Stealth Reverse Backup Lights Installed - Lots of Pics!

WARNING.... BE CAREFUL

This is an old thread but I just want to bring it up again. Last weekend, I installed the backup camera on the 4Runner. The power wire scheme similar to backup light installation without relay. I tapped the camera's power to the backup light.

Everthing work fine. I placed the car in reverse. The camera display came up. At this point, I want to test something out (being an idiot). I used a spare switch that I had in the garage and tried to make the camera to turn on manually while I drive forward. Long story short, without using the relay, I successfully made the camera turn on while I drove forward.

After about 50 yard, my VSC, engine, Traction control lights came up. WTF:mad: :bash: . I was totally freak out. Pulled over. Removed the switch. The freaking lights still on. I drove for 10 min. Stop. Turn off the engine. Turn on the engine. The lights still on. I went back home and started to search for the problem. I read many threads on here and other Toyota sites which mention the Zero "something" sensor might went bad and it cost $1200 to $1800 to get it replace.

Bump out.....:( I wanted to crash my head throught the wall and kill myself.

After 30 min of depressing, I drove the car for about 20 min to go get lunch for my kids (the VSC, engine, Traction control lights still on). When I got home, I turned off the engine and turn it on again. Guess what????? All the lights disappeared. The car's CPU reset itself.

I was so happy now..... I think the problem was caused by the car going forward and I manually triggered the backup lights on which caused the car CPU went crazy.

Moral of the story. Be careful to install your extra aux backup lights, don't be stupid like me.
 
u could of just reset the computer like how u would to turn off the maintnece light, like push the odom button and hold it, turn on the key to on, let it flash and then turn of and everything is fine, i had this happen too when the truck is hot, maybe its kuss i let the truck sit in a 100+ degree weather, and its heating up the scangauge. so far when i have use the blend mount for it, the lights never came back. also i just won these light off ebay couple days ago, paid 15-16 doallars total and it camed in 3 days, just installed these this morning, have to wait till it gets dark to see the brightness. might upgrade to some piaa xtreme white plus bulbs.
 
Sorry for the remedial question, but do any of you electrically inclined members have a good resource I can read on how to properly physically wire all of this up? I mean basic stuff like, I don't even know where to start and things to NOT do when wiring this stuff up.

I'm not real confident with electrical mods but this doesn't seem like it should be too difficult.

Any help would be appreciated!
 
Lowpro said:
The main power comes directly from the battery. I ran 12 gauge wire from the battery through the firewall all the way back to where the relay is. The relay lives inside the tire jack compartment. The lights come with 16 gauge wire but I figured from the beginning that I would probably upgrade the bulbs, so I went with 12g wire from the start.

I used "Bear Hunters" diagram.

24683.jpg


I tapped into the YELLOW wire that comes out of the back of the trailer hitch connector. It is the wire that is smack in the middle of the wire bundle. The new wire from the tap in will be used trip the relay in order for the lights to come on, also known as the primary trip source. The secondary trip source is the rocker switch on the dash. Bear Hunter explains that the diode in the diagram is used in order to stop any backflow of current.

Out of the box I think the lights are 55 watts. Do you need to upgrade to 100w bulbs? Probably not. You do have to consider though that these small stealth lights don't have as much reflector space (such as the big Hella or Piaa lights) in order to shoot out the light. The casings are aluminum which are able to accommodate the higher wattage bulbs. Go small and then upgrade if you don't want to spend the $7 per bulb in order to upgrade. :D

EDIT: The 6 amp Diode can be found at Radio Shack for $2.49 (4-pack)

#276-1661 4 x rectifier diodes rated 6 amps, 50PIV

pRS1C-2160501w345.jpg
Click to expand...
can yoiu take and show us wiring idiots a photo of the relay by the jack and how you have it wired please...it would help alot.

thanks
 
Lowpro said:
The main power comes directly from the battery. I ran 12 gauge wire from the battery through the firewall all the way back to where the relay is. The relay lives inside the tire jack compartment. The lights come with 16 gauge wire but I figured from the beginning that I would probably upgrade the bulbs, so I went with 12g wire from the start.

I used "Bear Hunters" diagram.

24683.jpg


I tapped into the YELLOW wire that comes out of the back of the trailer hitch connector. It is the wire that is smack in the middle of the wire bundle. The new wire from the tap in will be used trip the relay in order for the lights to come on, also known as the primary trip source. The secondary trip source is the rocker switch on the dash. Bear Hunter explains that the diode in the diagram is used in order to stop any backflow of current.

Out of the box I think the lights are 55 watts. Do you need to upgrade to 100w bulbs? Probably not. You do have to consider though that these small stealth lights don't have as much reflector space (such as the big Hella or Piaa lights) in order to shoot out the light. The casings are aluminum which are able to accommodate the higher wattage bulbs. Go small and then upgrade if you don't want to spend the $7 per bulb in order to upgrade. :D

EDIT: The 6 amp Diode can be found at Radio Shack for $2.49 (4-pack)

#276-1661 4 x rectifier diodes rated 6 amps, 50PIV

pRS1C-2160501w345.jpg
Click to expand...
can you take and show us wiring idiots a photo of the relay by the jack and how you have it wired please...it would help alot.

thanks
 
810moto said:
@ Lowpro....how long did it take for you to install the entire light set up?
Click to expand...

Hmmm...It was a while ago. Took me a few hours because I was taking my time. Not really that complicated.

So you want a picture of where the relay is located? It's currently raining cats and dogs outside. I'll get them later.

I talked about the relay itself within the thread. Here is a reference picture that was posted.

The fused positive (red) wire goes directly to the relay (#30). The Yellow tapped wire goes to # 86 on the relay. You'll need to ground the relay (#85) and the lights (find some bolts). Terminal # 87 will be used to power your new lights.


24683.jpg


17193.jpg
 
Lowpro said:
Hmmm...It was a while ago. Took me a few hours because I was taking my time. Not really that complicated.

So you want a picture of where the relay is located? It's currently raining cats and dogs outside. I'll get them later.

I talked about the relay itself within the thread. Here is a reference picture that was posted.

The fused positive (red) wire goes directly to the relay (#30). The Yellow tapped wire goes to # 86 on the relay. You'll need to ground the relay (#85) and the lights (find some bolts). Terminal # 87 will be used to power your new lights.


24683.jpg


17193.jpg
Click to expand...
Yeah, Im waiting on this flash flood that has been flashing on my tv for the last hour myself. Stinkin KCAL9!
Im going to have to study that diagram you posted a bit more. Not too electricaly savy when it comes to cars but I gotta learn sometime i guess.
 
Bringing a thread back because I finally got time to do this :)

First, I have the WDH in the rear, so mounting the fog lights to the two bolts under the rear bumper was not going to work. There's simply not enough room. You can go more to the outside on the left side, but you get too close to the exhaust on the right side.

So... For those with the WDH, just buy a pair of hose clamps (about 2" diameter should do) and mount it right close to the female portion of the hitch itself. I also used double sided tape to help secure the fog lights.

For power, I ran 10 gauge wire from the battery to the rear. Near the battery, I have a in line fuse holder w/ a 30A fuse. I also purchased a $4.99 fuse box from Pep Boys with a 15A fuse to the fog light itself (same amperage as what came w/ the fog light). The wiring I ran right up through the hole right by the latch itself... you'll have to lower the spare to get it to fit. I wanted to keep my options open for mounting a fridge/compressor.

To get the 10 gauge through the firewall, there's a "nipple" on one of the wire thingies leading to the driver side fuse box. You can cut it and it'll let you get your wiring through. Just try to cover it to prevent any water leakage which may occur.

For the switch, I went with a 30A relay (Fry's Electronics $4.99) in the rear. Grounded on the bolt near near the left lens where I crammed everything too.

Since I already had a pair of Hella's for the front bull bar with a 12V+ source, I used to trip the relay in the rear. Basically the 12V+ runs to the pair of switches ($2.29 on/on from Fry's) in parallel via 18 gauge wiring, when switched on the front and/or rear lights get lit up.

One thing about the bolts on the fog lights in this thread - they rust. Yeah, they're black and look painted but in less than 48 hours, the first signs of rust began to appear.

PS. If you get your relay connects backwards (trigger versus power), you'll blow through fuses :)
 
Last edited:
Merle said:
Bringing a thread back because I finally got time to do this :)

First, I have the WDH in the rear, so mounting the fog lights to the two bolts under the rear bumper was not going to work. There's simply not enough room. You can go more to the outside on the left side, but you get too close to the exhaust on the right side.

So... For those with the WDH, just buy a pair of hose clamps (about 2" diameter should do) and mount it right close to the female portion of the hitch itself. I also used double sided tape to help secure the fog lights.

For power, I ran 10 gauge wire from the battery to the rear. Near the battery, I have a in line fuse holder w/ a 30A fuse. I also purchased a $4.99 fuse box from Pep Boys with a 15A fuse to the fog light itself (same amperage as what came w/ the fog light). The wiring I ran right up through the hole right by the latch itself... you'll have to lower the spare to get it to fit. I wanted to keep my options open for mounting a fridge/compressor.

To get the 10 gauge through the firewall, there's a "nipple" on one of the wire thingies leading to the driver side fuse box. You can cut it and it'll let you get your wiring through. Just try to cover it to prevent any water leakage which may occur.

For the switch, I went with a 30A relay (Fry's Electronics $4.99) in the rear. Grounded on the bolt near near the left lens where I crammed everything too.

Since I already had a pair of Hella's for the front bull bar with a 12V+ source, I used to trip the relay in the rear. Basically the 12V+ runs to the pair of switches ($2.29 on/on from Fry's) in parallel via 18 gauge wiring, when switched on the front and/or rear lights get lit up.

One thing about the bolts on the fog lights in this thread - they rust. Yeah, they're black and look painted but in less than 48 hours, the first signs of rust began to appear.

PS. If you get your relay connects backwards (trigger versus power), you'll blow through fuses :)
Click to expand...

Awesome! Got pics of your setup?
 
I bought and installed the exact same units. They serve me well and I am not out an "arm and a leg" to get some more light.

DSC03433.jpg~original
 
ALLERGO...looks nice! did you get the fogs or the driving beams? all they had when i went were the driving beams. Shoot, they still work great. My girlfriend even got wise and made me put them on her Hyundia tucson. works great too.
 
810moto said:
ALLERGO...looks nice! did you get the fogs or the driving beams? all they had when i went were the driving beams. Shoot, they still work great. My girlfriend even got wise and made me put them on her Hyundia tucson. works great too.
Click to expand...

They are the driving lights too. I just aim the driver's side light outward a bit and all is good.
 
First off, sorry for necro posting, but decided to revive this one instead of posting anew.

I'm planning on doing something similar this weekend, and was hoping someone with access to 4th gen wiring diagrams could help me out. I was hoping someone could help me find or point me towards an accessible reverse powered wire to tap somewhere in the kick panel or center console area. I know there has to be one, but much like a musician who can't read music, I can wire but suck at reading schematics.

Many thanks in advance!

-Patrick
 
Out of curiosity why not install the lights into the spoiler (for those that have one)? I mean it should be around the right angle and everything no?
 
some states have laws on how many & how high they can be mounted, in NJ, if they were up that high, they would have to be covered.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Members online

No members online now.
Total: 586 (members: 0, guests: 586)

Forum statistics

Threads
278,316
Messages
3,554,112
Members
248,016
Latest member
Advally Service

Share this page

Trending content

Back
Top