brotherinbluejeans

my '92 4runner's headlights suck... seriously, i have a hard time seeing at night. yes they're properly adjusted/aligned.
i want to replace them with something that helps me to actually SEE WHERE I'm GOING.
i was looking at HIDs online but some research shows that they are actually illegal... conversion kits don't focus the beam in standard halogen reflectors so the light scatters and blind oncoming traffic..


what headlight recommendations can you give me that give a good amount of driving light and hopefully aren't too spendy?

Yotard

Ge nighthawk platinum bulbs bought mine on Amazon huge improvement

I also added rigid industries dually LEDs for better offroad night vision but the ge nighthawks are perfect for on road

JasonYota

iTrader: (1)

Interested in this for my 92 runner. I haven't found any replacement housings for the 92-95 4Runner. I'd like to have actual HIDs with the correct housings and projectors.
Aftermarket fog lights and such will help but I'm not sure about using them on the roads

Yotard

If you swap out the housings with the t100 housing you can get hid or h4 conversion housing but you have to upgrade the wiring harness.
I found upgrade stock housing on eBay for 200 from China with h4 bulbs but decided to try the ge nighthawk platinums and that cost about 40 bucks and it is seriously a huge improvement. I am no longer looking at those options. I just keep buying the 9004 ge nighthawk platinum

JasonYota

iTrader: (1)

That's the first I've heard of using T100 housings. Which years will work? I assume they are plastic housings to do a projector retrofit?

Yotard

I'm sorry I made a mistake it is the pickups front grill and headlights that are rectangular. The t100 are the same as the 4runner

The pickup rectangular housings have both h4 and hid kits out there but the 9004 are not upgrade able.

Odin

You'll only get a small increase in actual light by changing the bulbs.
One big problem I believe is that the 92+ 4Runner uses plastic housings/lenses that fade fast and restrict the light.
You could refinish the plastic housings yourself and it's pretty easy with the kits on the market. The problem is it doesn't last and will soon fade because they don't get sealed.
Call around to find a body shop will restore the plastic housings. Make sure they use a hardening spray on sealer as a final step or like the do it yourself kits it won't last long.

Another big problem is the available voltage at the headlights. The problem is the circuit design.
It's known that how the headlights are powered on many vehicles (including these trucks) leaves much to be desired because that power is ran to the interior and through the dimmer switch thereby decreasing the available voltage. Furthermore to aid in slashing production costs the wires to the headlights are also too thin. Both of these things reduce the available voltage at the headlights and after a couple years of use can leave the headlights pitifully underpowered.


Here's a graph from 4crawler that shows the light output vs voltage
http://www.4crawler.com/Images/LightOutput.gif

Figures from Daniel Stern lighting using a 9006 low beam bulb rated 1000 lumens at 12.8 Volts VS. different voltages:
10.5V : 510 lumens
11.0V : 597 lumens
11.5V : 695 lumens
12.0V : 803 lumens
12.5V : 923 lumens
12.8V : 1000 lumens ←Rated output voltage
13.0V : 1054 lumens
13.5V : 1198 lumens
14.0V : 1356 lumens ←Rated life voltage
14.5V : 1528 lumens

To cure this you can purchase a headlight harness that makes sure the headlights are directly powered using shorter runs of heavier gauge wire for higher voltages at the headlight. The result of higher voltage is greater light output from the existing bulbs whether you've upgraded them or not. After that the problem becomes the beam pattern that is built into your headlight lense. With the 9004 bulb unless you change your housings you're kinda stuck with swapping different manufacturers 65/45W bulbs or installing HID or LED's at this point. With the 65W cap I don't feel there's a big need to get a high dollar harness because you won't really be leaning on that 12 awg wire. If you like reliability soldered connections and good relays are always nice to have. Of course if you're going to be using H4 100+W bulbs by all means upgrade to a heavier duty harness with thicker 12-10 awg wires.



Which type of wiring harness do you need? http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTri...adlights.shtml
scroll down on that page until you see the words Which type of wiring harness do you need? in bold type on the left. Make 100% sure you know if you need an H4 or 9004 harness.

Here's a place that looks like it offers all the parts you need to build a good quality harness including ones for the Toyota switched ground system or they will build you one featuring soldered, heavy gauge wires and good relays. http://headlightservices.com/Wiring.html



You can make a good headlight harness for your switched ground Toyota if you have some knowledge by following the 4Crawler diagram here http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTri...shtml#TechInfo
Here's a thread on this board where some members set out to do it and succeeded. Follow it to the end and you'll see it wasn't perfect and they had some snags along the way. https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...de-low-201388/




Look at http://www.danielsternlighting.com/t...ys/relays.html for more information about the benefits of a relay system. Take note that his relay diagram isn't for a switched ground system. While Daniel Stern knows his stuff if you ask him a question be prepared for a meaningful, thorough yet longwinded reply that he has been packaging together over the years into a bit of a canned response. Don't ask him about blue bulbs or cheap aftermarket HID's unless you have your flame suit on.
He does not sell junk. He sells high quality lenses, bulbs and harness kits that provide everything but the wire. If you notice he does list a build it yourself relay kit for Toyota systems on his order page- RIK-2T.<He must have removed it I believe he can also have a quality harness built for you... for a price.
Relay Installation Kits for headlamps and auxiliary lamps http://www.danielsternlighting.com/p...ducts.html#RIK



Another place that offers good made in the USA headlight harnesses with soldered connections featuring 12awg wires and heavy duty relays is rallylights.com.
However they make no mention of switched ground systems. Rallylights isn't hiding anything and lays out all the parts they use in their description. Here's one example of their H4 harness. Call to find out which one is right for you or if they even offer one that will work for you. They also offer lenses, bulbs, relays etc. http://www.rallylights.com/hl281-tra...p-harness.html


You can also try http://store.candlepower.com/ for purchasing quality bulbs and lenses. I don't know if they sell all the components to make a headlight harness though.
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Welcome to the dark side

To quote a member from another board
"You can take a gamble on the harnesses available all over the internet, made in a particular country known for such smash hits as toxic toothpaste, lead-painted kids' toys, phony safety approval labels on fire-prone household appliances, fake pharmaceuticals, and deadly pet food."
"If you do it this way, give yourself a fighting chance of reasonable safety and durability by replacing the no-name relays with name-brand ones."


Cheap made Taiwan/China harnesses like the widely used Putco unit are availible from Amazon or eBay for about $20-$35 with the catch words "HEAVY DUTY" and "UP TO 100/90W".
The problem with them is most cheap kits will stop the illuminated high beam indicator on your dash from working, they use wire that's on the thin side and they use cheap relays. I have cut and sized the "HEAVY DUTY" wires on a Putco harness and they are the metric equivalent of 16 awg. Look at the descriptions of the cheap kits.
I don't think they're missing the relay specifications and wire size because of an oversight. They just don't want to get caught in a lie.
I believe the 16awg wire is fine for stock headlights and I'd probably go for a 70/65 bulb. But using an actual 100w bulb will be pushing the limits a bit far to me. Combine the 16 awg wire, lack of ceramic headlight connectors with suspect relays and, well.. no thanks. You're better off with Actual 14-12awg wire at that point in my book and you should have a brand name relay like the Mitsuba or Tyco/Bosch handy even with the stock wattage headlights. With an actual 100/90W bulb ceramic headlight connectors are a must for a long drive. If you look hard enough there are harness kits with ceramic headlight connectors on eBay but I'm pretty sure that wire is still 16 awg.



If the Putco/Nokya harness is used at least you can switch to the OEM Honda relays when they go bad PT#39797-SE0-004.
Or you can find them in a wrecking yard at a much lower cost. Look for Mitsuba RC-2201 printed on them.
I don't know what relays you would use with the other kits because I haven't examined them and searched for parts. It might be possible to use a standard Tyco/Bosch relay for replacement.
Here is the 9004/9007 harness
Here is the H4/9003 harness

If you choose the Putco or Nokya kit be sure to add some waterproof inline fuses to them right after your power source. For some reason they don't come with them.
Why am I mentioning Nokya all of a sudden? For the record the Nokya H4 #NOK9201 harnesses looks like it uses all the exact same components as the Putco kit with one small difference. The protective sleaving on the Putco is yellow VS. black for the Nokya. If you go to the Nokya USA website http://mtqinc.com/nokyausa/accessori...dlightTune.php you'll see they claim their harness uses 14 awg wires.
But if you look here there is a review stating that it's 16 awg and not 14 as advertised so he returned it.
Here is a 9004 China/Taiwan kit one member used on his 95 4Runner. He mentioned that it has a type of resistor in it that allows the high beam indicator to light up as bright as it normally would.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/HD-Head-Lamp-Headlight-Wiring-Harness-For-High-Wattage-Bulbs-9004-100-90w-Kit/381133678282?_trksid=p2047675.c100011.m1850&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D28791%26meid%3D80564120525e49a28d4463b609c08335%26pid%3D100011%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D2%26sd%3D380857481527







On the extreme cheap fix what ya got.
1. Purchase a big tube of Dielectric grease.
2. Remove all of your main power and ground wires. Don't forget the power wire on the alternator and the prongs on the headlights too.
3. Use a wire brush or #0000 steel wool and clean both the wire connector and the surface it gets bolted to.
4. Smear the dielectric grease on them and bolt it back together.
That should give you some improvement, especially if it hasn't been serviced in years.




If anybody finds fault in what I've laid out here please don't hesitate to speak up.

Odin

Putco H4 harness Vs. Nokya H4 Harness, you be the judge



Putco 230004HW




Nokya NOK9201




Here's one reason to use dielectric grease on electronic connections that get wet at times from either rain, snow or rooting around in the mud

brotherinbluejeans

thank you for updating you post again odin... the added info is great; really helpful.
i think you're onto something. once you said it i remembered having this same issue years ago in my 83 truck... the lights were dim and i found that by running a new wire straight from the battery to the lights he worked great.
as soon as i get the change i'll dig out my tester and give the 4runner's harness and check up.
thanks again.

i will probably still change the light bulb for new ones... the better driving light i can get the better.

Yotard

You have to change the housing to use h4s the reflectors are completely different try the ge nighthawks before you spend more money on other stuff and just see if you like it

RAD4Runner

Agree. All good points, Odin!

Actually, this ^^^ is the BIGGEST problem with headlights of earlier generations. Power runs over 15 or so feet of thin wire. Aside from dim lights, it also shortens life of your dimmer-combo switch contacts.

I modified my wiring myself (but getting the harness would be easier for most).

ACTUAL Voltage Drop Comparisons with Sealed Beam & Engine off

Stock WiringAfter Retrofit:
LONG-TERM SOLUTION:Someday when budget allows, I will replace with Trucklites LED headlights. Expensive but, on top of the brighter lights, considering the frequency one needs to replace halogens, the Trucklites are worth it.

Odin

The H4 information wasn't added for brotherinbluejeans, it was for anyone who has the earlier H4 style lenses. This thread is no doubt going to attract some people with earlier stuff who would be interested so I included the information. If you notice I did single out a 9004 harness and you don't have to purchase housings to use an aftermarket harness. I just didn't feel the need to go on about how bad 9004 bulb choice actually is. The US screwed the pooch on that one!






Stock 9004 bulbs are still rated at 65/45W and it looks like GE is advertising the 9004 Nighthawk Platinum as a 65W bulb (stay away from the "Sport" BS). The other choice is the Philips X-Treme-Vision which alot of people like. I'm guessing they're both +30 or +50 bulbs.

About +30 & +50 Bulbs:
"+30" and "+50" bulbs are standard-wattage items with higher filament luminance and tighter filament focus. They give better headlight performance than standard bulbs, with an attendant shorter bulb lifespan.

The thing about them that I don't like is that they have a small strip of blue on the outside. That stuff not only changes the color of the light but it also slightly hinders actual light output. Any kind of blockage on the bulb is a loss of light plus it also builds extra heat. Earlier failure rate is just something you'll have to learn to live with in a higher output bulb.



I know it's crappy but with 9004 bulbs those are your options, harness and low wattage bulbs. But it's gotta be better than stock!
IF all your wires in the system are in GREAT SHAP and the connections are clean and shiny you might not get much extra on low beam with a harness (because it's only 45W) but the high beams will be noticeable.

At least if you go with a harness not only will you get brighter output with either bulb you choose but it will also be easier on your dimmer switch.
Do some reading, there's alot of dimmer switch problems on this board.

brotherinbluejeans

ok gearing up to do this now. read all the linked pages.

question though ODIN: (or whoever)
is there a reason why i can't just move the stock toyota relays from under the dash to up beside the headlight, running fused supply wires directly from the battery and extending the dimmer switch wires from under the dash to the relays' new location?

Odin

I just follow a diagram or install aftermarket in my vehicles so I can't say.
Building or installing a separate relay system makes more sense to me because it's easier to remove when you go to sell the vehicle. I always question aftermarket wiring when I look at a vehicle unless it's very professional looking and I think alot of others feel the same. Besides, sometimes you can install it into the next vehicle.

99.9% of people would build a harness for the 9004 bulb using 14 awg because of it's low demand/output, it's priced lower than 12 awg, and it's going to be less than the widely accepted 3% voltage drop in the electronics field. Then there's the nut jobs like me. I know if I were to BUILD a harness for a vehicle that uses the 9004 bulb with it's 45w low beam I would use 12 awg wire.

Everything you read and everyone with electronical knowledge will tell you 3% voltage drop is acceptable and argue the point.
However when it comes to your headlights you can see from the voltage to lumens chart above ANY drop in voltage is just lower output so you have to decide what's acceptable to you. With higher wattage bulbs that 3% voltage drop is still going to produce good results when compared to stock bulbs. I believe Putco's claim of up to 100/90 bulbs is right at a 3% loss because of the 16 awg wire they use. When using the 9004 bulb ANY drop in voltage is just less output from an already low output bulb and that's something I'd strongly try to avoid.

I purchased the Putco harness for my 91 Toyota P/U mostly because I wanted to see why alot of people were using it and similar Taiwan/China types. To be fair I only paid $15 delivered and for that price I got the quality/performance I paid for.

stevegriffin

Same suggestion from my friend. TRUCKLITES, its really top of the line my friend already been using it for a year. I just cant afford it as well, that is only my problem.

trucklites is better, i think i wont even need fog lights anymore if i have a premium bulbs. IMHO.

RAD4Runner

And because Trucklites consume less power:
1) Stock wiring will work; only approx 6 Amps through light dimer combo switch.
2) Less load on alternator, meaning some benefit to MPG, also...
3) More even light spread so, yes, less need for fog lights.

brotherinbluejeans

update;
i got one of the wiring harnesses refered to above: http://www.ebay.com/itm/HD-Head-Lamp-Headlight-Wiring-Harness-For-High-Wattage-Bulbs-9004-100-90w-Kit-/381167063743?vxp=mtrafter confirming the wiring gauge with the vendor. installed it yesterday behind the 100/90W bulbs i put in a few weeks ago. the hihg beam indicator DOES work with this package and is plug-n-play with toyota's reversed ground system. the box says: "with control circuit can be installed in any type of 'toyota' cars simultaneously" -which makes no sense to me (obviously not written by a native english speaker) but it gave me confidence that the kit was taking toyota's ciruitry into account.

as to performance... when i put the 100/90W bulbs in with the stock wiring a noticed an improvement in lighting... i'd say 130%. after installing the wiring harness there might be another ~5% gain but i really have to convince myself of it because there really wasn't much visible effect. i am happy wtih the harness anyway since i it will help with the longevity of my setup even if it itself doesn't produce any more light it will at least allow me to keep what i have from deteriorating.

Odin

100/90 9004 bulbs? Got a link or a part #?
Did you change the lenses or something?




With 100/90 bulbs you should have seen a pretty big improvement. Even if you didn't it will keep you from burning up your stock wiring.

millball

I am running these:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hella-H83155131-Bulb-Halogen-9004-12-V-80-100-Watts-Clear-Each-/121569396329?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item1c4e19c669&vxp=mtr

Odin

I noticed this comment on Daniel Stern's site and knowing his reputation for the best there's probably a good reason.
"Please do not ask for overwattage 9004, 9005, 9006 or 9007 bulbs; they are unsafe and not for sale."

I can't seem to find overwattage 9004's on Candlepowers site either. http://store.candlepower.com/houpbuthno.html
Finding 100/90's 9004's is strange to me...