95.5-2004 Tacomas & 96-2002 4Runners 4th gen pickups and 3rd gen 4Runners

Tacoma DRL mod: The difinitive solution (please sticky or move to tech)

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old 12-29-2007 | 02:43 PM
  #1  
LuminoZ's Avatar
Thread Starter
Registered User
 
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 144
Likes: 1
From: Colorado
Tacoma DRL mod: The difinitive solution (please sticky or move to tech)

Excellent. It's been solved. Well more exactly I looked at the circuit diagram and confirmed what Lou had siad way back when:
Originally Posted by loudawg88
Hello All,

I was paranoid to go for it with wire clippers on a $25,00 computerized hunk-a-steel, but danger is my life, and sometimes results in success.

So, first I cut wire 2 on the 2003 Tacoma DRL relay and wired a high amperage switch inline using beefy wire, soldering all connections and in general being super careful. Using the switch, I could run truck with DRL on or off, but with DRL off the headlight relay in the engine compartment fuse box appeared to be cycling incorrectly, and buzzing. This was probably caused by my fancy driving lights, cornering lights, etc. , which were tough to get working with the DRLs. Bummer. Cutting and switching wire 2 might work for someone else, but not for me.

BUT, after splicing wire 2 together (everything back to factory normal, thank God) I went ahead and cut wire 1. Success. Was able to place a switch inline on wire one, and even have an indicator light working (dim because of low voltage) with switch to show if DRL is on or off. For what it's worth, it appears that wire 1 is the + wire, and wire 2 turns the ground on and off for the relay, or DRL, or both...

I took photos and if I have time I'll write the project up. Above will have to do for now. Time taken was about 5 hours including the experiments. Tip: If you do this, take the knee panel off, and remove the vent behind the knee panel, then remove DRL relay by backing out an obvious 10mm bolt. Once the relay is dangling, it's easy to pull the plug, and semi-easy to cut/solder wires. Battery disconnected during all, of course.

'best, Lou
Well Lou's luck wasn't actually luck. Just have a look at the circuit diagram for the 2001-2004 DRL harness and it's quite obvious why you want to cut the WHITE-GREEN (wire 1) and not WHITE-BLACK (wire 2).

Name:  diagcopy.jpg
Views: 3584
Size:  49.5 KB

Concisely, cutting your ground is never a good idea, granted it can work for the desired result; but, it has the side effects of tripping other relays and the dimly glowing HI-BEAM indicator. Simply follow the WHITE-GREEN on the diagram and you will see why it is the best way to impede the flow of current into the relay for the desired result.
Name:  022hldrl_Page_2.jpg
Views: 4013
Size:  25.0 KB
Name:  022hldrl_Page_1.jpg
Views: 3536
Size:  43.7 KB

I hope this give more people the confidence to the DRL mod properly without having the side effects that cutting WHITE-BLACK does.

I tried it on my Taco today and everything worked great.

Again a little circuit analysis goes a long way.
Old 12-29-2007 | 03:27 PM
  #2  
Rock Slide's Avatar
Contributing Member
iTrader: (1)
 
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 2,262
Likes: 1
From: B'ham, AL
great work

Don't think the mods will automatically add this to the tech section, but you can surely submit it:

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f166...ssions-131829/
Old 12-29-2007 | 11:38 PM
  #3  
naksukow's Avatar
Registered User
 
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 395
Likes: 0
From: Big Bear or Tahoe
You can just pull the parking brake up one click while the vehicle is off then start....no DRL.
Old 12-30-2007 | 03:08 AM
  #4  
rocket's Avatar
Contributing Member
iTrader: (1)
 
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 4,683
Likes: 0
From: Colorado
LuminoZ,
I'm wondering if you've experienced any side effects thats plagued many others by cutting the #2 wire?
Keep us posted. Even more stumbling, how on earth did it take so many years for someone to figure out the correct wire?? It's hard to believe that cutting the #1 pin solves everything when all the threads, write-ups, & research out there never mentions it. Not doubting your results but this is great news and it appears you discovered a perfect solution!

If your findings are accurate, my bro and his '01 Taco will both be very happy. He's done that e-brake "click & start" feature so many times that i think his first 'click' is almost worn out.
Old 12-30-2007 | 11:31 AM
  #5  
LuminoZ's Avatar
Thread Starter
Registered User
 
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 144
Likes: 1
From: Colorado
Yeah you can ghetto-rig the parking brake... But that's like cheating on your wife with Oprah. You may love what it (Oprah) does. But in the long run things aren't going to work out so well for anyone ( or any cheated E-brake component) any then everyone is sad...

I wasn't the first person to figure out that cutting WIRE #1 was the best way to do it. If you read the my first post in the thread you will see that I quoted Lou; who from what I know was the first person to figure this out.

IF you look on places like TTORA and other Toy enthusiast sites you will see lots of reference to cutting WIRE #2. HOWEVER, lots of people who did this expirenced side effects, but since the mod worked; people were content with that.

I wanted to do the DRL mod, but I didn't want any odd side effects to I poked around a little and looked for the best answer. It seemed odd to me that everyone cut WIRE #2 and Lou had cut WIRE #1 but is comment about the ground make me wonder if he was on to something...

So armed with a few EE circuits classes under my belt I had a look at the DRL circuit diagram...

Lou was right.

Concisely speak both ways (cutting wire 1 or 2) get the job done, but Lou's method is way better for the circuit than taking away the ground.

I think alot of people just lived to the maxim of: "If it ain't broke; don't fix it." And called wire #2 good.

I wanted to make sure I did things right... so I cut wire 1.

Last edited by LuminoZ; 12-30-2007 at 11:42 AM.
Old 01-09-2008 | 06:06 PM
  #6  
hossmaster's Avatar
Registered User
 
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 24
Likes: 0
I believe I have had my DRL's shut off, by cutting that wire, for 4 or so years now. No ill effects nor burned out light bulbs since.
Old 05-05-2009 | 07:50 PM
  #7  
nakman's Avatar
Registered User
 
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 48
Likes: 0
From: broomfield, co
Originally Posted by hossmaster
I believe I have had my DRL's shut off, by cutting that wire, for 4 or so years now. No ill effects nor burned out light bulbs since.
thanks! I just got a 2001 Taco and want to do this, good to know.
Related Topics
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
justdifferentials
Just Differentials
1
08-15-2015 05:25 PM
TJWilly
95.5-2004 Tacomas & 96-2002 4Runners
6
07-31-2015 02:05 PM
thefishguy77
Newbie Tech Section
10
07-30-2015 10:59 AM
mluz013
Newbie Tech Section
1
07-24-2015 12:31 PM
Poncho0206
95.5-2004 Tacomas & 96-2002 4Runners
3
07-10-2015 06:21 PM



Quick Reply: Tacoma DRL mod: The difinitive solution (please sticky or move to tech)



All times are GMT -8. The time now is 07:29 AM.