island_92Runner

Hello to all, and thank you for this great site. Since I have found so much useful information on this site, I thought it would be nice to repay the favor by adding a thread about an apparently common electrical issue with some (if not all) of our trucks, and how I fixed it.

So, I was having trouble with my dash lights, tail lights, and brake lights, all together. I did some research here and other sites, and after obtaining enough info I dug myself into fixing the problem. To describe the problem more accurately I must say that you may be experiencing dash lights suddenly going out (popping the fuse), no brake lights or tail lights (but plate lights still work), and/or when the lights are off, and the brake pedal is pressed, the dash lights and tail lights turn on (shorting out with the stop light switch).

I took the time to inspect the components of the circuit and found out that the sockets were crapped out. The left side one barely touched the bulb and the contacts were badly worn out as they seemed to be made out of solder or lead, I don't know really. The right side socket was a whole different story, apparently with age the socket contacts detached from the bottom, the contacts touched and shorted out, causing then the whole issue with the tail lights and the dash lights (dash lights share the same power source as tail lights).

Now comes the best part; how I fixed it. I used the sockets I got from my junked out 98 Subaru Forester, and with a few modifications, I was able to use it, and to my surprise it fit almost perfectly, you can just get a new one. I don't recommend a used one's as you may experience the same issue again if the truck is just as old (unless they are in really good shape) I used the Forester one's cuz they use the same type of bulb and with a minor modification on one of the locking tabs it fit beautifully. I will add pics of the job and the sockets I used for your convenience. If anyone has anything else about this issue feel free to leave your links in this thread. Also, feel free to add or correct any information I may have missed. Thank you and I hope this info helps.

island_92Runner

Bad Socket (Left Side)

Bad Socket (Right Side)

98 Subaru Forester Bulb Socket with locking tab that needs to be modified.

Copper Plated Contacts

island_92Runner

If you are using the 98 Forester Bulb Socket the wiring goes as follows:

[92 4Runner Wires] -> (98 Forester Socket)

Ground
[White Black] -> (Black)

Tail Light
[Green/Yellow] -> (Red)

Stop Light
[Green/White] -> (White/Black)

Nervo19

Good idea for a free/cheap repair! I recently felt smart for trading a rotten pigtail out of one of my lights with a junk one. Another tip to protect the sockets is to use some dielectric grease on the bulbs at the socket. It sure makes the bulb easier to twist out later on. They sell little packets of it next to the cash register at parts stores.