LED Interior Lighting Upgrade Issue

[Jax4runnerTE]

I've read over may questions regarding LED issues with the interior lighting but have not been able to nail down the solution yet.

I upgraded all interior lighting with LEDs (but did not disconnect the battery if that matters). All LEDs works with the exception of the driver side front courtesy light. When installing the LED there, there seemed to be an arc which I thought may have caused a blown fuse. I flipped the LED for polarity but no go with that and did put the standard bulb back in and that too did not work.

I've check all engine bay and driver side fuses and all are good. The LED will work in other doors locations as will the light housing so the LED and fixture are not the issue.

Besides the door light not functioning, the following also have happened in conjunction with the bulb replacement:

1) Interior lights will not come on with the driver side front door open.
2) The dash does not recognize the driver side front door as open/no warning light
3)The auto headlights will not turn off after driver side front door has been closed

I tested the bulb fixture and it's good, the door switch is good as well (moved from front to back), I can ground the fixture to the body and the LED will work.

Did a ECU reset try by disconnecting the battery for several hours but the issue is still present.

Thinking a short somewhere but have also read the possibility of the Body Control Module might be the issue.

With the number of people upgrading to LEDs, I'd assume this situation has happened many times and that someone in the forum with the same situation may have found the solution/fix for this or point in the direction of tracking it down before a tricot Toyota.

Thanks all

 

[david05111]

Tagging this to see what the outcome is and read some replies. That's definitely puzzling.

If you need an extra set of eyes at some point, throw my a PM. I'm in Jax Beach and might be able to meet up for a bit. I'd like to see what the rest of the LEDs look like anyway

 

[ElectroBoy]

It seems a several folks have run into this issue when installing LED bulbs into the driver side door. I suspect that somehow in the process of removal or installation the two fixture wires got shorted together and it damaged a circuit in the ECU. This happened to DocTock993 and the dealer replaced it twice:
LED Interior install problems - fuses blowing

You may need to get a new one, it’s probably quite expensive.

I’ve replaced my door LEDs numerous times with no problem. Here’s how I did it. See the photos below.
-It’s best to disconnect the battery negative lead before this electrical work.
-Remove the light fixture from the door by prying with a small thin blade screwdriver.
Remove the two-wire connector plug.
-Disassemble the fixture to gain access to the bulb. Toyota fixtures are a kind of puzzle to figure out. With the same screwdriver carefully pry open the back of the bulb housing. Note how those two grey tabs fit into the clear lens cover.
-Pull the bulb straight out. No twisting.
-Examine the brass contacts in the socket, make sure pins look good to grip the bulb.
-Install new bulb, push straight into the socket.
-Install the two-wire connector plug.
-Re-connect the battery and test the bulb. If the door is open it should light. If not, disconnect the battery, pull out the LED and reverse it in the socket, test again.
-If all is well, carefully re-install the grey bulb cover. Pay attention and insert the grey tabs first the rotate the rest of the body down and snap it together.
-Install the whole fixture into the door.
You’re good to go!

 

[Jax4runnerTE]

I believe not disconnecting the battery was the error possibly. The BCM is more than likely toast but I'll hold out hope that someone may have a different take on a solution/fix while I await a diagnostic to confirm the issue. It's a 2013 so no dealer replacement on their dime for sure so if the BCM/ECU is bad hopefully can source a used one online

 

[Blu42]

Door Light LED Swap Fuse(?) Issue

Check out this thread. Not sure if your issues are exactly the same.

 

[NB17Limited]

FWIW, I had the same problem on a different vehicle when installing LED interior lights. Didn't disconnect the battery and shorted the socket when using a pair of pliers to pull the light out. Took a few engine cycles to return to normal. Normal engine cycles too. Not just off and on in the garage.

 

[Jax4runnerTE]

Corey from the Blu's linked post has the same issue and is going into the dealership next week for a diagnostic that hopefully will pinpoint the issue.

I did do a battery disconnect for a few hours, per that post, but no change and have run this was for a week or two with the issue so I'm assuming that the short did something to the BCM.

Just seems odd that it is always the driver side front door in these posts resulting in the failure. How such low draw bulb would do that is a mystery to me. Maybe when I flipped the LED for polarity but I'd have thought the fuse would have blow before potentially cooking the BCU.

 

[Cndnmax]

Seems odd that this keeps happening. I changed all my bulbs out without disconnecting the battery, I never disconnect the battery for bulbs. If you disconnect the plug on the bulb socket that would be the same as disconnecting the battery.
The only thing I can think of is an onrush of current when plugging in that’s damaging the control unit but there would be a much bigger current with a regular bulb than leds so that can’t be it. If there’s a short in the bulb it would short as soon as you connect the battery anyways so there’s no escaping that. I suggest you test each bulb before connecting them.

 

[ElectroBoy]

Seems odd that this keeps happening. I changed all my bulbs out without disconnecting the battery, I never disconnect the battery for bulbs. If you disconnect the plug on the bulb socket that would be the same as disconnecting the battery.
The only thing I can think of is an onrush of current when plugging in that’s damaging the control unit but there would be a much bigger current with a regular bulb than leds so that can’t be it. If there’s a short in the bulb it would short as soon as you connect the battery anyways so there’s no escaping that. I suggest you test each bulb before connecting them.

Yes, if you unplug the connector from the light fixture before working on the bulb, that safely removes power. I suspect the problem occurs when people just pop the fixture out of the door, then remove and install the bulbs blindly into the powered-on socket without taking off the grey back cover in order to get better access and to see what they’re actually doing. By using a tool or wrong bulb orientation they inadvertently short the +12V to the BCM/ECU output pin. This isn’t a big slug of current which would blow a fuse. Without knowing the actual design of the output driver, I suspect it’s an open collector transistor, which needs some sort of current limiting from the bulb, whether it’s incandescent or LED. If this is the case a momentary short to +12 would blow that transistor.
A short in an LED bulb could also cause this problem. I agree it would be prudent to test your LEDs before installation.

 

[rigtec]

Hi 4R A-Team,

I've been following these threads about replacing Halogen interior lamp bulbs with LEDs! I don't know of any electrical Main body ECU Compu-net anomalies on record, but I do like the advanced research being done right from [MENTION=200736]ElectroBoy[/MENTION], [MENTION=400464]Jax4runnerTE[/MENTION], [MENTION=455845]coreynw[/MENTION], [MENTION=222848]Cndnmax[/MENTION], [MENTION=119827]Blu42[/MENTION], [MENTION=508972]NB17Limited[/MENTION]...etc!

This is one for the books, Kudos men! I just happen to have a Genuine Toyota Main body ECU Compu Network on hand that I purchased back when I was having some serious electrical troubles!

Turns out that, that wasn't the problem, so I changed direction and solved it another way! If anyone needs it, send me a PM and I'll be glad to talk to you about the ecu, and just how to install it "Yourself", in just over an hour! 'Best to you all',

rig, Cheers

 

[jbl911]

Just replaced all my interior lights and my license plate lights for diode dynamic leds. No issues. Battery on. Lights were pulled and replaced with the power off, or disconnected from their harness.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[08TxRunner]

Replaced all interior lights and side mirror puddle lights with JDM LED lights tonight. Disconnected plugs where applicable before the swap, but did not disconnect the battery. Lights are great and no issues.

 

[flyrv9]

Disconnecting the battery when doing any kind of electrical work is just good shop practice and helps avoid issues like these. Can you get by without disconnecting the battery? - maybe - but why take the risk - it takes maybe 30 sec.