This is an simple mod that converts your bumper turn signal lights to parking lights while still retaining their turn signal function! Improves your visibility to others and looks great too ;]
Difficulty: Easy
Tools needed:
Phillips screwdriver
Knife OR scissors
Wire stripper
Soldering iron OR wire connectors
Electrical tape
Two 10" lengths of 14 or 16GA wire
Small file OR dremel tool
Step 1: Getting the dual filament socket: Head to the junkyard or pick n pull and find yourself a donor car. I chose a 3rd gen camry because all of the 7th gen tail lights were gutted. You could use corolla tail lights or pretty much any tail lights but the wiring colors may differ so you'll need to find out which of the two power wires is which.
Pull the tail lights bulb, bulb socket and wiring. Make sure it's the brake light with the dual filament bulb and not any running lights or turn signals.
A foot of wiring from the socket is more than enough to work with.
This is what the socket and wiring from the camry look like:
![Image]()
And here is what my own 7th gen's tail light socket looks like as an example:
![Image]()
Notice the two power wires and dual filament bulb. This is what you want.
Step 2: remove the corner light lense and turn signal lense: Take out your corner lights and turn signals. The corner lights is held in by 1 phillips screw above the head light.
Below is the screw holding in the corner light. Unscrew it and pull the corner lense forward. You can go ahead and undo the socket and put the corner lense aside.
![Image]()
As for the turn signal, there's one phillips screw holding it in and it right on the turn signal. After you remove the lense pull the socket out and put the lense aside.
Bring the turn signal socket up to the hole where the corner light is to give you more room to work with it.
Step 3: Cut the original turn signal socket from the wiring: Get any of the plastic tubing and shrink wrap out of your way of the wires. Cut your original turn signal socket off of the wires. I cut it pretty close to the base but I suppose you could leave some wires if you plan on using it for something else.
This is the cut socket of the stock turn signals:
![Image]()
Step 4: Grind the dual filament socket tabs: Now that your turn signal lense is loose, you'll notice that the tabs that are used to insert and lock in the socket are too small compared to the tabs on the dual filament socket you got from your camry. This is where you'll take off the rubber gasket from the bulb socket and use a file or dremel to grind the tabs on the camry bulb socket to make them smaller so they will fit into the turn signal.
![Image]()
Step 4: Wiring: Strip away a small portion of plastic from the corner lights green power wire, but do not cut any of the corner light wires. Solder your spare 10" 14 or 16 GA wire to this wire. Now solder the other end of your 10" wire to the green and white stripe power wire of the dual filament socket.
Solder the green wire of the dual filament socket to the original green wire that powers the stock turn signals.
Solder the white ground wire of the dual filament socket to the original white wire that goes to the stock turn signals.
Tape up all of your connections and reassemble it. The 10" wire is needed to reach from the corner light down to the turn signal wires.
The blue wire is my 10" wire.
![Image]()
Here is the final result:
![Image]()
When you have the parking lights turned on, your turn signals will now stay on with half brightness. When you go to turn the turn signal on, it will blink from half brightness to full brightness. (Full brightness is what they blinked at originally)
Difficulty: Easy
Tools needed:
Phillips screwdriver
Knife OR scissors
Wire stripper
Soldering iron OR wire connectors
Electrical tape
Two 10" lengths of 14 or 16GA wire
Small file OR dremel tool
Step 1: Getting the dual filament socket: Head to the junkyard or pick n pull and find yourself a donor car. I chose a 3rd gen camry because all of the 7th gen tail lights were gutted. You could use corolla tail lights or pretty much any tail lights but the wiring colors may differ so you'll need to find out which of the two power wires is which.
Pull the tail lights bulb, bulb socket and wiring. Make sure it's the brake light with the dual filament bulb and not any running lights or turn signals.
A foot of wiring from the socket is more than enough to work with.
This is what the socket and wiring from the camry look like:
And here is what my own 7th gen's tail light socket looks like as an example:
Notice the two power wires and dual filament bulb. This is what you want.
Step 2: remove the corner light lense and turn signal lense: Take out your corner lights and turn signals. The corner lights is held in by 1 phillips screw above the head light.
Below is the screw holding in the corner light. Unscrew it and pull the corner lense forward. You can go ahead and undo the socket and put the corner lense aside.
As for the turn signal, there's one phillips screw holding it in and it right on the turn signal. After you remove the lense pull the socket out and put the lense aside.
Bring the turn signal socket up to the hole where the corner light is to give you more room to work with it.
Step 3: Cut the original turn signal socket from the wiring: Get any of the plastic tubing and shrink wrap out of your way of the wires. Cut your original turn signal socket off of the wires. I cut it pretty close to the base but I suppose you could leave some wires if you plan on using it for something else.
This is the cut socket of the stock turn signals:
Step 4: Grind the dual filament socket tabs: Now that your turn signal lense is loose, you'll notice that the tabs that are used to insert and lock in the socket are too small compared to the tabs on the dual filament socket you got from your camry. This is where you'll take off the rubber gasket from the bulb socket and use a file or dremel to grind the tabs on the camry bulb socket to make them smaller so they will fit into the turn signal.
Step 4: Wiring: Strip away a small portion of plastic from the corner lights green power wire, but do not cut any of the corner light wires. Solder your spare 10" 14 or 16 GA wire to this wire. Now solder the other end of your 10" wire to the green and white stripe power wire of the dual filament socket.
Solder the green wire of the dual filament socket to the original green wire that powers the stock turn signals.
Solder the white ground wire of the dual filament socket to the original white wire that goes to the stock turn signals.
Tape up all of your connections and reassemble it. The 10" wire is needed to reach from the corner light down to the turn signal wires.
The blue wire is my 10" wire.
Here is the final result:
When you have the parking lights turned on, your turn signals will now stay on with half brightness. When you go to turn the turn signal on, it will blink from half brightness to full brightness. (Full brightness is what they blinked at originally)
