I have been trying to upgrade my lights (both interior and exterior) to LED I'm waiting on the tail lights but I did pick up plug in 1156 type LED bulbs for the front bumper.. Oddly enough they didn't work, so I did a tiny bit of research and figured it was the flasher.. changed that and still didn't work. Now I am not a electrical genius but I am trying to learn. So would anyone know what the deal is? and how can I fix it?

 

Describe "they didn't work" in a little more detail. Don't light up at all, don't blink, blink too fast, etc? You can always try applying 12 volts and ground to the bulb terminals directly and see if they actually light up. Might be a polarity issue, as well. Many LED bulbs typically only work with current flowing in one direction, unlike an incandescent bulb.

 

When I put the LED's in they didn't light at all when I used the turn signal and hazards. At first the incandescent bulbs blinked rapidly with the LED's in place and LED's didn't blink. Then when I replaced the flasher with a Tridon flasher EP-35 the LEDs still didn't work. At least the other lights weren't blinking fast like a bulb was out. The regular bulbs worked fine with the original and new flasher installed.... How would I go about testing the LED with the 12 volt directly? This would be first 4runner so I'm learning most of the basics (both mechanical and electrical). I did get a manual (Haynes/Chilton) and that wasn't much help either.

 

To test, apply power and ground right to the contacts on the LED bulb. For testing, usually the side of the base is ground and the center of the base is where 12 volts is applied. You could use a pair of wires off the battery or a battery charger or a cigarette lighter plug and cable or a jump start battery pack for power. Or try them in a different 1156 socket either on the same vehicle or on another. Backup lights is one place to try since that stays on steady when in reverse with the engine on.

I'm running 1156 and 1157 LEDs in my 1st gen and they work fine.

 

Ok I tested the LED's on a charger and they do work @ 12v 5amp. but nothing less than that. my 4runner only has the front that are 1156.. would it work better if I switched to 1157 type LED? Or do you think its a slightly bigger issue then that?

 

1156 bulbs are a single filament with one terminal on the bottom (centered) and the ground on the side. 1157 bulbs have two filaments and two terminals on the bottom, one on each side. They are used for things like the brake/parking light in back. While you can physically plug one bulb into the other socket, they typically won't work right since the bottom contacts do not line up.

You might carefully inspect the bulb as it inserts into the socket to make sure it is going in fully and making good contact. I've had some trouble with certain types of LED bulbs not fitting right since they are a slightly different shape. They typically hang up on something around the socket. If so, I've had to grind away the infererence to make them fit.

 

The LED type bulbs will go in loose but i wouldn't be able to pull them out unless i turned the bulbs just like the incandescent type. The LED's are GP Thunder 1156-39a whether or not that may be an issue I don't know. Would you have any recommendations for front turn signal LED type light? I have tried 2 types already w/o any luck.

 

Could be they are not making good contact with the side ground contact in the socket. Should be a fairly snug fit then you push down and twist to lock them in place. See if the contact in the side of the socket is sticking out enough and not oxidized.

I've used this brand bulb and they work pretty well:
http://superbrightleds.com/tail-brake-turn.html

 

Yeah just checked them both plugs are sticking out and don't seem to have any oxidation on them. I had attempted to plug the LED in again and still nothing when I use the turn signal. were there any modifications that you had to do to make the LED's work? Have other people reported this kind of problem before?

 

Nope, just plug and play. I actually went back to incandescent bulbs for the turn signals, though. Up front, my combined parking light/turn signal mod won't fit an LED as-is:
http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTri...rnSignal.shtml
so I figured I may as well just stick with those bulbs in back to. But I do run the brake, parking and reverse lights in LEDs.

 

It could be that the spring at the bottom of th socket behind the contact is a little worn out and while the bulb is going all the way in it is not making a good contact with the new led bulb... try spraying some contact cleaner in the socket and with the power off use a screwdriver or piece of wood dowel and gently push the socket base in and out exercising the spring, this may loosen it up and allow it to make a good contact with the new bulb...

 

Ok i will give the LED's you mention a try. you said you did your tail lights did you also do your high mount brake light in LED? also did you do any interior work? I'm looking to brighten them up also.

 

My '85 has no 3rd brake light.

 

haha sorry... Again I'm new to this.

 

ok i tried that and unfortunately no change.. is there anything else i can do? am i missing something?
Here's what I have done so far:

>Changed the flasher from stock to Tridon ep35, no change, LED's still don't work
>Checked the actual LED's they do work @ 12v 5amp.
>Incandescent lights still work regardless the changes done so far.
The only thing I didn't do was put resisters in but I'm hoping that I don't have to do that (not an electrical genius but I'm trying)..

I have installed LED's before in my map lights and for a few min they didn't work but then they started to work after 5 min.

 

Not sure what the specs are on the new flasher, but does it stay the same rate regardless of having a bulb installed (either kind of bulb) or not? If so, you don't need the load resistors, that is only for keeping the stock flasher flashing at the normal rate with the LEDs, instead of flashing too fast.

When you say "@ 12v 5amp", is that using a 5 amp battery charger? I doubt the LEDs take anywhere near 5 amps of current, at least if they are working normally. Probably only pull 1/10th of an amp or so. It might be a bad connection some place that is limiting the voltage to the socket. A regular light bulb will work down to under 6 volts (it will be dimmer than at 12), but an LED needs a certain threshold voltage to light up, under that and you get nothing. Maybe your LEDs are for a 24 volt system or something. Note that a battery charger will put out well over 12 volts, more like 14 or so.

 

yeah the rate stays the same regardless of a bulb in place on the new flasher. with the old one it flashed faster as if the bulb was out or when the LED was in place.

as for the charger it had a selector on it. the LED worked on 12 volts w 2 amp and 12 volts w/ 5 amp. that could be too.. the package says guaranteed lighing range of DC10.5v to 15.8v if it goes higher it could cause the program to not work properly

it also said it has positive/negative poles and if it doesnt light to switch it... how does that work?

 

When you are applying voltage to the bulb itself, are you using black/negative to the bulb base and red/positive to the contact on the bottom? If so, that should be how the socket in your vehicle is wired, but would be worth checking. A regular bulb will work with either polarity but an LED will only work with current flowing one way and not the other.

 

could be I'm not entirely sure from what i can tell it is all stock equipment nothing appears to be changed.. the person that had the 4run before i bought it put a plow on it and has since been removed could that be an issue?

 

Yeah that's how I tested it.. could be a plug issue could be an LED issue too I'm not too familiar with either but like i said im willing to learn about it.