Confused re: LEDs, DRLs, etc.

[eds72]

Grr...

So I've spent at least a couple hours reading through the threads on the above topic and am still confused.

I have an '06 Limited, my turn signal lights and DRL are one in the same. I see some threads that say if my rig is DRL equipped, I can use the 1157 switchback bulbs from V-Leds to get a white DRL and amber blinker. Other threads seem to indicate that I must have a 3 wire setup on the socket - which I do not. There are only 2 wires going to the 1157 bulb used for the DRL/turn signal.

Can anyone tell me definitively what I can or cannot use? Here is the bulb from V-LEDs that I was looking at:

6K TYPE 2 DUAL COLOR CHANGING WHITE AMBER SWITCHBACK 92 TURN SIGNAL BULBS 1157 2057 | 1 PAIR

TIA for the assistance.

 

[superman3043]

Thank link clearly says it won't work as a DRL

It looks like they have parking lights wired into the white set and blinkers to the amber. That's my guess anyway. Hope it helps.

 

[eds72]

Thank link clearly says it won't work as a DRL

It looks like they have parking lights wired into the white set and blinkers to the amber. That's my guess anyway. Hope it helps.

Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately you pointed out a further point of confusion I've had that I didn't go into in my original message. I know I (and others) have referred to our lights as "DRL", but given there's apparently some rigs with 3 wire setups out there, are those "true" DRL? Maybe the 2 wire setups are not technically DRL, just parking lights that stay on when the headlights are not?

 

[Merle]

On my 2008 Limited, we have two pairs of lights: DRL's and turn signals.

The turn DRL's I replaced with LEDs, I believe they are the 194 variant and the LED's complimented the HID's.

The turn signals I changed out to a clear bulb 1157 (IIRC) because they were simply brighter than the LED options 3-4 years back (including those from VLED). Same with the back up lights, the LED's simply didn't throw enough light.

Hence, confirm if your DRL's are indeed different from the turn signal.

 

[superman3043]

Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately you pointed out a further point of confusion I've had that I didn't go into in my original message. I know I (and others) have referred to our lights as "DRL", but given there's apparently some rigs with 3 wire setups out there, are those "true" DRL? Maybe the 2 wire setups are not technically DRL, just parking lights that stay on when the headlights are not?

I think you're letting yourself get hung up on semantics. Technically speaking a "DRL" or Daytime Running Light can be any light that is wired to burn at all times when the car is on.

So my understanding of it is that in the 2 wire system the controller tells it to burn constant when the system is energized and flash when the blinker circuit is energized. Usually the 3 wire just gives you 2 separate hots and a single common so that you can wire the different sources. It's for older technology from what I understand.

I've got very limited knowledge on this. Maybe somebody like riceandpho with a better understanding could chime in.

 

[eds72]

Here's some more info on what confuses me:

On my 2008 Limited, we have two pairs of lights: DRL's and turn signals.

The turn DRL's I replaced with LEDs, I believe they are the 194 variant and the LED's complimented the HID's.

The turn signals I changed out to a clear bulb 1157 (IIRC) because they were simply brighter than the LED options 3-4 years back (including those from VLED). Same with the back up lights, the LED's simply didn't throw enough light.

Hence, confirm if your DRL's are indeed different from the turn signal.

My turn signals and DRLs are one in the same on my '06. The turn signal/DRL is an 1156. Below that in the housing there is a small marker light which I believe is a 194.

I think you're letting yourself get hung up on semantics. Technically speaking a "DRL" or Daytime Running Light can be any light that is wired to burn at all times when the car is on.

I agree with you that "DRL" as it seems to be used on the board does refer to any always on lamp. However, there appears to be different implementation of this on different 4 runners. As Merle notes above, his 2008 has distinct DRL and turn signals; my 2006 uses the same 1156 bulb for both the DRL and turn signal. I simply wondered if in official Toyotaspeak perhaps one of these options was not technically referred to as "DRL".

So my understanding of it is that in the 2 wire system the controller tells it to burn constant when the system is energized and flash when the blinker circuit is energized. Usually the 3 wire just gives you 2 separate hots and a single common so that you can wire the different sources. It's for older technology from what I understand.

I pulled out my voltmeter and confirmed that my 2 wire setup works exactly as you describe. So perhaps another way to slice this is to better understand the switchback bulbs. Do the amber and white LEDs have 2 separate hots and a common (I strongly suspect this)? Or do they only have 1 hot and 1 common plus circuitry that illuminates white instead of amber when constant voltage is applied?

 

[superman3043]

Yeah, my assumption is the same as yours. One white hot and one amber hot. So if you had two separate circuits (1 DRL and 1 blinker), it'd be simple to wire.

My 05' behaves the same as your 06'. DRL/Blinker is a single bulb on one circuit. 2 wire I assume. I'll confirm this next time I'm in there. Which probably won't be until I wire the blinker/DRL on my new bumper (soon though). I did learn the other day though, that the DRL turns off when headlights come on... Don't think that actually pertains to this conversation, but it isn't the way I thought it behaved.

 

[eds72]

I swear the further I dig into this, the more confusing things seem to get.

I've found quite a few posts, many from riceandpho, that indicate DRL equipped vehicles use 1157 while non-DRL equipped vehicles use 1156. Also there seems to be some indication that a DRL equipped vehicle will have a 3rd wire leading to the bulb.

My vehicle uses 1156 and has 2 wires on the socket for the turn signal/DRL. I am calling it a DRL because here's what happens in the following situation (all with engine running):

Lights off: DRL/Turn signal lamp constantly illuminated
Parking lights: DRL/turn signal lamp constantly illuminated
Lights in "on" position: Low beams on, DRL/Turn signal lamp off
Lights in "auto" position (daylight): DRL Turn signal lamp constantly illuminated

Obviously any time I turn on the signals or flashers the lights blink.

I'm going to PM riceandpho and ask him to jump in on this thread. He seems to show up in a lot of lighting threads and seems to have a lot of knowledge on the subject.

 

[riceandpho]

I think u need to check out the inside fuse box, the flasher unit is on the back of it. See if its has one of those pig tail plugs thats act as an extension to the flasher unit. U need to drop the lower part of the dash like u would take the stereo out, 2 10mm bolts, then remove the metal peice after it, i think 2 more 10mm , fuse box have like 3 10mm bolts.

 

[eds72]

I think u need to check out the inside fuse box, the flasher unit is on the back of it. See if its has one of those pig tail plugs thats act as an extension to the flasher unit. U need to drop the lower part of the dash like u would take the stereo out, 2 10mm bolts, then remove the metal peice after it, i think 2 more 10mm , fuse box have like 3 10mm bolts.

Thanks for jumping in here. I will see what I can do to check this out - but what exactly will it tell me?

 

[riceandpho]

For me i like to disable drl completly, also with led as flasher, u either change out the flasher unit or use resistor to make the led flash like normal bulb. Resistor do get hot. No mod will get the hyper flash.

 

[eds72]

What I would like to do is figure out how to do is run the switchback lights so that drl are white but signals flash amber. I think my problem is that the wire that flashes for the turn signal will have constant 12v unless headlights are on. I suspect I need to disable drl so that I don't have the constant 12v on amber, then feed power to the white lead when I want drl on (probably any time the engine is running).

Ultimately thats what I want, just struggling to figure it out before I drop $$ on lights.

 

[riceandpho]

i think u have a drl unit by the flasher unit. to get switchback to work, u must have the 3 wire socket with the 1157 bulb, 1156 is a single and 1157 is a dual, so it needs a 3 wire. u can do this, take the drl unit after the flasher unit out and use a led flasher unit, then take a 1157 socket and wire the flasher part to the flasher and i think the extra hot wire to a hot only with key on. also put a fuse to it too. this seem to cost more money to keep drl and using those over price led. if you really want drl, just wire up some led strips or somethin. my led project for the signals front and back and flasher unit was about 50 buckss all together.

 

[eds72]

OK thanks for the help, I think I have this mostly figured out. One remaining question though. Does the use of the aftermarket flasher disable the factory DRL? Or will I still have to do that?

 

[riceandpho]

I really cant tell u until u verified u have found a drl unit. Flasher unit is only a flasher i think.

 

[eds72]

The flasher unit on my vehicle is a 12 pin unit exactly like this:

2004 4Runner: DRL Disable With On/Off Capability - YotaTech Forums

I can complete the mod in that tutorial and disable DRL, but then not sure what to do about a replacement flasher to deal with hyperblinking. I only find the 8 pin model at v-leds and nothing at superbrightleds. Maybe I have to use a resistor.

 

[riceandpho]

I thought on some 4runners, theres some other harness after that drl harness, i think i saw that on the wire diagram on those service manual. I think i saw like a 8 pin harness, then they have a small extension to the 12 pin harness. I can tell you this, if u keep drl and use resistor to get rid of hyper flash, that resistor will be hot when the truck is on. Go on toyota120 and look for a service manual or electrical manual, i can try to help u out more, but i need my pc, dont have it on my phone. I would just get rid of drl since the life of the bulb is shorter when its on. Give me some time to look at it. Good thing i dont have drl or auto on lights, i hate em.

 

[eds72]

I found the 2006 service manuals / electrical diagrams (2003 also) and I didn't see anything like what you describe. There were "Non-DRL equipped" and "DRL-Equipped" sections for the turn signal flasher assembly. Without DRL shows the 8 pin connector like you describe; with DRL shows the 12 pin like I have and like what's in the link above. Interestingly, for the 12 pin connector the table showing expected voltage/resistance in different scenarios only documents pins 1-10. Nothing about 11 or 12 - and 12 is the one that is used in the above linked tutorial.

 

[eds72]

OK I'm slowly working my way through this. I have a plan but between waiting for parts to show up and a busy schedule, progress is slow. In a nutshell, what I want to do is separate the DRL and turn signals. By doing so, it will allow me to run whatever I want for DRL - switchback, strips, angel eyes, etc. while maintaining the existing turn signal.

Additionally, I'd like the DRL to function just like they do now - that is, on any time the key is on and the headlights are off. Having them on along with the headlights seems unnecessary and may even look odd if the color temperatures of the DRL and headlights don't match. A switch to turn them on/off is an option, but between my own forgetfulness and the fact that my wife often drives the vehicle I'd rather not rely on a manual process.

So step 1 is to disable the factory DRL. I had the rig at the dealer yesterday for the timing belt service and asked them to disable the DRL. They claimed they could not, and I didn't feel like arguing. Instead, I simply used the following procedure I referenced earlier to disable them:

2004 4Runner: DRL Disable With On/Off Capability - YotaTech Forums

Instead of installing a switch, I simply clipped the green/red wire, capped the ends and called it a day. The DRL are now disabled.

Now I need to wait for parts to arrive and some time in my schedule to open up. I will update this post as I go; hopefully it helps someone.

 

[bawachhe]

I will update this post as I go; hopefully it helps someone.

This thread helped me ok...so far.
I'm interested in doing exactly this that you're talking about, eds72. That is, maintain current turn signals, and separate DRLs to a set of angeleyes.
I looked in my own rig and confirmed I have only the two wire setup, so I need to mess around with the DRL control relay's wiring destination, basically, no?

Anyway, sorry to revive old thread, but I'm wondering if this ever got figured out and if so how?