Me and Miles (Red3.slow) installed a new deck in my 4runner today, we removed the factory amp and installed the new harness. Tonight I noticed when I turned my lights on the dash lights/ air control gauges are not lit up.... but when I turn my lights off the dash lights come on.... We did something wrong, Ive searched and havent found any luck on this issue. Any Idea on how to fix this? Thanks a million guys, I really appreciate the help The stero is a Kenwood KDC348U with a best buy wiring harness

 

did you hook up the orange illumination wires? if so, cut them and tape them off. illumination wires can give you an issue like that if they are hooked up incorrrectly. I only hook up the illumintation wires when doing a unit with a screen, other than that i leave them alone and adjust brightness on the radio itself. Alot of aftermarket companies use the same harness throughout the entire model line up, regardless of if it acutally uses the dimmer or not. just cut them out of the picture if they are hooked up.

 

I got back under the dash tonight, the orange wires were not connected, so i cut them. Checked the fuse 10A TAIL, my tail lights were out, this also controls the dash lights, replaced fuse and tail lights came back on, still no dash lights.... I have no clue what to do now

 

did you check to make sure the dimmer switch isnt all the way down on your dash?

 

Yes I did, i twisted it both ways, nothing happens

 

Another forum, I found a post which said the dimmer switch is possibly fried, and to replace it or bypass it. I chose to bypass it by cutting the 2 white wires and continuing the circuit by connecting them. The last green wire in the bottom i did nothing with, but regardless it didnt work.... Im getting worried, the shop quoted me 7 hours of labor to figure it out at 50 an hour

 

did you try putting the factory radio back in? if so did the problem go away or stay the same? also take some pics of your wiring and post them

 

I fixed the problem, to anyone who comes across this in the future here is the fix.

Solution- The orange wires should be cut and tapped off to ensure they do not contact anything, I found every time I hooked up the illumination wire it blew the 10A TAIL fuse under the hood which controls your tail lights and dash illumination. It also will fry your dimmer switch and the rheostat inside. Im replacing the rheostat inside the switch soon instead of paying $110 at the stealership for a new one

I replaced the fuse and un hooked the battery then bypassed the dimmer switch by cutting the two white wires in the back of the plug which plugs into the dimmer (leave the green wire connected) I knew the switch was fried (I've read you can't test dimmer switches which is false) by using a multimeter to test for continuity through the switch, when I got nothing reading on the multimeter I knew it was fried, but the white wires on the back I was getting 12 volts reading, so I knew I had found my problem. I then connected the two white wires (one is white with a black line, one is white with a green line) and wallah- My dash lights worked in sync with my head lights....also my clock started working (it never has before) Thanks for everyones help, I hope this can help someone else in the future if the run into this problem. Long story short....don't connect the orange wires!

 

Thats what i figured. glad you got the issue fixed. also nice to see someone trouble shoot somehting rather than just give up and deal with the situation.

 

a lot of times, it's best to leave illumination wires alone on older vehicles because they will cause more problems. glad you got it figured out though!

 

Thanks everybody,
Just had the same problem. Removing the orange wires and replacing the rheostat dimmer solved it right away.

This part is expensive, even local salvage yards wanted $50, but I found a Corolla at a pull your own yard and it used the same dimmer, and only cost $5.

Thanks for the tips..

 

On Toyota's and many Japanese cars, the dimmer switch is wired up so the rheostat varies the voltage on the ground side and not the positive side.

James

 

Recently bypassed my dimmer switch after it died, however, i am not a sterio junkie and am confused about these so called "orange wires"? I dont recall ever having "illumination wires" on any decks ive installed...Is this a specific option on some for something specific im missing? Sorry to stray off topic here, but now im curious! Makes me want to go rip my dash and kenwood out just to see if these so called wires are there or not

 

i bypassed the dimmer switch wires and cut the illumination wires but no my stereo keeps blowing the radio fuse? radio fuse is 7.5 amp and it blew a 25v fuse ... please help

 

I put a Kenwood in a couple of years ago and had the blown fuse problem. I cut the ground wire from the stereo harness and Toyota harness and ground off paint and screwed the grounds to bare steel. Every thing is perfect now.

 

As James said, There is a (NEG) adjustable ground that will back feed and short out. But there is also a (POS) illumanation wire that you hook up to the radio to turn the head unit into "dim" mode for driving at night. According to some install guides, the green wire is (POS) and the red/white wire is the (NEG) going to the dimmer. Always connect to the green wire.