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Old 09-16-2015, 11:42 PM #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nervo19 View Post
Seriously. Thirteen people above and there have been other threads about the same issue. All say replace it with aftermarket. It can't be fixed unless you are an electrical engineer. I linked the YouTube above on how to replace it. Twenty minutes if you have your tools organized.

My son has a 2000 Tacoma with the same radio and it still lights up. It's fun to have the cassette player mainly as a curiosity. He has to play his iPhone through one of those cassette adaptors. It sounds terrible.
Thanks for your input...but seriously, I disagree. My unit works fine...I am not interested in replacing it. I am looking for information that some here may have the expertise to provide. I am quite capable of making the needed repairs if I have the proper information on the wires in the harness...I figure someone here may have done that work. I am a tinkerer and I like to fix things not just replace something that for all intents works fine.

I'd love it if someone has properly mapped the harness wires and can provide that information!
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Old 10-18-2015, 04:03 PM #17
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1995 2nd gen as well

My original radio had the same issue and my son bought me one with his first job earnings. That one flickers but does not light up 90% of the time but works fine.
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Old 10-19-2015, 09:52 PM #18
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@Nervo19
@4runnerDebbie
@Megahoser

I had the same problem (radio worked well, but no lights came on) with my T4R when I bought it about 2 years ago. I ended up replacing mine, but determined the wiring harness in the back of the radio (from the amplifier) wasn't making a clean connection. When I jiggled the connector, the lights would flicker on/off.

Hoping the attached pictures (wiring diagrams from 2002 T4R) come through and help out. If not, let me know if there's something else I can do to help.
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Radio works but it wont light up or illuminate-2002t4r_radioillumination-png  Radio works but it wont light up or illuminate-2002t4r_radiowiringdiagram-png 
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Old 10-20-2015, 10:43 PM #19
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Man, this is exactly what I was looking for...thanks Volcano!!!!
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Old 12-18-2016, 07:37 PM #20
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2013 limited. Mine just started doing the same thing. Acts like it's a loose connection. But, the flickering of the lights is just too much in sequence to be a loose wire. When lights do go out, the on/off power knob does zilch as do other radio controls but Steering wheel radio control will turn it on. It naturally, not off. Very sporadic and intermittent. Simply cannot figure it out
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Last edited by oldlures; 12-18-2016 at 07:39 PM.
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Old 02-22-2017, 10:28 PM #21
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1999 4Runner radio backlights not working!

Hello I'm am new to this forum and wanted to share some input. My 1999 4Runner Limited radio backlights weren't working, but my LCD display backlights were working normal. After reading this forum and others about similar problems with the radio backlights, I decided to take my radio apart. Discovered that none of the bulbs were burnt out (5 bulbs) they were not getting power from the radio circuitry. Unfortunately without a schematic of the radio itself I couldn't figure out what actually powers the 5 backlight bulbs. Something in the circuit card failed. So now what. Since the LCD backlights work normal I jumped the power from one of the LCD backlight bulbs to one of the other 5 backlight bulbs. I confirmed the power wire with a voltmeter with the radio face removed and the circuit card plugged in to the radio. I placed the ground lead to the radio chassis and the power lead to the LCD bulb and that told me which wire is power (approx 6.5 volts). I then used a small jumper (wire) and jumped from the LCD bulb power wire to one of the 5 backlight bulbs. If you touch the wrong side of the bulb ( meaning ground) with power from the LCD bulb, it will probably spark meaning you touch ground. So then touch the other side and voila the 5 backlights will turn on! I used power from the left LCD display bulb and jumped to the closest backlight bulb, which was about 1 inch away. I then soldered 1 jumper in place. The backlights are in series/parallel so you only need one jumper. So now my radio backlights come on when the radio is on. Before they would only work when the exterior lights were on. Who cares, my lights work beautifully and no more fumbling with the radio in the dark! They will also dim with the light rheostat. When car is turned off all lights go off as usual.
This is what I did to solve my problem and I am not telling anyone to do this. You can buy a new or used radio too. Anyway lots of information here and hopefully you can understand what I wrote. Take care.
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Old 01-25-2018, 06:55 PM #22
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1999 4R with a dim LCD factory radio

Okay, so like everyone else, my factory radio's LCD is going dim. I'm not an electrical engineer, so the fix it videos on youtube are not going to help. I'm going to upgrade. I'm looking for anyone with personal experience installing and using "radio" controls with a backup camera.

I need some recommendations of what works and what does not. Thanks in advance.
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Old 04-23-2019, 12:30 PM #23
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Not easy, but fixed.

If anyone is still looking and really wants to keep the factory radio, this worked for me.

1) Remove radio. Be careful not to break the dash bezel (experience).
2) Disassemble radio down to its component level: the face plate, front circuit board, CD player, cassette deck, main circuit board, housing. Sorry I didn't take good pictures of this part. You'll need a small nut driver. Take your time. The front board simply pulls away from the main board. The tape deck has a ribbon cable that will come loose. The CD fits into a raised connector on the main board.
3) On the main board, there was a component that had a broken solder joint (see pics). I re-soldered that connection circled in red which fixed the problem.

The broken solder joint was extremely hard to find. Only after being suspicious of this part was I able to confirm the broken joint by placing it under a microscope and gently lifting it with a small pic to see that it was in fact broken.

I have no idea if this is the common failure point of this vintage radio, but it was for mine. Good luck!
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Radio works but it wont light up or illuminate-20190415_025347847_ios-small-jpg  Radio works but it wont light up or illuminate-20190415_034933860_ios_li-small-jpg 
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Old 04-23-2019, 12:35 PM #24
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It happened to me as well on my previous 4Runner but it was totally at my fault. I ended up replacing the head unit from ebay.
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Old 06-05-2019, 10:18 PM #25
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Quote:
Originally Posted by P-bod View Post
If anyone is still looking and really wants to keep the factory radio, this worked for me.

1) Remove radio. Be careful not to break the dash bezel (experience).
2) Disassemble radio down to its component level: the face plate, front circuit board, CD player, cassette deck, main circuit board, housing. Sorry I didn't take good pictures of this part. You'll need a small nut driver. Take your time. The front board simply pulls away from the main board. The tape deck has a ribbon cable that will come loose. The CD fits into a raised connector on the main board.
3) On the main board, there was a component that had a broken solder joint (see pics). I re-soldered that connection circled in red which fixed the problem.

The broken solder joint was extremely hard to find. Only after being suspicious of this part was I able to confirm the broken joint by placing it under a microscope and gently lifting it with a small pic to see that it was in fact broken.

I have no idea if this is the common failure point of this vintage radio, but it was for mine. Good luck!
I dont ever post but I felt obligated to say that I resoldered the component shown in the post above and it fixed my issue with the backlight of the radio not working.

Finally someone that answers the question rather than saying "just get a new headunit". Props to you sir.

Last edited by ckowalc; 06-05-2019 at 10:20 PM.
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Old 12-09-2019, 04:43 AM #26
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Also wanted to say thanks as I was able to make the simple heating of the solder to fix my stereo backlighting!!!
Very pleased!


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Old 11-28-2020, 06:16 PM #27
Wierguy Wierguy is offline
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another thanks to P-bod! Fixed my radio today and can confirm soldering the same thing he has circled in red fixed my light. First time working in this truck for me!
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Old 12-17-2020, 05:01 PM #28
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This person is a genius!I have a 2000 T4R sr5 4x4 with this same radio backlight issue.I took the radio out and did exactly what they said.It works perfectly now after years of not being able to see the radio at night.Thank you for your outstanding determination!
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Old 01-04-2021, 11:39 PM #29
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another happy customer !

Quote:
Originally Posted by P-bod View Post
If anyone is still looking and really wants to keep the factory radio, this worked for me.

1) Remove radio. Be careful not to break the dash bezel (experience).
2) Disassemble radio down to its component level: the face plate, front circuit board, CD player, cassette deck, main circuit board, housing. Sorry I didn't take good pictures of this part. You'll need a small nut driver. Take your time. The front board simply pulls away from the main board. The tape deck has a ribbon cable that will come loose. The CD fits into a raised connector on the main board.
3) On the main board, there was a component that had a broken solder joint (see pics). I re-soldered that connection circled in red which fixed the problem.

The broken solder joint was extremely hard to find. Only after being suspicious of this part was I able to confirm the broken joint by placing it under a microscope and gently lifting it with a small pic to see that it was in fact broken.

I have no idea if this is the common failure point of this vintage radio, but it was for mine. Good luck!
well, thanks again , from me now, 2 years after the fact ! just bought our 00 4Runner a few months back, and am in the process of loving it up ! I love getting all the original features working as new, plus a little careful hotrodding.
the exact same lug was cold soldered in our radio. lighting works ! took 20 minutes, thanks to great instructions. cheers !
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Old 01-10-2021, 04:40 PM #30
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Created an account just to share the same success story: P-bod's solder did the trick.

I was quite skeptical at first: after I got the board isolated, my solder *looked* reasonable; at least not obviously disconnected. Reheating the solder fixed it right up though. Amazing fix.
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