Greetings, I was hoping someone with a similar setup (EZ harness, stock steering column, three-wire LED tail lights) could offer some advice on the wiring problem i am having.
Here is the scenario:
Originally, my FJ40 had seperate wires and lights for STOP and TURN in the rear (a red light for the STOP and MARKER lights, and an amber light for TURN).
I replaced the entire wiring harness with a generic one (EZ Wiring Mini 21) The new harness, made to be compatable with old american cars for which they are most commonly used, has one shared wire for STOP and TURN, presumably because these fuctions share the same bulb in these cars.
I also installed new tail lights (4" round LEDs common on tractor trailers). These lights have three wires, a ground for the light, a tail (marker) which lights the inner series of LEDs, and a STOP/TURN which lights the outer LEDs. These are designed to work the same way as the EZ harness as far as I can tell.
Problem number one; although the harness is new, the switches for the brake lights and turn signals are original FJ40, designed for the seperate STOP and TURN bulbs. The stock STOP switch has only one terminal for one wire going to both RIGHT and LEFT stop lights. So basically what happens is, the turn signals work fine until I connect the RIGHT and LEFT wire to the STOP switch. Then the stop switch works but the blinkers for RIGHT or LEFT cause both lights to blink at the same time (like hazards) because the two are connected at the STOP switch.
My solution was to connect diodes within both the RIGHT and LEFT STOP/TAIL wires before the STOP switch, to prevent the blinker signal from getting from the RIGHT to LEFT wire and vice versa. Installation of the diodes solved problem number one, now the turn signals work individually.
Unfortunately, this caused a second problem. The turn signals work when the brake is not depressed, but while holding the brake and blinking at the same time, there is no turn flashing. So basically whenever I hit the brakes the turn signals are left non-functional for that time.
So basically my question is, what am I missing or doing wrong? Wiring is definately not my forte. I know there are other people with this setup working (unfortunately I don't know any personally). My last resort is to simply add seperate rear blinker and be done with it, but i'd prefer to keep the single light. Any advice?
Here is the scenario:
Originally, my FJ40 had seperate wires and lights for STOP and TURN in the rear (a red light for the STOP and MARKER lights, and an amber light for TURN).
I replaced the entire wiring harness with a generic one (EZ Wiring Mini 21) The new harness, made to be compatable with old american cars for which they are most commonly used, has one shared wire for STOP and TURN, presumably because these fuctions share the same bulb in these cars.
I also installed new tail lights (4" round LEDs common on tractor trailers). These lights have three wires, a ground for the light, a tail (marker) which lights the inner series of LEDs, and a STOP/TURN which lights the outer LEDs. These are designed to work the same way as the EZ harness as far as I can tell.
Problem number one; although the harness is new, the switches for the brake lights and turn signals are original FJ40, designed for the seperate STOP and TURN bulbs. The stock STOP switch has only one terminal for one wire going to both RIGHT and LEFT stop lights. So basically what happens is, the turn signals work fine until I connect the RIGHT and LEFT wire to the STOP switch. Then the stop switch works but the blinkers for RIGHT or LEFT cause both lights to blink at the same time (like hazards) because the two are connected at the STOP switch.
My solution was to connect diodes within both the RIGHT and LEFT STOP/TAIL wires before the STOP switch, to prevent the blinker signal from getting from the RIGHT to LEFT wire and vice versa. Installation of the diodes solved problem number one, now the turn signals work individually.
Unfortunately, this caused a second problem. The turn signals work when the brake is not depressed, but while holding the brake and blinking at the same time, there is no turn flashing. So basically whenever I hit the brakes the turn signals are left non-functional for that time.
So basically my question is, what am I missing or doing wrong? Wiring is definately not my forte. I know there are other people with this setup working (unfortunately I don't know any personally). My last resort is to simply add seperate rear blinker and be done with it, but i'd prefer to keep the single light. Any advice?
