2005+ Tacoma GeneralDiscussion area for all the new Toyota Tacoma owners out there!
ToyotaNation.com is the premier Toyota Forum and Toyota News Source on the internet. We discuss all Toyota models on the forum. Registered Users do not see the above ads. Please Register - It's Free!
Westin sent me some free driving lights after I bought the Bull Bar, but I mounted PIAAs on the Bull Bar, so I figured I'd turn the Westin's into backup lights. For the backup lights I wanted to do something a little different. I wanted to mount them forward of the bed so that they would also light up the area along the sides of the truck as well as the back. So I mounted the lights about a foot or two behind the front mud flap. They light up the sides of the truck nicely. At night my wife can step out of truck more easily because it lights up the ground and also the tube steps. I wired the lights so that they would come ON automatically, along with the stock backup lights, anytime I put the truck in Reverse. I used a relay and just tapped into the bundle of wires under the plastic door sill panel. The Reverse wire is red with a white stripe. But I also wanted to be able to turn the lights on whenever I want, so I mounted a small on/off switch in the drop down pocket by the drivers left knee. This is also where the switch is mounted for my PIAA driving lights on the Bull Bar. The extra backup lights should also help alot when I'm hooking or unhooking a trailer at night.
I didn't take any pics of it, but I also upgraded the stock backup bulbs with some Sylvania 886 fog light bulbs. They don't get too hot, and my truck has the towing package so the wiring should be able to handle the extra load of the brighter lights. The wiring can handle the extra turn, brake, and backup lights from a trailer, so I figure there shouldn't be a problem. I've had em for a week with no problems. They light everything up much better than the stock ones. I just took the bulb and cut the terminals down close to the base of the connector, then just stuck the terminals into the stock light plug.
Bed Lights
For the Bed Lights I used some backup lights that I found at AutoZone. Backup lights should work good since they don't have a solid beam. The light is spread all over. I glued a little plastic block to the lights so that they would sit in the hole crooked and aim out of the hole. I wanted them to light up the bed as well as aim backwards to provide a little light when I'm loading my 4wheelers on the trailer at night. To get the pockets out of the bed, just push down on the pocket toward the ground, then pop the top out and lean it out; it takes a little jiggling around. I used a Dremmel tool to cut the holes in the pockets. Once you are ready to re-install the pockets, you put pockets back in the bed, drop the wires through, and then screw the lights in. The pockets won't go in the bed if you mount the lights first. I also added some black Silicone glue around the edges of the light to make it a little more solid and water tight. In the passenger side storage compartment I mounted a SPDT switch, which has 3 positions. ON, OFF, and ON when the tailgate is opened; just like how your cab dome light works. I mounted a door pin switch in the tailgate jamb. It all seems to work great. I'll have to take some pics of it at night.
That's a damn fine setup! How do you wire it up so that the driving lights come on either by reverse power or switch power?
On the relays' coil I have 2 wires going to the + input. The power to activate the coil can come from either the on/off switch or the Reverse light wire. I used diodes to prevent voltage from going into the Reverse Light circuit when I use the manual on/off switch. Without these diodes the stock reverse lights would come on whenever I turn on the backup lights manually. I didn't want to do that. Diodes only let voltage flow in one direction.
When you put the truck in Reverse, both the stock and Westin backup lights come on. When you use the on/off switch just the Westin backup lights come on.
That is excellent work. You'll need to give more details for those of us who want to pay homage to you by copying your work. The lights in the bed are an excellent idea, probably should send that idea to Toyota ! Please when you get more time, give us a step by step with pics. !!!!!
Hey Pb2theMax Would you be willing to get a list of all the threads of modifications that you've done, and maybe any other peoples mods thread that you know of? I want to put together a good Sticky with a bunch of modification DIY writeups. Thanks man!
That is excellent work. You'll need to give more details for those of us who want to pay homage to you by copying your work. The lights in the bed are an excellent idea, probably should send that idea to Toyota ! Please when you get more time, give us a step by step with pics. !!!!!
That is all the pics I have. I don't know if I can post ALL of the details. I pretty much just "winged it".
For wiring up the lights, I ran a 30 amp fused positive wire down the driver side frame rail and connected to the positive wire of the driver side light. Then I continued on with the power wire and the ground wire from the driver side light. There is a cross-member just behind the fuel tank that is good for running the wires inside and getting the wires across to the other side of the bed. I then made second + connection terminate at the passenger side light. I spliced the 2 ground wires from the 2 lights into one wire. I then ran that wire up to the rear storage compartment hole. I wired this ground wire to the center conductor of the switch. Then on one of the other conductors I wired straight to chassis ground. And then on the other conductor I wired it to the door pin switch.
This is a smaller version of the switch I used
To mount the door pin switch you just remove the tail light which has two 10mm bolts in the tailgate jamb, and then the other side of the light is just held in with "clips". Once the light is out you can get to the back side of the sheet metal to tighten the nuts on the pin switch and make the connection. Then you just run the wire through the hole that the tail light wiring is coming through.
I used lots of wire loom and zip ties to keep everything neat, secure, and hidden. Running the wires is certainly the hardest part. You gotta route 'em right and keep 'em away from the exhaust pipes. You just gotta get under there and start lookin and routin'.
Hey Pb2theMax Would you be willing to get a list of all the threads of modifications that you've done, and maybe any other peoples mods thread that you know of? I want to put together a good Sticky with a bunch of modification DIY writeups. Thanks man!
Yeah, I was just thinking about that. We need to make a sticky of all the good mods that can be done. Some of the newer members might have missed some stuff.
In the morning I'll start a thread with some links from all the mods I can think of. I gotta get to bed. I'm goin' on 37 hours without sleep. Been busy!
Or feel free to start the thread yourself, and I'll add to it.
And BTW, I turned the bed lights ON once it got dark outside. I was very impressed with the results. Those lights are brighter than I thought. I had the switch set to the door-pin, and I had my buddy open the tailgate. It surprised him and gave me a good laugh. They are really bright. Even though it is black, the light reflects out of the plastic "pockets" and it lights the bed up real well from front to back. I tried to take some pics of it, but taking pictures of lights at night doesn't really show the actual results.
I've recieved a few questions about wiring these lights up. Maybe this diagram will help some. If you want to do the door-pin switch, just put the door pin switch as the ground contact for the lights. When the pin springs out it contacts ground and completes the circuit. Before you mount the door pin switch scratch off some of the paint around the hole you drilled so that the body of the switch can make a good contact with the metal.
If you want to wire the lights exactly like I did then you will have to use a SPDT (Single Pole, Double Throw) switch. You want a non-momentary 3 position switch; On, Off, On. The wiring is a little harder to explain. But basically the main power from the relay is wired straight to the lights. The SPDT switch is put on the ground side of the wiring. The switch controls whether the ground is not connected at all, connected straight to ground, or connected to the door pin switch ground.
I'd like to note that the lights that I have mounted in the bed are a little over-kill and kinda bright. License plate lights might be a better idea, easier to install, and cheaper. You can get 'em at any auto parts store.
My bed Lights and Backup lights
Been busy!
I would like to wire up some of those bed lights. I may give it a shot.
