Dash Lights 2nd Gen 4Runner

[@califor2a830]

I'm so glad I found your page! I just purchased a 1990 4 runner and I've been desperately trying to find some sources for upgrades/ repairs. Keep up the good work!

[@roughcutsgarage]

Thank you for your support! Congrats on your purchase. They are a great machine!

[@jaybats7865]

Excellent video! Very educational and great job of filming and explaining procedures. Thanks very much!

[@roughcutsgarage]

Thanks for your support!

[@homeland8765]

Super helpful guys! Thanks a bunch!

[@HG-tv1cd]

Te felicito tengo un auto igual y aprendo con tus videos, me gustaría tener los manuales mecanicos de la camioneta pero no los consigo

[@jaybats7865]

How do you verify that the small led’s along the bottom of the instrument cluster all work properly? If some of the small lights don’t light up, how do you know if it’s because of polarity or if it’s because some of the lights aren’t triggered to light up when you turn on the lights?

[@roughcutsgarage]

Basically I connected the gauge cluster and then tested all of the systems. In this video we actually show testing all of the small lights. kzbin.info/www/bejne/eoHIkGqjrsZ3fZo

[@ogonbio8145]

now if only you had a video showing me how to fix my intermittently working rear window switch

[@roughcutsgarage]

Ours is acting up too. Another thing on the long list of repairs.

[@magalirojas8189]

Buy the switch and replace.

[@melodicchronic5181]

Nice work. Mine still work fine, but are pretty dim even at the brightest setting. So I may consider doing this just as an upgrade. What is that little red light next to the Clutch Start Cancel button?? Mine doesn't have that. I'm in a 1992 Toyota Pickup.

[@roughcutsgarage]

Yeah I would recommend LEDs. Unfortunately the ones we bought were crap and didn't fit so we just went with more incandescent bulbs in the end. We have to replace the speedo cable coming soon so we are going to upgrade to LEDs finally. I honestly have no idea what the red light is. One of the previous owners had an aftermarket alarm system installed so I suspect it may be from that. I have never seen it turn on or anything. I'll probably rip it out and put an off-road light button there eventually.

[@melodicchronic5181]

@@roughcutsgarage So then the instrument cluster panel itself is tinted green?? I know the bulbs had that green sleeve over them to make them green, but if you just put in white incandescent bulbs to get them as bright as it looks in the image for the video, then how does it still look green?? I was thinking about going to blue LED, but if the panel itself is green then it might end up looking wrong. If that makes sense.

[@roughcutsgarage]

@@melodicchronic5181 Our cluster to the naked eye looks white after we took the green covers off. The back lighting I dont think has a filter. The turn signals and the other warning lights I think have filters on them because we put red lights behind our turn signals and they came out looking purple (dont know how red + green = purple???). I think you could go blue on the back lights (194 size i believe) but if its behind a turn signal, needle, or warning light then I recommend just going with a white bulb. Hope that helps

[@melodicchronic5181]

UPDATE: I finally got around to doing this, and I changed out the side gauges with Green LEDs and the Tach and Speedo with Blue LEDs. I put a Blue light behind the climate control and retro-fit some Green lights behind the 12v socket and above the ash tray (change tray). I'm liking the two tone color scheme so far. A few interesting things to note though. 1. I noticed that they color coded the sockets themselves. The Black sockets indicate a White light and the Green sockets indicate Green sleeves over the incandescent bulbs for Green lights. Makes it simple to know before you even take them out. 2. My 1992 Pickup does not have a speedometer cable like yours does. It must relay that info through one of the electrical harnesses. Interesting. 3. I noticed that one of the large bulbs/sockets does nothing on mine. There are three Green lights that illuminate the two large gauges and 2 White lights that illuminate the turn signals. There is one other Black socket/White light down in the bottom corner of the speedo. It doesn't light up on mine no matter the rotation of the bulb. It might just be a faulty socket, I didn't have a replacement to check. But I'd be curious if it does anything on anyone else's vehicle. 4. Also, I tried putting Xenon White LEDs behind some of the warning indicators, but I found that behind the Red ones, the white light is too white and it makes the Red look too Pink, so I went back to the warmer incandescent bulbs for the Red. Sorry for the novel of a reply, and thanks again for the video.

[@roughcutsgarage]

@@melodicchronic5181 Hey this is valuable information thank you! We are going to swap to LEDs soon so this is perfect. Thanks again!

[@ogonbio8145]

same symptoms same year and model like literally half of my speedometer is burnt out as well

[@jackschwanke603]

My spedometer cable doesnt come out very far i kind of broke the connector. Might manufacture and extender for it!

[@roughcutsgarage]

Good luck!

[@addisonching8666]

Where did u get the lights from

[@roughcutsgarage]

Check out Auxito for the 194 size ones and the smaller ones I just found on amazon. Use ROUGHCUTS for 15% off discount code for the auxitos.

[@kraptastic333]

what is that clutch start cancel button for? never seen that, i'm in an 89 pickup 3vze automatic, USA compliant. nice michael jackson cassette

[@roughcutsgarage]

I tried it once and from what I learned you can push the button and start the car (when in neutral) without having to push the clutch in first. Our 4Runner came with MJ, Rolling Stones, and the Eagles cassettes. It's sweet.

[@schlomoshekelstein908]

Although people use it to start the vehicle without depressing the clutch. It is intended to allow you to use the starter to crawl you out of a tight situation where riding the clutch while trying to run the brake and accelerator isn't an option.

[@roughcutsgarage]

@@schlomoshekelstein908 Sounds pretty hard on a starter but I have crawled the truck forward with the starter by accident before.

[@schlomoshekelstein908]

@@roughcutsgarage starters are more stout than you'd think. there's a video on youtube of a guy testing if cranking the starter is actually bad for it, he hooks up 2 batteries in series and cranks the starter for about 9 minutes straight. the insulation on the battery cables starts melting and smoking, but the starter still works kzbin.info/www/bejne/j6u7o4CwnNSHmtE

[@roughcutsgarage]

​@@schlomoshekelstein908 That's good to know thanks!

[@ethanfulton3691]

Question, did you have bad hotspots when you put the LEDS in the speedo bits? The top doesn't even glow. Did you just put the original fluorescent globes back in?

[@roughcutsgarage]

I noticed the plastic bulb housings were a little scorched from the old incandescent bulbs since they get pretty hot. They still worked though. Our problem with the speedo needles was that the LEDs that we bought were too long to fit behind the needle. We tried installing them behind the needle at first but because they were pressed up against it they had a bad connection and wouldn't light up. We ended up putting the old bulbs back in behind the needles and the speedo. Hope this answers your question. We found LEDs that work and we plan on fully swapping out the old bulbs with LEDs when it comes time to take apart the dash again.

[@adamsmiddy]

@@roughcutsgarage Which LEDs worked with those needle gauges?

[@roughcutsgarage]

@@adamsmiddy ​ We don't have LEDs in there at the moment so I can't give you a particular bulb. Basically just find the shortest 194 LED replacement bulb and it should fit.

[@murphs-bitchesvsboars2555]

G'day mate, I've got a 1993 Toyota Hilux (Tacoma?) Have just gone through and done this upgrade as a number of my dash lights weren't working. After replacing all my globes, I still have no dash lights? Any ideas as to where my troubles may lie? I don't have a dimmer switch could the cluster have been dimmed down and the switch removed making my lights not visible?

[@roughcutsgarage]

Hey there! If it looks like there used to be a dimmer switch then that is a possibility for sure. If you end up having no dash lights at all, I would check circuit breakers and fuses if you haven't already, then I would try checking the state/ connections for the 4 wiring harnesses that come out the back of the instrument cluster. There could be shorts or even breaks in the line. If still nothing I would check the copper strips in the circuit panel on the back to make sure they haven't broken. With all of the lights out it would most likely be a strip coming from where the wiring harnesses plug in and then branch out to their respective lights. Hope this helps and good luck!

[@stoker20]

So the LED bulbs aren't too bright??

[@roughcutsgarage]

I find them really nice for dusk at full bright. I tend to dim them down for night to about 50% and that works well.

[@magalirojas8189]

Okay, so what you do is take the old lights and google, which led lights replace that particular vehicle, year, make, and model. You just don't pick "whatever" at the store and expect it to work. Number 1 reason they don't work. Number 2: AND MOST IMPORTANT, identify the positive and negative connections on the dashboard, why because some lights are positioned positive on the top and the others, you guest it, positioned negative on the top. So, of course, again, they won't work. It's called: "pay attention" since you think you know what you are doing, but don't know what you're doing because you didn't do your homework and just ass-ume. Excellent on taking the instrument panel apart.

[@roughcutsgarage]

Glad you had a chance to learned from my mistakes. That's what this channel is all about. Cheers bud!

[@SpeakLife316]

This is kinda dash related ... do you know how to fix speedometer and tach that do not work?

[@roughcutsgarage]

Haven't had to work on that yet. I know you can purchase instrument clusters from eBay. Could also just be the cable that connects to the back. That's about all I know. Hope this helps.

[@christopherbarber288]

cable probably went out. I would try getting a speedometer cable for it first, and then if that doesn't work replace the dash. my cable just went out recently. I was just driving casually and all of a sudden the speedometer dropped to zero. it had been wobbling at speeds below 25 and 30 as well before that, and even when it got above that, it would still wobble and never hold steady on a number. just way less to where you knew how fast you were going. odometer has not worked in a week either. dash works fine though, so that implies that it's probably the cable. I've read on forums these things have a tendency to go out after a while. It's been telling you your speed for 25 years haha. That being said, they're usually pretty cheap to get another one if you know how to look for some generic ones. I got mine from NAPA.

[@tylerfireburn]

Sounds like using LEDs adds extra steps

[@roughcutsgarage]

Nice thing about LEDs though is they last a lot longer than incandescent bulbs, run colder, use less power, and are brighter as long as you put in quality LEDs.

[@jeffgood6441]

194 bulbs

[@MegaLester001]

Is it the same as T5?

[@jeffgood6441]

They are 74_4 thank God I got the box here I want to say there are two types tho I never went that far it was the dimmer switch that cooked in mine cause I had to have my boost gauge work

[@fastlaneization]

Just p/u a 1991 Is There No Lights Behind The Climate Control Panel ????????????? Should all the switches on the dash light up when you turn on the lights... Emer. Flashers - Rear Defrost - Clutch Cancel - AC or do they only light when pushed ??????????????????

[@roughcutsgarage]

There is a light behind the climate controls, reference my squealing speedometer vid. I'm pretty sure we swap it out to an LED in that vid. Warning lights shouldn't come on but the backlighting should. Rear defrost should light up a long with hazards when pushed. The lights are in the button so you'll have to take that apart.

[@blakenelson585]

Thanks for this video. I was able to follow it and replace all the light bulbs with LED in the dash cluster. 🤌

[@roughcutsgarage]

Glad to hear it! Thanks for watching.