Heritage Grille -- OEM and Aftermarket Options

[TacoNole]

Finally got my Heritage Grill in and installed. I chose to go a different route than I've seen before on the lightbar. I chose the DV8 Elite Halo bar. It was on sale during memorial day for $180, so I jumped on it. I personally think the halo looks cool (raptor-like without being a copy-cat), but I'll let you be the judge.

I made the bracket using 1.25in by 1/16in angle bar you can pick up at the big orange box store. It was a pretty simple build, just really costing me about 2 hours and several 420 heavy-duty cutting wheels for my dremel. I did it all by rough sight, so I don't have any specific measurements to share. Here you can see this process. The first image is the rough first cuts made from an 8.5" length of the angle bar.

This is after the two bends to put the lightbar into position, and removing a small chunk to clearance around the screw, as well as a corner to reduce visibility through the grill:

Here's a shot of what it looks like during the centering process and mounting to the screw holes. I used some of the thick washers that came with the DV8 light bar to help center it in the opening.

Here's the final installation after painting with Rustoleum Satin Black and mounting to the grill:

Since the wire for the DV8 comes out on the passenger side, and because it's about perfectly sized - I co-located the connector for the light bar with the other two main grill harnesses.

After wiring up the "halo" to AUX3 and the main light bar to "AUX2", here are the money shots:

Maybe I'll get some night shots later!

Hey again Ty! I used your method to make the brackets and they turned out great. Very simple and genius. I was wondering how you did your connections. I see you used Aux3 for Halo and Aux2 for light bar - did you connect everything onto the one pigtail in the engine bay? Also, did you only connect the amber Halo? Looks like the DV8 lightbar also has a wire for the white halo. I wonder if it's possible to also connect that other Halo onto another Aux.

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[TygerTaco]

Yes - since the "Premium" package came with the AUX wiring already installed - it's all wrapped into one pigtail. The main connection is located on a wire that's basically underneath the filler for the washer fluid. Your truck should have come with several different pigtails that plug into that module and allow you to hook up to the light bar. There's a few threads out there discussing this, so I'll not repeat that info, but I'll copy down some relevant points:

https://www.tacoma4g.com/forum/threads/aux-wires-not-getting-power.4202/#post-67884

For Aux 1 (15amp) you use the black wire as your positive (+), black/white as your ground (-)
For Aux 2 (10amp) you use the green wire as your positive (+), black/white as your ground (-)
For Aux 3 (5amp) you use the white wire as your positive (+), black/white as your ground (-)

So - for the main light, I used AUX2 and left AUX1 in reserve in case I wanted to add other lights in the future. For the "Halo" light, I just connected the Amber halo to AUX3, and I left the white halo unconnected.

In my case - I connected the RED from the DV8 to the GREEN from the pigtail. Then I connected the YELLOW from the DV8 to the WHITE from the pigtail. Finally, connect the BLACK from the DV8 to the black/white from the pigtail. The ground is shared amongst all the lights. You could theoretically wire another switch to switch the 12V from the aux switch and route it to the white halo instead of the amber halo. This is relatively easy to do, if you're familiar with wiring.

I'd recommend avoiding the scenario where white and amber halos can be powered at the same time. Not sure if that's a scenario they've designed for.

 

[TygerTaco]

One more note - if I recall correctly, I did have to extend the wire length of the DV8 wiring harness in order to get it across the front of the truck. This is what I used:
https://a.co/d/cYa8sXX

 

[JNAT112155]

Does anyone know the screw size for the screws that mount the brackets to the grille? I'm working on a universal bracket and if it works out I can share the DXF file for anyone who wants to shoot it to sendcutsend

Were you ever able to finalize the universal bracket? A DXF file would be awesome, if available. Thnx.

 

[TygerTaco]

Another thing to note - you will need to have a different camera mount. Here's the thread describing that if you have the ability to print yourself:
https://www.tacoma4g.com/forum/thre...bar-install-on-trd-pro-grill.5815/#post-81404

Here's the same designer who has them for sale:
https://www.tacoma4g.com/forum/threads/heritage-grill-swap-cam-bracket-10.13408/

You do have to recalibrate the camera after this. There's a long thread on this one:
https://www.tacoma4g.com/forum/threads/heritage-grill-camera-swap-observations.6132/

 

[TacoNole]

Yes - since the "Premium" package came with the AUX wiring already installed - it's all wrapped into one pigtail. The main connection is located on a wire that's basically underneath the filler for the washer fluid. Your truck should have come with several different pigtails that plug into that module and allow you to hook up to the light bar. There's a few threads out there discussing this, so I'll not repeat that info, but I'll copy down some relevant points:

https://www.tacoma4g.com/forum/threads/aux-wires-not-getting-power.4202/#post-67884

For Aux 1 (15amp) you use the black wire as your positive (+), black/white as your ground (-)
For Aux 2 (10amp) you use the green wire as your positive (+), black/white as your ground (-)
For Aux 3 (5amp) you use the white wire as your positive (+), black/white as your ground (-)

So - for the main light, I used AUX2 and left AUX1 in reserve in case I wanted to add other lights in the future. For the "Halo" light, I just connected the Amber halo to AUX3, and I left the white halo unconnected.

In my case - I connected the RED from the DV8 to the GREEN from the pigtail. Then I connected the YELLOW from the DV8 to the WHITE from the pigtail. Finally, connect the BLACK from the DV8 to the black/white from the pigtail. The ground is shared amongst all the lights. You could theoretically wire another switch to switch the 12V from the aux switch and route it to the white halo instead of the amber halo. This is relatively easy to do, if you're familiar with wiring.

I'd recommend avoiding the scenario where white and amber halos can be powered at the same time. Not sure if that's a scenario they've designed for.

I got everything wired up to test and it works. Good call on the extra wire, definitely gonna need it. Really appreciate your help!

 

[ixo]

i'd like "toyota" across the front, but not ~500 $ like

 

[Pappy]

i'd like "toyota" across the front, but not ~500 $ like

The price has gone up a lot in the last year. You can at least get the TH grille for less than $300 at a discount dealer. Then it's all your lights of choice.

 

[flgator77]

Purchased the oem TH grill on sale last month for $220. Went with Baja Designs S8/S2 light bar kit with the corner and center lights on separate aux switches. Also have the S2 lights on the back and wired to my third aux switch. Very pleased with all.

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