I started to switch over all the tired lamps on the Carry to LED's. I quickly discovered, the JDM vehicle is different than the US. I used the same basic 7" round headlight, but they switch it differently, in the US, they have a common ground and switch 12v H/L, In my Carry, 12v was common, and they switch grounds, makes the standard LED headlights you find here non compatible. So I made a little relay inverter, and bingo, they work great. I picked the cheap China ones off Ebay, just 45w or so, but they do a good job overall, we really like the white ring day time running lights (have them set up with park lights) and the yellow turn ring, really lets people see this little truck. Headlights could be a little brighter as compared to the yellowish original lamps but overall they work great at 1/4th the current draw.
Are those DOT approved? Did the same on my truck and the LED are so bright I would not dare use them on the street.
Every Japanese vehicle I’ve worked on had quite a few things ground switched. On mine I used a harness kit from Amazon similar to this: BLIAUTO H4 9003 Relay Harness conversion kit Compatible with Toyota Pickup Tacoma 7x6 5x7 H6054 Headlights Fix Dual Ground Problem, by BLIAUTO LIGHTING https://www.amazon.com/dp/B085TC3XGK/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_ehfGFb5ER2K51 It cost less than the relays would have locally.
Saitcho, His 45-watt are probably fine. The DOT approved incandescent can pull upto 115-Watts or so. But folks need to pay attention to the lumens, and be sure to get them aimed correctly. The down side i found with the LED replacements is they don’t have the three little nibs on the front which allow you to orientate the inexpensive headlight aimers that I own, and I had to align them visually in the garage by aiming at the back of the garage door. I will try to do a write up with pictures this weekend, and demonstrate how to mark up a pair of aiming points.
There is DOT embossed into the headlight, but these are Chinese, they often stamp things that have not been actually tested. These to us, compared to our Nissan's with factory LED headlight's are actually dimmer. Have no issues with adjusting them to the proper aim as not to blind oncoming drivers. The headlight conversion kit, is essentially what I built myself, just not with all the extra wires. (Yes the relays are the proper size, for LED headlights, not for incandescent.)
I got the same headlights you did on Amazon along with a relay switching harness and did a quick test with the headlights off - DRLs, highs/low worked well but couldn't get the flasher/orange ring to light up - do you know if that green wire on the lights is controlled by ground or 12v?
Mine were controlled by 12v. That what initially confused me, as the headlights were ground controlled and the park and turn were 12v control. Seems kinda backwards two do different methods, but it obviously works for Japan.
Check with a multimeter and you will know. If you don’t have a multimeter they can be picked up for not too much money, and are really handy. The minitrucks are getting older, and the wiring is developing gremlins, and a good multimeter is really handy for figuring out electrical issues.
