LC200 Rear (Interior) Exit Switch Mod (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter WildYoats
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
Truck shoulda came with it! Great little mod.
Markuson
SILVER Star
Ya, I think all would agree. Personally—even beyond the button mod—I find it baffling (and potentially dangerous) that they didn’t give it a PHYSICAL release lever for exit without reliance on electric power.
Markuson
SILVER Star
Does the switch tie into the electric lift gate on the 2018+ trucks or does it tap into power elsewhere? I am just trying to figure out if those of us running Brendan's LED hatch light that mounts in the access plate and taps into that circuit can run this mod as intended.
prharper
GOLD Star
Great question. I'm running the same setup and was wondering if I could add this mod.
prharper
GOLD Star
Markuson
SILVER Star
On that… Honestly, I’d consider lighting that is not from that single, centered bright-point. If going to the exit switch meant you swapped to lighting like a National Luna LED (that spreads light sources over about a foot or more), you’ll be amazed at the reduction in dark shadows under your hands or tools while you—for example—access drawers, use tools or food prep on the tailgate under the hatch lights. That center light is bright…but shadows are severe in the darkness.
I had two of the National Luna lights on one of the 4Runners, they are nice but I have been quite pleased with the single so far. I've been running it for three years now between the LX and the LC. I'd add more lights before I outright replaced it. I'd really like to remove the third row seat belts and mount the smaller BD singles in the holes left behind from the seat belts like they did on one of the Slee/Ed Martin builds.
CharlieS
GOLD Star
I'm also a fan of the National Luna lightbar. I've run them on two 200 series. I had a home built small led light for a bit, but the usable light was nothing like the National Luna. I use the white/amber ones, since amber seems to attract fewer insects. I like the three levels of dimming too.
Okay, so I just finished installing this on my 2021 LC200 HE last weekend. Here are some of my post-installation thoughts "from the trenches":
1) It appears that beginning in 2019, the license plate light assemblies were not only "snapped" into place by the plastic tabs, but Toyota added a sticker portion that, in addition to "snapping" the assembly in, it also "sticks" with a sticker to create a solid and complete seal.
2) Number 1 matters because if you don't want a little rattle in your license plate light assembly after you install, then you will need to either buy some 3M double-sided sticky tape to recreate the "seal" around the license plate light assembly, you can purchase a new assembly for around $50, or you can live with a slightly loose license plate light assembly on one side.
3) I advise removing the lefthand license plate light (P/N: 81690-60020), this is so you can pull the switch wiring out through the license plate light hole and gain a bit more wire to make crimping easier when you're splicing the main switch wiring (blue and white), then feed it back through after you've spliced the main switch wires first.
TRICK FOR REMOVING THE LICENSE PLATE LIGHT ASSEMBLY: Do it after you're removed the main switch and then reach in with your fingers, find one of the license plate light assembly plastic tabs, and then push it out from the inside while depressing the plastic tab. You will also be fighting a sticker if you have a 2019+ LC200, so in that case, it'll be kinda hard to remove.
4) Wiring: Okay, doing this in situ is a mother******. the wire harness that the switch comes with appears to be 18G wire, this is WAY too large of a wire for the loads this switch is handling. Having said that, for those of you who are familiar with wire crimping/splicing, trying to splice two different gauge wires together without solder can be a bit frustrating. This is compounded that the wiring is being worked on in situ, and you will have a VERY limited space to work with the wire. Pay very close attention to the size of your chosen splices, the wire, etc. To give on an idea, the actual wire gauge on the tailgate switch is 24 or 26G, i.e., its so microscopically tiny that you will have to be very careful when you strip the wires for crimping because they are too small for any standard crimping multi-tool...then you gotta somehow finagle these tiny wires to crimp with the relatively giant 18G wires. Its very doable, but its a bitch. There was discussion about releasing the wiring harness to gain access to more of the bundle...not happening without removing your rear door card. I could see where the harness attached with one of those plastic toyota wire harness buttons, BUT, you can't get to it without taking apart half the door, at least, that's how it was on my rig. Maybe if one has a surgeon's set of hemostats they could pull it off, but not with regular tools. Along those lines: the awesome folks who put this kit together may want to consider revising their wire loom design so that the switch wires are better matched to the existing gauge wire. This will make wiring, crimping, and splicing a LOT easier.
5) Crimping: Just go down to the autoparts store and buy 20-24G all-weather, waterproof red crimps, they fit super tight with the 18G wire, but if you are patient, you will get all the wires in, crimp it down, and then you can use your torch to shrink the built-in heat shrink. Working with the basic crimps that are included with the kit is doable, but it was a lot easier to use all-weather heat-shrinkable crimps to get the vehicle-side button and chassis wires crimped together on one side, THEN, crimp on the switch/light sides, THEN use a heat shrink torch or lighter (don't forget to hold a spoon behind the wire so you don't melt your paint, plastic, or rubber on your truck) to finish your crimps.
All in all, an almost necessary accessory for our vehicles and I do want to express my heartfelt thanks to the awesome folks at Cruiser Outfitters for working hard to put together a kit that addresses this very important need!!!! Great work guys and please don't take my comments as anything more than an attempt to provide worthwhile and useful end-user feedback while also helping other folks out that may have the same model year as I do.
WARNING: I know it might be tempting, but DO NOT try to use "vampire" splicers for this. Even I was tempted to simply "clip on" splicers. These wires are all WAY too small for vampire clips or any type of splicer that penetrates the wire jacket. You'll just end up breaking your switch wires and have to use crimps anyways.
Ah, and I just checked and the backlight isn't working on my switch...so I'll have to troubleshoot that out since everything else seems to be working perfectly, the license plate light works fine, and all my wires appear to be crimped well.
1) It appears that beginning in 2019, the license plate light assemblies were not only "snapped" into place by the plastic tabs, but Toyota added a sticker portion that, in addition to "snapping" the assembly in, it also "sticks" with a sticker to create a solid and complete seal.
2) Number 1 matters because if you don't want a little rattle in your license plate light assembly after you install, then you will need to either buy some 3M double-sided sticky tape to recreate the "seal" around the license plate light assembly, you can purchase a new assembly for around $50, or you can live with a slightly loose license plate light assembly on one side.
3) I advise removing the lefthand license plate light (P/N: 81690-60020), this is so you can pull the switch wiring out through the license plate light hole and gain a bit more wire to make crimping easier when you're splicing the main switch wiring (blue and white), then feed it back through after you've spliced the main switch wires first.
TRICK FOR REMOVING THE LICENSE PLATE LIGHT ASSEMBLY: Do it after you're removed the main switch and then reach in with your fingers, find one of the license plate light assembly plastic tabs, and then push it out from the inside while depressing the plastic tab. You will also be fighting a sticker if you have a 2019+ LC200, so in that case, it'll be kinda hard to remove.
4) Wiring: Okay, doing this in situ is a mother******. the wire harness that the switch comes with appears to be 18G wire, this is WAY too large of a wire for the loads this switch is handling. Having said that, for those of you who are familiar with wire crimping/splicing, trying to splice two different gauge wires together without solder can be a bit frustrating. This is compounded that the wiring is being worked on in situ, and you will have a VERY limited space to work with the wire. Pay very close attention to the size of your chosen splices, the wire, etc. To give on an idea, the actual wire gauge on the tailgate switch is 24 or 26G, i.e., its so microscopically tiny that you will have to be very careful when you strip the wires for crimping because they are too small for any standard crimping multi-tool...then you gotta somehow finagle these tiny wires to crimp with the relatively giant 18G wires. Its very doable, but its a bitch. There was discussion about releasing the wiring harness to gain access to more of the bundle...not happening without removing your rear door card. I could see where the harness attached with one of those plastic toyota wire harness buttons, BUT, you can't get to it without taking apart half the door, at least, that's how it was on my rig. Maybe if one has a surgeon's set of hemostats they could pull it off, but not with regular tools. Along those lines: the awesome folks who put this kit together may want to consider revising their wire loom design so that the switch wires are better matched to the existing gauge wire. This will make wiring, crimping, and splicing a LOT easier.
5) Crimping: Just go down to the autoparts store and buy 20-24G all-weather, waterproof red crimps, they fit super tight with the 18G wire, but if you are patient, you will get all the wires in, crimp it down, and then you can use your torch to shrink the built-in heat shrink. Working with the basic crimps that are included with the kit is doable, but it was a lot easier to use all-weather heat-shrinkable crimps to get the vehicle-side button and chassis wires crimped together on one side, THEN, crimp on the switch/light sides, THEN use a heat shrink torch or lighter (don't forget to hold a spoon behind the wire so you don't melt your paint, plastic, or rubber on your truck) to finish your crimps.
All in all, an almost necessary accessory for our vehicles and I do want to express my heartfelt thanks to the awesome folks at Cruiser Outfitters for working hard to put together a kit that addresses this very important need!!!! Great work guys and please don't take my comments as anything more than an attempt to provide worthwhile and useful end-user feedback while also helping other folks out that may have the same model year as I do.
WARNING: I know it might be tempting, but DO NOT try to use "vampire" splicers for this. Even I was tempted to simply "clip on" splicers. These wires are all WAY too small for vampire clips or any type of splicer that penetrates the wire jacket. You'll just end up breaking your switch wires and have to use crimps anyways.
Ah, and I just checked and the backlight isn't working on my switch...so I'll have to troubleshoot that out since everything else seems to be working perfectly, the license plate light works fine, and all my wires appear to be crimped well.
Last edited:
Okay, after receiving a replacement license plate light part, I now see that its a piece of foam that expands to form a seal, but its a slow expansion foam, so it takes a little while to expand back out. They do put some sticky film on the foam, and that stuff really adheres well.
Anyway, I may have been wrong about the 2019+ light and a sticker, I think that's just how they all might be.
If I had to do it over, I'd have probably not even bothered with the backlight. Mine doesn't work yet (hoping to figure that one out this weekend), but it was a lot of work for a relatively little result (a faint backlit button). Just wish I'd thought that through a little more.
UPDATE: DISREGARD THIS SOLUTION FOR NOW
I already identified some major problems:
(1) I do not know if the existing auto button receives any power when the door is closed, its backlit, so logic tells me it might lose power when the door closes along with the interior light, that pretty much negates the "plug and play" bonus, since I'd have to chase down a constant power source or figure out how to bypass something;
(2) I'm pretty sure this solution makes it so the interior button will only work when auto open/close is enabled, because I have never heard the latch click when I press it to close, so if you don't have auto open/close on, then the interior switch may become inoperable, the current setup lets the interior switch work even if auto open/close is turned off.
In short, this is a work in progress and I'll leave the posts mostly as is because they have a lot of part numbers that might come in handy for someone in a future thread search...
-----------------------------------------------
In a perfect world, there would be a wiring harness option for those of us with the auto close button. This harness could be built using one female receiver plug for the exiting auto close plug coming from the vehicle wiring harness, then "splice" out from that plug to two new plugs, one plug for the new switch, and the other plug for the existing factory auto close switch. Done. No crimping, no soldering, no guess work, no swearing, nada. The hardest part of the install would simply be cutting the hole for the new switch and installing the grab handle. This harness would also make it so you could turn your vehicle back to stock without any residual damage to the factory wiring harness. This "auto close option" harness would look something like this:
<LOTS OF STUFF DELETED BECAUSE ITS NOT A GOOD SOLUTION>
I already identified some major problems:
(1) I do not know if the existing auto button receives any power when the door is closed, its backlit, so logic tells me it might lose power when the door closes along with the interior light, that pretty much negates the "plug and play" bonus, since I'd have to chase down a constant power source or figure out how to bypass something;
(2) I'm pretty sure this solution makes it so the interior button will only work when auto open/close is enabled, because I have never heard the latch click when I press it to close, so if you don't have auto open/close on, then the interior switch may become inoperable, the current setup lets the interior switch work even if auto open/close is turned off.
In short, this is a work in progress and I'll leave the posts mostly as is because they have a lot of part numbers that might come in handy for someone in a future thread search...
-----------------------------------------------
In a perfect world, there would be a wiring harness option for those of us with the auto close button. This harness could be built using one female receiver plug for the exiting auto close plug coming from the vehicle wiring harness, then "splice" out from that plug to two new plugs, one plug for the new switch, and the other plug for the existing factory auto close switch. Done. No crimping, no soldering, no guess work, no swearing, nada. The hardest part of the install would simply be cutting the hole for the new switch and installing the grab handle. This harness would also make it so you could turn your vehicle back to stock without any residual damage to the factory wiring harness. This "auto close option" harness would look something like this:
<LOTS OF STUFF DELETED BECAUSE ITS NOT A GOOD SOLUTION>
Last edited:
PLUG AND PINOUT PART NUMBERS:
Toyota does not list a stand-alone female receiving connector anywhere on the vehicle microfiche or the technical microfiche, they may possibly wire them into the main wiring harnesses, but the dealer stated they probably just don't use any inline female connectors of this type as a separate part on the truck. However, after stumbling around on some japanese language websites and this post: 2nd gen tacoma blue connector in dash - https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/2nd-gen-tacoma-blue-connector-in-dash.640457/page-2 ...I discovered the part number for the female receiving in-line connector: Toyota 90980-11012.
X
- SWITCH: OE Toyota Connector: 90980-11013 Housing, Connector F (this is the black plastic connector I am holding in my hand in the previous posted photo)
- SWITCH: OE Toyota Connector, Inline Receiving Connector Male: 90980-11012 Housing, Connector M
- LP LIGHT: OE Toyota Connector, 90980-11156 Housing, Connector F
- LP LIGHT: OE Toyota Connector, Inline Receiving Connector Male: 90980-11155 Housing, Connector M
- OE Toyota Pin-outs (4 per connector): 160mm* = 82998-24380, 500mm* = 82998-74050 (These P/Ns I'm not 100% sure on yet, still researching), also: These are "repair" items, they have a wire already attached to make repairs quicker. This is not what I need. I need just the raw metal pin-out terminals that will allow me to crimp/solder my own wiring in.
- OE Toyota Raw Pinout Terminals: 82998-12340 F (Female Terminal) and 82998-12330 M (Male Terminal). Since I'm building a custom harness, this is what I need.
Toyota does not list a stand-alone female receiving connector anywhere on the vehicle microfiche or the technical microfiche, they may possibly wire them into the main wiring harnesses, but the dealer stated they probably just don't use any inline female connectors of this type as a separate part on the truck. However, after stumbling around on some japanese language websites and this post: 2nd gen tacoma blue connector in dash - https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/2nd-gen-tacoma-blue-connector-in-dash.640457/page-2 ...I discovered the part number for the female receiving in-line connector: Toyota 90980-11012.
X
Last edited:
I located a site to purchase the raw terminals, around $40 to order 30 of each type of Toyota terminal, just to add to my wiring toolbox. Total cost with shipping: $55 for 30 of each type, both male and female. I'll post my final solution with all part numbers once I receive all the parts and get the harness completed.
1.3 mm
82998-12420 F - TS series 050 Type female terminal Non waterproof /F050-SMTS
82998-12410 M - TS series 050 Type male terminal Non waterproof /M050-SMTS
2.3 mm
82998-12340 F - TS/ [Yazaki] 090 2 series female terminal Non waterproof /F090-SMTS
82998-12330 M - TS/ [Yazaki] 090 2 series male terminal Non waterproof /M090-SMTS
I also found the source for the 1.0 mm terminals, for connectors like the C23:
1.0 mm
82998-12690 F - 040 Type [Yazaki] female terminal Non waterproof /F040 [F040]
82998-12670 M - 040 Type [Yazaki] male terminal Non waterproof /M040 [M040]
1.3 mm
82998-12420 F - TS series 050 Type female terminal Non waterproof /F050-SMTS
82998-12410 M - TS series 050 Type male terminal Non waterproof /M050-SMTS
2.3 mm
82998-12340 F - TS/ [Yazaki] 090 2 series female terminal Non waterproof /F090-SMTS
82998-12330 M - TS/ [Yazaki] 090 2 series male terminal Non waterproof /M090-SMTS
I also found the source for the 1.0 mm terminals, for connectors like the C23:
1.0 mm
82998-12690 F - 040 Type [Yazaki] female terminal Non waterproof /F040 [F040]
82998-12670 M - 040 Type [Yazaki] male terminal Non waterproof /M040 [M040]
Last edited:
Keep in mind that this approach isn't tested yet.
I can already see some major problems:
(1) I do not know if the existing auto button receives any power when the door is closed, its backlit, so logic tells me it might lose power when the door closes along with the interior light, that pretty much negates the "plug and play" bonus, since I'd have to chase down a constant power source or figure out how to bypass something;
(2) I'm pretty sure this solution makes it so the interior button will only work when auto open/close is enabled, because I have never heard the latch click when I press it to close, so if you don't have auto open/close on, then the interior switch may become inoperable, the Cruiser Brothers setup lets the interior switch work even if auto open/close is turned off.
I'll make sure to do some testing and let everyone know how it turns out. I'll leave the above posts as is because I did spend some time looking up all those dang part numbers.
I can already see some major problems:
(1) I do not know if the existing auto button receives any power when the door is closed, its backlit, so logic tells me it might lose power when the door closes along with the interior light, that pretty much negates the "plug and play" bonus, since I'd have to chase down a constant power source or figure out how to bypass something;
(2) I'm pretty sure this solution makes it so the interior button will only work when auto open/close is enabled, because I have never heard the latch click when I press it to close, so if you don't have auto open/close on, then the interior switch may become inoperable, the Cruiser Brothers setup lets the interior switch work even if auto open/close is turned off.
I'll make sure to do some testing and let everyone know how it turns out. I'll leave the above posts as is because I did spend some time looking up all those dang part numbers.
Last edited:
@Tex68w did you end up finding a solution to running both the light kit and the hatch kit? I would like to have both but I’m unsure how to accomplish that in the best way.
I did not, I ended up deciding that it wasn't worth the hassle or expense when I can do as I have always done and simply open it with the key fob haha.
What year is your LC200? the 2016 from your profile? I ask because there are some differences from 2018 onward for the auto close hatch. TIA
