Aftermarket Deck Dimmer Issues - So Strange! - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

Drewfuspx · 09-03-2010, 08:02 PM

So the JVC Arsenal deck that I have and installed myself has been acting a little strange lately. This deck is designed so that when the lights are turned in on the car the dimmer lead gets power and the deck will change from day colours to night. It's pretty sweet. But...

As I was driving home from work today I noticed that when I was at stoplights the deck was going to night mode. I fiddled with the light switch but that didn't seem to affect it. After some more messing around I found that if I am in D-rive and have the brake on for about 3 or 4 seconds the deck will flip to night mode. If I let go of the brake it'll go back to day. Also strange, if I have the break on and it flips to night mode and I change the gear to neutral or to '2' it will also go back to normal.

Aside from the deck, an amplifier, and LED 1157 replacement Tail Lights I haven't messed with any other electrical on the car... What are your thoughts. My first is that I'll probably take the deck out and check the wiring, but aside from that I'm drawing a blank! But it'd be good to hear your thoughts!
Drew~

Drewfuspx · 09-06-2010, 02:48 AM

I checked the deck wiring and it seems fine... so I'm not really sure what to say. I suppose I can take out my LED tails and see if that truly makes a difference, but I really doubt it.

***Kiwi-Corolla*** · 09-06-2010, 03:04 AM

Yeah that's quite a strange problem. The tail lights are on the same circuit as the headlights, so I'd definitely try swapping out the LED's for some conventional bulbs like you mentioned. Let us know how you get on, I'd be interested to know!

***LynchburgCSI*** · 09-06-2010, 06:19 PM

I'd be willing to bet that the dimmer knob itself is fried. That's another weak point on the 3rd gen camry.

rty · 09-06-2010, 08:20 PM

I had a similar problem and whenever my daytime running lights came on my deck dimmed. Whenever I took my car out of park the DRL came on and my deck also dimmed. Although I had an aftermarket DRL module installed in my car. Don't know how it is wired in your car, but I would check it if goes to night when the DRL come on. I just ended up just disconnecting the dimmer wire from the deck.

Drewfuspx · 09-09-2010, 10:47 PM

The Plot thickens! So I finished installing the rest of the LED's today. So now all 4 running lights, rear sig's, and the brakes are LED. Now instead of being intermittent, as soon as I put the vehicle into Drive the deck goes to night mode. If I go to neutral, or 2 it goes to day mode. So it must have something to do with the reduction in draw from the rear running lights.

Now something else I noticed and was wondering if someone could check. When I put the vehicle in D the little green square around it is substantially dimmer than either the 2 or the N or any other for that matter. Is it possible that something in that little light has fried and that has something to do with it? I also notice that this little light is not affected by the dimmer, but maybe it should be?

In the end it's not that big a deal, but hopefully it doesn't become a bigger deal! ;0

***LynchburgCSI*** · 09-09-2010, 10:54 PM

You said you had AFTERMARKET DRLs installed in order to be in compliance with canada law, right? I'm thinking those were a shotty install. Hmmmm.

And yes, the D bulb is typically dimmer than the others. It's on the most, so it wears out and becomes dimmer. You notice a difference because the others are RIGHT next to the others.

And yes, the D light doesn't dim, IIRC.

EDIT: check the dimmer knob yet?

Drewfuspx · 09-09-2010, 11:01 PM

actually my unit is 100% Canadian. It's RTY's that has the aftermarket unit.

That's good to know about the D light not dimming. Sometimes you just don't know. I'll be pulling apart the dash at some point to remove the green condom's and/or putting LED's in. I suppose what I'll have to do is install one of the resistor's that I have and see if that makes a difference.

Biggest question is that now that I know what's causing it - i.e. the lack of draw by the lights that turn on in 'parking' - I still don't know WHY this is causing the issue... It seems to me that the deck should only dim when the running lights or headlights are ON and that would cause power to activate the relay in the deck. But this almost seems like the power savings from the LED is bleeding into that relay... I'll have to mess with it...

P.s. a question i've been meaning to ask. When I click my o/d OFF is there supposed to be a light on the dash? Or is it just the button?

***LynchburgCSI*** · 09-09-2010, 11:09 PM

Whoaaaaaaa there. Slow down!

Why would you put in a resistor? It's just the filament in the D bulb wearing out.

Hmmmm. The DRLs shouldn't cause all the lights to go into night mode. ONLY parking lights and headlights should.

The O/D button should turn on an O/D OFF light below the ECT light.

Drewfuspx · 09-09-2010, 11:27 PM

I would put resistor's in for the tail lights. It would make the car think that there were still incandescent tail lights in it. Since it appears that it's the addition of these LED's is what's caused the problem with the deck. < I gather this because the more LED's I put in, the worse this issue became.

The Drl's do not cause the interior lights to dim, they just go on whenever the vehicle is on. I wasn't very clear in my other post. So here's a description of the problem:

Car is running with headlights and parking lights off in Park, reverse, neutral, 2, or 1 the deck and interior lights are all normal.

Vehicle is running with headlights and parking lights off but it's in Drive the deck will dim.

Prior to putting LED's in the corner lights the deck would only go dark when I had the brake down, when it was in drive.
Lynchburg you wiring junkie hopefully that paints the picture!

P.s. I figured there should be an O/D light, one more reason to pull the dash apart.

***LynchburgCSI*** · 09-09-2010, 11:33 PM

That does paint the picture. Thanks i got it.

I'd hook up a multimeter and get some voltage AND amperage numbers from different points in the system under the 2 conditions (day and night mode). Maybe that could help pinpoint the problem.

73sport · 09-10-2010, 01:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LynchburgCSI

You said you had AFTERMARKET DRLs installed in order to be in compliance with canada law, right? I'm thinking those were a shotty install. Hmmmm.

And yes, the D bulb is typically dimmer than the others. It's on the most, so it wears out and becomes dimmer. You notice a difference because the others are RIGHT next to the others.

And yes, the D light doesn't dim, IIRC.

EDIT: check the dimmer knob yet?

I disagree. "D" is dimmer because that's where the gear selector belongs for 95% of the driving conditions. The others are brighter so the driver notices them!

It's meant to be dimmer than the others!

As for your issue; I'd suspect something you've done is inducing a feed back path (positive voltage) into the circuit which is enough to trigger the decks color change.

I'd look for circuits that overlap, some place you installed a relay or something like that. If its not too difficult, find the wire that feeds the deck and get the voltage. Lets say its like 3v. Not a common value to find in automotive wire harness. Now as you probe about and find a system that toggles from 0 - 3v you trace it back to the source.

Make sense?

***LynchburgCSI*** · 09-10-2010, 05:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 73sport

I disagree. "D" is dimmer because that's where the gear selector belongs for 95% of the driving conditions. The others are brighter so the driver notices them!

It's meant to be dimmer than the others!

As for your issue; I'd suspect something you've done is inducing a feed back path (positive voltage) into the circuit which is enough to trigger the decks color change.

I'd look for circuits that overlap, some place you installed a relay or something like that. If its not too difficult, find the wire that feeds the deck and get the voltage. Lets say its like 3v. Not a common value to find in automotive wire harness. Now as you probe about and find a system that toggles from 0 - 3v you trace it back to the source.

Make sense?

I replaced my D bulb with a new one and it was as bright as the others.

Makes sense though.

Installing a diode might also work.... if he can't pinpoint the problem.

73sport · 09-10-2010, 05:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LynchburgCSI

I replaced my D bulb with a new one and it was as bright as the others.

Makes sense though.

Installing a diode might also work.... if he can't pinpoint the problem.

Hmm. . . . D on mine is Mucho dimmer than the other lamps. Maybe the D lamp is even lower wattage than the the others? I've never checked but assumed the circuit reduced voltage to it and all the bulbs are the same.

either. . .

I do think he's got a feedback issue going on tho. . .

***LynchburgCSI*** · 09-10-2010, 06:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 73sport

Hmm. . . . D on mine is Mucho dimmer than the other lamps. Maybe the D lamp is even lower wattage than the the others? I've never checked but assumed the circuit reduced voltage to it and all the bulbs are the same.

either. . .

I do think he's got a feedback issue going on tho. . .

If i had a camry i'd do put a multimeter to it right now.

You know what a diode is right? Acts as an electrical "dam"... allows current to flow in one way but not the other.