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Think I found the solution to the dim front turn signals on 18+

Discussion in '2.5 Gen Tundras (2014-2021)' started by thomasbus337, May 16, 2020.

  1. Jul 6, 2020 at 3:57 PM
    #121
    TTund16

    TTund16 New Member

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    It all depends on your light.

    If the light bulb is not oem (in your case they are not), then the lights (vled) may not have two different filaments/brightness (28W vs. 8W). Meaning if vled was designed to have an equivalent brightness of 28W filaments on both lights (turn vs. DRL), then swapping wires won't do anything for you.
    in general, LEDs are designed to be brighter so you may not have this 28W vs. 8W issues. Remember the voltage is the same 12V. The light bulb determines the intensity.

    Hope your co-worker didn't spread Covid to others and you!
     
    Last edited: Jul 6, 2020
  2. Jul 6, 2020 at 4:20 PM
    #122
    rebmo

    rebmo 2020 Crewmax Limited 4wd Silver/Black

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    Thanks for the post. What year are those Tundras? I don't see LED running lights or are they off? Not trying to be a wise guy, just asking. Thanks!
     
  3. Jul 6, 2020 at 4:27 PM
    #123
    thomasbus337

    thomasbus337 [OP] New Member

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    If they're both stock headlights, then they would be 2018+ The signals would be higher up on the headlight if they weren't LED headlights
     
  4. Jul 6, 2020 at 4:28 PM
    #124
    TTund16

    TTund16 New Member

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    DRL and turn signals share the same light filament in some models. My '16 is that way and turn signal is very bright. When turn signal is on, it basically turns the DRL on and off.
     
  5. Jul 6, 2020 at 11:02 PM
    #125
    Fish2eat88

    Fish2eat88 New Member

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    18’ and 19’
     
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  6. Jul 7, 2020 at 9:02 AM
    #126
    Kung

    Kung Dead sexy

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    So, based on what I'm reading, because I have OEM LEDs, this is something I'll need to do as well?
     
  7. Jul 7, 2020 at 9:05 AM
    #127
    TRDFerguson

    TRDFerguson SSEM #99/RGBA #8-ish?/It’s a funny name.

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    Yep, it'll definitely help out the brightness on yours. It even helped with my LED replacement bulbs, though I had to add a resistor after making the wiring swap. But it's easy enough if you keep the stock turn signal bulbs.
     
    Last edited: Jul 7, 2020
  8. Jul 7, 2020 at 10:10 AM
    #128
    Fish2eat88

    Fish2eat88 New Member

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    stock oem bulbs are plenty bright when doing the switch
     
  9. Jul 7, 2020 at 10:44 AM
    #129
    Kung

    Kung Dead sexy

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    Good deal; and yeah, I don't need to upgrade the turn signals; just want 'em brighter, so that sounds like it'll work. Thanks!
     
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  10. Jul 7, 2020 at 5:40 PM
    #130
    Spence30

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    I did this just now amazing difference. I don’t think I ever noticed them being dim until I changed it.

    also I lost one of the rubber plugs that fill the blank is that something I can get at the auto zone or something. I’ve never looked for them before..
     
  11. Jul 7, 2020 at 5:58 PM
    #131
    thomasbus337

    thomasbus337 [OP] New Member

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  12. Jul 7, 2020 at 5:59 PM
    #132
    thomasbus337

    thomasbus337 [OP] New Member

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    https://www.bmotorsports.com/shop/product_info.php/products_id/2130
     
  13. Jul 7, 2020 at 6:17 PM
    #133
    Spence30

    Spence30 New Member

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    Thanks Thomasbus I ordered a couple in case I drop one again lol.
     
  14. Jul 8, 2020 at 10:54 AM
    #134
    cmdrken1

    cmdrken1 New Member

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    I checked my 2020 today which has the off road package plus which means full LED headlights and fogs. I noticed the turn signals were dim and low and behold saw this thread. My 2020 is wired with the power to the middle pin still so I'm getting the 8w filament.

    That said the window washer reservoir looks like an easy removal to make room to work but what about the battery on the driver side? does that gotta come out to do the drive one? seems like it.
     
  15. Jul 8, 2020 at 10:55 AM
    #135
    TRDFerguson

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    I loosened the battery hold down clamp and slid it over a couple inches. Gave me plenty of room to work.
     
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  16. Jul 8, 2020 at 11:22 AM
    #136
    Spence30

    Spence30 New Member

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    I was able to do it without doing anything to the battery but it would make it easier to do what TRDFerguson mentioned.
     
  17. Jul 8, 2020 at 12:52 PM
    #137
    cmdrken1

    cmdrken1 New Member

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    Someone should really let an engineer at Toyota know about this....

    Thanks TRDferguson for the advice and thanks to the OP for discovering this! Just knocked out the engineering fix on my 2020 and it was one of the best bang for 0 buck mods I've done on any vehicle! Someone at Toyota needs to REV A the drawing for these harnesses asap but probably won't happen since the redesign is "coming soon" haha!

    20200708_140240.jpg
     
  18. Jul 8, 2020 at 1:10 PM
    #138
    thomasbus337

    thomasbus337 [OP] New Member

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    I’m waiting for the day it goes public, just so the other guys who aren’t on these forums know about it. I haven’t seen the issue brought up yet on the Facebook groups. I’m curious how they will address it, will they take it apart and re pin or will they make a PnP jumper harness similar to the ones used in the retrofit harnesses just to save repair time

    guess we’ll have to wait and see
     
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  19. Jul 8, 2020 at 4:04 PM
    #139
    mofferman

    mofferman New Member

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    Thanks for the great tip! Easily done and worth every cent!!
     
  20. Jul 11, 2020 at 8:31 AM
    #140
    trowski

    trowski New Member

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    I took the more expensive, but much faster approach to this problem. I ordered a pair of harnesses from @iHacker in the photo below (only the short ones with the gray connectors).

    [​IMG]

    I was going to just rewire it, but then I realized that the connector was buried down in a hole. This approach took me about a minute. Plus if I want to switch to LEDs I can splice the resistor into this harness rather than modify the factory wiring.

    Does anyone know where to get the connectors for the rear turn signals? I'd like to make a harness for the back as well if I switch to LEDs for the resistors. Though now that the front turn signals are so much brighter, I'm not sure if I'll bother with LEDs.
     
  21. Jul 11, 2020 at 9:07 AM
    #141
    thomasbus337

    thomasbus337 [OP] New Member

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    I’ll post the parts once I find them
     
  22. Jul 11, 2020 at 9:09 AM
    #142
    thomasbus337

    thomasbus337 [OP] New Member

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  23. Jul 11, 2020 at 9:20 AM
    #143
    Danman34

    Danman34 New Member

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    So, the bulbs I have do have a dual brightness function. After a week, I can confirm the led turn signals are in fact brighter. I can actually see the emitted light flashing on the back of vehicles in broad daylight. I never saw that before. So this did help.
     
  24. Jul 16, 2020 at 8:52 AM
    #144
    1794 PRO

    1794 PRO New Member

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    Toyota just released a safety recall acknowledging that the turn signal wiring harness were built incorrectly on the 18-20 tundras. The repair remedy is switching the pins.
     
  25. Jul 16, 2020 at 8:55 AM
    #145
    trowski

    trowski New Member

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    iHacker and jewsNbrews like this.
  26. Jul 16, 2020 at 9:00 AM
    #146
    thomasbus337

    thomasbus337 [OP] New Member

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    Well that didn’t take long, I made the discovery exactly two months ago
     
  27. Jul 16, 2020 at 9:03 AM
    #147
    1794 PRO

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    Nope! the fix will be de-pinning the middle wire and moving it to the empty slot in the connector. For both sides. Pays a half hour to the tech
     
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  28. Jul 16, 2020 at 9:07 AM
    #148
    1794 PRO

    1794 PRO New Member

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    Here's the technical instructions.
     

    Attached Files:

  29. Jul 16, 2020 at 9:07 AM
    #149
    trowski

    trowski New Member

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    I assume someone either someone here notified Toyota or they peruse these forums from time-to-time. I know manufacturers of other products (cameras are an immediate example I know of) visit forums regularly to look for user feedback.

    If it were up to the dealers, yes, I'm sure they'd prefer the tech time. I would think Toyota would rather provide a cheap harness. Will be interesting to see which one of us is right. ;)
     
  30. Jul 16, 2020 at 9:08 AM
    #150
    1794 PRO

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    I'm a dealer tech.
     
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