Automatic Headlights

Thanks... that is very helpful. I was reasonably certain that it would be harmless, but not certain enough to try it on my own car

That or a hidden switch under the dash, seems like the best 'budget' solution for anyone not wanting to spend the time or money replacing the stalk.

 

This is an amazing thread, thank you for posting the instructions and photos.

 

Hey BrettS and others, I'm about to do this "auto headlights" mod on my 2011 Prius Model: Three

First off, this has got to be one of the most amazing "evolutionary" threads that I have ever read! I love it!

My action plan:

1) Verify that I am one of the lucky ones that has the pin available behind the glove box. (I hope Toyota didn't go cheap on $ with the 2011 not having this pin available)

2) Order the canadian stalk that has the auto and fog light switch - speaking of the fog light switch, has any had a chance to rewire the fog light kit sold here at PC shop to connect to the canadian stalk? The one that comes from PC shop has the fog button, I'd like to integrate it with the stalk. Also, is it necessary to unplug the battery in order to install the new stalk?

3) Figure out where I can buy those rare pins, are they all female? Wonder if I can find them cheap on ebay? I read somewhere on this thread that the pin part# recommended was too large? Can someone verify the toyota part # I need? I'm assuming two wires so I will need 4 pins, one on each end?

4) Anything else I need or that I am missing to make this install go smooth? I'm assuming I can just cancel my DEI 545T order now since this hack will essentially enable the factory auto-headlights feature that's already part of the ECU?


Thanks for your time, you guys are awesome, I love PC!

 

Not yet, but as soon as I actually get around to ordering the fog lift kit that's my plan. I don't believe it will be a problem.

 

I'm heartbroken. I just checked for the pin behind the glovebox and failed. For what it's worth, I've got a 2010 probably made in mid 2009.

ARRRRRG

 

For those who have a 2011 model 4, the same fate awaits you. No pin in the connector behind the glove box. So I'll be pulling the entire dash out to do the modification for auto headlights. I have my "Canadian" stalk w/auto AND fog switch (84140-07141) as well as donor/repair pins on hand. I'm also wondering about how to make all the connections for the fogs through the stalk???

Thanks to all who have contributed these instructions and technical advice to this thread. Any additional help will be appreciated.

 

Nice on scoring a canadian stalk! Did you get a good deal on it? If so which vendor?

Also where did you find a donor (your car, junkyard, or purchase online) to harvest the pins? Good luck on your mod, it should be worth it even after removing the entire dash.

 

It's all been from parts dot com, except the fogs that came from PirusChat.

Regarding my mods. While nowhere close to what others here have done or are doing, I've rather have the options I want so I'm not opposed to spending a little coin to do it right and leave options open. I was disappointed the pin wasn't behind the upper glove box, but it will give me more challenges to overcome. It also leaves future options open, i.e. Model 5 LEDs, solar roof, whatever.

Now I just need to convince my wife all will be fine, when she see the whole interior torn apart...

 

Funny thing, I was on parts dot com searching for that part # and if shipping and handling isn't bad, I'll snag it there, already ordered my SKS parts there to use when I do my SKS mod.

Speaking of mods, I hear ya, I took the model "Three III" and avoided the OEM navigation for an aftermarket one, but I should have gotten the "Two II" to avoid the JBL amp issue, but an aftermarket harness adapter/interface can fix that with ease after reading some threads. Also with the "three III" I only have a SKS sensor on the driver side, but already ordered the parts to do the passenger side and hatch for under $400 and will follow the awesome SKS mod writeup. So like you, I love having options and spending as little as I can for my needs.

So where did you your donor pin? I'm still looking.

 

My L8 connector is plugged into the ECU, and I'm reluctant to steal any pins from it. I've not seen any part numbers quoted for the L7 pins, and I tried a local dealership today & couldn't get a part number for them.

I did confirm that the part number for the I1 pin 4 pin is 82998-12750

I found a connector behind the lower left switch panel (where the light level thumbwheel is located), and the connector is taped back to the wire harness and connects to nothing. I cut one of the pins out, and it looks like it will fit into L7. I didn't cut it off to check (yet). Below is a blurry picture of the connector & pin - anyone know if I'm right about this pin?

 

Has anyone successfully accomplished this mod on a 2011 Prius yet? I see above that a couple folks planned on doing it, but I don't see any success stories yet. Any problems? Differences? Does the 84140-47120 (CA stalk w/o fog lights) part number still apply? I really want to do this mod soon, don't leave me hanging!

 

I successfully completed this auto headlights mod on my 2011 Prius Model three w/JBL no package. The first thing you need to do is check the upper glove box for the black connector that BrettS discovered. If you do not have this male pin, you have to remove the entire dash to get to the sensor.

The next issue you may have, different from mine, is that you need at least 3 donor pin wires which a few of us have found in the L8 connector. But since you have a solar roof, I think you NEED the L8 connector for your solar roof to operate. I don't have the solar roof so my L8 was just hanging around not connected to anything so I snipped it and used the 3 pin/wires already in it since a few people here already documented using their L8 connector as the donor for the pin wires. I completely obliterated mine after major surgery to get the 3 pin wires.

L8 before destruction:


L8 after destruction, sacrificing it to the mod gods. This became a very inexpensive mod because I only needed one hookup wire and 3 butt connectors!!!! Rest in pieces..L8.... RIPs...




There were 3 pin wires already attached to this L8 connector. As you can see, two of them to the left are small pin wires that connect to the L7, the one to the right is the large one that connects to the black connector behind the upper glovebox. The pins snap into the connectors HOWEVER you need to make sure you release the plastic locks of the connectors before you slide the pins in or they will NOT slide in. I was scratching my head for about 20 min trying to figure out why they would not slide in! After you hear a nice click then your pins are good to go, then you can finally lock the connectors.

Here's a pic of my black connector with the larger pin about to be connected (the same one BrettS discovered to save me and other prius modders a ton of time with not having to remove the entire dash), note the white plastic, you need to lift that up with a small flat head in order to unlock the connector. With the L7 its a little bit tricky, you need to wiggle/separate the sides (they stack like legos) to unlock, be careful not to damage the L7!


Oh here is one stumble that I had... Someone provided a PDF diagram of the L7, L8, L66, L47 connectors with corresponding pin #s. For some reason I had the idea that the diagram was from the wired side. I ended up thinking pin 21 was 28 and 28 was 21 . Make sure you review the diagram carefully and LOOK at the side groove tabs of the L7 in the diagram and compare it with the side grooves of your L7 connector to make sure your pin #s are right. There are three grooves (one medium, one large and one small) on one side and only one (small) on the other. I could not see any # markings on the connector so it helps to have the diagram.

@BrettS and others who have successfully installed a stalk with AUTO switch: What wires did you need/use besides pin 28 (ground) in order to install it? Do I need another donor pin for the new stalk? If you have the stalk with the a fog light switch, how did you integrate the fog light wires to the new stalk? Was the steering wheel easy to remove? Do I need a steering wheel removal tool? Uggg...

You guys are right, this is such a gratifying mod and one that hardly required any parts to get the OEM auto headlights function working. Unbelievable Toyota....unbelievable that you couldn't just make this standard for all.

-Oly

 

Thanks for the detailed response! I've only been lurking here a couple days, but it looks like a very helpful community. Did you change out your stalk or just wire it with a separate switch?

 

You're welcome! Yes, I had the exact same positive feeling when I first joined PC.

I'm currently trying to decide between the stalk with the auto switch or the auto and fog light switch. I have the ground pin temporary hooked to a radio shack rocker switch that I plan to use when the car gets serviced.

:welcome: and congrats on your new car!

 

I had a thought. Instead of spending upwards of $90-100 on a replacement stalk, how hard do you think it would be to just wire the existing stalk's On position to function as Auto instead? I figure if I need to turn the headlights on during the day for say inspections or what have you, I could just throw something over the sensor. Can anyone think of any other caveats with this idea?

 

That is the way my headlamp stalk works on my '04 Saturn Vue. Can't see why Toyota did not make that a standard feature on all Prii since day one.

Mike

 

By the way, does anyone know if this is warranty-voiding to any extent?

 

Not unless they can prove the malfunction is directly caused by the mod.

 

Here's a few shots of the rocker switch I used to toggle the ground cable for now till I save up to get a new auto stalk switch. A dremel, sand paper, and little elbow grease did the trick.