2006 Tundra Limited Double-Cab LED Headlight Problem

Updating 2006 Tundra Limited double-cab headlights with LEDs, but ran into a problem.

With ignition OFF, installed LED lights successfully. Tested by turning lights on and switching between highs and lows successfully. Things looked great...
But then...
Turned ignition on, started vehicle, turned lights ON... got high beams ONLY. Switched from highs to lows multiple times, but ONLY the highs stayed on for any switch setting. Now, with the ignition OFF, the lights will still ONLY go to the high beam setting for any and all switch settings.

NOTE: I updated my 1995 T100 and my 2000 Tundra SR5 Access Cab with the same LED lights successfully. Used AUXITO H4 9003 LED Headlight Bulb Fanless 9000 Lumens Adjustable Beam 6500K Xenon White High Low Beam HB2 Conversion Kit Pack of 2 ($39.99).

I suspect that the 2006 Tundra has invoked the CAN Bus features that may think that the low beam (stock Halogen filament) lights are burned out because of the lower current drain and default to the high beam setting as a safety fallback.

Anyone else experienced this???... And, if so, what was the corrective action?
Can anyone verify that the 2006 Tundras use the CAN Bus system? I called Toyota Dealer... NO ONE KNEW!!!

As a test, I'm looking in the next couple of days to add parallel resistors to the light power wiring to see if that corrects the issue; however, a prompt response from someone who has faced and solved this problem is my real hope for guidance.

 

Sounds like your thinking is on track. You should consult the bulb company and see what they say. I’ve read where others have experienced this problem and their bulb company sent them whatever additional parts needed for free. Its usually some type of resistor. Report back with your fix.

 

I dont have this issue with my 06 DC . Bought this from

$39 BEAMTECH H-4 Bulbs, S1 Series 900-3 Fanlsess 300% Brighter 6500K White Fog Light, 2 Bulbs

amazon back in 2018 and still working fine.

 

Do you have DRL’s? If so, those can wreck havoc on HID/LED bulbs. If you do, I disconnect the grey plug by the battery to get rid of it.

What happens when you put the halogen bulbs back in? Do the low beams work?

Lastly, check to make sure you didn’t blow a fuse.

 

I had the same led headlights and had different issues that were solved with resistors that auxbeam sent me after I asked them for help. Their customer service was sure quick to get me those resistors and it made my fog lights work again. I do not have drl and if you do, that could be your issue.

 

Since I was bored, I did some homework. It appears everyone with a FGT is having issues with LED bulbs according to the Amazon reviews on your LED bulbs mentioned:








It appears the fix is a ‘LED H4 resistor.’ FYI, I tried one of those in the past with an HID kit and they get EXTREMELY HOT! It has to be mounted to something metal with no plastic or rubber around it or it’s going to melt anything in its path.





O-NEX LED Resistor Kit H4 (9003 HB2) HID Relay Harness Adapter Anti Flicker Error Decoder Warning Canceller

$16 O-NEX H4 9003 LED Load Resistor Kit 50W 8ohm Headlight Bulb Relay Harness Adapter Anti Flicker Error Decoder Warning Canceller

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01CTIDE76/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_MdafEbR5697YC



Personally, I’d look for a different bulb.

 

If it was me, I’d return the bulbs and buy a different brand that works without resistors. No need for resistors with all the new/better type bulbs out there.

You should be able to find something plug and play without the need for resistors taking up room or melting something in the engine bay.

 

I agree, but I wonder if something else is going on here. A few of us have used the auxbeam LEDs with no issues besides needing resistors for the fog lights to work. I don't know if led fog lights make this an issue because I don't think I used mine with halogen fog lights.

 

If I had to guess, it's brand specific.

 

WOW... lots of excellent responses... and FAST! Thanks to all!!!
After successfully installing the LEDs in my 2006 and testing them successfully BEFORE I turned the key on, I made annotations on the box they came in and now suspect that I cannot return them. The anomalies did not occur until after I turned the ignition key on, which obviously powered up the ECU which then did its magic and shut me down.

Therefore, I am pursuing correcting the deficiencies via the adding resistors solution. I have sent a request to the manufacturer (AUXITO) for their recommendation and solution and hope they will send me a resistor kit for free. If not, I'll install my own resistors (I have a complete electronics lab with tons of appropriate parts).

As a reminder, my 1995 T100 and my 2000 Tundra SR5 work beautifully with the same headlight LEDs (including the fog lights). The 2006 Tundra Limited is the only one with the problem.

 

I have observed that the parallel resistor kits use 6 Ohm resistors which (for the typical 14 volts alternator charging rate for the battery) would dissipate ~33 watts in each resistor. That's a substantial 132 watts or just more than 1/6th horsepower. The resultant heating has been negatively raved about by several users of this resistor bleed scheme.
Since the detection criteria for CAN Bus (or other built-in-test systems) is not known to me, I would prefer to try 10-12 Ohm resistors which would dissipate less than 20 watts per resistor and reduce the destructive heating problems noted by several users. This may work adequately as one individual modified only one side of his vehicle to achieve success with the added current level.
Meanwhile I'll see if I can get the current level criteria for the CAN Bus systems online... we shall see.
-- Wikipedia has an excellent write up on CAN Bus for the USA; however, it is clear that each automobile manufacturer can write their own code and set their own criteria while adhering to the CAN Bus specification. Therefore, the specific criteria for acceptable headlight current is likely set by Toyota Engineers, although that level may be mutually agreed upon by many other manufacturers. Additionally, the protective/shutdown actions by each manufacturer may be different; e.g., the shutdown of fog lights as well as the low beam circuits (as is the case for my 2006 Tundra) may be a Toyota choice, but may not be applicable for GM, Ford, Nissan, or others.
-- Trial and error testing with different resistor values may be the quickest way to arrive at a viable solution for my case.

 

I know I'm late to the party...same thing happened when I installed my Techmaxx LED's on my '03. Company sent me resistor packs within a few days of emailing them, free of charge. Have worked wonderfully ever since. IIRC, it was something about the way the ECM runs the fog lights and headlights that cause this issue. Good luck with yours! Would love to know what the resolution is.

 

Thanks, Smokey for your comment.
I need to add some NEW information to my 2006 Tundra situation...

Last evening, after checking to see that none of my three pickups (all with the same new LED headlights) had the reported "flashing" problem, I discovered another quirk.
My 2006 Tundra would only present high beams and no fog lights after the LED installation. However, I found that I had kept the fog light switch (a circular rotation section on the lighting control lever) in the ON position. When I rotated it to OFF, the LOW BEAMS immediately came on and I then had both high and low beam control again... but still no fog lights.
This low beams finding pleasantly surprised the heck out of me... but I still want the fog lights to work; therefore, I still await the response from the LED manufacturer on adding parallel resistor loads to the headlight wiring. Hopefully that will make all systems compatible again. Meanwhile the vehicle is now usable again with the low beams.

FYI, by design, the fog lights DO NOT illuminate when the high beams are in use... they only work when using low beams.

 

To KarmaKannon... With my new finding on the fog light switch on/off, my fog lights are the only remaining issue. I have retained the halogen bulbs for the fog lights... at least for now, and hope that the parallel resistor loads will correct that problem; i.e., not coming on at all, and reverting the headlights to bright beams when the fog light switch is ON.
My T100 and the 2000 Tundra (which also has fog lights that DO work) have no problems without the resistor fix.

UPDATE: As of late yesterday, the LED manufacturer has agreed to send me a corrective resistor kit.

 

UPDATE: (Hopefully the final one)
My thanks to all commenters for their quick responses and guidance on this thread.

First, KUDOS to the manufacturer, AUXITO, who provided almost immediate responses to my E-mails via Amazon for this problem. My request for the resistor kit was sent free of charge and arrived in two days via USPS.

Unlike some of the available resistor kits on Amazon, the kit sent to me was fully assembled. There were two identical 2-resistor assemblies with connectors that allow a simple series insertion into the light wiring (see picture of one assembly).

Similar to one commenter on this thread, I first installed one assembly on the driver's side. Because of the high heating comments from some on this thread, I mounted the 6 Ohm, 50 Watt resistors (using 1/8-inch drill and #6 1/2-inch sheet metal screws) to metal heatsinks to avoid excessive heating (see installed picture). I mounted one on the battery hold-down bracket and the other next to the fender (after verifying no interference with closing the hood)... see comment on resistor heating below.

A quick test of the lights showed that with ONLY this one installation, everything except the blue high beam dashlight indicator worked. Apparently the ECU logic concerning headlight current draw was satisfied. The fog lights worked when the low beams were selected, and also turned off when the high beams were selected as they should by design. NOTE: I have retained the Halogen bulbs for the fog lights for now... may go to LEDs later.

With this SUCCESS... I will hold off on the passenger side installation for now. Adding the second resistor assembly may be required if I change the Halogen fog lights to LEDs in the future (don't know at this point)... and it may also reactivate the high beam indicator light on the dash, but I consider that unnecessary.

RESISTOR HEATING:
After running the lights for a couple of minutes, I could feel that the resistors were warm and could keep my hand on them with no problem. If the resistors got above 140 degrees Fahrenheit, I would not be able to keep my fingers on them... DID NOT HAPPEN... the mounting to metal keeps them cool. Obviously there will be no melting of plastic or anything else with this installation.

 

Do you think if you were to add the resistors on the other side, maybe the high beam indicator on the dash might work?
I haven’t done LED on my Tundra yet, but had them in my T100, worked great, but I had no high beam indicator on the dash...

 

PenderBen, it may indeed allow the high beam indicator on the dash to work. I haven't put the second resistor assembly in series with the passenger side wiring... may experiment with it as time permits, but I have other projects that are taking president right now.

As I noted earlier, the dash indicator is of little consequence to me as one knows (or should be aware) when the bright lights are on. If it does NOT work, I find it to be of little to no consequence relative to the superior headlight performance I get with the LEDs... that is why I stopped installing the second resistor assembly which saves battery drain.

As to the T100, I had not thought to even check if the dash high beam indicator light functioned properly on my T100 as I was so pleased with the added illumination when I installed the LED lights. I am guessing that because of the age (1995) om my T100 that there is no CAN Bus or other diagnostic safety algorithms in play; therefore, I would expect the indicator to function properly... will check this out though.

Note the difference in LED versus Halogen illumination on my T100 in the photo.

 

I believe that adding a load to the passenger side headlight plug might allow your high beam indicator to work again. My HID harness has a built in relay and only gets the high beam signal from the driver's side and my high beam indicator does not work. So either the lower load at the plug due to it triggering the HID relay or the fact that no load is present on the passenger side plug seems to be the reason my high beam indicator isn't working.
For fun(and science!) I might connect my led fog lights to the passenger side headlight plug and see if my indicator starts working. There's no mistaking my high beams for low beams anyway. I get very bright flashbacks from street signs that remind me I'm in full blinding d-bag mode.

 

KarmaKannon, as time permits, I will insert the series cable assembly with the resistors as a parallel load to the headlights (see picture of the assembly in my prior post). I will then know if that corrects the problem and appropriately report the result.
I will not have to mount the resistors for heatsinking to make this test, so it should take little time.
However, as of this moment, I am working on reactivation of a 1990 Toyota-based Winnebago Micro-Warrior RV I have stored for decades... only 6,000 miles on it. I'm putting in LED marker light bulbs and assessing other items associated with the water and heating systems.
At this point, I have retained Halogen bulbs for my fog lights (on both the 2000 and 2006 Tundras) and will evaluate their adequacy (again, as time and opportunity permits) before replacement with LEDs if I deem it necessary.

 

Yeah, I never gave much thought or time to the high beam indicator not working on the T100, I could tell the difference, this is a bit more of a curiosity than anything.

 

PenderBen, I drove the T100 on an errand last night. I did NOT see any high beam indicator on the dash... looked for a display hole for same and came up empty. Is there even one there?... I need to look for it in the daylight, but I still think that indicator is unnecessary because of the distinct difference between the low and high beam illumination patterns.
Nevertheless, the LED lights are AWESOME for good illumination as they are not only brighter than Halogens, but have a wider angle of light dispersion. The high beams are scary bright and illuminate things over 1/4 mile away. I noted that the reflective road signs light up like beacons and actually are a bit distracting, but that might also increase awareness of the signs for safety... just need to get used to that.
I think I need to lower the lights slightly although no one blinked their bright lights at me. On low beams, these AUXITO LEDs have a nice flat top to the emitted light, at least in my T100 (haven't checked my Tundras yet). This effect may be controlled by the headlight reflectors as opposed to the LED design itself. We shall see.

 

Yeah, the T100 high beam indicator is up at the top. When I put LED headlight bulbs in mine it made the high beam indicator quit working, I didn’t care really, I could tell the difference, and it was worth it, the T100 had some of the worst illumination of any headlight I’ve ever had. I never adjusted the headlights, and in the 6 or so years I had them never got flashed; I got flashed pretty often in my old BMW with factory HID...