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

OEM conversion harnesses for LED headlights are now live at FBC!

OEM LED conversion harness



You have the option of including a wire for the shutter, or you can order with only two pins if you have the 2021 low-beam only headlights or if you decide you don't want quad high beams. These are built to order and allow you to convert your 14-20 4Runner with halogen headlights to the new 2021 and up factory LED headlights.

Here is my implementation here:

OEM LED headlights with quad high-beams

 

Been researching this headache for awhile now.. Any idea where you could draw power safely for the shutter wire?

 

Yes. Temporarily I am isolating the shutter circuit from PWM with a custom relay and switch. In the future I'm trying to finish capacitor filters so that they can tap into the high-beam circuit directly. Dave at FBC is also researching his own ideas for a plug n play harness to easily control the shutters for quad high-beams. Don't know what the timeline for either solution will be.

 

@mynameistory this is one of the best posts I've seen. Thank you for sharing.

 

@Old Red not sure if you saw this but I know you have the updated LED headlights too. This is a test harness from my auxiliary driving lights, but it proves that quad factory high-beams are possible. We're working on ideas for PnP now.

https://youtu.be/nlAaJKRtO2o

 

Very nice.
I got quad highbeams too on my 2021 TRD Pro..

stock highbeam -



with quad highbeam -
(For now working with an additional light bar wiring kit. Have to see how can I tap to shutter wire to work with headlight switch)



Just 2nd set of highbeams - (looks like a bra?)

 

Nice! You are using the stock reflectors? I assume you don't have the factory DRL anymore with new wiring in place?

Don't forget you can easily upgrade from the stock 9005 bulb to the 9011 HIR for a +30% boost!

 

Yes I'm using the stock reflectors. Since I don't have DRLs I got 2 amber grill lights.

I didn't knew about bulb type 9011 HIR. I just used 9005. Initially I used Morimoto 2stroke 3.0 but didn't like the light output (so I gave it to my buddy with halogen housing, that video will be published soon). Then I tried Nilight 9005 LED and it worked better.

 

Yeah drop-in LED bulbs are always a crap shoot. You will nearly always get better performance with a halogen bulb that's made for a halogen optic.

 

Here is some information that should help you understand how Toyota changed the 4Runner headlights, and how these adapter harnesses work.

From 2014 to 2020, the 4Runner was equipped with a halogen low-beam projector (H11 bulb), and a halogen high-beam reflector (9005). These bulbs are independently wired and controlled from the truck. When DRL mode is selected on the stalk, a PWM voltage is applied to the high-beams so that they are dimmed (roughly 10% brightness but that's an assumption).



Then things got weird. In 2021, Toyota introduced LED headlights- but with two sets that worked differently.

The "lower trims" like SR5, TRD-OR and their ilk: they got LED projectors for low beam use only. Everything else on the headlights and truck is exactly the same as before (9005 halogen reflectors used for DRL and high-beam). DRL is controlled by PWM voltage.



The "higher trims" like TRD-Pro and Limited got LED for low-beams and high-beams. This is done by having shutters activate in the LED projectors. ̶T̶h̶e̶ ̶h̶a̶l̶o̶g̶e̶n̶ ̶r̶e̶f̶l̶e̶c̶t̶o̶r̶ ̶p̶o̶r̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶h̶e̶a̶d̶l̶i̶g̶h̶t̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶u̶n̶c̶h̶a̶n̶g̶e̶d̶-̶ ̶H̶O̶W̶E̶V̶E̶R̶-̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶n̶o̶w̶ ̶r̶e̶l̶e̶g̶a̶t̶e̶d̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶D̶R̶L̶ ̶u̶s̶e̶ ̶o̶n̶l̶y̶.̶ THIS IS INCORRECT THE NEW HIGH-BEAM REFLECTORS IN THE BI-LED HEADLIGHTS HAVE A SLIGHTLY ALTERED BEAM SHAPE. THIS CHANGE MAY MAKE THESE UNSUITABLE OR MEET LEGAL REQUIREMENTS TO BE A HIGH-BEAM LAMP. SEE POSTS 38 AND 52 FOR CLARIFICATION.

The change is only on the truck side, with the bulbs now being wired in series and receiving 6V each. The low beam and high beam functions are handled entirely with a single 3-wire harness to the projector (one to power the lamp, one to activate the shutter for high-beam, and a common ground).



From 2022 forward, all of the trucks will have the bi-LED projectors like this.

So! When I decided to do the upgrade, originally I figured the 2021 "base model" headlights would be the easiest to integrate. Most people pry the terminals out of their old halogen headlights and swap the connectors onto the new ones. Two wires to two wires, easy. The 9005 bulb and wiring doesn't change at all, the new headlights accept everything from the old trucks with no modification. CORRECTION: SEE NOTE ABOVE

But now that people have investigated a bit more, the process for retrofitting the bi-LED models is more or less the same. You just "ignore" the shutter wire as it's not needed and cannot be controlled with the stock wiring. And since the ̶r̶e̶f̶l̶e̶c̶t̶o̶r̶ ̶a̶s̶s̶e̶m̶b̶l̶i̶e̶s̶ ̶a̶r̶e̶ ̶̶u̶n̶c̶h̶a̶n̶g̶e̶d̶, your DRL/ ̶h̶i̶g̶h̶-̶b̶e̶a̶m̶s̶ work exactly the same when attached to your stock "old 4Runner" wiring. SEE NOTE ABOVE

I have my suspicions that the LED projectors are the exact same models, and the only difference is that Toyota elected to eliminate the shutter wire in the "cheaper" versions. The beam pattern with the goofy dark artifacts near the cutoff are present in both models.



They have the exact same connector, just populated with one less terminal:

2-pin, low-beam only model:



3-pin, bi-LED model:



The shutter terminal is upper right, so the adapter harnesses from FBC should work for both regardless of the model being retrofitted. You can use the 2021 "lower trim" headlights and only use the two wire adapters. You can also elect to use two wires on the bi-LED models and ignore the shutter for a plug n' play option.

Or, with a custom harness addition- you can activate both your stock halogen high-beams and the shutters simultaneously (QUAD factory high-beams). But you must do it in a way that doesn't expose the shutters to PWM. A fuse-tap on the high-beam fuse in the engine bay fuse box is the easiest and least invasive way to access this signal, but PWM needs to be isolated. I would love to find out the current draw for the shutters. We might not need a relay at all to handle them if they're very low draw. FBC and myself are exploring different solutions for this in an effort to have "plug n' play" quad high-beams.

Here are Toyota headlight part numbers:

Halogen only: ($217.25)
L: 81170-35571
R: 81130-35541

LED w/ Halogen High beam ($647.97)
L: 81070-35600
R: 81140-35610

Bi-LED Low/High beams ($697.30)
L: 81070-35610
R: 81140-35620

 

A great way to obtain factory LED headlights is to find them used in the classifieds. Many people are still upgrading to aftermarket headlights and selling their stock headlights for cheap. I do not recommend any aftermarket headlights, as the OEM LED units are fully DOT compliant with proper headlight patterns, and are likely much more reliable than aftermarket.

Take a look at the video below:

https://youtu.be/kItoEHPgn98

The Morimoto headlights have more intensity and frankly cooler features like sequential LED strips and multiple projectors. But, they do not have uplight for gently illuminating reflective road signs above the cutoff, and frankly I do not trust long-term reliability on Morimoto imported products (Morimoto does not make many of their own products, they import and rebrand them. For example, their 4Runner headlights are made by the Taiwanese company Coplus).

2014+ | 巨鎧精密工業股份有限公司



They have a decent warranty, but nearly anyone who has bought Morimoto products will tell you that it's still annoying to have to replace faulty parts (myself included).

The other aftermarket headlights (Alpharex, GTR) have frankly dim and dangerous beam patterns. They are also rebranded Chinese Alibaba products and appear to have terrible optics engineering. They are aesthetic upgrades, but completely unsafe for use on the road.

 

If you have a newer bi-LED truck and would like to explore different options for your 4Runner headlights, check these out:

Quad high-beams on 2021+ bi-LED 4Runners

@kmeeg has a new bi-LED truck and has figured out a way to plumb the 9005 bulbs with full juice, which he is currently using with drop-in LED bulbs. I personally recommend a halogen upgrade, as it will be more performant than any aftermarket drop-in LED bulb while being cheaper to boot. See crashnburn80's post on Tacomaworld about new 9011 HIR bulbs that are a +30% upgrade over the stock 9005 bulbs.

He confirms that doing this eliminated DRL function since they are no longer attached to stock wiring. In the 2021+ trucks, you can turn off DRL functionality in the infotainment screen.

See his post and possibly contact him for more information.

Upgrade to LED DRL for bi-LED 4Runners

If you'd rather not bother with taking advantage of your awesome reflector high-beams, you can also update the DRLs if you don't like the yellow halogen look.

Guys with the new trucks have figured out a workaround for getting LED DRL functionality in their stock headlights (the DRL circuit runs two halogen bulbs in series, 6V each- and LED bulbs don't like 6V). @emacTR4 created a sub-harness for the passenger side that converts the series wiring to parallel. Then he stuck decorative HP48 9005 bulbs from Diode Dynamics in the sockets (very low brightness). Now he has DRLs without the "ugly yellow halogen" look.

See his post and possibly contact him if you need more information.

 

Just installed a pair of the bi led's in my 2019 and these harnesses are exactly what I have been waiting for! Install from teardown to back together was less than an hour, and these harnesses were great. Also only took a few days to get here. I'm assuming the yellow wire is a power wire if I wanted to hook up a light bar or something to click on with the brights? Thanks again Tory!

 

The yellow wires are attached to the terminals that control the shutters if your headlights are equipped with them. Do you know which model your headlights came from? If they were from a 2021 SR5, TRD-OR, Venture, etc. they have a connector like this. They do not have the bi-LED shutters. They have two pins on the left side and look like this:



If they came from a 2021 Pro or Limited/Nightshade edition, or ANY 2022 4Runner, they have 3 pins in their connector like this:



The third pin is what the yellow wire is attached to. If you give it a +12 voltage the shutters will open, giving you a bi-LED high-beam.

Your factory halogen high-beams and wiring work the same as before, but you can also add these shutters for a QUAD factory high-beam.

You can see it in the video below:
https://youtu.be/lRnezgtn0CU

 

Ahh ok, i figured it was just an accessory add on. Yeah they are the bi led from a pro. Glad I found these from you so I didn't have to swap plugs from my old ones making them harder to sell. Thanks for the video

 

Great post! Thanks Tory!

 

4Runner LED projector vs halogen reflector high beams. The color and exposure is off on these photos, as they're just quick shots in auto (with Google tuning the shots as it sees fit). The LED isn't really this blue/green.

LED low beams



LED high beams



Halogen high beams (actually, this is just DRL mode with a longer auto exposure). But useful for showing the beam pattern.



Both high-beams on



You can see that the LED projector high beam just adds a punch right at the existing low beam hotspots, while the halogen pattern has "boxes" that spread out to create more flood light for improved foreground and peripheral illumination.

 

So if you had to choose between halogen only high beams and OEM led only high beams, you’d choose the halogen?

 

Yes. It would be cool to see data on which one has more intensity, but I'm fairly certain the halogen reflectors are both brighter and provide a larger fill pattern. Especially with a 9011 upgrade.

 

Another reason to save the $100 and get the 2021 "lower trim level" version of these OEM LED headlights.

As I've noted in other threads, the stock halogen high beams actually perform quite well, as shown in the IIHS test. And again that's stock -- not hacking in a brighter bulb. If the stock halogen low beams were commensurately as good, there'd be much less reason to replace them.

 

2021 TRD Pro OEM highbeams are pathetic. If you didn't notice you might even doubt if highbeams are working or not.If IIHS tests highbeam I bet they would give poor rating for TRD Pro and Limited vs SR5, TRD ORP, etc would get a better rating with dedicated highbeam bulbs.

 

If you're buying new, sure. I think we will start to see more of the bi-LED models used in the classifieds though, since 2022 forward will all be bi-LED. I got these from a 2021 pro with 3000 miles on it for $500 shipped. Either way the older trucks will use the halogen high beams by default.

 

My adapters came in! Ordered Friday afternoon, from West to East Coast, delivered today!

 

Boy am I confused! I'm buying a take-off set of 2022 bi-LED headlights from a TRD Off Road to install on my 2018. I want full low and high beam functionality along with DRLs. Is the FMC 4runner 2014-2020 OEM bi-LED headlight conversion harness without the shutter lead wire the adapter I need to achieve this? I also have a set of the LED fog lamps from a 2022. Will the fog lamps plug in with no adapters needed? Thanks all...I may be over analyzing all this!

 

If you buy the conversion harness with no shutter lead, you will have LED low beams. Your halogen high-beams/DRLs will plug directly into the same place as your current headlights and work exactly the same as they do now. Only your low beam projector changes.

 

Is there a way to run the third wire to tap into the halogen high beam? I’m terrible with electrical but I’m wondering if tapping into that wire would trigger the shutter for the LED high beam.

 

The answer is: yes and no. You could trigger the shutters with the halogen high beam circuit, like by using an add-a-fuse. It does work.

However, if you use your DRLs, that circuit is energized with PWM (pulse width modulation) voltage. Meaning, it sends dozens of voltage pulses per second in order to make your halogen bulbs glow dimly (incandescent bulbs take time to fully light). So that same voltage would ping your shutters at dozens of times per second, which will cause them to flap rapidly which could prematurely wear them or even destroy them in short order.

We're working on different plug n play solutions around this, but nothing is available yet.

 

Just a random thought here: you could probably use a relay to not allow power to the shutter wire until the low beams are powered.

 

What if I never use my DRLs?

 

It could... Might need to use two relays for it to work properly. My attempt will involve a capacitor filter, and Dave at FBC may try a time-delay relay.

You'll still flip through them on your way to turning your headlights on. Unless you have a 2020 model where you can disable them in the head unit.