The dash lighting on the '05 Tacoma's were a real improvement over the past generation Tacoma's, with intense orange color supplied by new LED backlighting. Toyota unfortunately stopped there, leaving the door panels pitch dark at night with the only illumination being the "AUTO" text lighted on the drivers door power window switch. Not being able to leave well enough alone, I set out to add some backlighting to the inside of the door handle pockets on all four doors.
I found a site that sells small LED lights (www.radlites.com) that come in different colors and size. For my project, I choose radlites #6994 which is a diffused orange panel lamp, 5/32" in diameter.
Pictures below show the installation which involved removing the door panels, drilling a 5/32" dia. hole above the door handle, crazy glueing the lamp in place, then tapping into the power window wiring to get a hot and ground source. The lights will then come on only when the key is energized.
The picture does not do the lighting justice. At night, all the door handle pockets glow a cool orange. And since the power is tied into the power window wiring, the lights will stay lit until someone opens a door. Real helpfull in the dark.
Total installation time for all four doors with lunch break and two Bud lights was about three hours. After the first one was completed, the rest went much quicker.
Drop me a line if you have any questions.
Bill.
I found a site that sells small LED lights (www.radlites.com) that come in different colors and size. For my project, I choose radlites #6994 which is a diffused orange panel lamp, 5/32" in diameter.
Pictures below show the installation which involved removing the door panels, drilling a 5/32" dia. hole above the door handle, crazy glueing the lamp in place, then tapping into the power window wiring to get a hot and ground source. The lights will then come on only when the key is energized.
The picture does not do the lighting justice. At night, all the door handle pockets glow a cool orange. And since the power is tied into the power window wiring, the lights will stay lit until someone opens a door. Real helpfull in the dark.
Total installation time for all four doors with lunch break and two Bud lights was about three hours. After the first one was completed, the rest went much quicker.
Drop me a line if you have any questions.
Bill.
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