CO-Cygnus
New member
Hah. $17 part and you can't have it on a trail from the factory.
Automatic headlights at night : possible mod?
- Thread starter Arterisk
- Start date
Hah. $17 part and you can't have it on a trail from the factory.
Brandon_Reed
Member
G X B
New member
So are you saying that by plugging the sensor in, the dash and touch screen lights will auto adjust when the headlight is turned on? That would be awesome, I always leave the lights on but on sunny days especially with the sunroof open it is hard to see the backup cam's image on the screen.
Brandon_Reed
Member
SoCalOC4runner
New member
I feel like i'm kind of asking the same question as G X B but.. nothing additional is required like a wiring harness or anything other than just plugging it in to get the headlights to auto turn on in the dark?
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G X B
New member
2015 Trail. Harness is already there, connected to 55538-48010 dummy plug.
My understanding is you will not gain auto headlights, only auto dimming for nav screen and instrument panel lights when the headlight is already (manually) turned on.
If your instrument light scroll switch (left to steering wheel) is set to the brightest position (past the click) then adding the sensor won't help you at all, instrument panel stays bright lit regardless of headlights being on or off.
I like my instrument panel brightness set a bit lower than max setting, when headlights are turned on the nav screen appears to be too dark on sunny days, so a $12 sensor will be an improvement for me.
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Brandon_Reed
Member
No, it just auto-adjusts the dashboard lights and nav screen. If we had the turn signal stalk from a TRDP we might get auto headlights but that's a lot more involved than the $12 sensor. Some trucks seem to have the harness already, some don't so pull up your plug to see before moving forward.
My sensor didn't seat perfectly, it's loose in the hole and I can't seem to get it back out now so heads-up that if you have to have it absolutely perfect you might want to pay closer attention than I did when pushing it back in.
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I verified my '14 TEP does NOT have the wiring harness attached to the plug for auto light sensor as well. My '14 TEP was built 10/13.
Brandon_Reed
Member
You'd have to take a lot of the dash apart to get to that harness for those of us with the harness we never see where it goes.
Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
Well perhaps not find the other end, but at least an idea of where it's leading to, if it's not readily apparent where it terminates at. I had the radio out, and then pulled out the clock display above (2 screws) and I could see the back side of the dummy plug/hole.
Btw, if you haven't been able to re-seat your sensor yet (your previous post), you might be able to pop it out from underneath with a long screwdriver placed between the air ducts after you remove radio and clock display.
reidbailey
New member
Schematics would be a better way to follow the wire's path.
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G X B
New member
Big thanks to Brandon_Reed and everyone else providing info on this thread!
For $12 now I have auto dash dimming, so I can leave my $40k MSRP vehicle's non-auto dimming lights on 24/7 and still be able to see the nav screen when it's sunny outside.
Some photos of the old blind plug (black) and the new sensor (blue). The flexible arms look different between the two but the sensor fits perfectly when pushed in place.
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SlidingDeck
New member
I recently bought a 2017 SR5 Premium. When I popped out the light sensor dummy plug that sits below the windshield and above the dash, it was attached to a harness - as other forum members have mentioned about their recent model year vehicles (post 2016 and a half?). I figured this situation might mean I had the correct harness for auto on headlights, so based on other posters' explicit/implicit conclusion the auto headlight stalk is required, I ordered the oem sensor (part #89121-06020) and the oem auto stalk (part #84140-35171). I installed both - being a total novice, the stalk install was tricky because the steering wheel has to be removed, and one must be careful with the airbag and clock spring/spiral cable.
Unfortunately, installing the 2 parts did not give me auto on headlight functionality. My new light stalk functions exactly as the old one did (meaning when the new one is set to auto, my drls are on whether it's light or dark outside and the headlights are never on); the only ostensible difference is the "drl" setting is re-labeled "auto".
I was really hopeful adding the parts would enable auto on headlights on my vehicle, so I'm bummed about this setback... but I'm determined to keep pushing to get this mod working.
In that vein, I noticed both the original drl stalk and the new auto stalk have the same pinout (I suppose they could still create different signals based on internally jumping different sets of pins, though?). I also noticed the stalk's female receptacle has more pins than there are wires on the harness's male plug, so my inference is I don't have the right harness. To elaborate, there're 2 rows of 10 blanks for pins on both the female receptacle (light stalk) and male plug (harness). The light stalk has one row of 5 pins, and all 10 pins on the other row. The 5 pin row is configured like 0x2xxx678x (where numbers are pins and x's are blanks). The harness plug has one row with 2 pins (corresponding to the 5 pin row on the stalk receptacle) with configuration xxxxxx67xx, and one 8 pin row with configuration 0123x5x789. Thus, they mate at xxxxx67xx and 0123x5x789, respectively. That leaves 3 pins and 2 pins, respectively, untouched on the stalk.
In terms of finding the proper harness, unfortunately the light stalk harness feeds into a big cluster of harnesses (there's about 7 or 9 plugs/harnesses right around the steering wheel) all in the same loom which disappears deep into the dash. So it seems acquiring the correct harness might be expensive, and installing it might require a lot of disassembly. I did research harness part #s a bit on the internet, and found reference to the same main dash harness working for SR5s, Trails AND auto-headlight TRD Pros. Thus, I don't know if I actually do have the right harness, or the various internet toyota dealers' part databases have incorrect information.
The only option for advancing this project I can think of at the moment, is to compare a picture of the wires/pinout on the harness plug connecting to my light stalk to one from someone who has a Limited or TRD Pro (obviously, both have auto on headlights). The plug isn't too difficult to access; all one has to do is remove the cover below the steering wheel by backing out 2 screws (one on each side of the wheel, accessed by turning the wheel 90 degrees from center one way, then the other) and popping it off. Anyone willing to oblige? Or maybe someone can make headway based on the wiring diagram attached to an earlier post in the thread? Other thoughts?
Unfortunately, installing the 2 parts did not give me auto on headlight functionality. My new light stalk functions exactly as the old one did (meaning when the new one is set to auto, my drls are on whether it's light or dark outside and the headlights are never on); the only ostensible difference is the "drl" setting is re-labeled "auto".
I was really hopeful adding the parts would enable auto on headlights on my vehicle, so I'm bummed about this setback... but I'm determined to keep pushing to get this mod working.
In that vein, I noticed both the original drl stalk and the new auto stalk have the same pinout (I suppose they could still create different signals based on internally jumping different sets of pins, though?). I also noticed the stalk's female receptacle has more pins than there are wires on the harness's male plug, so my inference is I don't have the right harness. To elaborate, there're 2 rows of 10 blanks for pins on both the female receptacle (light stalk) and male plug (harness). The light stalk has one row of 5 pins, and all 10 pins on the other row. The 5 pin row is configured like 0x2xxx678x (where numbers are pins and x's are blanks). The harness plug has one row with 2 pins (corresponding to the 5 pin row on the stalk receptacle) with configuration xxxxxx67xx, and one 8 pin row with configuration 0123x5x789. Thus, they mate at xxxxx67xx and 0123x5x789, respectively. That leaves 3 pins and 2 pins, respectively, untouched on the stalk.
In terms of finding the proper harness, unfortunately the light stalk harness feeds into a big cluster of harnesses (there's about 7 or 9 plugs/harnesses right around the steering wheel) all in the same loom which disappears deep into the dash. So it seems acquiring the correct harness might be expensive, and installing it might require a lot of disassembly. I did research harness part #s a bit on the internet, and found reference to the same main dash harness working for SR5s, Trails AND auto-headlight TRD Pros. Thus, I don't know if I actually do have the right harness, or the various internet toyota dealers' part databases have incorrect information.
The only option for advancing this project I can think of at the moment, is to compare a picture of the wires/pinout on the harness plug connecting to my light stalk to one from someone who has a Limited or TRD Pro (obviously, both have auto on headlights). The plug isn't too difficult to access; all one has to do is remove the cover below the steering wheel by backing out 2 screws (one on each side of the wheel, accessed by turning the wheel 90 degrees from center one way, then the other) and popping it off. Anyone willing to oblige? Or maybe someone can make headway based on the wiring diagram attached to an earlier post in the thread? Other thoughts?
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SlidingDeck
New member
Here's a re-post of the wiring diagram image now missing from earlier in the thread (I saved a copy right before it went missing due to the photobucket policy change):
After studying the diagram, it appears to use a slightly different labeling of the pins/wires than I used in my earlier post:
11-12-13-14-15-16-17-18-19-20
01-02-03-04-05-06-07-08-09-10
plug wires:
11-12-13-XX-15-XX-17-18-19-20
XX-XX-03-04-XX-XX-XX-XX-XX-XX
colors -
03 = white + black (WHT/BLK) = switch/circuit for 01-10? (LFO?)
04 = blue (BLU) = fogs (BFG?)
11 = light green (LT GRN) = high beams on (HU?)
12 = white + black (WHT/BLK) = switch/circuit for 11-20? (EL)
13 = pink (PNK) = light sensor? (?)
15 = green (?) = ? (?)
17 = violet (VIO) = high beams flash (HF?)
18 = red (RED) = tail lights (T)
19 = white (WHT) = auto (A)
20 = light blue (LT BLU) = head lights (H)
stalk pins:
11-12-13-14-15-16-17-18-19-20
XX-02-03-04-XX-XX-XX-08-XX-10
connections (P=plug, S=stalk, X=neither)
---------------------------------------
PS-PS-PS-XS-PS-XS-PS-PS-PS-PS
XX-XS-PS-PS-XX-XX-XX-XS-XX-XS
So, here's my latest theory based in part on the wiring diagram:
The tail light wire (RED) needs to be connected/switched on in order for the ECU to know to read the light sensor and toggle between DRLs and headlights. It makes some sense in that if the tail light wire is not engaged, the truck would have just headlights and no tail lights - not a proper nighttime setting. I developed this theory because the wire numbers in the diagram are difficult to read at the originally posted resolution and I thought there was some small chance the T/RED (T for TAIL) wire might be numbered something other than 18 (where it is in my harness plug). Comparing the T/RED number label to other pixel blended jpg numbers elsewhere in the diagram, I thought there was a small chance it might actually read 14, which is not only an open slot on the harness plug but would put the red wire next to the pink wire which appears to be related to the light sensor (confirmation bias?).
I don't know if this theory is wishful thinking or if I'm on to a solution. I doubt the theory because the diagram indicates it's for both "W/ AUTOMATIC LIGHT CONTROL" and "W/O AUTOMATIC LIGHT CONTROL" (which means it's not necessarily exclusively the Limited circuit diagram as indicated in the original post) and it doesn't: 1. differentiate between red wiring locations; 2. show a connection between the T/RED wire and the AUTO(3)/DRL(4) setting on the SWITCH ASSEMBLY. In any case, I see 3 paths forward: 1. As before, someone with a Limited or TRD Pro posts a picture (or description) of the wires running into their light stalk harness plug for comparison; 2. [MENTION=83083]rigtec[/MENTION] confirms the T/RED number on the original copy of the diagram; or 3. Someone (honestly and knowledgeably) indicates to me I won't destroy anything by pulling the T/RED wire from slot 18 and putting it in slot 14 (I suppose there's a circuit tester version of this experiment too). Thoughts?
EDIT: So the T/RED wire theory is wrong. The pdfs in the following post from another thread show clearer wire numbering:
After studying the diagram, it appears to use a slightly different labeling of the pins/wires than I used in my earlier post:
11-12-13-14-15-16-17-18-19-20
01-02-03-04-05-06-07-08-09-10
plug wires:
11-12-13-XX-15-XX-17-18-19-20
XX-XX-03-04-XX-XX-XX-XX-XX-XX
colors -
03 = white + black (WHT/BLK) = switch/circuit for 01-10? (LFO?)
04 = blue (BLU) = fogs (BFG?)
11 = light green (LT GRN) = high beams on (HU?)
12 = white + black (WHT/BLK) = switch/circuit for 11-20? (EL)
13 = pink (PNK) = light sensor? (?)
15 = green (?) = ? (?)
17 = violet (VIO) = high beams flash (HF?)
18 = red (RED) = tail lights (T)
19 = white (WHT) = auto (A)
20 = light blue (LT BLU) = head lights (H)
stalk pins:
11-12-13-14-15-16-17-18-19-20
XX-02-03-04-XX-XX-XX-08-XX-10
connections (P=plug, S=stalk, X=neither)
---------------------------------------
PS-PS-PS-XS-PS-XS-PS-PS-PS-PS
XX-XS-PS-PS-XX-XX-XX-XS-XX-XS
So, here's my latest theory based in part on the wiring diagram:
The tail light wire (RED) needs to be connected/switched on in order for the ECU to know to read the light sensor and toggle between DRLs and headlights. It makes some sense in that if the tail light wire is not engaged, the truck would have just headlights and no tail lights - not a proper nighttime setting. I developed this theory because the wire numbers in the diagram are difficult to read at the originally posted resolution and I thought there was some small chance the T/RED (T for TAIL) wire might be numbered something other than 18 (where it is in my harness plug). Comparing the T/RED number label to other pixel blended jpg numbers elsewhere in the diagram, I thought there was a small chance it might actually read 14, which is not only an open slot on the harness plug but would put the red wire next to the pink wire which appears to be related to the light sensor (confirmation bias?).
I don't know if this theory is wishful thinking or if I'm on to a solution. I doubt the theory because the diagram indicates it's for both "W/ AUTOMATIC LIGHT CONTROL" and "W/O AUTOMATIC LIGHT CONTROL" (which means it's not necessarily exclusively the Limited circuit diagram as indicated in the original post) and it doesn't: 1. differentiate between red wiring locations; 2. show a connection between the T/RED wire and the AUTO(3)/DRL(4) setting on the SWITCH ASSEMBLY. In any case, I see 3 paths forward: 1. As before, someone with a Limited or TRD Pro posts a picture (or description) of the wires running into their light stalk harness plug for comparison; 2. [MENTION=83083]rigtec[/MENTION] confirms the T/RED number on the original copy of the diagram; or 3. Someone (honestly and knowledgeably) indicates to me I won't destroy anything by pulling the T/RED wire from slot 18 and putting it in slot 14 (I suppose there's a circuit tester version of this experiment too). Thoughts?
EDIT: So the T/RED wire theory is wrong. The pdfs in the following post from another thread show clearer wire numbering:
Attachments
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SlidingDeck
New member
Thanks [MENTION=83083]rigtec[/MENTION], I'll check the part number tonight. Do you still have access to the wiring diagram? Can you confirm the number label on the T/RED wire?
The hope is based on the TRD Pro having auto on headlights and being so closely related to the Trail/TRD Offroad which doesn't. Also, 4th gens (obviously different wiring from the 5th gen, but from looks of things not all that dissimilar) were able to enable it with a sensor, stalk and harness (i.e., Toyota didn't just install it on 4th gen SR5 and Trail trims).
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SlidingDeck
New member
Someone with auto on headlights will have to confirm, but it's my understanding the auto setting toggles between DRLs and headlights depending upon ambient lighting. There's a way to disable the DRLs and keep the auto headlights though: http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/169979-drl-disable-but-keep-auto-headlights.html
