fjryan

Whilst leaving work the other night, I noticed that it was pretty dark in front of my 2003 LX470. I pulled back into a parking spot and found that both low beam headlights were not working. High beams worked fine and daytime running lights were good. I popped the hood to wiggle some wires and see if I could make the magic happen. I then discovered that the hood struts were weak and that in the cold weather, were insufficient to hold up the hood. FML. The wire wiggling didn't work. So I went to check the manual for fuse locations and when the hood slammed shut the driver side headlight came on. I opted to go home and trouble shoot the next day when I could get the truck inside.

Further troubleshooting got me some education on my new-to-me 100-series. Both headlights were good. Both fuses were good. Daytime running lights worked. When the truck is turned off, the head light switch in the on or auto position and the turn signal stalk pushed forward into the high beam position, the low beams work normally. When the switches are in the same position and the truck is running, the high beams come on. When the stalk is pulled into the mid (normal position) the low beams are completely off. When the light switch is rotated to the "off" position and the truck is on, the daytime running lights work.

I have and used the .pdf factory service manual for the 2004 Land Cruiser that I found on here. I don't know how much, if anything, is different from the LC to the LX but I imagine (hope) that it was not cost effective to re-engineer the electrical system. I couldn't figure out how to get to the engine compartment relay box to check the headlight relay. It appears to be on the bottom of the fuse/relay box but the wire bundles that run into and out of the relay box hold it down and I wasn't sure if the bundle ties/clips are reusable or if I need to get a replacement. Or if I'm doing it all wrong and there's some far easier method of cracking this nut.

If anyone out there has seen this or has any ideas, I'm all ears. I don't have a lot of experience with electrical issues but I have a decent academic understanding of how electrical systems work. I can follow instructions like a champion though. Thanks in advance.

-Franz

hankinid

The fuse / relay box you're looking for is directly aft of the battery, plastic tab to press / release the top is along one long edge and 2 tabs that fit into slots on the base are along the other long side. A user manual with that info should be accessible via toyota.com in the owners section, same for the LX on leuxus.com. No need to go underneath the box.

hth Steve

fjryan

Thanks for the help! The problem that I’m having is when I open that up, I’m looking at the main fuse panel in that relay box. The headlight relay is supposed to be on the back of that according to the Land Cruiser Factory Service Manual that I have for that same year. I don’t see any obvious tabs for lifting that fuse panel but on the exterior of the relay box there appears to be some clips that are identical to the top cover. I just don’t know how to get to them. I’ll see if I can get a pic that shows what I’m seeing.

hankinid

I searched a bit on the 100 series forum on ih8mud.com as I was curious as to why the relay wasn't right there in your face like it would be on my wife's 2001.

It's not nearly as simple as that, as Toyota built the HL relay and socket into the harness in the relay box.

The thread is here... https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/hea...#post-11264236 . OP's thread is about his headlights acting strangely...granted that's not your issue but info on the relay assembly starts with a reply by user Sirmatthewt on Oct 17, 2017 . You'll also see a related Toyota TSB regarding the relay. You'll also see a link to a parts source.

ETA...found a post this am on the same website...shows detailed pic of bottom of relay / fuse box. https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/whe...-relay.676537/
hth

Steve

Let me know that you find.

Steve

fjryan

Hey Steve, my problem is solved. It was primarily in the drivers seat. When I checked the owners manual for the low beam bulb type it said 9006/55W/H1. When I was in the store I found 9006 type bulbs and stopped looking, not knowing that H1 bulbs are different. When I got back under the hood I found that the low beam bulb (H1) doesn't have the plastic 90 degree plug that the 9006 bulb does. But the high beam does! So I spent hours troubleshooting and looking for help for what turn out to be two burned out bulbs.

Fortunately, I didn't need it but one of the Mud users sent me a link to https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/200...ement.1003958/ That's the relay box that I was looking at and I'm glad I didn't have to get into that. Thanks for your help and hopefully I get a chance to help someone out on here also.

hankinid

You are welcome and I firmly believe what goes around comes back around.

I swapped our LX low beams (H1) for hid bulbs from ddm tuning...that made a difference big enough to make the high beams almost superfluous. What improved them was converting HIR bulbs, 6011's iirc.

Steve

silverbul

Well my problem was that my wires would get so hot that they burn & break off. I solve that problem 1st using an hid aftermarket kit. Now I'm running oem hids SC430 projectors & 0 issues. 4yrs strong