toyotas and automatic headlight sensor

Hello All,

Can anyone verify if they can get the parking lights to flash on lock/unlock when the Headlight switch is set to automatic with a aftermarket alarm connection on ANY Toyota vehicle?

It seems on a Toyota Sienna, the (-) parking light wire connection is bypassed or disabled when the HL switch is set to automatic. No parking light flash at all. But when the HL switch is off, the (-) parking light wire connection is back to normal operation.

Whatz the deal with this? Could it be a Toyota factory thing? I think this has something to do with the auto-headlight sensor wire that overides the normal operation of parking light switch/wire to the relay...

I will suck, big time, to have to turn off the headlights just to get the park lights to flash....

Anyone have a comment about this?

Thanks.

Enice... Ahhh... so it's not just the Siennas in question having this parking light issue with auto-headlights. What vehicle do you have?

I already thought of wiring the (-) park light output wire from the alarm to the hazards lights circuit BUT that circuit has it's own flasher relay. I will need to test the hazard wire and overall system condition as to what the (-) alarm pulsing would do. The harzard switch is not a simple SPST type switch. More of a combo defroster/hazard connector harness plugged into an electronic (yes with its own circuit board) box housing.... Again, needless to say,  I need to test the outcome of the flashing. Also this is where the factory alarm falshers are connected to as well.

Another option is converting the (-) pulse to a (+) and directly connecting to the parkling light wire somewhere in the engine (sort of Old School) or if I can the wire AFTER the parking light relay, that would work too... What do yout think?

Anyone else with a Toyota that has auto-headlights care to join and find out what yours does too?

what youcan try to do is to cut the wire and see if it cuts off the parking lights, if it does you can interupt the power with a relay and connect the parking light output from the alarm to the wire that needs (-) to turn the lights on.  You would use your ground when remote wire from the alarm and connect it to 85,(+) to 86, 30 to one side of the parking wire and 87a to the other side.  Again, only if cutting the wire turns off the parking lights. 

enice, which wire are you reffering to?

The auto-headlight sensor wire or the actual parking light wire?

Also when you say 'see if it cuts off the parking lights' I will assume your talking about the HL sensor wire when it's already dark outside and the HL/parklight are on/active.

If my assumption is correct, I do have a relay already seperating the HL sensor wire when remote started. This is because the Sienna does not power off the HL after a remote start times out or is manully shut off. I do notice that the parking light do flash during remote start but that is because the HL sensor wire is separated already during the RS run time. This would be the same thing as the HL switch is set to off but only during RS. After that, it's back to no parking light flash.

actually im talking about the parking lights.the GREEN/ black wire.  cut it and see if you lose the parking lights when remote started

I think you guys are talking about two different things here.

AccessDenied is saying he gets no parking light flashes when he arms and disarms if the switch is in Auto.

Entice is saying that when remote started the parking lights come on, so you can't see them flash.

It sounds like the best solution is to go directly to the parking lights with 12vdc.  I wouldn't really consider that 'old school' as many vehicles still have 12vdc parking light circuits.

KPierson, yeah it seems enice and I are talking about 2 different scenarios....

The flash fix I'm looking for is independent on whether the vehicle is RS or not.

Basic lock/unlock parking light flash when the HL switch is in auto mode just does not work.