alexb
New member
This is my write up on everything it took to convert the center dash and console in my 1997 to that from a 2002 sport edition.
(minus defrost switch) Still working on that one
DISCLAIMERS:
***This is for REFERENCE only... I will not be responsible for anyone breaking their cars or causing any electrical problems***
During this conversion we used several different resources to figure out the wiring of the ECT PWR, Rear window UP and DOWN, HAZARD switches and dash lighting for all switches.
When doing the re-wiring we found that the color-coding can very from year to year and even with different options. For instance, the 99 hazard wiring from DirDawg's car was different colors than the 02 even though they are the same plug and pin layout.
Now onto the conversion
I located all the necessary pieces for this conversion from a 2002 Sport Edition 4x4 that I found at a local salvage yard. From that I took the following:
Center console and cup holders
Trim piece around shifters
Trim piece around guages
Trim pieces around the center dash
New air ducting for relocating air vents (THIS IS KEY, otherwise the new air vents will not line up and blow into the back of the stereo, climate control etc)
HAZARD Switch and wiring harness plug (get the plug for wiring color reference)
Combination switch for ECT, Defrost, Rear window Up Down
Wiring harness plug for combination switch
I started off by doing the center console swap following the write up on the forums
After that I removed all the trim pieces around the shifter and center dash
Once the trim pieces are off you can swap out the new air ducting. The old and new are both held on by one screw and fitment should be the exact same. You should be able to wedge the old one out and new one back in with a little wiggling.
Next I separated the wiring for the ECT and Window switches that ran to the old center console from the BRAKE indicator switch and re-routed those up the dash. You can see them hanging out below the air vent with the other connectors
Next we began on the re-wiring of the new switches. The new dash has one piece that contains all the switches for the ECT, defrost, and windows that all use one combination plug for everything.
**Note this is where things may vary depending on year and model. I used a combination of wiring diagrams from a Haynes manual for 1996-1998 model 4Runners, Tacomas, and T100s, along with a FSM for a 2002 4Runner, and just by referencing all the plugs I pulled from the salvaged 4Runner.
This is a good source for 4Runner FSMs HERE
For all of the wiring we used crimps and heat shrink to make all the connections.
These are all the color combinations we found for the re-wiring
Left is the wiring from the individual old switches plugs : Right is the wiring from the new single combination switch plug
The colors are as follows:
LG = Light Green
BK = Black
R = Red
G = Green
W = White
BL = Blue
Y = Yellow
Starting with the rear window switch it goes:
OLD SWITCH LGBK ------|------ RBK NEW SWITCH
OLD SWITCH RBK ------|------ R NEW SWITCH
OLD SWITCH (Combine GBK & WG ) ======|------ BLW NEW SWITCH
Then there is a leftover G ground wire from the light in the switch.
For the ECT PWR switch: This one matches old to new
OLD SWITCH BKY ------|------ BKY NEW SWITCH
OLD SWITCH GR ------|------ GR NEW SWITCH
For the Dash lights in the Combination switch I used the wiring from the lights to the ECT PWR switch:
OLD SWITCH G ------|------ WG NEW SWITCH
OLD SWITCH WG ------|------ G NEW SWITCH
This is what it looks like with the lights hooked up in the combination switch piece
This will leave 3 wires remaining on the plug for the new combination switch GR, GBK, and WBK
These 3 are all for the defroster but I have yet to get it to work and stay on. I have gotten it to turn on when you hold the button down, but it will not toggle on and off like it should.
Next is the new HAZARD switch. For this the actual connector is the same so I just changed the pin configuration. To do this, pop off the clip that holds the pins in, then pull each pin out. It is recommended to disconnect the battery as there is an "always on" power source to this switch.
The way I finally got this to work was to go back to the salvage yard and get the plug and wires for the new hazard switch. Then I just cross referenced the color codes from the old switch to the new. The color codes can be found in the manuals but they do not show the order they go into the pins of the connector. This is why I had to go back and get the actual connector, even though I didn't actually end up using it.
This is how mine ended up for the pinouts: There are 10 pin positions total in the plug, 6 across the top, and 4 across the bottom, 2 on each side of the release tab. Only 8 will be used as there are only 8 wires total.
[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
[ ] [ ] _____ [ ] [ ]
The colors I used go as follows:
[GR] [BLW] [RBK] [G] [GW] [ ]
[GY] [GBK] _____ [ ] [BLR]
That should be it for the wiring. Next I just wrapped up all my wires with some electrical tape and tried to fit them back into the center dash. Then just assemble everything back together. With the extra wires you will have to shove things around to get it to fit behind the new air vents, but it should all fit.
Now you have a new and updated Dash!
A few things I noticed along the way. Almost always, the light inside a switch will use the G and GW wire colors. Also, the clock is the exact same from old to new so if you don't find one with the new piece your old one should fit.
For the wiring, if your colors for your year end up being different, just try to find a diagram from the FSM and follow the routes to each wire. We re-drew them on pieces of paper to help understand where everything went.
Big thanks to DirtDawg for helping me out on this!
I am by no means an expert at this stuff, I just have some basic mechanical knowledge and sometimes had to work through things by trial and error. I blew a few fuses along the way, but it all worked out. If you need any help post here and I'll do my best to assist you.
(minus defrost switch) Still working on that one
DISCLAIMERS:
***This is for REFERENCE only... I will not be responsible for anyone breaking their cars or causing any electrical problems***
During this conversion we used several different resources to figure out the wiring of the ECT PWR, Rear window UP and DOWN, HAZARD switches and dash lighting for all switches.
When doing the re-wiring we found that the color-coding can very from year to year and even with different options. For instance, the 99 hazard wiring from DirDawg's car was different colors than the 02 even though they are the same plug and pin layout.
Now onto the conversion
I located all the necessary pieces for this conversion from a 2002 Sport Edition 4x4 that I found at a local salvage yard. From that I took the following:
Center console and cup holders
Trim piece around shifters
Trim piece around guages
Trim pieces around the center dash
New air ducting for relocating air vents (THIS IS KEY, otherwise the new air vents will not line up and blow into the back of the stereo, climate control etc)
HAZARD Switch and wiring harness plug (get the plug for wiring color reference)
Combination switch for ECT, Defrost, Rear window Up Down
Wiring harness plug for combination switch
I started off by doing the center console swap following the write up on the forums
After that I removed all the trim pieces around the shifter and center dash
Once the trim pieces are off you can swap out the new air ducting. The old and new are both held on by one screw and fitment should be the exact same. You should be able to wedge the old one out and new one back in with a little wiggling.
Next I separated the wiring for the ECT and Window switches that ran to the old center console from the BRAKE indicator switch and re-routed those up the dash. You can see them hanging out below the air vent with the other connectors
Next we began on the re-wiring of the new switches. The new dash has one piece that contains all the switches for the ECT, defrost, and windows that all use one combination plug for everything.
**Note this is where things may vary depending on year and model. I used a combination of wiring diagrams from a Haynes manual for 1996-1998 model 4Runners, Tacomas, and T100s, along with a FSM for a 2002 4Runner, and just by referencing all the plugs I pulled from the salvaged 4Runner.
This is a good source for 4Runner FSMs HERE
For all of the wiring we used crimps and heat shrink to make all the connections.
These are all the color combinations we found for the re-wiring
Left is the wiring from the individual old switches plugs : Right is the wiring from the new single combination switch plug
The colors are as follows:
LG = Light Green
BK = Black
R = Red
G = Green
W = White
BL = Blue
Y = Yellow
Starting with the rear window switch it goes:
OLD SWITCH LGBK ------|------ RBK NEW SWITCH
OLD SWITCH RBK ------|------ R NEW SWITCH
OLD SWITCH (Combine GBK & WG ) ======|------ BLW NEW SWITCH
Then there is a leftover G ground wire from the light in the switch.
For the ECT PWR switch: This one matches old to new
OLD SWITCH BKY ------|------ BKY NEW SWITCH
OLD SWITCH GR ------|------ GR NEW SWITCH
For the Dash lights in the Combination switch I used the wiring from the lights to the ECT PWR switch:
OLD SWITCH G ------|------ WG NEW SWITCH
OLD SWITCH WG ------|------ G NEW SWITCH
This is what it looks like with the lights hooked up in the combination switch piece
This will leave 3 wires remaining on the plug for the new combination switch GR, GBK, and WBK
These 3 are all for the defroster but I have yet to get it to work and stay on. I have gotten it to turn on when you hold the button down, but it will not toggle on and off like it should.
Next is the new HAZARD switch. For this the actual connector is the same so I just changed the pin configuration. To do this, pop off the clip that holds the pins in, then pull each pin out. It is recommended to disconnect the battery as there is an "always on" power source to this switch.
The way I finally got this to work was to go back to the salvage yard and get the plug and wires for the new hazard switch. Then I just cross referenced the color codes from the old switch to the new. The color codes can be found in the manuals but they do not show the order they go into the pins of the connector. This is why I had to go back and get the actual connector, even though I didn't actually end up using it.
This is how mine ended up for the pinouts: There are 10 pin positions total in the plug, 6 across the top, and 4 across the bottom, 2 on each side of the release tab. Only 8 will be used as there are only 8 wires total.
[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
[ ] [ ] _____ [ ] [ ]
The colors I used go as follows:
[GR] [BLW] [RBK] [G] [GW] [ ]
[GY] [GBK] _____ [ ] [BLR]
That should be it for the wiring. Next I just wrapped up all my wires with some electrical tape and tried to fit them back into the center dash. Then just assemble everything back together. With the extra wires you will have to shove things around to get it to fit behind the new air vents, but it should all fit.
Now you have a new and updated Dash!
A few things I noticed along the way. Almost always, the light inside a switch will use the G and GW wire colors. Also, the clock is the exact same from old to new so if you don't find one with the new piece your old one should fit.
For the wiring, if your colors for your year end up being different, just try to find a diagram from the FSM and follow the routes to each wire. We re-drew them on pieces of paper to help understand where everything went.
Big thanks to DirtDawg for helping me out on this!
I am by no means an expert at this stuff, I just have some basic mechanical knowledge and sometimes had to work through things by trial and error. I blew a few fuses along the way, but it all worked out. If you need any help post here and I'll do my best to assist you.
