High-beam mod?

[StreetCreeper]

When I started driving — cars and trucks had the high-beam switch on the floor by the left foot. I'm not sure when they stopped this practice, but I really wish they would bring it back. I find it much easier to switch my high-beams back & forth with my left foot that usually does nothing else while driving.

I find it annoying as hell to be driving at night and have to be constantly moving my left arm out of its normal position to toggle the hand switch. This is especially aggravating if I'm steering with my left hand while my right is doing whatever, because toggling the switch now requires me to adjust both hands (right hand back to the steering wheel while the left toggles the switch).

Case in point while driving into or out of long swooping curves while using my left hand to steer, if I need to adjust my lights (quickly if another vehicle appears around the curve) I have to adjust both arms/hands to do one simple task since I can't just let go of the wheel in the middle of a turn.

Meanwhile my bum-ass left foot is sitting there half asleep and bored. I want to put it back to work.

So anyone know if it's possible or wise to modify the switch to be back on the floor? Could I just use a floor switch from an old car?

 

[sogoood]

youre old. haha





<3

 

[absalom]

Would be very easy to do. Just need to extend highbeam leads down to a floor switch. Could be knocked out in an afternoon. I think they did away with it because people's foot would hunt for the switch in a panic situation.

Universal solution

 

[StreetCreeper]

youre old. haha





<3

Indeed. I walked into an antique shop the other day and the bastards tried to sell me...

Would be very easy to do. Just need to extend highbeam leads down to a floor switch. Could be knocked out in an afternoon. I think they did away with it because people's foot would hunt for the switch in a panic situation.

Universal solution

Sweet. I don't like ****ing around with anything that uses electrickery, but I'm guessing this might be within my skillset.

I wonder if there is a way to have both a colum switch and a floor switch both operational?

Thanks for the link too.

 

[jeremyc74]

Meanwhile my bum-ass left foot is sitting there half asleep and bored. I want to put it back to work.

Buy something with a clutch? :caked:

 

[TheDurk]

Would be very easy to do. Just need to extend highbeam leads down to a floor switch. Could be knocked out in an afternoon. I think they did away with it because people's foot would hunt for the switch in a panic situation.

Universal solution

It's pretty straight forward on a non-DRL rig using the linked floor switch. Divert the blue-black wire to Terminal 17 of the stalk switch for the low leg and the Red-yellow wire from Terminal 7 for the high leg. Connect the common leg of the switch to a good chassis ground. This will preserve your high beam indicator and the auto off feature but not stalk flash.

http://tacoma.site40.net/4Runner_96-02_Repair&Wiring/techinfo.toyota.com/ileaf/ewdtmc2/ewdtmpdf/ewdsourc/2002/024runne/systemci/019hl.pdf

Will post up onDRL rigs shortly.

You can't really have the two switches operational at the same time. You could have another DPDT switch that would allow you to switch between the two. You'd have to switch both high and low legs because the stalk needs that ground connection for a lot of things.

EDIT: DRL rigs pretty easy, too. Switch would replace dimmer relay. Red/black to Terminal 4 is your common, white-green to terminal 3 is your High leg, and solid green to Terminal 1 is your low. Like with Non-DRLs, this will preserve your high beam indicator and the auto off feature but not stalk flash.

http://tacoma.site40.net/4Runner_96-02_Repair&Wiring/techinfo.toyota.com/ileaf/ewdtmc2/ewdtmpdf/ewdsourc/2002/024runne/systemci/020hldrl.pdf

I think you would want disable your DRL's however. They are supposed to light up the lows, but if you left the floor switch on high that's what would go on, and it might blind people on a dark day.

I think the real reason they did away with it was the European cars all had the stalk switch with the high beam flasher. People really liked having the flasher. I know I did. Yes, I'm old, too. Most of the euro cars were high end and sexy so it just became the fashion. Now it is probably law to have. I make no warranty as to the legality of this conversion or whether it will pass a State check.

 

[St Runner]

I agree with TheDurk that the flasher on the stalk is much more effective than the foot switch. Being old myself my first 4 wheel vehicle was a 68 jeep ( essentially a WW2 design) with a foot switch for the high/low beam. It is slow and clunky with no way to flash the high beam. Your body will learn and react on its own the more you use the stalk and having two set ups just makes your reaction time slower. I personally drive with just low beams at night and only use the high beam flasher to remind the stupid tourists in their huge jeeps that I can't see a damn thing when they have their high beams on.

 

[Bstrom]

Buy something with a clutch? :caked:

Since its an automatic, I just want to know what he's doing with his right hand!?

 

[Doc2012]

^^^^

My thoughts exactly. :naughty:

 

[St Runner]

I think most people with autos drive with their right hand on the wheel and move their left hand off. Manual drivers like me tend to drive with their left hand on the wheel to free up the right hand for shifting. Whatever you are implying about the OP it is his left hand that is doing it and can't get to the flasher.

 

[IBallEngineer]

It's pretty straight forward on a non-DRL rig using the linked floor switch. Divert the blue-black wire to Terminal 17 of the stalk switch for the low leg and the Red-yellow wire from Terminal 7 for the high leg. Connect the common leg of the switch to a good chassis ground. This will preserve your high beam indicator and the auto off feature but not stalk flash.

http://tacoma.site40.net/4Runner_96-02_Repair&Wiring/techinfo.toyota.com/ileaf/ewdtmc2/ewdtmpdf/ewdsourc/2002/024runne/systemci/019hl.pdf

Will post up onDRL rigs shortly.

You can't really have the two switches operational at the same time. You could have another DPDT switch that would allow you to switch between the two. You'd have to switch both high and low legs because the stalk needs that ground connection for a lot of things.

EDIT: DRL rigs pretty easy, too. Switch would replace dimmer relay. Red/black to Terminal 4 is your common, white-green to terminal 3 is your High leg, and solid green to Terminal 1 is your low. Like with Non-DRLs, this will preserve your high beam indicator and the auto off feature but not stalk flash.

http://tacoma.site40.net/4Runner_96-02_Repair&Wiring/techinfo.toyota.com/ileaf/ewdtmc2/ewdtmpdf/ewdsourc/2002/024runne/systemci/020hldrl.pdf

I think you would want disable your DRL's however. They are supposed to light up the lows, but if you left the floor switch on high that's what would go on, and it might blind people on a dark day.

I think the real reason they did away with it was the European cars all had the stalk switch with the high beam flasher. People really liked having the flasher. I know I did. Yes, I'm old, too. Most of the euro cars were high end and sexy so it just became the fashion. Now it is probably law to have. I make no warranty as to the legality of this conversion or whether it will pass a State check.

Say, now hold on a minute there You saying you want him to take the ground leg of the low beams, T17 at the stalk switch, directly to a foot dimmer? Wouldn't that eliminate the headlight switch altogether?

I've been having trouble sleeping, so maybe I need to re read this post later when I'm more coherent.

 

[StreetCreeper]

Since its an automatic, I just want to know what he's doing with his right hand!?

Former truck driver, so I tend to steer with my left while the right does nothing beside refreshment duty — but it used to be my shift hand.

 

[michaelj]

Funny I was telling my kid and fiance the other day that my first car had a foot switch on the floor to control the high beams. They didn't believe me. A 1981 Dodge Ram with a slant 6 motor. Awesome motor. Probably the best mopar ever made.

Anyways, I didn't read the links in the above posts. But seems you could mod something up if you really want to.

 

[cashmoney]

Technically both hands should be at 10 and 2 which makes the stalk easily accessible.

Having never grown up with a floor switch it was interesting when I started driving dads 77 bronco (3 on the tree is interesting). I can see why they got rid of it though.

 

[TheDurk]

Say, now hold on a minute there You saying you want him to take the ground leg of the low beams, T17 at the stalk switch, directly to a foot dimmer? Wouldn't that eliminate the headlight switch altogether?

I've been having trouble sleeping, so maybe I need to re read this post later when I'm more coherent.

Yeah, get some rest. The stalk switch headlight switch section will still control ground to the coil of the head relay through the red/yellow wire at T13 via the auto-off module. Cut ground to the coil, cut the lights at their common power source. The dimmer circuit operates on the ground side.

Made me look, though.

 

[MN4runnerman]

My dads 82 CJ 7 is a little complicated down there with all of those pedals. Gas, brake, clutch, parking brake, and high beam switch.

 

[MONTYMTB]

Since its an automatic, I just want to know what he's doing with his right hand!?

Former truck driver, so I tend to steer with my left while the right does nothing beside refreshment duty — but it used to be my shift hand.

I was really hoping he wouldn't answer this question, but it turned out ok.

 

[StreetCreeper]

I was really hoping he wouldn't answer this question, but it turned out ok.

"Here comes Woody with his pecker in his hand — he's a one-ball man an' he's off to the rodeo..."

 

[gamefreakgc]

It would pass inspection just fine, CA smog techs only care about the engine bay and the emissions. They could care less what's in your vehicle, we don't have to test other things like lights, markers, etc. like other states do.

My main issue with modding it is fabbing up a pedal/switch that can withstand repeated abuse from a foot, if that makes sense. Wiring a switch is a piece of cake, making a switch that can take abuse from getting pressed down by a foot repeatedly is not, at least for me. Maybe you guys are way ahead of me on that part though! Heck, even my last standard transmission couldn't hold up, one day the clutch pedal just plopped right down on my floor mat at a stoplight. My right foot has good pressure sensitivity from years of driving. My left... not so much.

 

[StreetCreeper]

It would pass inspection just fine, CA smog techs only care about the engine bay and the emissions. They could care less what's in your vehicle, we don't have to test other things like lights, markers, etc. like other states do.

My main issue with modding it is fabbing up a pedal/switch that can withstand repeated abuse from a foot, if that makes sense. Wiring a switch is a piece of cake, making a switch that can take abuse from getting pressed down by a foot repeatedly is not, at least for me. Maybe you guys are way ahead of me on that part though! Heck, even my last standard transmission couldn't hold up, one day the clutch pedal just plopped right down on my floor mat at a stoplight. My right foot has good pressure sensitivity from years of driving. My left... not so much.

Couldn't an old switch just be pulled out of a junkyard car. Surely there must be some left in decent shape.

TBH though, I never gave those floor mounted switches a second look so I don't know how they are constructed/mounted or how they could be swapped into a Runner.

Think I might go prowl around the local pick & pulls and see what's out there.