The shutter lead conversion harness wouldn't help with bypassing PWM DRL to the 9005/9011 which seems to be the stated goal, rather than controlling the shutter differently. The request, as I understand it, is a variant of the quad high beam with aux DRL output, which is equivalent to splitting the shutter lead on QHB to feed the 9005 connector as well.

 

Personally, if it were my T4R (and I kid you not, I am seriously contemplating one, just cannot stomach trading in the '16 Tacoma nor having 4 vehicles right now, but AWD would be so nice for where I live now) I'd just stock up on high quality HIR bulbs and replace every fall. Granted that might be considered a bit of an "excessive" expense but at the same time they are awesome and there's no reason to feel all that guilty given the terrible fuel economy and environmental impact of driving any of these rigs around, a couple of extra bulbs in the landfill isn't significant. I do wish there were some sort of recycling program though.

You could potentially have 2 sets of bulbs and swap them depending on how easy that is to do, one set for daily driving where you give no F's about high beam performance because you're on city streets and one set for off roading / adventuring where you plan to use your high beams a bunch and want that max performance with fresh bulbs. But I'd just maybe swap 'em out more frequently.

They should be good for at least 150h but I if running a daily commute that can add up.

And, finally, a potential alternative to DRL burnout is just using low beams for commuting, the LED itself should have a massive lifetime. Here in the PNW we kinda run low beams most of the time because it's always raining.

 

I think I need the relays because I want to dissect the highbeam from the PWM DRL. Thanks for the offer though Tory, you guys are awesome.

I'm likely not doing a good job explaining, lol. Thank you for your patience!

I want my stock low beams to stay the way they are, factory LED. I'd like my stock halogen highbeam / DRL to become highbeam only. I dont care if I lose factory DRL function all together because I am going to install the Diode Dynamics Switchback turn signals.



So I am mostly interested in how you managed to separate the PWM out of the halogen 9005 wiring so it didnt burn out the shutters in bi-LED headlights. I want to use that same method to close a relay for upgraded 9011 highbeams (instead of operating the shutter on the bi-LED headlights). I figured that I could use the quad high beam harness but de-pin the shutter trigger from the load end (headlight end?) because, however you have worked your magic, that shutter lead is highbeam only and free of PWM.



I also have that set of DD HP48s that I cant use for my application, so if anyone wants them let me know!

 

I'm 99% sure I catch the drift. Thing is, switchbacks are gonna pose some trouble as far as hyperflashing I think? Have you tried them out as just turn/parking light bulbs to see how they behave? I don't own a T4R so I can't do that part for you.

In your diagram, the red arrow pointing to the yellow shutter trigger is indeed what you think it is, that's what I was saying by "splitting the shutter" as in you'd feed that same circuit to your 9005/9011 female.

The photo you have of the LED high beam harness is sort of the "opposite" of what you're after, you want the "no drl" version of it where we double the high beam <logical or> low beam feed to serve both shutter and 9005/9011 then send the PWM DRL signal off the relay to an aux feed.

Anyway, on top of the concerns about hyperflash, I'm not sure how the switchbacks would behave with PWM dimming. So, I think what you should try is grab a male 9005 pigtail off Amazon or something and wire up that switchback and test it all out on the truck and see how it behaves. You'll temporarily have no high beams but that's no big deal, you're just testing the switchback for turn, drl, etc. I'd do just one side so you can look at the other side and confirm the stock behavior to know you're in the proper mode. Note the parking brake must be released to activate the DRL signal.

 

Thanks for the quick reply Dave! I think I muddied the waters bringing the switchbacks into the conversation. They are apparently plug and play from Diode Dynamics, replacing a dual filament amber bulb with a switchback. I am not attempting to modify how they operate at all, they are going to be lit up white with the parking lights enabled and flash amber with the turn signal (hopefully no hyperflash, according to the product description I should be good). The Canadian model 4Runner has parking lights on when the vehicle is running, so this will be on by default while I'm driving.

Yes, I understand what you mean now, "splitting the shutter" makes sense. I would feed that circuit back to a 9011 female (the green wire on your product pic, right?) And since I'm ditching the PWM DRL I could completely remove the green wire.

I am not even sure why I want to do this mod, it seems simple but is actually kind of complicated, which is probably why I like the idea of it. It serves a very minor function and probably isn't worth the effort but it would make my Runner kind of unique in a way that no one else would ever notice. Maybe I'm talking myself out of doing it! haha

 

Are you 100% sure of this? My understanding of Canadian law is that DRL will be on with the vehicle, not necessarily parking lights.

Again, I would suggest you purchase and test and confirm the behavior you desire is possible/exists. Then you'll know if you need some sort of DRL feed and what specifically the PWM may do to affect things.

 

I'll confirm, but yeah, they come on as running lights, I use the term 'parking lights' just because its embedded in my vocabulary, but I'm sure they are on when the engine is running. They are amber from the factory so not identified as DRLs but with the DD upgrade they look like they will be suitable. The video is super quick and shows them in a well lit garage.

https://www.diodedynamics.com/front-turn-signal-leds-for-2014-2023-toyota-4runner-pair.html

https://youtu.be/xokDBO_fMCk

I totally understand your concern though, and you have explicitly said that you dont want to supply a product that defeats a safety feature. Thanks for looking out for us!

I'm away from home right now but when I get back (few days) I will update with how the side markers operate in different scenarios. You've got me curious now.

 

@Mr Marshall Parking lights (often called running lights) and DRL (aka daytime running lights) are independent signals. As far as I'm aware, you have no DRL signal feeding your turn bulbs, just parking light (dim) and turn (bright but flashy) and then ground via that triangle connector.

Doing a switchback as per the above video just changes parking lights from amber to white, it won't change any behavior, it's not at all a "solution" for anything, it's pure aesthetics of the color of your parking lights (not daytime running lights).

I assumed you were talking about their HDRL stuff, whereby you can feed 4 signals in to the one bulb, turn, parking lights (still amber but dim) and drl (white, full power). I have two sets of that setup, it's 4 wires, presumably you'd send a clean DRL signal, parking light, turn and ground through. They typically have bulb adapters too for mostly plug and play. Getting the clean DRL signal is the kinda tricky part.

Anyway, lots of talk about details here, probably getting a bit too mind numbing so I'll pipe down.

 

Ok, I follow ya. Those are cool, I'm gonna check them out. The other, basic ones that just replace the turn signal, not a daytime running light, just a running light, I know that they don't have the same control philosophy as the DRL, but they are functionally similar. I'm going to confirm when I get back to my vehicle but I'm pretty sure the difference is that they don't turn off when the other main beams come on. Anyways, I don't intend on doing something that defeats a safety feature. Maybe the Triton HDRL is a better option and I just need the right PWM driver to make it work.

Not at all! Thanks for answering my questions Dave.

 

Yeah, the way I was thinking about it would be the headlight harness with no DRL to 9005, just high beam. Then double up on the low beam relay coil trigger but using a 2nd relay which takes an add-a-fuse and sends as DRL whenever low beams aren't on.

That would kinda match my expectations of the DRL behavior for a canadian Tacoma, present with parking lights, off with low beams. Not 100% sure how the switchback HDRL controller handles both low and drl inputs at the same time. Presumably the turn input is first priority.

It gets a bit complicated really. Just buying new bulbs every year is much easier

 

Yeah, I think you could 'brute force' the function with a pile of relays. 12V NO on ignition NC on highs and NC on lows should work, it would be on whenever the vehicle is running, unless the high or low beams are on. The low beams are easy to find and your harness isolated the high beams. Its just not very elegant.

Maybe replacing bulbs is easier at the end of the day!

 

The PWM effect is a real concern. No clean DRL signal in the engine bay like 2022+ with the series wiring.

 

How’s it going everybody I’m new to forum. I have a few questions, I have a 2016 4Runner sr5 and just bought 2022 headlights I was wondering which adapter I need to buy since my stock wiring harness is a 2 pin vs the 2022s I got that have 3pin. I want to be able to use low beam and high beam. Thank you again

 

Quad high-beam harness.

 

I searched up that harness and there’s cheaper ones for the quad high beams for like 30$ but it’s for morimotoa but looks like it would work for the quad high beams 3-2 pin connector, i was wondering what’s the difference of that one and the $150 one on the website in the forum?

 

Couldn’t use the cheaper morimoto adapters to fit a 3pin headlight from 2022 to a 2 pin stock harness from 2016? They look the same compared to one posted on here but just cheaper

 

Post a link perhaps?

This one I found is a downgrade harness I believe, taking LED to halogen for compatibility with morimoto xb:

https://www.morimotohid.com/toyota-4Runner-XB-headlight-adapter_3

perhaps they have an upgrade harness as well but that would surprise me for them to have both harnesses and both styles of inputs, if that were the case then why have the downgrade harness?

 

here’s the link I’m not too sure if this is the one I need but it looks like a 2 to 3 pin connector

I’m still confused on which one to get in the website on this link and what the other options are meant for idk if I need shutter high beam etc.
https://www.googleadservices.com/pa...i_-sh5iEAxVBI0QIHWC8A2cQwg8oAHoECAgQEA&adurl=

 

That is also a downgrade harness. For low beam only. For 2021’s which came with LED headlights to swap to halogen style.

 

Shoot so I wouldn’t be able to use it then? Sorry for all the questions it’s just all the different ones he has confuses me on what I need

 

Get hids they are better

 

I got the 2022 headlights already so idk what else I need besides the adapter and which adapter should I use? I know they said quad beams above but what’s the difference? Just super expensive that’s why so I wanna know what to get before I order the wrong thing