gofastdan
Well-known member
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- #1
I installed multiple things at the same time so figured I'd just create a single post for it all.
I purchased this "heritage grill" that came with raptor lights and light bar. When I bought it, it was $215, which I thought was an excellent deal. I swear the vast majority of these products are exactly the same regardless of what the sticker says on the box. I knew the light bar would be junk but for the money I'll deal with it for awhile. One thing to note is that the light bar opening is not the same as the factory Tacoma grill and will only fit an ~18" light. I think the current DD Stage Series 18" will fit with a little filing and my plan is to upgrade to that at some point before they discontinue it next year in favor of the new "standard" 20" bar. I don't think it will be a straightforward swap but I'll figure it out... The grill itself is nice and although not quite the quality of the factory stuff unless you really inspect it most people would never know the difference.
I installed "fang" lights at the same time. Again, I'm satisfied with the quality for the price I paid ($80). I wish they had a bit of a smoke tint to them. They don't quite match everything else but they're close. I was a bit concerned that with all the lights and whatnot going on that the front end of the truck would be gaudy (cheesy and cheap?), and some might think that's the case, but I'm happy with it and that's all that matters.
There are lots of install videos on Youtube for the grill so I'm not going to try and cover the install. This video by Taco Vinyl is installing the identical grill and once you have the front end off the fang lights are self-explanatory.
Here are some pictures.
The grill was well packaged. The raptor lights were preinstalled but you have to install the lettering and light bar. Easy peasy... Note it has a knock out for a front camera (which I don't have).
( A future project to install a camera will happen at some point once there's a solution on the market...
The grill put together.
Front End off the truck.
Wiring for the fang light turn signal, driver's side.
Wiring for the fang light turn signal, passenger's side. Note that the wiring is the same for both sides other than the fact that the wires are different colors on the driver vs. passenger side.
Completed install.
Ok, here's where I took a different path. With all the different lighting and whatnot that I have going on I decided I needed a better power distribution system than just trying to use the three factory aux switches. After a bunch of research I purchased this. It has 12 circuits supporting a total of 100 amps. Again, this unit appears identical (as near as I can tell) to a half dozen other products, including the MicTuning P1s. The only spin Joyutus (?) puts on their kit is that they seem to be marketing towards the Jeep crowd so they include an extra bracket that mounts to the fender of a JL and an included install page for the Jeep. Other than that there is no branding on it at all. The wireless controller is nice and eliminates having to run a wire through the firewall. I also haven't really found anywhere inside the truck that is ideal for mounting a controller, but with the wireless controller I don't really need it mounted. The wireless controller isn't perfect. For instance it's not full-duplex, meaning the controller is sending a signal to the wired panel but it doesn't know if the panel doesn't acknowledge the signal. Ideally when I turn the truck off I'd like the panel to get a signal sent to it that the wired panel had power removed and the controller should shut down and go into a low power mode, and then when the ignition is turned on the wired panel would send a signal to wake the wireless back up and restore the previous state. That doesn't happen so you have to remember to power off the controller when you shut the truck off and turn it back on after starting the truck. Realistically though, the wired panels from Auxbeam, MicTuning, etc... function the same way, they don't automatically turn on after ignition you have to power them manually. All that said, again, for the money I think this is an excellent solution.
Anyway, here's the install.
All the parts that come with the kit.
I chose to mount it on the passenger side fuse panel cover next to the battery.
I used the IGN circuit on the driver's side fuse box to trigger the unit on and off. Note that you need to ensure the fuse tap is installed correctly. There was a picture in another thread of someone who installed the fuse tap the opposite of how I have it. That would be wrong. Installing the tap backwards doesn't protect anything. If the fuse blows power will still be flowing to whatever device is being powered and potentially cause big problems. When I read the other post at the time I didn't think anything of it but once I installed my own I realized the mistake. I've searched to find that post again and of course now I can't find it. Bottom line the easiest way to ensure the tap is installed correctly is to pull the fuse and ensure the feed loses power. If it doesn't then the tap need to be reversed.
Wiring inside the power distribution panel. I have lots of room for more circuits....
And finally, here's a video of all the different lighting effects. I've also got the ditch Lights wired into the PDU. Like I said, I'll likely switch out the cheap light bar at some point. The only other lighting change to the front might be to replace the factory fog lights with the new DD Stage Series lights that they announced at SEMA this year. I'll abandon the factory wiring and run them through this as well so I can have the fog lights on one circuit and the backlighting on another.
I purchased this "heritage grill" that came with raptor lights and light bar. When I bought it, it was $215, which I thought was an excellent deal. I swear the vast majority of these products are exactly the same regardless of what the sticker says on the box. I knew the light bar would be junk but for the money I'll deal with it for awhile. One thing to note is that the light bar opening is not the same as the factory Tacoma grill and will only fit an ~18" light. I think the current DD Stage Series 18" will fit with a little filing and my plan is to upgrade to that at some point before they discontinue it next year in favor of the new "standard" 20" bar. I don't think it will be a straightforward swap but I'll figure it out... The grill itself is nice and although not quite the quality of the factory stuff unless you really inspect it most people would never know the difference.
I installed "fang" lights at the same time. Again, I'm satisfied with the quality for the price I paid ($80). I wish they had a bit of a smoke tint to them. They don't quite match everything else but they're close. I was a bit concerned that with all the lights and whatnot going on that the front end of the truck would be gaudy (cheesy and cheap?), and some might think that's the case, but I'm happy with it and that's all that matters.
There are lots of install videos on Youtube for the grill so I'm not going to try and cover the install. This video by Taco Vinyl is installing the identical grill and once you have the front end off the fang lights are self-explanatory.
Here are some pictures.
The grill was well packaged. The raptor lights were preinstalled but you have to install the lettering and light bar. Easy peasy... Note it has a knock out for a front camera (which I don't have).
( A future project to install a camera will happen at some point once there's a solution on the market...
The grill put together.
Front End off the truck.
Wiring for the fang light turn signal, driver's side.
Wiring for the fang light turn signal, passenger's side. Note that the wiring is the same for both sides other than the fact that the wires are different colors on the driver vs. passenger side.
Completed install.
Ok, here's where I took a different path. With all the different lighting and whatnot that I have going on I decided I needed a better power distribution system than just trying to use the three factory aux switches. After a bunch of research I purchased this. It has 12 circuits supporting a total of 100 amps. Again, this unit appears identical (as near as I can tell) to a half dozen other products, including the MicTuning P1s. The only spin Joyutus (?) puts on their kit is that they seem to be marketing towards the Jeep crowd so they include an extra bracket that mounts to the fender of a JL and an included install page for the Jeep. Other than that there is no branding on it at all. The wireless controller is nice and eliminates having to run a wire through the firewall. I also haven't really found anywhere inside the truck that is ideal for mounting a controller, but with the wireless controller I don't really need it mounted. The wireless controller isn't perfect. For instance it's not full-duplex, meaning the controller is sending a signal to the wired panel but it doesn't know if the panel doesn't acknowledge the signal. Ideally when I turn the truck off I'd like the panel to get a signal sent to it that the wired panel had power removed and the controller should shut down and go into a low power mode, and then when the ignition is turned on the wired panel would send a signal to wake the wireless back up and restore the previous state. That doesn't happen so you have to remember to power off the controller when you shut the truck off and turn it back on after starting the truck. Realistically though, the wired panels from Auxbeam, MicTuning, etc... function the same way, they don't automatically turn on after ignition you have to power them manually. All that said, again, for the money I think this is an excellent solution.
Anyway, here's the install.
All the parts that come with the kit.
I chose to mount it on the passenger side fuse panel cover next to the battery.
I used the IGN circuit on the driver's side fuse box to trigger the unit on and off. Note that you need to ensure the fuse tap is installed correctly. There was a picture in another thread of someone who installed the fuse tap the opposite of how I have it. That would be wrong. Installing the tap backwards doesn't protect anything. If the fuse blows power will still be flowing to whatever device is being powered and potentially cause big problems. When I read the other post at the time I didn't think anything of it but once I installed my own I realized the mistake. I've searched to find that post again and of course now I can't find it. Bottom line the easiest way to ensure the tap is installed correctly is to pull the fuse and ensure the feed loses power. If it doesn't then the tap need to be reversed.
Wiring inside the power distribution panel. I have lots of room for more circuits....
And finally, here's a video of all the different lighting effects. I've also got the ditch Lights wired into the PDU. Like I said, I'll likely switch out the cheap light bar at some point. The only other lighting change to the front might be to replace the factory fog lights with the new DD Stage Series lights that they announced at SEMA this year. I'll abandon the factory wiring and run them through this as well so I can have the fog lights on one circuit and the backlighting on another.
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