I am sure is this is a simple problem. Had a short in the back tail lights from a blown bulb. The short reset something I think. Checked fuses, not problem. Car wont come from park (have to depress brake pedal to get it out of park at normal conditions). I think there is either a circuit breaker or whatever controls the transmission from the brake pedal to keep it from leaving park is the problem. Tail lights wont light up either. This all happened exactly when the short circuit occurred. I know because I was touching the blown light bulb when I got a shock and that is when all the brake lights quit lighting up and the car refuses to leave park.
Where is the damn circuit breaker or the thing that controls the transmission from leaving park. Can it be reset or does it have to be replaced?? Thanks snipped-for-privacy@nuvox.net
OK,..this statement doesnt make sense. Blown bulbs dont cause shorts except for an instant on that rare occassion the broken (fused) element falls down against its supply posts within the bulb,..and this only happens on bulbs which are mounted vertically, so I dont think this really happened.
What were you doing when this all started exactly step by step?
Jason
The short reset something I think. Checked fuses, not
Thanks, done more work since my first post. The bulb socket had a broken tab so apparently the bulb socket was moving around a good bit and caused the bulb to thrash enough to bust the glass off the base. That shorted and caused at the bulb to quit working of course.
When I went to originally investigate why the bulb was not working it was dark and like a dolt I grabbed it. That caused a short (I was the short and got a small shock). Now none of the bulbs work for stop lights now and the car refuses to leave park. The bulbs are dual (stop and reg lights) and they work as regular lights but not as stop lights. Therefore the bulbs are all not the culprit. Nor is the bases as they are all intact. I also don't believe its the wiring shorting.
Also there is a $180 dollar circuit panel in the back that controls several things in the back (its in the trunk on right rear quarter panel, it slides towards outside of car to remove and has a panel on bottom to pry open then circuit board slides out, it apparently controls the back lights, stop lights and antenae (LE)). Its is all intact and other things downstream from this panel appear to be working fine (ie back lights and antenae motor). Therefore it is not the culprit either.
Seems like a simple circuit break from the original short I enduced so I have hunted for a fuse. I am used to the good ole days where the fuses are all together in the fuse box. All the fuses in the fuse box are intact. Can't get a good description of which fuses are which in the fuse box by the way. None say "STOP".
I have looked at the wiring diagram and narrowed it down to a 15 amp fuse (or fusible link) or a switch. These two items are immediately upcircuit from an engine control unit (or something like that) that controls the gear shifter and disallows it to remove from park unless the break pedal is pushed. Nice security feature but what a pain in the rear.
By the way for any of you that might be able to gain knowledge from this near the gear shifter on the driver side is a small panel about one quarter inch by about one half inch. It is directly next to the gear shifter near the park end driver side. If you get a knite under it and pry it up the little panel pops easily out. You will see a white piece of plastic below that. If you push down on that piece of plastic it disengages the park safety mechanism and you get your car back (ie you can now shift from park). So know I know how to move it so I can take it to the dealer to pay $40 for a diagnostic to tell me I have a $3 fusible link or fuse burned out that they will replace for an additional $60 unless any of you can help.
So I think its this 15 amp fuse cuz it all happened during the shorting incident. But I cant find the damn thing. Anybody know where this thing is?
If that is not the problem the only other thing would be this switch thing that may be malfunctioning and not telling the engine control unit that I am indeed pushing down on the brake. I think its one of these two things because the control unit thing is not letting me come from park and the stop lights don't work. I think its the fuse cause the short and cause it is the most upcircuit thing from the both the switch/park control thing and the stop lights. From the switch the circuit branches to the stop lights and the other branch goes to the park control thing.
God I hate electrical problems. By the way I was in a panic cause I had to send someone on an 800 mile trip and the only other option was a 93 Saturn SL2 with close to 200k miles. The Saturn made it there (and hopefully back). I have only had to replace a water pump on the Saturn (had it from brand new) but have had the most trouble with this "luxury Toyota Camry". The Camry too has been babied from birth but what a pain in the ass this car is getting to be.
Thanks for any help. If I can't solve this thing I gotta go to the dealer to do a diagnosis. It just aint worth the time to trouble shoot it too much more...or is it?. I am also suffering from independence of not being able to solve this simple problem without going to the "pros". Any help appreciated.
Check the Owner's manual. All fuses are labeled in the diagrams. I believe additional fuses are inside behind the change tray that pulls down on the left side of the steering wheel. (Remove it by pressing in the tabs on the sides.) There may be more fuses behind the plastic cover near the floor on the left side.
I was in a panic cause I had to
Working under a time pressure usually causes problems. I remember working on something near the license plate support on the back of my truck once and snapping off four small rusted bolts in a matter of moments. Usually I always used rust penetrant on all bolts before trying to remove them. Another time, under time pressure, I left a wrench on the crankshaft bolt after adjusting valves such that starting the engine caused it to smack into the lower radiator hose causing a radiator leak. Take your time. Work carefully. Use a shop light for good visibility. Double check your work. Will go a long way toward bringing back the joy in your Toyota and eliminating the frustration.
"darkside" skrev i melding news: snipped-for-privacy@corp.supernews.com...
I recently had a similar problem with my -94 Camry wagon, when a short circuit in the "caravan connector" resulted in no tail-light at all. After changing the fuses I still found the tail to be without voltage. When measuring resistance in the harness from left sidekick panel to the back, I find the both cables to the taillights to be broken.
I simply "stole" two other cables in the harness, there are several unused, and changed their position in the rear and front end connectors. Easy and cheap solution.
Next day I read in the Hayness manual about the "circuit breakers". From the wiring diagram they are placed somewhere between the left sidekickpanel and left panel in the rear. "circuit breakers" should reset automatically, but can be reset by inserting a pin if locked. [if FOUND.. ;-)]
It is possible to create a short by trying to remove a bulb which has the glass enevlope loose, but not very common,..but lets assume that did happen,..in that case a fuse or cct breaker (do Camry's utililise cct breakers?) will have blown/operated. This then, in theory can cause the ''brake applied'' signal to not get to the transmission hence stopping the shift from park.
While its possible to feel a slight jolt from the 12v supply in the cars electrics, its not possible for your body to pass sufficinet current to blow one of the car's fuses,...by a long way :-)
Now none of the bulbs work for stop lights now and the
OK, the stop or brake light fuse/cct brker has operated.
The bulbs are dual (stop and reg lights) and
OK.
Therefore the bulbs are
Keep your mind open to any possibility, but its most likely mis-adventure when trying to replace a brake/park bulb OR a wiring short has blown the fuse.
It may look intact, but may still be inoperative. I looked at my '96 Camry workshop manual and there is no mention of this board in the brake-light cct. The brake lights are supplied by a fuse located in the fuse box adjacent to the engine air-filter box in the engine bay.
It maybe the US models have a different location for the brake-light fuse than here in Oz. There is another fuse-box accessible in the lower dash-board area under a plastic cover.
My book does mention the auto has an input from the brake-switch but doesnt elaborate on why.
Agree,...at this stage I would get hold of a multi-meter and use its ohms range to check all your fuses and its volts range to see if your brake light switch has any volts on it. If you dont have a manual, its a good investment. Haynes sell comprehensive manuals out here and I understand in the US as well.
In any electrical fault-finding exercise its important to progressively rule out each component as you find it. For example the brake fuse maybe intact but have no 12v supply to it anyway. Its this situation that a multimeter will be most useful.
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