doink

hey guys-

i want to get some aux rear lights so i can see where im actually going while backing up. just wondering how i could get to the existing wires to the current back up lights so i can tie the new ones in so they come one automatically when i pop my runner in reverse. oh yeah, its a 2nd gen if that makes a difference

Corey

iTrader: (1)

There is a way you can do that, you have to use a different type of switch than the ones I buy at Toyota for all my lights.

One position they are off.
Other position they come on with your stock backup lights.
Another position they come on as soon as you throw the switch.

The above way is the hardest way to do it though, but I believe there are a few here who have done it.

What kind of lights are you looking at?
I had some on for awhile, but I was very disappointed in the light output.

A few months back I read an article in a 4WD magazine, and I went out and bought the same lamps.
I have a write-up here on the installation.

Believe me, they are very bright.
I would only normally use these when no one is around, but a few weeks back I had a tailgater on my rear for well over a mile.
You might say he ticked me off to the point of turning these on, and he immediately backed off and stay way back after that.
I don't have any sympathy for tailgaters.
Mine do hang down a little low, but when I get my new rear bumper they will sit up much higher.

alanh

I put the IPF backup lights on. I started with one single-light kit, decided that wasn't good enough, and bought a second. Mine are under the stock bumper like Corey's which isn't the best as he noted. The kit I got comes with light, wires, a switch and a relay for the on, off, auto operation Corey mentioned. The lights are bright enough I don't use them unless I really need them to avoid annoying people.

I ended up not using the supplied switch and re-did a fair amount of the wiring - mainly because thats usually what I end up doing everytime I do a project.

My switch has two lights in it, so I did some reworking of the back of the switch so the lights come on solid or in reverse only according to the way the lights are working. The relays are there so the current for the lights (they're 50W each as I recall, but don't quote me on that) doesn't go through the switch or possibly overload the existing b/u light wiring and fuses. With this arrangement, all of the connections to existing wiring are done up front and you have to run wires from front to back.

If you're going to go looking for wires, my advice is to spend the bucks on the wiring diagrams. I don't like to just hook up to something that seems to go on at the right time and assume everythings fine. The diagrams will tell you where to find things, what they look like, and save lots of frustration.

If you really want to trial and error it, you can figure out which light goes on in reverse and from that tell what wire to connect to if you just want to add lights in parallel with the existing ones. I'd think the 2nd gens are like the 3rd gens where the taillight wires have a connector to the wiring in the body behind the panels on the sides of the rear cargo area. You could make your connections there for a simple scheme assuming the lights aren't too much current for the existing fuses.