How can I turn my headlights off?

[PKVille]

Hi there, I've got a Canadian 2023 Tacoma TRD OR Access Cab, Manual Transmission. I would like to be able to turn my headlights off while the Vehicle is parked, with the E-Brake on. Because it's a Canadian Model, the headlight switch does not have an "off" position, only ON, AUTO and PARKING. At night, when I start the truck (e-brake is on) the headlights come on automatically, not just when I release the e-brake.... So, my question is this. Is the wiring harness the same for Canadian / US trucks? And if so, can I just buy a US turn signal/headlight switch with that includes the "off" position?

Thanks!

 

[bonifacio]

I believe it's the stalk. Since the law is to have DRL's always on, you could try seeing if the headlight is on that relay. Might throw error codes.

I think you might be out of luck since Canada law changed things and forces headlights to be on all the time.

 

[bonifacio]

Now that I think about it... Just install a kill switch. Just remember to disable the switch when you start to drive. Only have it on when you park it. Look for tail light kill switch. I know it's tail light, but that's what it's most commonly used for. Just wire it to the head lights.

 

[PKVille]

Now that I think about it... Just install a kill switch. Just remember to disable the switch when you start to drive. Only have it on when you park it. Look for tail light kill switch. I know it's tail light, but that's what it's most commonly used for. Just wire it to the head lights.

That’s a good idea, I was thinking about interrupting the two fuses with a switch inside the cab….. my previous Subaru would not turn on the lights until the parking break was released, and then turn them off again if was reapplied. Wish I had that with the Tacoma… oh well, the tail light kill switch is probably the (easiest) way to go.
Thanks for the reply.

 

[bonifacio]

That’s a good idea, I was thinking about interrupting the two fuses with a switch inside the cab….. my previous Subaru would not turn on the lights until the parking break was released, and then turn them off again if was reapplied. Wish I had that with the Tacoma… oh well, the tail light kill switch is probably the (easiest) way to go.
Thanks for the reply.

You could probably just wire it to the e-brake.

 

[PKVille]

You could probably just wire it to the e-brake.

Definitely worth a look.

 

[Okkine]

Did you ever find a solution to this? I dabble in night sky photography, and it would be nice to be able to turn on the engine for some heat without ruining the shot.

I've tried swapping it out with an American stalk, however the headlights still turn on, even with the switch in the off position.

 

[Okkine]

Did you ever find a solution to this? I dabble in night sky photography, and it would be nice to be able to turn on the engine for some heat without ruining the shot.

I've tried swapping it out with an American stalk, however the headlights still turn on, even with the switch in the off position.

Update: It turns out that the ambient light sensor is in the cover for the front speaker, so you can access it without pulling the dashboard apart.

I simply unplugged the sensor, and now the "Auto" position functions like an "Off" position. The LCD screens even dim with the headlights now, instead of the sensor like before.

It would have been nice to keep the automatic functionality, but at least now I can turn them off when I want to.

 

[Tomahawk Dog]

Did you ever find a solution to this? I dabble in night sky photography, and it would be nice to be able to turn on the engine for some heat without ruining the shot.

I've tried swapping it out with an American stalk, however the headlights still turn on, even with the switch in the off position.

Does the stalk on the steering stem have OFF/DRL/AUTO/ON like the US version stalk,.... but the "OFF" does nothing????
If so its a special relay for the always on countries (no sense in Toyota re-inventing the wiring harness for a country requirement).
They just install a different headlight relay.

Not sure if the Tacoma is like the sedans/SUV's but thats how they are made to stay on.
You can either cut the relay leg to the DRL (buy a new one for reversing the "always on".
Or it may be possible to simply install a US relay,........ this all depends on if the stalk is the same in the Tacoma's.

 

[Okkine]

Does the stalk on the steering stem have OFF/DRL/AUTO/ON like the US version stalk,.... but the "OFF" does nothing????
If so its a special relay for the always on countries (no sense in Toyota re-inventing the wiring harness for a country requirement).
They just install a different headlight relay.

Not sure if the Tacoma is like the sedans/SUV's but thats how they are made to stay on.
You can either cut the relay leg to the DRL (buy a new one for reversing the "always on".
Or it may be possible to simply install a US relay,........ this all depends on if the stalk is the same in the Tacoma's.

Ours are the Type C stalk. Headlights, Parking Lights, and Auto. No Off position.

However, I installed the American stalk with an Off position, and they remained in automatic mode.

I did try pulling both the DRL relay, and the DRL fuse, and the headlights still activate when the sensor is covered. Or were you talking about the headlight relay?

Edit: It was suggested in another forum that the automatic headlights may be controlled by the ECU, in which case they would have just flashed the Canadian trucks with a different version of the software.

If that's the case, unplugging the sensor still reverts the "Auto" position to an "off" position, so it should be pretty simple to insert a switch into the sensor's power circuit.

 

[Tomahawk Dog]

Ours are the Type C stalk. Headlights, Parking Lights, and Auto. No Off position.

However, I installed the American stalk with an Off position, and they remained in automatic mode.

I did try pulling both the DRL relay, and the DRL fuse, and the headlights still activate when the sensor is covered. Or were you talking about the headlight relay?

Edit: It was suggested in another forum that the automatic headlights may be controlled by the ECU, in which case they would have just flashed the Canadian trucks with a different version of the software.

If that's the case, unplugging the sensor still reverts the "Auto" position to an "off" position, so it should be pretty simple to insert a switch into the sensor's power circuit.

Yes, I was talking about the headlight relay....
However, since the stalk is different it most likely will have no affect.

Type C must mean Canada,... LOL

You are on the right track to run an on/off switch and make an interrupt between the light sensor connection.
I would see if you could drop down from the speaker area into the glove compartment to keep wiring short and out of sight.