Jeff4runner
New member
Well, I finally got myself a nice bull bar off ebay some time ago, along with Navigator 120 Driving lights off amazon. I read a few articles, and decided to run a relay for the lights, and jump the Read washer 15A fuse in the dash (4th gen.). It worked for a while, but periodically went off (found out it was a bad ground contact with the bar). A day later, my center console (A/C, fuel monitoring, etc) completely shut off, and I had nothing. Tore out the light system, and began to panic. Turned out to be a 15A fuse, no biggie, right? Wrong.....
That night, I was coming home, and the dreaded no-battery alarm went off. My headlights began flickering insanely (HIDs, so that was bad.... Blew a ballast), lost emergency lights, lost all acceleration whatsoever, and lost power brakes. Had to get jumped just to start, and charge me enough to get home. Followed behind with no lights, or anything on, and it literally died as I pulled into the driveway.
Dragged it to Adv. Auto Parts, and my alternator was gone. Got a new one from NAPA rated 160 amps. Installed it in shop, and life was good.
Moral of the story: dont relay/fuse jump ANYTHING AT ALL in the fuse panel. It may seem to work, but you'll get screwed in the end. Toyota is very sensitive (in my experiences), and you may need a more powerful amp. Needless to say, I re-did the lights with my new alt. with a circuit straight from the battery, to a switch, through a fuse, to the lights. This may be old news, but I would be happy if I saved one person from my stupid mistake. :biggrin2:
That night, I was coming home, and the dreaded no-battery alarm went off. My headlights began flickering insanely (HIDs, so that was bad.... Blew a ballast), lost emergency lights, lost all acceleration whatsoever, and lost power brakes. Had to get jumped just to start, and charge me enough to get home. Followed behind with no lights, or anything on, and it literally died as I pulled into the driveway.
Dragged it to Adv. Auto Parts, and my alternator was gone. Got a new one from NAPA rated 160 amps. Installed it in shop, and life was good.
Moral of the story: dont relay/fuse jump ANYTHING AT ALL in the fuse panel. It may seem to work, but you'll get screwed in the end. Toyota is very sensitive (in my experiences), and you may need a more powerful amp. Needless to say, I re-did the lights with my new alt. with a circuit straight from the battery, to a switch, through a fuse, to the lights. This may be old news, but I would be happy if I saved one person from my stupid mistake. :biggrin2:
