led upgrade, hi beam indicator?

[sodafeld1]

Lots of long confusing threads. 12v 1988 hj75 troopy.

I installed stedi h4s, much better. But hi beam indicator does not read enough current to turn on. (My simple explanation).
I do not wish to add a resistor as a big part of the exercise was to draw less current.
Can I use a low current relay running from the high beam to the combination gauge blue hi beam indicator with two splices? Red and green wire my manual says.

 

[likethewheel]

Lots of long confusing threads. 12v 1988 hj75 troopy.

I installed stedi h4s, much better. But hi beam indicator does not read enough current to turn on. (My simple explanation).
I do not wish to add a resistor as a big part of the exercise was to draw less current.
Can I use a low current relay running from the high beam to the combination gauge blue hi beam indicator with two splices? Red and green wire my manual says.

I think this kit will solve your issues. I just went through similar issues with my ‘93 HZJ75 when doing an LED headlight conversion. Toyota wires the headlight circuits differently than most OEMs—the ground is switched and everything is done within the combination switch on the column. I ended up working with a local auto electric shop to make an adapter harness for mine (at a notable expense) and then a few days later came across this kit in another build thread here.

Amazon product ASIN B07Q1G4LRJ

 

[GTSSportCoupe]

Haha, I was wondering why my hi-beam indicator wasn't working. Nice to know it's just my LED lights.

 

[Rigster]

Yeah, I installed the above solenoids to overcome/compensate for the switched ground design toyota likes, and I thought my high beam indicator was not working, but I think due to the lower amperage draw of the LED's my hi-beam indicator light is just dimmer than usual. (IE: I can't see it during the day, but at night I can see it lit up, if dimly) - not sure if this is what you are experiencing or not?

Edit: I am wondering if there is an LED replacement bulb available for the dash to mitigate the need to start messing with the wiring? Always a last resort for me, and then I still cringe....

 

[GTSSportCoupe]

Yeah, I installed the above solenoids to overcome/compensate for the switched ground design toyota likes, and I thought my high beam indicator was not working, but I think due to the lower amperage draw of the LED's my hi-beam indicator light is just dimmer than usual. (IE: I can't see it during the day, but at night I can see it lit up, if dimly) - not sure if this is what you are experiencing or not?

Edit: I am wondering if there is an LED replacement bulb available for the dash to mitigate the need to start messing with the wiring? Always a last resort for me, and then I still cringe....

I do have a LED replacement kit for my gauge cluster that I never got around to installing. I'll have a look at the 70 series schematics to make sure I understand what's going on, and then maybe try the LED replacement for the hi beam indicator. That would be a easy fix if it works.

 

[Rigster]

I do have a LED replacement kit for my gauge cluster that I never got around to installing. I'll have a look at the 70 series schematics to make sure I understand what's going on, and then maybe try the LED replacement for the hi beam indicator. That would be a easy fix if it works.

@GTSSportCoupe , do you have a good electical schematics of the 70 series? I found one that I found suspect at best, so no real help for me. I could have used one when I was working through the EGR delete issues this summer. I wanted to permanently remove the VSV's that were no longer doing anything and a good schematic with the EGR controller might have proved helpful.

Anyways, enough hijacking, apologies @sodafeld1!

Let us know what you find WRT an LED replacement bulb @GTSSportCoupe, that may be the answer to get the lower current to show up brighter! Thanks!!!

 

[GTSSportCoupe]

@GTSSportCoupe , do you have a good electical schematics of the 70 series? I found one that I found suspect at best, so no real help for me. I could have used one when I was working through the EGR delete issues this summer. I wanted to permanently remove the VSV's that were no longer doing anything and a good schematic with the EGR controller might have proved helpful.

Anyways, enough hijacking, apologies @sodafeld1!

Let us know what you find WRT an LED replacement bulb @GTSSportCoupe, that may be the answer to get the lower current to show up brighter! Thanks!!!

I found these a few years ago for the JDM models 70 series 1990+. Covers heavy duty and light duty trucks. Found Japanese 1990-1995 70 series wiring manuals! - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/found-japanese-1990-1995-70-series-wiring-manuals.959266/

Here is one of those translated to english: '90-'92 70-Series Wiring Manual.pdf - https://www.dropbox.com/s/7zocha4y2mm8y82/%2790-%2792%2070-Series%20Wiring%20Manual.pdf?dl=0

 

[GTSSportCoupe]

So I had a look at the schematic and did some interwebs reading. I believe this is how it works:

The high beam indicator lamp is connected to the low side (switch side) of the low beam filaments. When the low beams are on, both sides of the indicator are grounded, so it's off. When the high beams are on, the low side of the low beam filaments are no longer grounded through the switch, but only through the indicator lamp. So the low beam filaments are providing power to the indicator lamp, and it turns on.

Now, with LED lights, there is no filament (low impedance resistor). Depending on the electronics of the given LED lights, there may or may not be leakage current through the low beam circuit. If there isn't, there will be no indication at the indicator lamp. If there is some current, there may be faint indication with an incandescent bulb; and in some cases, an LED replacement will brighten this indication.

Probably putting a resistor in parallel with the low beam filament (LED), and using a LED bulb for the high beam indicator (works with less current), would solve the problem for most cases. Quick math for 20mA from 12V tells me a 620 Ohm 1/2 Watt resistor should do the trick.

Only gotcha, is what effect this resistor may have on the LED headlight power electronics. I can't really say without seeing a schematic of them. Most have constant current power supplies that take 9-32V or so on the input and produce a constant current through the LED's. This is why LED bulbs don't dim even if you have low voltage with the car off. But 600Ohms is probably a high enough resistance it should be fine and not cause any strange problems.

 

[likethewheel]

Yeah, I installed the above solenoids to overcome/compensate for the switched ground design toyota likes, and I thought my high beam indicator was not working, but I think due to the lower amperage draw of the LED's my hi-beam indicator light is just dimmer than usual. (IE: I can't see it during the day, but at night I can see it lit up, if dimly) - not sure if this is what you are experiencing or not?

Edit: I am wondering if there is an LED replacement bulb available for the dash to mitigate the need to start messing with the wiring? Always a last resort for me, and then I still cringe....

Oh, I see the issue now. My bad. My high beam indicator light works fine with the LED headlights so unfortunately I don’t have any useful advice. Curious to see how this plays out and what the solution is. Good luck!

 

[GTSSportCoupe]

Oh, I see the issue now. My bad. My high beam indicator light works fine with the LED headlights so unfortunately I don’t have any useful advice. Curious to see how this plays out and what the solution is. Good luck!

What brand LED headlights are you using? I wonder if some have an internal resistor to prevent this issue? Now that I think about it, I used to have a set of Ebay Chinese H4 LED lights, and my high beam indicator worked fine.

I'm using Philips H4 LEDs now.

 

[likethewheel]

What brand LED headlights are you using? I wonder if some have an internal resistor to prevent this issue? Now that I think about it, I used to have a set of Ebay Chinese H4 LED lights, and my high beam indicator worked fine.

I'm using Philips H4 LEDs now.

I have these United Pacific units. I chose them because they were much nicer quality than most of the cheap amazon/ebay 7" LED lights but not as costly as some of the premium offerings from the big brands. I also like the halo ring because it gives you a nice DRL option for safety and it makes your front turn signal more visible as the halo switches from white to orange (and blinks) when the turn signal is activated. I've been using the lights now for a few months and I really like them. The low beams -- like most LED headlights -- leave a little bit to be desired, but once adjusted properly do the job well enough. The high beams are incredible ... super bright light and a nice big pattern that make night driving on country roads a pleasure.

And I will also say that when I ran into issues with install (due to Toyota's switched ground), United Pacific's customer service was very prompt, friendly, and helpful. The guys I spoke to, Dave, has an 80 series that he bought new and has since converted to non-US spec 4 rectangle LED headlights. Was nice to speak with a fellow Land Cruiser enthusiast!

 

[Rigster]

@GTSSportCoupe , I tried to PM you to say thanks but no go... praps your security preferences do not allow for such nefarious activity... lol.

 

[GTSSportCoupe]

@GTSSportCoupe , I tried to PM you to say thanks but no go... praps your security preferences do not allow for such nefarious activity... lol.

Was getting too many PM's about people's 2LTE problems, so shut it down, LOL. I'll shoot you a quick PM that you can reply to anytime tho.

 

[sodafeld1]

Thanks men! You guys are 24v aren't you? I wonder if that is a different set up. That amazon loom does not ship to Oz, but looks like something I am thinking of. So shall have a hunt around.
I also changed dash lights to leds. Blinker indicators don't work with leds, thankfully they are bright enough with the oem. Still no hi beam indicator though.

 

[likethewheel]

Thanks men! You guys are 24v aren't you? I wonder if that is a different set up. That amazon loom does not ship to Oz, but looks like something I am thinking of. So shall have a hunt around.
I also changed dash lights to leds. Blinker indicators don't work with leds, thankfully they are bright enough with the oem. Still no hi beam indicator though.

My truck came from Australia so it’s 12 V.

 

[sodafeld1]

cool! found it on amazon oz, worth a punt. help amazon man to fly big phallus.

Mind you, I had no light flicker, all works well besides blue hi indicator.

seems common place for manufactures to lie, plug and play (but your indicator won't work..) lies.
Thanking you, forums are the best thing about internet