2002 4Runner 4WD Dashboard Lights only Half Working

[Nobody Special]

A funny for Dragon_EX...

I'm driving my 16 year old son home from Youth Group... and I talk about tearing apart the dash to fix the green 4WD light...

And I mention your chat above, and notice I have no lighted D symbol on my dash either. All the others P,N,R,1,2 all work fine.

So looks like I have another bulb to fix. Thanks for the heads-up on this one!

Tip: If they are bulbs which I believe they are, buy "bulb condoms" of the proper colors.

I had to replace a few lights in some of my other Yotas, and the condoms always cracked when trying to swap from the old bulb to new.

Not sure if these are proper, but they show the pic.
Pinball Life: Bulb Caps/Condoms

 

[Dragon_EX]

Tip: If they are bulbs which I believe they are, buy "bulb condoms" of the proper colors.

I had to replace a few lights in some of my other Yotas, and the condoms always cracked when trying to swap from the old bulb to new.

Not sure if these are proper, but they show the pic.
Pinball Life: Bulb Caps/Condoms

Do you know if the green color is the same for all the bulbs? And I'm guessing the color of a new bulb cover is going to be a little different from the original bulbs.

As a side note it seems the correct size of bulb for the drive light and the other lights of the same size is E74 rather than #74. Apparently there's a distinction between regular #74 and E74 . I think I'm gonna buy the bulbs and covers from McMaster-Carr because it's the only place I can find that isn't a suspicious looking seller on eBay or Amazon. Part numbers are 9527T992 and 16925K12 for anyone playing along at home. Just searching for the right bulb has turned out to be an oddly deep rabbit hole for just some light bulbs.

 

[Skulking]

Do you know if the green color is the same for all the bulbs? And I'm guessing the color of a new bulb cover is going to be a little different from the original bulbs.

As a side note it seems the correct size of bulb for the drive light and the other lights of the same size is E74 rather than #74. Apparently there's a distinction between regular #74 and E74 . I think I'm gonna buy the bulbs and covers from McMaster-Carr because it's the only place I can find that isn't a suspicious looking seller on eBay or Amazon. Part numbers are 9527T992 and 16925K12 for anyone playing along at home. Just searching for the right bulb has turned out to be an oddly deep rabbit hole for just some light bulbs.

I'd go with VLED. If you want to, Superbrightled also has what you are looking for. If you are replacing the gauge back lights, the 74's from superbrightled will hot spot much more than the ones from VLED. For the rest of them, the one's from superbrightled should be fine. I wouldn't go with the LED's from McMaster-Carr. They look like they are the correct base, but they are super low output. The incandescents should be okay though.

Edit: 74 is the correct size. It looks like E74 and 74 will both work as the base is the same, but they have different bulb diameters. The E74 is slightly smaller, so it shouldn't be an issue.

 

[Malcolm99]

If you bought OEM bulbs they come with the bulb condom if originally supplied, swap and you will be good to go.

 

[Dragon_EX]

I'd go with VLED. If you want to, Superbrightled also has what you are looking for. If you are replacing the gauge back lights, the 74's from superbrightled will hot spot much more than the ones from VLED. For the rest of them, the one's from superbrightled should be fine. I wouldn't go with the LED's from McMaster-Carr. They look like they are the correct base, but they are super low output. The incandescents should be okay though.

Edit: 74 is the correct size. It looks like E74 and 74 will both work as the base is the same, but they have different bulb diameters. The E74 is slightly smaller, so it shouldn't be an issue.

Well, I'm not looking to have the super bright and super green LED dash lights like it shows in the pictures on their website, I have a soft spot for the ugly puke-ish green of the gauge lights. And I think what I found on McMaster-Carr are the incandescents. I'm gonna keep looking though because now I don't really want to be buying a pack of ten of these things. The regular 74 bulbs are definitely more common then E74 so if it's really not a big deal I'll just go with 74.

 

[Skulking]

Well, I'm not looking to have the super bright and super green LED dash lights like it shows in the pictures on their website, I have a soft spot for the ugly puke-ish green of the gauge lights. And I think what I found on McMaster-Carr are the incandescents. I'm gonna keep looking though because now I don't really want to be buying a pack of ten of these things. The regular 74 bulbs are definitely more common then E74 so if it's really not a big deal I'll just go with 74.

The 74 incandescents on McMaster-Carr are 1505K359. I'm not sure if you actually need to worry about the condoms. I don't know that any of the cluster lights except for possible the gauge back lights use the condoms. I think they are all just clear bulbs and the tint is actually in the cluster itself.

 

[benny_js]

4wd light not on

Hey folks, I just bought a 2006 4runner sports edition. I just realized that the odometer isn’t adding up more mileage even though the trip does go up and the speedometer works fine. I also just realized that there are no lights on the dashboard that refer to the 4wd or diff lock at all. I can feel the 4lo engaging and even the beeping if not engaged correctly but no light on dashboard whatsoever. Same thing with the diff lock, if I press it, nothing turns on, so my concern is having it in without me knowing. Lastly, i also noticed that my dashboard doesn’t seem to have the drawing or figure for the 4wd, in other words, I believe that even if the lights or bulbs weren’t working, the dashboard itself doesn’t show the option for them.
HELP!!!

 

[benny_js]

Is there a way a 4wd 2006 sports edition came without the dashboard lights for 4lo, 4hi or diff lock. Because i just got one with 170,000 and i can feel the 4lo engaging but nothing turns on on the dashboard and the dashboard itself doesn’t have the drawing (like without the light on you can still see them you know) on it.
Help.

 

[Skulking]

Hey folks, I just bought a 2006 4runner sports edition. I just realized that the odometer isn’t adding up more mileage even though the trip does go up and the speedometer works fine. I also just realized that there are no lights on the dashboard that refer to the 4wd or diff lock at all. I can feel the 4lo engaging and even the beeping if not engaged correctly but no light on dashboard whatsoever. Same thing with the diff lock, if I press it, nothing turns on, so my concern is having it in without me knowing. Lastly, i also noticed that my dashboard doesn’t seem to have the drawing or figure for the 4wd, in other words, I believe that even if the lights or bulbs weren’t working, the dashboard itself doesn’t show the option for them.
HELP!!!

Is there a way a 4wd 2006 sports edition came without the dashboard lights for 4lo, 4hi or diff lock. Because i just got one with 170,000 and i can feel the 4lo engaging but nothing turns on on the dashboard and the dashboard itself doesn’t have the drawing (like without the light on you can still see them you know) on it.
Help.

You are in the 3rd gen forums. Your 2006 is a 4th gen. Try the 4th gen forums.

 

[jonfasch]

My Saturday task was to pull the instrument cluster..

I was a bit shocked that from the time I opened the hood (battery disconnect) until I had the cluster out was truly less than 10 minutes. Piece of cake as previously mentioned. Just took a few minutes to disconnect the 5 cables behind the cluster. 15 minutes to put back together and test.

My only issue is that the Toyota Dealer ordered the wrong bulbs for me. I had a bad feeling when I picked them up – as they were green and looked almost big enough to put on your grandma’s Xmas tree… Well not quite that big… but close.

So I did some bulb swaps while I had it apart and now my other set (upper) of 4wd lights(wheels) work. And my D symbol (Drive) now works. Funny –but I have no idea how long the D has been out – nice to have it back. So I truly did have just a bulb issue and not a 4wd issue as I initially thought. I like bulb issues. Lol

A few hints.
1. Test ALL your cluster lights prior to removing the cluster just in case you have more bulbs that are out. Almost all can be tested either when turning on the vehicle, using that bulb functionality, or almost running your gas tank dry (I did this to test that light).
2. Disconnect the 5 cables from the left (Driver’s) side – it’s easier than getting in from the right.
3. When the cluster is out, shine a flashlight in the bulb hole to figure out which warning light is which.
4. There is a Washer Fluid warning light hole (as mentioned in another post), but there is no electrical connection or socket to that bulb location.
5. I did map out every warning light on my cluster and will post in a few days – I hadn’t been able to find anything online that matched my 2002 4Runner to this point.
6. You can pull the bad bulb out of the socket with a pliers (but only use a very light grip).

Posting a few pictures.
1. First one is my working upper 4wd lights (before it was the bottom)
2. Second is the 5 disconnected cables
3. Third is the back of the instrument cluster
4. Fourth is with the white cover plate removed
5. Fifth is showing access to the three 4wd light sockets at top middle (empty socket at bottom center is the inoperative Windshield Washer socket)
6. Sixth is the 2 light bulbs I need (small one is for 4wd, large one is for almost all other indicator lights)

Thanks again for everyone’s help and info on this. All the little tidbits from all the posts really helped in knocking this out.

Again I’ll post a layout of the back of the cluster and what each hole is mapped to in a few days.

 

[jonfasch]

The 74 incandescents on McMaster-Carr are 1505K359. I'm not sure if you actually need to worry about the condoms. I don't know that any of the cluster lights except for possible the gauge back lights use the condoms. I think they are all just clear bulbs and the tint is actually in the cluster itself.

Correct - All are clear bulbs with the tint in the cluster faceplate.

 

[Skulking]

[MENTION=35589]jonfasch[/MENTION] Not sure if you need it, but for the two bulbs you posted a picture of, the larger one should be a 74 which you can just pull out of the base to swap in a new 74. The smaller one is a Neowedge. From the picture I can't tell if it is a T3 or a T4, but for that one the entire unit is replaced.

 

[jonfasch]

Yes... Thanks! I was able to pull the larger one out of the socket with the light grip of a pliers. My fingers kept slipping.

 

[jonfasch]

Okay... I finally have all the instrument cluster bulbs switched out that either were bad or I wanted to replace. I replaced all 3 Gauge Backlights (green condoms) with just the default clear bulb (I like that better).

I did pull out the console approximately 8-10 times - as I initially had the incorrect bulbs on hand when replacing for a few of the locations, and while testing a few others. I have it down to 7 minutes from opening the hood (disconnecting battery) to having the instrument cluster on the workbench. Easy-Peasy now...

The only bulb I'm unsure of is the A/TP bulb. I never could get that bulb to light after replacing the bulb, and the socket multiple times. It doesn't light when starting the vehicle, and it doesn't light when putting the 4WD in neutral and trying all the other shifting options... I'm not sure what is up there.

Anyway, I'm good with it now - and really like having almost all working as needed.

Though I do have VSC Off / VSC TRAC / Check Engine Light on ALL the time. But I've had these 3 lights on since 2007 within a month of buying the vehicle with about 55,000 miles... I just went over 320,000 a week or so ago.

Attached is a layout of the Instrument Cluster bulbs use, color, and bulb number. I searched hard for this exact layout online previously - but could not find one.

 

[phattyduck]

The only bulb I'm unsure of is the A/TP bulb. I never could get that bulb to light after replacing the bulb, and the socket multiple times. It doesn't light when starting the vehicle, and it doesn't light when putting the 4WD in neutral and trying all the other shifting options... I'm not sure what is up there.

That light is purely 'mechanical' - it should only light with the vehicle 'ON' the trans in Park and the transfer case in neutral. Likely just a dirty switch on the transfer case. It is pretty unimportant - it just tells you that the parking pawl in the trans won't stop the truck from moving even though the truck is in Park. Most people here probably have never even seen it turn on...

-Charlie

 

[jonfasch]

Your comment...."should only light with the vehicle 'ON' the trans in Park and the transfer case in neutral."

I tried that exact situation multiple times with different bulbs and sockets... So I'm guessing you may be correct. As I feel I remember that light lighting up years ago... but I rarely do anything with the transfer case.

Maybe just a quick spray of electrical cleaner one of these days on the plugs when it gets above zero here...

Thanks!