Are there any wires behind the hvac panel where it turns hot when you turn on your headlights? I want to wire a 3 LED light kit that autozone sells behind there and see if the hvac lights are brighter. I already have the tiny LED's where the stock bulbs go but I would like to have the big ones in there. Any help and or pictures would be appreciated. TIA!

Hope it made sense.

 

i would just wire some led strips using the power from those sockets.

 

that's a good idea. I just replaced the bulbw with LED's and got it right, but it's not easy. Those strips would probably be great back there.

 

I tried to put in LEDs in place of the bulbs and I ended up blowing an LED. It was really wierd.

So, I tried to just touch an LED to the contact to see if it would work there, and I ended up blowing a fuse. However, I don't know what fuse it was. All fuses were looked at and it they all appear to be good. Also, when the fuse blew, the lights in the speedo went out. All other lights are fine, just the lights in the speedo and I am assuming the HVAC went out.

Any ideas of what the fuse is / where it is? Any ideas on why my LEDs didn't work? Is there a certain way you have to put them in??? (I simply replaced the stock light with a LED using the stock holders).

 

did you actually use a raw led without any resistors on it?

the led is about a 3V component..... that socket was 12V. did the led go up in smoke too or was it so fast that it just blew the fuse?

also leds are what they are.. light emitting diodes.. diodes only allow power to go in and out one way... make sure the positive and negative are in their respective spots.

as far as the fuse to look for... uhm.. the xb diagrams i see are a little screwy... says the taillight fuse (which is a 10A) is tied into the illumination system as well?!

you check your owners manual?

 

Bright like this?

 

I figured out what it was that I did... when I put them in the first time, I must have picked up a different resistor than I wanted to and fried the light. The second time, it was too quick to even notice anything cause the fuse blew right away. Then when looking for the fuse, it was the only fuse that wasn't pulled, (as it usually goes). That's what I get for working on the stuff til 3am... but it's all taken care of now.

Oh, and yeah, the xB tails tie into the illumination.

 

I found a green wire on the big wiring harness that turns hot when I turn on my headlights. Can I T-tap into that wire and ground the other under the dash? Is that safe? I don't want to burn up any relays or anything like that. I bought a 9" LED Strip from Oznium. should i put an inline fuse between the t-tap and the led strip?

 

It would really depend on how much power that green wire has. You said that you found that it was hot, did you use a multimeter? Is it 12 v? Are the strips you bought rated for 12 v? If the power output is equal to the power needed (the green wire is putting out 12v and the strips need 12v), then yes, you can just tap into that wire.

 

I don't have a multimeter. I stuck 1 single LED in the hole and grounded the other end. It lit up just as bright as my other ones. I am linking a picture for reference of which wire and harness. IF anyone has multimeter and can check that wire, please, i beg you. It would save me some money cuz I would have to buy one.

Its the green wire on the top row on that big harness. anyone with a multimeter, please check the voltage for me...PLEASE???

 

everything you ever wanted to know is right here:
https://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=138456

 

Ok...Just tested that wire...It reads 16.5 volts....does that sound right? Maybe im using the multimeter wrong.

 

I don't think I've ever seen anything over 14 volts on a car before. Do you have the meter set to DC volts? I almost always get a screwy reading then remember to change from AC to DC.

 

Yeah, you might want to check it again. Make sure you are using the VDC setting and not the VAC (like dude said). You should prolly get something around 12 - 13.3. If you get this, then you should be good to go with a LED strip.

However, DO NOT plug a single LED without a resistor in there. You will blow the LED quick! And, make sure that you get the right size resistor or the same thing will end up happening (check posts above).

 

yeah... just like that. info?

 

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