Drop-in headlight upgrade?

[pluton]

Well the TYCs showed up today....annnnd they're going right back. The driver's side bulb shield is definitely not right. Looks like TYC assumed they were symmetrical but they're not.

This is why I gambled on getting genuine OEM units from the Mystic East (UAE) via Amayama. I hope they don't arrive crushed, or in some other way "not as promised".

 

[96RedRunner]

Fit the price and ceramic bulb connectors if I want to upgrade the relays to a better one or switch to 12awg I can do it later. As long as the high beam indicator and it doesn’t mess up my factory fogs I’ll be happy.

I want to check voltage at the bulb yet with the lights on...

What's $25 bucks anyway The what if's deal with em as needed. I'll check at bulb volts amps soon.
This Mod been in back of mind for a while the link brought it up front.

 

[19963.4lsr5]

What's $25 bucks anyway The what if's deal with em as needed. I'll check at bulb volts amps soon.
This Mod been in back of mind for a while the link brought it up front.

Same here. For years since I replaced a bulb socket on the old 96 I wanted to do it.

Same for my 94 Cummins. I melted two headlight switch connectors over the years I’ve owned it. LMC trucks had a harness in their auto body catalogue looking for body mounts.


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[gamefreakgc]

This is why I gambled on getting genuine OEM units from the Mystic East (UAE) via Amayama. I hope they don't arrive crushed, or in some other way "not as promised".

I did my first Amayama order a few months ago as I had to replace some sensors that had to be OEM. They arrived in roughly a week's time in great shape, was kind of surprised too because it was during when the supply chains for parts and shipping times were severely impacted by COVID. I would order from there again.

 

[raKnizek]

Placed an order with them a few years ago for inner and outer ball joints. Been a while but it was great

 

[96RedRunner]

Compared to the bi-xenons on my Audi, the stock 3rd gen lights are atrocious.

Come on man, compare apples to apples. My 11 Audi S5 vs stock 3rd come on, ha.
Bulb technology blossemed during this time along with all tech wouldn't you say, 3rd gen tech is what it is.
I like the results with Led's 99+ housings, I'll do retro fit at some point with rectangle projector is the idea brewing.

 

[texadelphia]

Come on man, compare apples to apples. My 11 Audi S5 vs stock 3rd come on, ha.
Bulb technology blossemed during this time along with all tech wouldn't you say, 3rd gen tech is what it is.
I like the results with Led's 99+ housings, I'll do retro fit at some point with rectangle projector is the idea brewing.

I think you mistook my meaning. It's not that I expect my 3rd gen headlights to be as good as the 10 year newer technology in my Audi. I was just saying that Audi's lights made me realize how good lighting could be, so I'd like to improve my 4Runner lights as much as possible. That's all.

Glad you've liked the 99+ housings. I'll be ordering the OEM housings today.

 

[texadelphia]

Something I noticed with the cheap harnesses vs. the more expensive ones is that the expensive ones run the ground back to the negative battery terminal while the cheap one just grounds to the body near the bulb. Is one option significantly better than the other?

 

[96RedRunner]

Same here. For years since I replaced a bulb socket on the old 96 I wanted to do it...

Never had a problem, location probably made a difference a damn Yankee moved south yrs ago. Toyota's design limited things with upgrading too lazy to start from scratch. And I don't mind messing with these little wires/relays compared to the big shiite 12kv+ stuff, cars nothing but control wiring.

 

[96RedRunner]

I think you mistook my meaning...

Yea that did come off Monday morning over first coffee gruff, my bad, ha. I''m with you on Audi lights in Runner.

Grounding battery vs body my opinion. For the amp load a body ground will suffice proper wire sized,
this particular load (headlights) I'd go to battery, for the least resistence to ground path.
The less expensive harness can be upgraded to battery ground for way less than than what your paying for the other.
3' piece of wire, solder, terminal for batt, heat shrink all you need.

 

[texadelphia]

Yea that did come off Monday morning over first coffee gruff, my bad, ha. I''m with you on Audi lights in Runner.



Grounding battery vs body my opinion. For the amp load a body ground will suffice proper wire sized,

this particular load (headlights) I'd go to battery, for the least resistence to ground path.

The less expensive harness can be upgraded to battery ground for way less than than what your paying for the other.

3' piece of wire, solder, terminal for batt, heat shrink all you need.

Picked up the wire, solder, heat shrink, and a set of helping hands tonight. Now I just need to locate a good soldering iron. Haven't soldered anything in about 20 years. Looking forward to it.

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[pluton]

I did my first Amayama order a few months ago as I had to replace some sensors that had to be OEM. They arrived in roughly a week's time in great shape, was kind of surprised too because it was during when the supply chains for parts and shipping times were severely impacted by COVID. I would order from there again.

It was the Toyota USA prices on brake hoses that drove me to Amayama a few years ago. T-USA: ≈$150. Amayama: ≈$34.
I have some recourse if the merch arrives DOA, since I used Paypal plus Amex to pay.

 

[texadelphia]

It was the Toyota USA prices on brake hoses that drove me to Amayama a few years ago. T-USA: ≈$150. Amayama: ≈$34.

I have some recourse if the merch arrives DOA, since I used Paypal plus Amex to pay.

I looked at Amayama for the headlight housings and the were $336 + $82 for shipping. From a local dealership website they were $312 + $21 for expedited shipping.

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[carguy92]

I looked at Amayama for the headlight housings and the were $336 + $82 for shipping. From a local dealership website they were $312 + $21 for expedited shipping.

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That's what I found too.

I'm really interested in the Depo's. I might bite the bullet and order them from somewhere with a good return policy to see. With winter in Oregon basically here, I really would like some more light soon. Or maybe I'll just install higher watt bulbs and a headlight services harness for now and wait on the housings.

I wonder what happened to the TYC's. Is it just a bad batch or change in manufacturing for the worse? Up until recently no one seemed to have issues with them.

 

[96RedRunner]

Picked up the wire, solder, heat shrink, and a set of helping hands tonight. Now I just need to locate a good soldering iron. Haven't soldered anything in about 20 years. Looking forward to it.

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I bought a Weller thats done a lot this year, Lowes. You remember which solder to buy ?

 

[texadelphia]

That's what I found too.

I'm really interested in the Depo's. I might bite the bullet and order them from somewhere with a good return policy to see. With winter in Oregon basically here, I really would like some more light soon. Or maybe I'll just install higher watt bulbs and a headlight services harness for now and wait on the housings.

I wonder what happened to the TYC's. Is it just a bad batch or change in manufacturing for the worse? Up until recently no one seemed to have issues with them.

I considered doing the same and just upgrading bulbs and harness but since I have a 97 with the textured lenses, I really wanted to try it with the better glass.

If you go with the Depo's I'll be interested to see how they are. I think you can buy them from Amazon if you're looking for painless returns.

 

[texadelphia]

I bought a Weller thats done a lot this year, Lowes. You remember which solder to buy ?

I was looking for a Weller soldering station (WLC100). It's probably overkill for what I need but I may want to get into electronics and repairing my vintage stereo that's constantly breaking so I was hoping to get something with variable heat and the sponge holder and everything.

I bought 60/40 leaded solder as that seems to be what most people recommend.

 

[pluton]

I looked at Amayama for the headlight housings and the were $336 + $82 for shipping. From a local dealership website they were $312 + $21 for expedited shipping.

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Headlamp assemblies: $219.74 each, $79 shipping for both. Hopefully they're not floating prices in the dishonest way that internet merchants sometimes do?

 

[96RedRunner]

I was looking for a Weller soldering station (WLC100). It's probably overkill for what I need but I may want to get into electronics and repairing my vintage stereo that's constantly breaking so I was hoping to get something with variable heat and the sponge holder and everything.

I bought 60/40 leaded solder as that seems to be what most people recommend.

Have older version for bench work, good setup, 40 watt corded iron for garage.
You said it been 20 yr so just a refresher ? Rosin core or Acid core ?

 

[19963.4lsr5]

No acid core for wires.


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