Full Orange to White LED swap (minus a few)

Hey everyone,

I finally decided to swap my interior lights from orange to white this saturday. I was inspired by <a href="http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/showthread.php?t=180314">Jotaro's</a> swap on his Tacoma.

<a href="http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/showthread.php?t=229125">slvrAZtaco</a> was the first one i found who completed the swap on a 4th Gen 4Runner (if there is someone else who did it first, i apologize). slvrAZtaco's work helped me out immensely.

There are a few that i didn't swap out because i got tired of soldering (window switch, airbag indicator in center console and cup holders). The gauge cluster and steering wheel controls require surface mount PLCC-2 SMT LED's where the rest are normal LED/resistors i got in bulk.

The most time consuming job was taking the old bulbs out from each switch and replacing them with an LED and resistor since i was using the original bulb holders.

Here is a pic of the gauge cluster after the swap:
<img src="http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k44/darkie3495/IMG_0417.jpg" border="0" alt="light swap"></a>
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Here is a pic of the center console (note that i have to fix the 4x4 switch and swap the airbag indicator):
<img src="http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k44/darkie3495/IMG_0413.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
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Here is a pic of the FJ fog light switches (seat warmer switches have a permanent green screen on the switch which bugs me):
<img src="http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k44/darkie3495/IMG_0412.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

Things to note:
1). I am by no means an expert in soldering, electronics or ohm's law. I have basic electrical skills with a free sat this past weekend.
2). I know i have light creep behind the speedometer. this is caused by the way the light is distributed to the entire gauge.
3). I also understand the argument regarding bright white gauges and it's effect on the eyes creating a slower response in recognizing dim objects....i've driven cars with white gauges before and it never bothered me.

If anybody is interested i can post detailed pics of the swap, but for now, i'm just so excited that i did it i had to share it with someone.

Thanks,

Kevin

looks good, i only did the climate and some other, but not cluster yet.

NICE!! Where can we buy those Surface Mount LEDS? And are they available in exact voltage rating? so we don't need a dropping resistor?

:bigok: Looks great!

Do you still have near-full-range bright/dim control? Do the LED's go up and down with the dimmer in a normal fashion?


Thanks

:cheers:

Thanks guys.

borgzman, here is where i purchased the surface mount LED's:
<a href="http://www.oznium.com/plcc-2">http://www.oznium.com/plcc-2</a>. They have the same voltage rating as stock so no need for a dropping resistor. just a straight swap.

CJ3Flyr, yes the dimmer switch works the same as stock.

Looks great man!

How are you liking the light bar, btw? Do you have any pics of it installed?

BlairB said:

Looks great man!

How are you liking the light bar, btw? Do you have any pics of it installed?

Click to expand...

I love it!! Thanks to you and the 2 month process/ordeal you went through, the bar fits perfectly.

I'll try and take a few pics tonight.

Those FJ switches look sweet lite up. Can you post a pic of them in daylight?

BlairB said:

Do you have any pics of it installed?

Click to expand...

here are a couple i took when i got home:
<img src="http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k44/darkie3495/IMG_0431.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
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<img src="http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k44/darkie3495/IMG_0437.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
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And one i took after the cluster was completed:
<img src="http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k44/darkie3495/IMG_0450.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

4runr30 said:

Those FJ switches look sweet lite up. Can you post a pic of them in daylight?

Click to expand...

I have this one:
<img src="http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k44/darkie3495/IMG_0411.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

Where can I get those light switches? The FJ's?

sant6236 said:

Where can I get those light switches? The FJ's?

Click to expand...

I picked up the switches and harnesses from Sparks Toyota in South Carolina. The FJ's are prewired for fog lights, so I just clipped off the end that plugged into the FJ harness and ran the lead wire to the lights.

Switch P/N: <a href="http://www.trdsparks.com/displayparts.php?Mdl_dtl=603&Part_cat=24&parts_id=1971">PT297-35070-AS</a>

Harness P/N: <a href="http://www.trdsparks.com/displayparts.php?Mdl_dtl=603&Part_cat=24&parts_id=1972
">PT297-35070-AS</a>

Very nicely done. :bigok:

darkie3495 said:

here are a couple i took when i got home:
<img src="http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k44/darkie3495/IMG_0431.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
<br>

Click to expand...

Looks great man, how do you like the light that is thrown out by those crystal ion and atp bulbs?

I assume the crystal ion are fog pattern and atp is driving?

i'm jealous.

post up the info. I'm so doing the white leds. I'm not a big fan of the amber because it isn't really amber.

BlairB said:

Looks great man, how do you like the light that is thrown out by those crystal ion and atp bulbs?

I assume the crystal ion are fog pattern and atp is driving?

Click to expand...

The light that is generated from the lamps are insane. I initially aimed them at the same level as my headlights and got flashed by people on the other side of the freeway.

Actually the crystal ion's are the driving pattern. I noticed last season that my HID low beams were so bright i was getting alot of glare from the falling snow. It snowed here over the weekend and i drove around with just the crystal ions and my yellow fogs and they worked perfectly.

boostedprozac said:

post up the info. I'm so doing the white leds. I'm not a big fan of the amber because it isn't really amber.

Click to expand...

I'll post a "how to" in a couple of days. There are a few i haven't done so as i finish those off i'll update the post. I read somewhere that you have to take apart the interior door panel to get to the window switch. that might have to wait until 2009.

I am so waiting to do this. What was the total time? Did the led's just soldered straight in and out? I'm pretty good and have wired a few guitars and pedals so I think I can do this. Can you show better pics of the light creep?

boostedprozac said:

I am so waiting to do this. What was the total time? Did the led's just soldered straight in and out? I'm pretty good and have wired a few guitars and pedals so I think I can do this. Can you show better pics of the light creep?

Click to expand...

It took a little over 6 hours from start to finish. what took the most time was creating each individual LED for the switches. to make the switches really light up, you need to aim the led. yeah you should be fine if you have done any type of soldering. Sure, i'll take pics tonight when i get home.