Any Auto Mechanics out there???

[BISHOP]

I have a 2000 Toyota Tacoma 4Cylinder.

Back in August the check engine light came on. I checked all of the basics and all of the fluids are fine.

Lately I have noticed that with the keys out that if I push on the brake the parking lights come on and all dashboard light light up, and if the door is open the "Key in ignition" tone comes on.

Today I noticed that with the lights on the 3rd brake light is on all the time and gets slightly brighter when the brake is pressed.

This brake light thing is what concerns me mostly. What could be the problem. The 3rd Brake light doesn't stay on when the lights are off.


BISHOP

[69veewee]

I had a similar problem wioth a '69 VW. All sorts of wierd electrical BS was going on. Turns out the battery terminal was touching the body...it probably has nothing to do with the engine light. did all of the freaky stuff start to happen all at once?

[THEDOGCATCHER]

The check engine light is probably not related. They usually come on when the computer senses a problem with the emissions system. Gas cap loose etc...

Unfortunately, I'm not very good with electrical system but it sounds like you got water where water should not be. It'd probably be a good idea to look under the dash for any wet spots as well as corrosion on connectors such as the brake light switch on the brake pedal etc...

If it is not something simple like that I'd reccomend taking it to either a good shop or the dealership. With all of the computers and modules in these cars anymore I don't take too many chances of diagnosis myself. I'm afraid to fry a $500 module.

Best of luck.

[alfajim]

Sounds to like you have some bad grounds. Any recent body work? I would start at the rear tail lamp assemblies, truck bed,and work your way up to any component that that is common with the lighting first.

[synchronicity]

Lets go straight to the light problem.
Have any bulbs been replaced on the vehicle? - If an incorrect bulb has been installed, it can back feed another circuit.
Is the vehicle fitted with trailer wiring? - That is another very easy place to cross two circuits.
Check engine light - Have the vehicle hooked up to a scanner, the codes read and interpreted by someone familiar with Tacomas. Have it cleared, and if no immediate recode - drive until it does. Read the codes again, and go from there. We charge an hours labor - $62.00, and will recheck as necessary for up to 90 days while chasing a problem. Plus additional diagnostics and repair as necessary.
Or if you are feeling lucky, and the truck runs fine - electrical tape will remove the annoying glow. But most likely, sooner or later - you will have to deal with it.

Edit: The MIL (check engine light) can be triggered by something as trivial as
a failed gas cap gasket or as severe as a failed fuel injection component - or
even just a momentary glitch (kind of like windows 95). You only Really have to worry if the vehicle runs improperly, or if the light begins flashing - if it starts flashing, STOP - catalytic converter damage may be happening.

[theendisnigh]

As has been said, the MIL (check engine light) is almost definitely not related. Its only purpose is to monitor systems which affect emissions.

Electrical troubleshooting can be a nightmare. If you don't have much exp. I would take it somewhere. If you're feeling bold, get a wiring diagram and see what components all affected systems have in common and start your troubleshooting there.

I had electrical troubles with my 02 Tacoma.

[BISHOP]

I had an idea, and synchronicity gave me confromation so I'm going to remove the trailer wireing and see if that stops the problem.


BISHOP

[synchronicity]

If the trailer wiring is not Toyota, or high quality aftermarket with a control box and seperate power supply, it is the problem.

[RED BUBBA]

Try blaming the jews, see if that helps :yeah:

No really if its intermitten check for grounding loose wires. Check the fusebox wiggle stuff, and oh dont lick the electrodes!

[BISHOP]

The trailer wiring was high quality but it didn't contain any control box(its just boat trailer lights)
I removed the trailer wiring and the problem is still there.

This is realy pissing me off because I can't drive my truck now.
I haven't had an inspection sticker on my truck for over a year, I just drove at night or to quick places in the day, so "they" couldn't see the lack of a sticker.
Now I have a reason for them to pull me over because my tail lights barely change when the brakes are pressed.

Remember this problem is ONLY when the lights are turned on....So only at dusk/night.

BTW I tried to blame the Jews, but they are protected.
I tried to blame the Blacks but they are also protected, like the Gays and Latinos.
I tried to blame the Mexicans but they were nationalized, so I finnaly found a group that I can blame because they aren't protected for anything and even women groups hate them.

The 18-36 year old white men. They are to blame for something.


BISHOP

[synchronicity]

I'm not backing off on this. We can talk about why the trailer wiring needs control boxes later, and also why they may be related later.
Now - go to the truck and remove the rear brake light bulbs.
Does the CHMSL now operate properly? If so, inspect the brake light bulbs to ensure that they are proper - Then inspect for a bridged filiment. If a brake light bulb filiment bridges to the park light filiment it would cause this problem.
Try it and let me know. Another tip off might be if you can see a difference in brightness between the two brake lights.

[Hargrave]

*cough* Multi Function switch *cough*
*cough* Not cheap *cough*

The CE light, if it's not a hard code you probably just have a lazy O2 sensor.

Until recently I worked for procare, but you don't have to take my word for it :D

[BISHOP]

AH I gotta check the bulbs now.
I removed the trailer wireing harness and the same condition still is there.

I heard of checking the bulbs but they all work so I didn't think I really had to.
thew bridging thing makes total sence to me.
It could be that. I don't baby my truck, its a truck. Just a week of buying it new it I took it off road and smashed in a front fender and broke off the passenger mirror.


BISHOP

[AKM]

As has been said, the MIL (check engine light) is almost definitely not related. Its only purpose is to monitor systems which affect emissions.

Bishop,did you do anything about the Check Engine Light?If not,you need to.I have an 05 Isuzu CabOver WorkTruck(Diesel) and the Check Engine Light just came on.The truck was slow as shit when I was taking off.It was a bad EGR Valve.

[RED BUBBA]

Electrical problems? Dont call anauto mechanic call a preist for exorcism!!!!

[69veewee]

Just a week of buying it new it I took it off road and smashed in a front fender and broke off the passenger mirror.
BISHOP
YES!! :rockin:

[BISHOP]

Oh yeah this is MY TRUCK its not a wimpy car.
When I bought it new I was on the highway one day traveling at 90mph without even knowing. Its that smooth, and when I need it (even though its a 4cyl) its perfect for offroad work.

I FOUND THE PROBLEM. Credit goes to synchronicity.
The brake filiment was partialy burnt out but it was the ends of the filiment (after the supports) that bridged onto the driving light support within the bulb.

This caused every driving light to illuminate including dashboard lights when the brake was pressed with the lights turned off.
After this fix I removed the negative battery cable for about 5 minuets and the check engine light was reset.

I am happy again.


BISHOP

[theendisnigh]

Don't be surprised if the MIL comes back. They only set under certain test conditions, depending on the system it may not self check and reset for quite a while, or it may come back on immediately.

Glad you fixed it! :up: I hate taking my car to the shop. They're worse than gunshop owners.

[synchronicity]

I hate taking my car to the shop. They're worse than gunshop owners.

Sorry I can't be close enough to offer to let you try our shop.

BISHOP - Glad the fix worked. The secret is knowing that on any Japanese car or truck, the brake lights and turn signals are seperate circuits - Not combined as is traditional on an American Vehicle. Really no super mechanic skills on this one, just the hours of work it took to figure it out the first time and the many times I've seen it since.
If you decide to go back with trailer wiring, let me know and I can offer some tips - You really do need a control box unless your trailer is custom wired - and the additional load from combining the circuits at the trailer could have caused this bulb failure.

[BISHOP]

OH I only removed the trailer wiring for a minuet to check to see if it was the problem. Once I saw that it wasn't it went back on.

We are talking only 4 lights. I see NO reason for an added control box.
I, not for one minuet, think that this harness has anything to do with the problem..
I wouldn't call 1 bulb in 5 years a problem with a wiring harness...


BISHOP

[synchronicity]

Look at your Trailer lights.
One bulb, two filiments. Dim filiment is Taillights. Bright filiment is Brake / Turnsignal. (American style wiring)
Look at your Truck lights.
Two bulbs, three filiments. As you know, Taillights / Brake lights share one bulb.
The other bulb is turn signals. (Japanese style wiring) It cannot be wired without backfeeding the circuit. At the minimum you need a diode box to split the circuits. Toyota states that the factory wiring is not sufficient to support Any additional bulbs.
If your trailer lights really do work properly, the trailer must have custom wiring.

[BISHOP]

Its an old trailer with what looks like store bought taillights. The wiring is hanging off everywhere and electrical tape is holding it together.

Turns out that the bulb in question was defective at the factory. It had one tall and one short filiment support on the brake filiment.

Anways everything is happy now.


BISHOP