Turn signal switchback lights

Ahhh....I think you did get the wrong bulb. Get the non-CK. That may explain the blinking white lights since all the wires are crossed if you look at the pictures of the two types of connectors on the Sparksmith site. Might also help with the hyper flashing but I don't know..

I also just found this site https://www.auxito.com/collections/7443-led-bulb/7443 .

Pete

 

Jesus! What a pain, I ordered the same one (CK), didn’t even bother to look whether 4Runner works with it or not. Will have to return once they are delivered.

 

No big deal. Live & Learn. Thankfully their return policy is pretty forgiving, so you'll get a full refund. I would order a set today but the website shows they are closed on Sat/Sun, so it probably won't get processed and shipped out until late Monday afternoon. I'll wait until after I chat with them on the phone FIRST before ordering again.

I'm tired of the back and forth.

 

Sounds like you’re missing a ground. I’ve had other switchback bulbs in both of our 4Rs and they just won’t light up if you put them in the wrong way. The grounds are on one side and parking/turn positives on the other.

Had this issue as well. The 4R comes with 7443NA bulbs. Most auto parts stores only carry 7444NA bulbs. They are the same socket. 7444 are slightly higher wattage than 7443. When I went back to stock bulbs due to all the issues with LED turn signals, I couldn’t locate 7443 anywhere and just went with 7444

The bulbs likely have built in resistors. When they get hot, you get hyper flashing again. That little bulb has to dissipate the heat from the LEDs and the resistor. This is the biggest reason I abandoned LED switchbacks. I live in Texas now, and they would hyper flash all the time due to the heat

 

I live in Texas too, and I've thought about the heat issue. Having switching back isn't a deal breaker for me, but it was a nice option to have. I'll discuss that with the tech support person at Headlight Revolution.

Also, if you read my entire post, you will see that I put them in both ways. I think the issue is because I bought CK's instead of Non CK's.

 

I did read the whole thing and my point still stands. You’re missing a ground. Whether that’s because the pins on the bulb don’t match the pins on the socket doesn’t make my statement invalid.

 

Thanks for the info, particularly about the 7444 bulbs. Good to know that because if this LED bulb thing doesn't work out, I'll go back to stock ones too and so have a backup in case one fails. I finally pulled the trigger and got these mainly because of cost. The HR are pricey. With the 15% off which just popped up, they are actually cheaper than the same bulbs on Amazon.

https://www.lasfit.com/products/744..._2023~zq_all-trims~dz_front-turn-signal-light

https://www.lasfit.com/products/744...r_2023~zq_all-trims~dz_rear-turn-signal-light

https://www.lasfit.com/products/can...4runner~yr_2023~zq_all-trims~dz_back-up-light

Hopefully, the reverse lights at least will survive the test. Also wondered if the turns do start hyper flashing, would adding a resistor solve that? I did find these which may make the front installation easier... not sure about the fit yet.

https://www.superbrightleds.com/7440-rl650-x

Why can't we just leave things alone, eh....

Pete

 

It could help. That’s a 7440 socket though. Won’t work on the front. 7440 is a single filament turn signal bulb. Could put them on the rear though. I am currently running just some 6ohm resistors on the rear with nothing on the front and it hasn’t hyper flashed yet. Headlights and taillights are custom using LED pods as turns for rear and LED switchback strips for the front

 

Have to say, I’m glad that the OEM lighting is enough for me.

 

Thanks again. I wasn't sure about that socket. Good to know that I can at least use it on the rear. I'm suppose there are 7444 sockets you could splice in place of the 7440 for the front? Going off the reservation now....haha. Is it really worth all that trouble!?

I noticed you had a '21. From my limited reading, it seems like after that year, things changed. On mine, the headlight low and high beams are LEDs. Not sure if there is one or two bulbs but the high and low are the same projector looking light. The DRLs are halogen and are in the old high beam location from what I can gather. I managed to replace those as stated here on the forum and it works great. The front turns/parking are not LED as discussed here. The rear tail/brake light is LED but the turn and reverse lights are not. Why don't they just go LED all round? Cost I guess. Maybe the higher end models are all LED?

I'm going to just replace the bulbs with the built-in resistor LED's and hope for the best. If the rear acts up, it's easy to add a resistor and hope that helps. If the front goes haywire, I'll just give up and leave it at the OEM bulbs.

That's my theory on the lights, right or wrong. I don't want to replace the whole light units because of the cost mainly and I have some other additions I still want to make..

 

10-4 on that. We may be forced into that too.... But it's an addiction to mess with stuff on our favorite car and we can't help it..

 

Sell your 4Runner and buy a beat-up 20-year-old Corolla. Cold turkey is the only way to beat such a strong addiction. You can do it!

 

You first. Go be a trailblazer and we'll follow you. We swear!

 

You are correct. But it'll never happen. I'm too far gone...

 

But…I’m happy with my lighting. Plus, I don’t think you’re being completely honest here…

 

Would a random guy on the internet lie to you?!

 

Well, since you put it that way, ok!

 

The 2021 Limited was the first trim to have bi-LEDs. So mine is the same as far as lighting. I don’t know why they chose to not do full LED. The flashers they use are not LED compatible but that should be an easy fix for Toyota. If you’re interested in a more permanent solution than just resistors, I’ve got the 2010-2019 figured out and have a theory on how to add an LED compatible flasher to the 2020+

 

Kezin, sounds like you're a car electrician or at least know what you're talking about unlike me? Thanks for the offer and I'd be interested per se but honestly please note that depends on how complicated it is before you go too far down that road. I ain't no spring chicken and don't really have many tools and work space since I retired and moved into an apartment. I can do the plug-and-play to do the LED changeover we're talking about here but beyond that .. meh?? From what you say, I may be treading water with the turn signal upgrade. I'll see what happens.

Pete

 

Nah, not an electrician. I come from a long line of engineers, electricians, general contractors, and diesel mechanics though. Tinkering with vehicles and their electronics has been a thing for me since I was a kid.

If the relay "upgrade" (really a downgrade to CF18 connector) works like I think it will, it would require removing the combination meter assembly (instrument cluster). This sounds involved but it looks like it is just clips and 4 screws. All resistors could be skipped. Get some extra features too. Wig wag hazard and 4-6 blink touch blinker.

 

You've got the right background from the sound of it. Great if you can figure it out. I assume it's something like this

https://www.diodedynamics.com/smarttap-led-flasher-for-2005-2015-toyota-tacoma.html

Patent it and sell it to Toyota. Make a million...lol. Video says it's plug-and-play but only for non DRL setups but you can get around that, eh?

That would be nice and the touch blinker is great. I had that on my Ram 1500 before I got this 4R and it was a nice feature. I am getting used to not having it on the 4R. Sorry, but I ain't taking the dash apart. You have no idea of the damage I can do...

 

It’s not PnP for any 5G 4R. But yeah, I have it working for 2010-2019. 2020+ is theoretical at this point, but I am confident it’ll work.

Getting back to the topic: Your 7440 socket 6ohm resistor solution should work fine. It should be able to handle a no resistor front and a no resistor rear under most temperatures. When you reach 100°+, you may start getting hyper flashing. Adding additional built in resistor bulbs may be enough to flash normally but I have not tested myself

 

All of this has me rethinking the approach. Might just cancel it and keep the OEM turn signals as is.

 

Good luck on the project. I'll see how things work when I get the bulbs.

I've thought that too after going thru all this. But based on my experience with the Ram I had before this, I want to at least try it. On the Ram I replaced the low and high beams with some DD lights which worked for over 5 year without problems. Not needed on my 4R since they come with LEDs. The Ram rear had a single bulb for brake-tail-turn signals and I replaced that. I did have to add a resistor on each side since the turns did hyper flash and gave error messages but again they worked fine for the 5+ years I had the truck. I also replaced the reverse bulbs with a super bright ones and they too never had an issue. Soooo, I did have a good experience with the Ram and my hope is that at least I'll get the rear lights in the 4R working even if I need the resistors for the turns. On the 4R front I did the DRL's already and they work great. The turns/parks are a wait and see. Back to OEM if needed and go on if I have to. So if you're just doing the front turn/parks, you may be right in your thought. Maybe just wait until we do our thing and post here and then decide.

The more I think about this, the more the expression "First world problems" and "Pole Vaulting over Mouse Turds" springs to mind...but, hey, I'm retired, I have time to mess with this crap.....

 

I called HeadLight Revolution and the guy on the phone told me that the ones I ordered will NOT work without a resistor. Even the Non-CK's. So, I'm going to get a refund from them. No biggie.

I did find this from Lasfit: https://www.lasfit.com/products/744..._2023~zq_all-trims~dz_front-turn-signal-light

I read all the reviews, and there are two or three 4Runner owners who have them without hyper flashing. One of the guys (I think he may be a member on this site?) has a 2023'.

So, I ordered a set and they'll get shipped out soon. Fingers crossed!

 

Sweet! Let me know how these work out for you. I'd be interested, but this time I will show more patience

 

Thank you for the update. I'm surprised the HRs won't work even with resistors. I saw those review too for the Lasfits. I guess I lucked out (HOPEFULLY) since I was being a cheapskate and ordered the Lasfits. I was ready to pull the trigger on the HR's but procrastinated because I talked to HR too last week but the dim bulb I talked to didn't seem to understand or wasn't interested in talking to me. Just told me they work in my truck. And then your issues came up. Hopefully I'll have some good news by the end of the week.

Pete

 

I have some of Lasfit’s built in resistor bulbs. They were fine during cold months, but hyperflash during summer. They did not do that when I lived in NYC but did after moving to TX. I assume they would probably be fine in most climates, but it annoyed me enough (like 4 months out of the year) to remove them. Sometimes you can find the same Lasfit bulbs on Amazon under the brand “LivTee” for half the price

 

No No. They will work, but they ALL have to have resistors. CK, Non-Ck's...they must have a resistor. Well, that's what the guy on the phone told me.

The link I posted for Lasfit, two or three different reviews show them working on 5th gen 4Runners. God I hope that means it will work for me. I just got my order confirmation. Maybe they'll arrive by the end of the week so I can put an end to this shit-show.

This is encouraging:

 

Ahhh. Sorry, I misunderstood your comment. As you say, hopefully the Lasfits will put an end to all this LED drama....I studied all the pictures, writings and reviews too for each bulb and saw what you indicate and hope for the best. Mine were shipped today so hopefully in a few days I'll know.