Need assistance from a sparky or like minded person

I own a Toyota Camry Wagon '89, and i'm having some trouble with the lights. I just put in a new cd/mp3 player, and before that my dashboard lights were working (illumination of clock/speedo/fuel gauge) but now they dont' seem to be. all the warning lights and indicators work, it's just the illuminators of those gauges. I figure i probably didn't connect something back up, but could it be anything else?

Also, My tail lights won't work, brake lights yes, tails no. We thought it may have been the bulbs, so checked the bulbs. Not them. So we tried the fuse, and the fuse was blown. After removing said 15 unit fuse, a mate of mine thought he'd put in a 20 unit and see if that would work, but to no avail, and we fear this may have worsened the problem, as after replacing with another 15 unit, the tails still refused to work.

If anyone can help me, talk me through it, maybe some diagrams, i dunno, but if you can it would be most appreciated. Cheers

Reply to
phaedreon
Loading thread data ...

Sounds like you bumped a connector while you were replacing the radio. Take the radio back out and look for any connectors back there. I know the '86 had a flaky connector back there that did the same thing.

Reply to
SupraGenius

As SupraGenius mentioned, you probably loosened a connector when installing the radio so there is a good possibility that you will have to remove the radio and take a look inside. Before you do that, check the rheostat on the dashboard to make sure it is not turned all the way down. Hopefully, you were not foolish enough to cut any of the factory wires, otherwise it could take a LONG time to find the problem. If none of the connectors are loose and you didn't intentionally cut any wires, look for one that is chafed or pinched - if the fues is blowing immediately, something onthe lighting circuit is shorted to ground.

First, don't let that mate work on your car and do not follow his advice because he doesn't know what he is doing. Never replace a fuse with a higher amperage rating than specified. If there is an excessive draw, you can end up with melted wires or a fire.

Reply to
Ray O

The dash lights are on the same fuse as the tail lights - that's deliberate so you know you do not have taillights either.

Toyota radios wire up differently from American radios, with two illumination wires (not one to ground like American cars). One lead is constant power 'in' from the fuse and taillight relay, the other goes 'out' through the dashboard light dimmer rheostat to chassis ground.

If you goofed and hooked the taillight fused wire to a ground at the radio, it would cause the taillight fuse to blow immediately.

Hint: get a 55W sealed-beam headlamp, and make up a few jumper leads so you can 'plug it in' in series to the prongs where the taillight fuse would go. This gives you a visual indicator that the circuit is still shorted, because the light glows at full brightness. (Put the lamp on a piece of cardboard so you don't melt the carpet or floor mats.)

Wiggle the wires, or unplug the connector on the back of the radio,a and try turning on the taillights again - if the headlight test light goes out, or better yet gets dim and all the taillights come on dim, you've just located the problem...

-->--

Reply to
Bruce L. Bergman

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.