Morimoto XB headlight/foglight problem

Hey all, I have no knowledge whatsoever of vehicle electronics. I just recently installed the Morimoto xb headlights in my 2010 Tundra. I've had the Morimoto fogs for a couple years already. Since the install the foglights come on with the lights (8/10 times) regardless of the switch position of the fogs. Sometimes they won't come on when I turn on the lights but if I turn them on with their switch, they won't turn off until the lights are turned off. Headlight Revolution (where I got them) sent me some resistors. They have no clue, and am frankly very disappointed in their customer service. Anyone have an idea what might be going on? TIA!!

 

I would suggest either returning the Morimotos to Headlight Revolution or contacting Morimoto themselves.

 

Obviously not what I wanted to hear, but thank you for the input. I can't imagine HR is easy to deal with on a used return.

 

How recent is "recently" installed?

 

2 weeks ago

 

You could say you just recently got around to installing them if you haven't otherwise said anything.

Morimoto themselves may be able to solve your problem quite easily...

 

They said to use the resistors too. They didn't work, I'll call them again tomorrow. I know that some guys on here could be considered electrical wizards. The people I'm waiting forever to talk to are clearly not. The guy at HR argued with me for 5 minutes that 2nd gen tundras foglights are supposed to be on all the time and the switch must have been an add on. They're not and it's not.

 

This is disappointing to hear, I just ordered the same headlights and fogs from HR. Let us know if you figure out what’s causing the problem.

 

I have them, and aside from a moisture issue that they resolved by replacing immediately they have worked flawlessly. It sounds like your fog light switch may be faulty. If you have a stock fog light, hook it back up and see if it is the same results. If you need one I may have an old one I could send to you for testing purposes.

 

I do not have the stock fog lights anymore. I did put the stock headlights back in and the problem doesn't exist with them. I don't know enough about these kinda things to understand how new headlights would do this.

 

Changed the placement of the resistor as directed someone at Headlight revolution, retrofit source, or morimoto. It's hard to tell who I'm actually talking to. They are all the same company. HR told me to email morimoto, morimoto doesn't answer. Was on hold with HR for an hour today, got nowhere with MJ who answered. What a shitshow!! Anyway, it is now on the high beam connection at the headlight. The fog lights no longer come on with the lights, but will not turn off now unless I turn off the headlights. Any brilliant ideas from the audience. I'm about to put the stockers back in, but I'll be damned if I'm paying to ship these things back to HR.

 

do you have the DRL on fuse as well ?
I have the same setup as you and no issues whatsoever for the past 2 years minus the fog issue on gen1 and got a gen 2 replacement quick.
I would say re-check all the connections even fog see if any loose connector or chewed wires, ground, etc.
LED usually draw a lot less voltage than incandescent

 

@Headlight Revolution

 

Thanks for the reply! I am not running the DRL, I started with them but disconnected them hoping they were part of the problem. I'll double check the connections. I put the stock headlights back in and they don't cause this to happen. I'm super confused.

 

maybe some ground issue when both connected. try with the DRL back on and the fuse tap in the correct position (3A or 5A iirc)
check no polarity inversion in any connection including the fogs. You might have been llucky as long as you were running stock and as soon as switched to LEd , gremlin showed up

 

I would personally pitch a fit until they offer to replace the headlights. I am not going to be stuck with a product that is not compatible with my truck (when you are advertising they are compatible. Hopefully HR or TRS can help to confirm that the installation is correct first tho.

I have also been running Morimoto mains and fogs for several months without issue, and they feel and perform like really high quality items.

I hope you can get yours operating correctly to enjoy them fully

 

That's the plan. They make it super hard though. The run around I'm getting from these companies is absurd. I would've never given them $1000+ had I known they would have handled a problem with such ineptitude and seeming lack of give a shit.

 

Thanks for the input. I put the DRL's back on, no change. I put the stocks back in, worked as it should. I have no idea how to check for or even what a polarity inversion is. I'm contemplating if it's worth paying someone to look into. It sure seems like they are drawing their responses out until the 30 day warranty is up, that could be the bitter taste in my mouth talking though.

 

Called their (TRS) customer service with a question about the ominous warning sticker regarding not over adjusting the mechanism. I Was not impressed with the overall attitude of the gentleman who came to the phone. Seemed like I was a large burden on his day.

Keep on em and get your satisfaction however that may be. Hopefully in the form of properly functioning forward lighting. It's so worth it when it all comes together.

 

Have you tried the morimoto headlights with the fogs unplugged?

 

Yes.That solves the problem of the fog
lights coming on with the lights

 

Just a heads up. If you need something from Headlight Revolution, The Retrofit Source or Morimoto and they've already got your money, you're shit outta luck. I've had multiple emails, been on hold for at least a few hours now and no one at any of these places has solved the problem. I understand that shit happens, but when it does and you took $1000+ from someone you should be bending over backwards to make it right. At this point I'm not even asking for gymnastics just some troubleshooting and answers. An attempt to come off as you gave 1/2 a shit would go a long way in this scenario. I'm taking it to my local mechanic and disputing the charge on my credit card. I have a feeling between my time and the bill from the mechanic I'll still be in the hole. Buyer beware!!

 

Damn. This is disappointing.

 

I spent over $1500 on headlights and LED upgrades. Everything works great except for 3 DOA LED lights, 1 reverse light, and 2 amber turn signal lights. They want me to pay for shipping to return these 3 lights. I definitely will never order through HR again you can't even call them because the automated system just hangs up on you.

 

Yeah, I gave up. Their customer service is definitely the worst I've ever experienced,

 

Man, I have a tab open with the Morimoto lights I wanted to order. Maybe I'll give Alpharex another look?

 

I would give them a call first. The amount of time it takes to talk to someone to learn that that someone doesn't know shit about fuc& would have been enough for me to go elsewhere with confidence.

 

Definitely makes for a tough call when Morimoto lighting systems are so well regarded for quality, but the support is dog shit.

Would be nice of someone to step up and back the products with the decent customer service they deserve.

From my personal experience, the Morimoto build quality seems to be about on par with (maybe better than) Toyota OE, vastly superior to Mopar OE, and not quite as stout as BMW (Hella) stuff from the late 80's (but things arent really made like that anymore).

I guess time will tell concerning the longevity of the permanently mounted LED's, but I have high hopes seeing as Morimoto typically integrates decent quality aluminum heatsinks into their LED products.

I guess I personally prefer to bank on a product's reputation for quality and hope I dont have to use the CS, over a product with perceived inferior quality and excellent CS.

Good luck out there guys and gals. It's a jungle

 

I just got the morimoto headlights and xb fogs. Headlights are amazing fog lights did not work, checked wiring it is correct passenger side worked at first then installed the drivers side now neither work! Plugged stock back in after checking all fuses and they fire right up? Sending them back

 

So I can't tell what the hell is going on from start of thread to here. Trying to fallow but its hard so sorry if any of these seem like a question that should of been answered by reading.

<QUESTION'S FOR YOU>
1.) are your Regular Head Lights "Standard Bulb" or "L.E.D"
1.5) if "L.E.D" are they just a socket replacement or does it have its own custom enclosure with its own PCV control board
2.) did your Tundra come with factory fog Lights
2.5) are these fog lights a replacement "L.E.D" Bulb OR a concealed L.E.D in it's own housing
2.8) if your Tundra had fog lights are these "L.E.D fog lights using the factory plug uncut"
3.) if going to all L.E.D on the front end did you upgrade at the same time?

when a vehicle comes stock with Standard bulbs the electrical system is built to deal with the made draw. so in altering any of it , it can cause really weird issues and gremlins that will make you want to call a priest.
The good news it's fairly easy to figure these out with the right steps.

<SOME THINGS TO KNOW FIRST>
1.) L.E.D's are Light Emitting Diodes unlike a "Standard bulb that uses the current in a controlled short to illuminate light with a shielding gas". A "L.E.D rapidly flickers at such a high rate that to the human eyes its a solid light".
2.) the measured resistance of the "Stock circuit with a Standard bulb is the final resistance that the stock system is built for" this final resistance number is the number you want to remake when retro fitting something new like L.E.D's
3.) "L.E.D's are lower amp draw than a Standard Bulb"
4.) some vehicle's electrical systems if a low amp draw is applied will not illuminate a L.E.D due to the factory system thinking a bulb is out.
5.) most of the time the stock fog lights are tied into the head light circuit ( as it is with the Tundra even though you have a separate switch for fogs the headlights are first part of the circuit. this is why they wont turn on if lights are off and auto turn off when high beams are applied
6.) stay away from cutting OEM wires or splicing with butt connectors as this can add a fraction of resistance that could cause issues with working an just adds a future failure point for later
7.) L.E.D's are directional unlike a standard bulb , meaning positive has to meet the positive side of the L.E.D and negative on negative for it to create light. A Standard Bulb doesn't need direction. (this is mentioned because some vehicle's with standard bulbs are wired backwards and will not accept a L.E.D's unless de-pined and flipped on the harness for the socket. even some times as far as one side is correct but the other is backwards)

<TROUBLE SHOOTING AND INSTALL FOR A CONVERSION>
0.) verify all light circuits work in the stock configuration this will ensure any issue ran into is on the outer part of the circuit and what's changed instead of "Chasing Rabbits"
1.) should always measure the resistance of the "stock circuit" to know your end number on low beam , high beam and fogs these values are important (for some reason if your past this no worries)
2.) verify all your new L.E.D's work by using jumper wires to jump to battery an test illumination function (verified all work, good) and take note of witch side is positive and negative on the L.E.D's
3.) check the stock harness and take note of Positive and Negative on the socket verify they are correct and make your L.E.D P&N Notes
4.) install the L.E.D's in there appropriate place
5.) use either resistor's OR more "Prefeed all ready built Decoders"
6.) remeasure the circuit resistance to verify it meets the OEM Stock Standard Bulb resistance.

<Resistor's vs Decoder's>
Resistors are used for correcting resistance in the circuit since you moved to lower amp [refer to Note "Some Things to Know First" #2 #3 #4]
this will allow your stock circuit to illuminate the L.E.D when the proper Resistance load is meant.
1.) when Installing resistors you should buy the correct corresponding socket pig tails this will keep you from cutting the OEM wires and make life easier for soldering and creating the connection.
2.) [optional] if you have proper size wire and the proper tools you can pin new connectors instead of using pre made pig tale's
3.) make sure the resistor's are installed on the positive side

Decoder's I prefer since they are not only cheap (like around $20 a pair) but they are pre built plug and play not only with correct sockets on each side, but also a weather tight enclosure that not only hold the resistors for proper resistance and has some goodies like capacitor's (by holding a reserve) to combat flicker witch is common in L.E.D conversions. (Flicker happens when the electrical system is in-between giving enough ghost amps to power the low draw L.E.D but not having enough to create complete solid light) [refer to Note "Some Things to Know First" #1] , also great for correction issue like bulb out indicators an such.
- Some decoders will come with plugs that can flipped on each end so if it doesn't work off the bat , try flipping the plugs upside down on both ends , one end and flip device , try all 8 positions.

hope this write up helps any issues you should be able to figure it out and get it working with this.