fat lip bumper swap - i'm at a loss over these turn signals

[Frontier719]

Bottom line up front: has anyone put a 99+ bumper on a '96-'98 model and gotten the turn signals to work?

I just swapped out my 1998 flat bumper with a fat lip from a 1999. It took some minor drilling and grinding but I got it mounted.

Unfortunately, I'm at an impasse over what to do with the turn signals.

The turn signal harness from the 1999 does not match the harness on the 1998, and the bulbs are completely different.

So, I took the sockets out of the 1998 and (with some light grinding and reshaping) fit them in to the turn signals on the 1999.

Next problem: the bulbs from the 1998 are too fat to fit in the turn signal hole on the 1999 turn signal.

I went to the (several actually) store and bought skinnier bulbs with the closest wattage to the 1998 bulbs. The bulbs from the 1998 are originally 12v 27w. The bulbs I could find are 12v 12w.

HOWEVER: now with the 12v 12w bulbs in, my turn signal blinks twice as fast like it has a burnt out bulb. (yes, i've checked all the other bulbs to ensure that they all work, etc).

:mad2::mad2::mad2::ballchain::cry2::Cry::gun5:

 

[nc-grayson]

Why don't you splice the harnesses together and buy the correct bulbs?

 

[midcoma]

^^What he said^^

Just cut the sockets off of the 2 wires and splice the sockets from the '99 onto the wires. Then the sockets and bulbs will fit without any need for modification.

 

[LIVEVIL]

^^What he said^^

Just cut the sockets off of the 2 wires and splice the sockets from the '99 onto the wires. Then the sockets and bulbs will fit without any need for modification.

I didn't know it was possible to not know this. :iagree:

 

[Frontier719]

I didn't know it was possible to not know this. :iagree:

Alright, alright, be nice now. [MENTION=112743]nc-grayson[/MENTION] My reasoning for not cutting and splicing is because the bulbs from the '99 are a different wattage than the original bulbs.

If I cut and splice the '99 harnesses in, won't this also trigger the relay to blink twice as fast? It would be the same thing as putting a different bulb into the '98 socket.

 

[midcoma]

It may; however, all you have to do to fix the fast blinking is replace the turn signal relay. There's threads on here about fixing the "hyperblink" after converting to LED bulbs. In those you can find the relay number that's available at local auto part stores.

 

[LIVEVIL]

Alright, alright, be nice now. [MENTION=112743]nc-grayson[/MENTION] My reasoning for not cutting and splicing is because the bulbs from the '99 are a different wattage than the original bulbs.

If I cut and splice the '99 harnesses in, won't this also trigger the relay to blink twice as fast? It would be the same thing as putting a different bulb into the '98 socket.

Here I will toss in this, try the EP-35 relay to correct a fast blink mostly used for LED conversions.

 

[Chuckles89]

I have this flasher. It works great with LEDs in all 4 corners Amazon.com: Tridon EP35 Flasher: Automotive

 

[Frontier719]

Woo! This is what I was after-thanks for the creative thinking everyone. I didn't know you could just swap out the relay.

 

[Frontier719]

Alls I knows is....

God forbid Toyota put the flasher fuse in the fuse box with the rest of the fuses...that required way too much work for a stupid flasher. I'm done with my rant now.

 

[midcoma]

I'm guessing you did it the hard way and took the dash apart?

I saw how much work that was and decided to try doing it blindly. Reached up behind the dash and found the old one by feel, removed it, and replaced it with the new one by feel. Took about 1 minute.

 

[Frontier719]

I'm guessing you did it the hard way and took the dash apart?

I saw how much work that was and decided to try doing it blindly. Reached up behind the dash and found the old one by feel, removed it, and replaced it with the new one by feel. Took about 1 minute.

You must have skinnier fingers than me--I tried that first after reading the review on it, but couldn't pry it loose. It still only took about 5 min but that fuse box down there is certainly not ergonomic.