IS - 3rd Gen (2014-present) Discussion about the 2014+ model IS models

12v switched power to steering wheel?

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Old Aug 8, 2021 | 08:49 AM
  #31  
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Originally Posted by Grey3
Thank you for your response! I’m not sure if I have VGRS on my car. I have a 2017 is200t. I was informed by another person that the red wire (I will attach below) would send a 12V current as long as my headlights were on. So pretty much the illumination for the buttons on my steering wheel controls. And that I can ground it to the area shown below or one like it. And I see you talked about the pin 9 and pin 24 passing 12V but do they ever shut off or are able to be shut off and turned on in a controlled way. I appreciate all of your help!! Thank you.
I’m not sure if I have VGRS on my car. I have a 2017 is200t...VGRS is only available with the V6, not the Turbo 4 cylinder
I was informed by another person that the red wire (I will attach below) would send a 12V current as long as my headlights were on...that is true, but as you mentioned, you'd have to have the lights on all the time for the steering wheel shift lights to work. Personally that's not my preference of how to make it work properly, but it's your car.
And I see you talked about the pin 9 and pin 4 passing 12V but do they ever shut off or are able to be shut off and turned on in a controlled way...the OP of that thread brought 12V to K26 Pin 4 which then provided it to z4 Pin 9 through the spiral cable. There is no switched (battery voltage) or ignition 12V wires at the steering wheel, hence why it had to be brought to the wheel. To wire it the way the OP did would require a length of wire, 2 terminals (one for K26 and one for z4), and however you want to connect it to ignition power at the fuse panel under the dash...you could use a Tap-a-fuse or whatever. The terminals come with a length of wire attached to them, so on the steering wheel side it should be enough to connect your shift light wire. The Ground is as you say where you can connect it to the chassis of the steering wheel.
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Old Aug 8, 2021 | 09:34 AM
  #32  
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Originally Posted by Sasnuke
I’m not sure if I have VGRS on my car. I have a 2017 is200t...VGRS is only available with the V6, not the Turbo 4 cylinder
I was informed by another person that the red wire (I will attach below) would send a 12V current as long as my headlights were on...that is true, but as you mentioned, you'd have to have the lights on all the time for the steering wheel shift lights to work. Personally that's not my preference of how to make it work properly, but it's your car.
And I see you talked about the pin 9 and pin 4 passing 12V but do they ever shut off or are able to be shut off and turned on in a controlled way...the OP of that thread brought 12V to K26 Pin 4 which then provided it to z4 Pin 9 through the spiral cable. There is no switched (battery voltage) or ignition 12V wires at the steering wheel, hence why it had to be brought to the wheel. To wire it the way the OP did would require a length of wire, 2 terminals (one for K26 and one for z4), and however you want to connect it to ignition power at the fuse panel under the dash...you could use a Tap-a-fuse or whatever. The terminals come with a length of wire attached to them, so on the steering wheel side it should be enough to connect your shift light wire. The Ground is as you say where you can connect it to the chassis of the steering wheel.
You are a tremendous help. I might go with the method of wiring it to the red cable shown in my post due to the fact that I don’t necessarily want the led display on all the time, for sometimes it would be nice to not have it on for cleanliness. Therefore it might be convenient to me to have it wired to a manual switch (A.K.A. the headlight toggle switch). Do you know if this wire has 12V power to it only when the headlights are on manually, or do the DRL’s provide this “switch” as well (still manually turned on). Because, I’d love to have the option to switch my lights to “Auto” and have the LEDs not come on, but switch my lights to DRL or Low-Beam manually and have them on. Thank you so much for your help and speedy responses.
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Old Aug 8, 2021 | 01:13 PM
  #33  
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Originally Posted by Grey3
You are a tremendous help. I might go with the method of wiring it to the red cable shown in my post due to the fact that I don’t necessarily want the led display on all the time, for sometimes it would be nice to not have it on for cleanliness. Therefore it might be convenient to me to have it wired to a manual switch (A.K.A. the headlight toggle switch). Do you know if this wire has 12V power to it only when the headlights are on manually, or do the DRL’s provide this “switch” as well (still manually turned on). Because, I’d love to have the option to switch my lights to “Auto” and have the LEDs not come on, but switch my lights to DRL or Low-Beam manually and have them on. Thank you so much for your help and speedy responses.
The Illumination circuit in the steering wheel controls comes on when the switch is at least the Taillight setting, which I assume is what you mean by DRL.
For my car, Canadian market, DRL's is mandatory, so the light switch only has Off, Auto, Tail, and Headlight (Low beam)...DRL's are always on when the car is running, regardless of stalk setting.
I know in some states the stalk also has a DRL Off position, which turns all lights off.
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Old Aug 8, 2021 | 04:01 PM
  #34  
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Originally Posted by Sasnuke
The Illumination circuit in the steering wheel controls comes on when the switch is at least the Taillight setting, which I assume is what you mean by DRL.
For my car, Canadian market, DRL's is mandatory, so the light switch only has Off, Auto, Tail, and Headlight (Low beam)...DRL's are always on when the car is running, regardless of stalk setting.
I know in some states the stalk also has a DRL Off position, which turns all lights off.
Okay! Sounds good! Once again, you are an amazing help. Thank you. I’ll post a pic once I get it all done.
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Old Aug 9, 2021 | 04:38 AM
  #35  
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I just wanted to add that if you are wanting to have the option to turn your LEDs for off stealthiness by turning off your headlights, you will only be able to turn them off during the day (since you need your headlights on to see at night), and they are already fairly stealthy during the day, to begin with depending on the brightness setting you set in the steering wheel. There is also the option to just pull the OBDII dongle to stop the LED's.

I personally would suggest having them hooked up to switched ignition since I think it is negligible to be able to turn them off during daylight, if anything, you would want to be able to turn them off during the night. Anyways, that is why I went the route that I did in this post, and it's really not that hard, thanks to @Sasnuke wonderful wiring info, Having them come on with the ignition seems more OEM like IMO, but just trying to help.


Note, the LED brightness had yet to be turned down in the settings when I recorded these videos.


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Old Oct 3, 2021 | 09:55 AM
  #36  
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Default I am still confused and without LED’s

Originally Posted by ihateu3
I just wanted to add that if you are wanting to have the option to turn your LEDs for off stealthiness by turning off your headlights, you will only be able to turn them off during the day (since you need your headlights on to see at night), and they are already fairly stealthy during the day, to begin with depending on the brightness setting you set in the steering wheel. There is also the option to just pull the OBDII dongle to stop the LED's.

I personally would suggest having them hooked up to switched ignition since I think it is negligible to be able to turn them off during daylight, if anything, you would want to be able to turn them off during the night. Anyways, that is why I went the route that I did in this post, and it's really not that hard, thanks to @Sasnuke wonderful wiring info, Having them come on with the ignition seems more OEM like IMO, but just trying to help.


Note, the LED brightness had yet to be turned down in the settings when I recorded these videos.

https://youtu.be/DqY8kx5stLQ

https://youtu.be/1woY84lnf_w
I am confused on how you wired yours. If you could explain in some sort of simple terms that would be amazing. I no longer care about turning them on and off. The LED’s coming on with the ignition does actually sound better. I just want to get this done. What do I need and what do I need to do??!! Thank you!! Anything helps. Please.
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Old Dec 15, 2021 | 03:35 PM
  #37  
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Default I have a question!

Originally Posted by Sasnuke
I’m not sure if I have VGRS on my car. I have a 2017 is200t...VGRS is only available with the V6, not the Turbo 4 cylinder
I was informed by another person that the red wire (I will attach below) would send a 12V current as long as my headlights were on...that is true, but as you mentioned, you'd have to have the lights on all the time for the steering wheel shift lights to work. Personally that's not my preference of how to make it work properly, but it's your car.
And I see you talked about the pin 9 and pin 4 passing 12V but do they ever shut off or are able to be shut off and turned on in a controlled way...the OP of that thread brought 12V to K26 Pin 4 which then provided it to z4 Pin 9 through the spiral cable. There is no switched (battery voltage) or ignition 12V wires at the steering wheel, hence why it had to be brought to the wheel. To wire it the way the OP did would require a length of wire, 2 terminals (one for K26 and one for z4), and however you want to connect it to ignition power at the fuse panel under the dash...you could use a Tap-a-fuse or whatever. The terminals come with a length of wire attached to them, so on the steering wheel side it should be enough to connect your shift light wire. The Ground is as you say where you can connect it to the chassis of the steering wheel.
I’m sorry to bring this up again. I am still unable to get my LEDs to work. I am willing to try anything, please help me out if you’re willing. Even the method of wiring it to the light stock and having them turn on when I manually turn on my lights would be fine. I just need to locate a 12 V source at the wheel, I do not want to go through the method of tapping into the horn. Thank you for anything and everything.
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Old Dec 16, 2021 | 05:15 AM
  #38  
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If you refer back to Post #30 where you posted the picture of the Red wire and Ground location, you can just use those.
The Red wire will have 12V when at least the Taillights are on.
You mentioned tapping into the Horn...I think you meant creating a circuit through the Spiral Cable.
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Old Dec 31, 2021 | 08:42 AM
  #39  
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Hey @Sasnuke and @ihateu3 , thank you for this quite detailed guide on wiring the steering wheel with LED display. I also just bought a steering wheel from Elvin_6188. However I still have some confusion on how to wire it because I have a GS 2016 so im not sure if the pinout chart is the same. In my GS I have VGRS, dynamic cruise, and LDA. From post #20, I am unable to find that K26 myself. I actually took apart the steering wheel and totally forgot I had the LED display which needed the power, and since I was unable to connect the power, and needed to drive somewhere, I ended up putting back the stock wheel.

When I reached out to Elvin, he recommended the following:

tapped/spiced into the red wire


But this would only work if headlights are always on, so I rather have it hooked to the ignition like you suggested. While trying to figure out how to hook it to the ignition, if im reading your instructions correctly, I will purchase the terminal from https://parts.lexusstevenscreek.com/...w-w-8299824300 and 82998-12860?, insert the red pin from steering wheel LED into terminal, which terminal will then go into K26 by releasing the latch/connector? The K26 is behind the cover surrounding the clock spring
Here is a photo the wiring I see when I take off the airbag,



Any help is greatly appreciated thanks all. maybe I should cross post this to the GS 4th gen as well.

Last edited by shadowx055; Dec 31, 2021 at 08:44 AM. Reason: add words, correct wording
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Old Sep 18, 2022 | 05:45 AM
  #40  
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Originally Posted by Sasnuke
The diagram i put in post #21 above (https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...l#post10895252) is basically the same for the 2017-2020 IS...the Horn wires are the only difference.
As indicated in the post before it, K26 pin 4 and z4 pin 9 were used to pass 12V through the Spiral Cable to the steering wheel as the OP's vehicle did not have VGRS.
You can get an Ignition 12V source from the fuse panel under the dash.

What model 2017 IS do you have? And does it have VGRS?


Hello, https://www.clublexus.com/forums/members/293856-sasnuke.html I am currently trying to install one of these in a 2011 IS250C, do you have the wire diagram for this one by chance. It would be greatly appreciated.
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Old Apr 7, 2024 | 03:01 AM
  #41  
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Originally Posted by Sasnuke
The two covers that surround the spiral cable need to come apart...specifically the bottom one needs to come off, then you will see K26 on the right.
Hi Sasnuke, I can see your posts are really helpful. I too am going to be installing a steering wheel with LED and want to do it correctly. I want it to turn on when I turn the car on. I'm sorry but I couldn't follow along with what needs to happen, and there is no good YouTube video to explain this. I live in Vaughan and to be honest thought you might be able to help me out personally, I am willing to pay of course.
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Old Apr 7, 2024 | 03:39 AM
  #42  
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Hey glad to see you got it to work with the ignition. If you don't mind explaining where to find the K26 port. Is it on the steering wheel, or is it attached to the car. Would love your advice. I have a 2020 IS350, have all the features, so would I have an empty pin where I can tap into? Or would I just have to wire into the illumination and it only turns on when buttons get illuminated by turning the headlights on
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Old Sep 19, 2024 | 04:49 PM
  #43  
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did you managed to install the steering wheel @SxyLexi
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Old Feb 10, 2025 | 06:52 PM
  #44  
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Originally Posted by Sasnuke
The idea sounds good, but off the top of my head there is no way it will work without disabling some of the functions of the steering wheel.
Here's why...all wires going to/from the steering wheel go through the Spiral Cable (aka Clock spring)...this is the limiting factor in what you are trying to do.
The Spiral Cable only has so many circuits that run through it...Airbag, Audio controls, Menu controls, Phone controls, heater...what did I miss?
If you haven't seen inside a Spiral cable, think of it as an oval track for slot cars...I assume everyone knows what slot cars are.
If there are 6 tracks, then the max number of cars is 6. You can less cars than tracks, but no less tracks than cars.

For example, if the Spiral Cable has a 6 pin connector going into it from the vehicle, and all 6 cavities have a wire, then the Spiral Cable has 6 tracks, and presumably 6 wires on the steering wheel connector, therefore another wire (car) cannot be added.
If the Spiral Cable has a 8 pin connector going into it from the vehicle, and only 6 cavities have a wire, then the Spiral Cable potentially has 8 tracks, and presumably 6 wires on the steering wheel connector, therefore adding 2 wires might be possible....might!
But if internally the spiral cable does not actually have a circuit for those 2 empty cavities on the connector, then it is not possible to add 2 more wires.

However, if you decided you don't need some, or all, of the steering wheel controls, you could repurpose those circuits for the new steering wheel.

At this point you would actually need to remove the Spiral cable and see how many wires (circuits) it has, if there are any unoccupied cavities in the connector, and do a continuity check to see if those unoccupied cavities actually have a complete circuit through the Spiral Cable.
That would be the first step, because if there are no empty cavities in the connector, then there's no point even going further.

I diagram would help to determine what circuits are there, but won't tell you which are not...if that makes sense.
If you had 6 wires, of an 8 pin connector, going in and out of the Spiral Cable, you wouldn't know if there were 2 empty circuits unless you physically checked it.
At that point if you're physically checking it, then the diagram isn't of much use...unless you plan to repurpose some circuits. Then you can determine which ones stay and which are going.

I think I made that sound complicated...lol!
Do you have an instagram?
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