FJ60 Headlight Wiring Harness

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Zack1978 said:
My quick question is, what is the bottom line on what brand/model harness is the most foolproof for the FJ60? I guess what I am asking, is there a total plug and play harness from a vendor? Will "the best" harness allow the high beam system light to work?

Thanks,
Zack
Click to expand...

i will be starting my headlamp harnesses today that will include relays, wiring conectors ect. all pre asembled.

take a look at my thread ive got if you havent already https://forum.ih8mud.com/60-series-wagons/194958-light-harnes.html

i did some an aux light harness already that is ready to rock out after i make a couple small changes to it.
 
Marc311 said:
Daniel Sterns is not a plug and play harness, it is only parts you must assemble.
The one from 4crawler appears plug and play, cheap, and designed for toyota's ground switched systems.

Although I'm not sure, I think the others (rally, ARB, etc) are not designed specifically for Toyota's and certainly not for FJ60s. The one above is specific for a two light, ground switched system. That one, like the one I am trying to build drom Daniel Sterns' parts, should just be the following:

Step 1 - Unplug your stock headlights
Step 2 - Plug the new harness into your headlight plugs
Step 3 - Plug the harness' headlight sockets into your stock headlights (or upgraded H4s)
You, of course, also need to mount the relays somewhere in the engine compartment and route the wires, but that is all it should be.

I really think I am going to buy one of 4crawler's harnesses (they run $40-60 depending on relays used, etc) because I don't see how you can go wrong. I will post up here, obviously, if and when I do that. The only problem i could see is that he seems to build his for pickups and 4 runners, so it is possible some of the wires could be too short to work on a landcruiser.

I sent him an e-mail and told him about this thread (and the somewhat untapped cruiser market). Hopefully he'll post up or send me an e-mail.
Click to expand...


Thanks for your help with this!

I might give Kurt a call to ask about the ARB system?

Zack
 
That all looks really complicated. When I got my harness from suvlights.com years ago I just connected the two fuse holders to batter +, black wires to ground and the harness between the vehicle harness and lights. Had the resistor curcuit built in. One relay powers low beam, the other powers high beam. suvlights.com for more info.
 
Marc311 said:
Here is a link to a guy who makes harnesses for other toyotas, but it looks like it would work just fine and he only charges like $40!!!!!! The site includes a schematic and a lot of good info (including one about improving the reverse lights.

Toyota 4Runner and Pickup: Brighter Headlights

I will still finish off this thread once I figure it out. But frankly, if that harness is half decent it is a steal for $40. He also references this schematic (which is identical to the FSM for FJ60s - but I don't think the same for FJ62s.)
Click to expand...

I think I have supplied a few FJ60 harnesses over the years. For the quad lamp '62s, several options exist:

1. Use the stock connectors/wiring to run the separate high beams. W/o the load of the other lights, the stock wiring will probably work fine like this.

2. Add a second pair of high beam connectors (H4 or something else?) to the relay harness (likely use a 40 amp high beam relay) and power the high beams like that.

3. Add a relay/socket to the harness and power the separate high beams with that 3rd relay.

Can supply all the above parts for or can pre-wire the harness as desired.

And yes, it is a realy plug and play installation. As simple as unplugging your existing headlight connectors. Plug in the ones from the new harness and plug one of the old headlight connectors into the matching H4 male connector on the new harness. Then hook the 2 ground wires to sheet metal screws near each headlight and connect the power wires to the battery. Assuming access to the required areas, should take less than 5 minutes to be up and running.

And with the built-in diode/resistor box, the high beam indicator works normally. A full technical description of how the harness is designed and works is available on the web page below:
- Toyota 4Runner and Pickup: Brighter Headlights
 
sam ting

OlympiaFJ60 said:
That all looks really complicated. When I got my harness from suvlights.com years ago I just connected the two fuse holders to batter +, black wires to ground and the harness between the vehicle harness and lights. Had the resistor curcuit built in. One relay powers low beam, the other powers high beam. suvlights.com for more info.
Click to expand...
I did the same thing, plug and play harness. Ran the the hot to the alt though for extra voltage, plugged one old headlight plug into harness and awaaaaay we went. Took half an hour to complete. Also used the 80watt bulbs. OOPS!!
 
I highly recommend the ARB/IPF harness. Very easy to hook up (well engineered). It is available through many vendors (Cruiser outfitters, MAF, etc.) , there are deals to be had. I purchased mine through Sam's 4x4 for about $65.00, but I have seen them for as high as $100+. For your best performance you also need to buy new lenses and high output bulbs. So the cost will creep up on you quick.


Dynosoar:zilla:
 
I used the same harness in my 60, 45 and 40, works perfect, the only mod I think I needed was on the 60, think I needed the diode which Wayne made for me, but my harness might have been older.

and Wayne made my harness for the 62

OlympiaFJ60 said:
That all looks really complicated. When I got my harness from suvlights.com years ago I just connected the two fuse holders to batter +, black wires to ground and the harness between the vehicle harness and lights. Had the resistor curcuit built in. One relay powers low beam, the other powers high beam. suvlights.com for more info.
Click to expand...
 
Dynosoar said:
I highly recommend the ARB/IPF harness. Very easy to hook up (well engineered). It is available through many vendors (Cruiser outfitters, MAF, etc.) , there are deals to be had. I purchased mine through Sam's 4x4 for about $65.00, but I have seen them for as high as $100+. For your best performance you also need to buy new lenses and high output bulbs. So the cost will creep up on you quick.


Dynosoar:zilla:
Click to expand...

Yes but is the ARB plug and play?

Zack
 
YES! The ARB/IPF harness IS plug and play. The high beam indicator works and everything.


Dynosoar:zilla:
 
I ordered 4crawler's harness a couple days ago and I received it yesterday - which is pretty impressive since we are on opposite sides of the US. I guess I was under the impression 4crawler made them himself, but it looks like he re-sells a premade harness from an unknown manufacturer. I don't have any problem with, it just wasn't what I expected. But it makes sense given the price because the labor involved in making a harness, especially a one time deal, would be cost prohibitive.

Overall, I am pretty impressed with the harness, given the price. Here are my initial impressions:

The good:
Plug and Play
Fits
Works
Appears to be professionally made with good crimp connections ("professionally" meaning assembled in a Chinese factory where they make thousands of them)
Almost the entire harness is in loom (a solid loom rather than split loom)
Wires are decent gauge (appears to be 14 to 18 gauge depending upon what the specific wire is used for)
Designed specifically for Toyotas
Includes all mounting hardware and instructions
Price

The not so good ("bad" would be way too harsh of a term):
Appears to be Chinese made with Chinese components
Connections are not soldered and there is little weather protection (but there is little weather protection for the stock wiring)
Wire gauge on some of the wires is not as big as I would have done, but appears sufficient
Since it is premade, you are somewhat limited where you can place components or find grounds

So all in all, I think it is a tremendous value. I bought 4crawlers' heavy duty/high output version for $60, but he has a regular one for around $40.

I believe the components I got from Daniel Stern Lighting are likely better (German made Bosch relays versus Chinese relays - but I have no data to back that up, just assuming due to nation of origin). I paid more for just those components than for 4crawlers' entire harness and it still requires wire and my labor (and I don't work cheap!).

So I think if you wanted the BEST harness, where you could go overkill on the wire gauge and hand solder/ heat shrink /weatherproof every connection, you certainly could make a better harness. But to do that, you would need to find/buy the components and put a lot of time into it. You would also need to have the tools and talent - as limited as those may be for this task. I am sure several people will go this route because only the best is good enough for their FJ. I think a majority of people are better served buying a premade harness. From my INITIAL IMPRESSIONS, this harness seems to be a good option. We'll see how it holds up.

I will still likely make a harness with the components I purchased from DS Lighting. I think what I will end up with will be higher quality than 4crawlers. But it certainly won't be a better value. I also might just keep the components as back-ups should 4 crawlers harness fail (although not all compnents are interchangeable between the two due to design differences) I will also likely make some small modifications to 4 crawlers' harness, such as redoing the ground wires so I can move them to a better ground with larger wire. I already put rubber boots on the lamp sockets (since I had them) and will probably solder some connections.
 
DO you have a photo of the harness? or what need to be exchanged? the stock plugs are split so that the side marker, turn signal lights work.
 
AfricanToy said:
DO you have a photo of the harness? or what need to be exchanged? the stock plugs are split so that the side marker, turn signal lights work.
Click to expand...

I don't think it will make a difference. 4crawlers' harness, and pretty much all others, leave the stock wiring intact. They plug into the stock headlight plugs and use the power that used to light the headlights to actuate the relay. So the stock plugs still have the same voltage/current they always did - they just no longer power the headlights.

If I understand what you are saying, you did the mod so that your side markers flash with the turn signals. I don't see how one of these harnesses would affect that.

If you want to see a photo of the harness, you can follow the link to 4crawlers' site. That harness is identical, except rather than h4 sockets it has the other type.

If you want installed photos, I can probably help you out, but it will be tough to see.
 
This is a follow up to this thread should anybody be researching the topic later. I am going to remove some faulty info in earlier postings to avoid confusion.

I finally wired up the components received from DSL. I used the schematic below. The good news is that it does work. The bad news, is that the high beam indicator does not. Others have addressed this with a resistor and diode. I really don't know why that method works or what it does. Presumably it causes a voltage drop which allows the light to turn on, but I don't know. The harness I bought from 4crawler uses this method and the indicator does work.

If you wanted to make your own harness for your 60 and did not care about the indicator, the attached schematic will do you fine.

On another note, I wanted to clarify the H4 socket layout. The way it is laid out in Wayne Tangen's schematic (see post 10 in this thread) is not consistent with what I have seen elsewhere. I don't know if he just made a mistake on the schematic or what. I know several people have used his harnesses and have used the schematic as a reference, but I am almost certain that one piece of info is wrong. Just a heads up. On the schematic below, I have what I believe is the correct layout for stock sockets and h4 sockets.

Now I just need to decide whether I use my high quality harness with no indicator or the cheaper 4crawler one that works (or I might just add the resistor and diode from the 4crawler harness to mine). If I was to do it again, I certainly would have just bought a premade harness and been done with it. But I can always use soldering practice.

EDIT: The schematic below does not show that the 12V power wire is actually fused (20A).
harness4.webp
 
Last edited:
2mbb said:
That looks like it will work to me. I did an upgraded harness several years ago (not one of Daniel's though) and I remember I had two problems: (1) When the high beams were switched on, the low beams would be on too (I think your schematic doesn't have that problem and (2) I couldn't get the high beam indicator to work. As I recall, the high beam indicator was wired to just one of the OEM head light plug. I ultimately ran a jumper between the HI terminals on each OEM headlight plug.
Click to expand...

I DID do the Daniel Stern thing and I have the same problem as you did at first......I'll have to read thru this thread to fix what I got ...............

but I think my problem lies in the fact that no schematic came with the parts, so I went on the DS website and printed the generic 2 headlight schematic which is not Toyota specific.........................
 
jefferson-mo said:
I DID do the Daniel Stern thing and I have the same problem as you did at first......I'll have to read thru this thread to fix what I got ...............

but I think my problem lies in the fact that no schematic came with the parts, so I went on the DS website and printed the generic 2 headlight schematic which is not Toyota specific.........................
Click to expand...

When I did mine (link in signature), I found 2 mistakes in the written instructions from Daniel. It took a hell of a lot of head scratching to figure it out, but the end result is amazing lights. Hopefully he took to heart the revisions I sent his way (and a diagram would indeed be VERY helpful). It was looking through Wayne's diagram from here on MUD that finally clued me in to what was wrong.
 
Cool thanks.......................that'll definitely something worth fixing on mine.....
 
I actually never got a response from Daniel Stern. It was a bit surprising since he is known for his customer service. I think he might have been on vacation during that time, but still I never got a response. I still have the 4crawler harness in mine, since with the the harness I made from the DS parts I could not get the Hi-beam indicator to come on. it works fine, but no indicator.

I also e-mailed him more recently about getting Cibie headlights with no response. So I just recently ordered IPFs from Kurt at cruiseroutfitters. I don't know if anybody else has had luck contacting DS recently.
 
I just installed the IPF headlamps and 60w/80w IPF bulbs last night. I know it sounds like a broken record, but the difference is incredible. Quite honestly, I don't know how you could put any more light in front of you. Once you do the harness and bulb upgrade, I can see no reason to add additional lights - I really don't think you would gain anything. The light is so bright and so full, anything more would be diminishing returns.

You can do the whole setup for $150-$200 (harness, lights, and bulbs). I just can't see why anybody would spend $$$ on additional lights before doing this.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Back
Top Bottom