I have a 2004 Toyota Matrix that has 39,000 miles and the rear running light won't come. This happens with the headlights on or off. The bulbs are both good and the fuse is good. There is no current to the running lights though the rear brake lights and the both the real blinkers both work. Is there a relay involved in these rear lights. All of the other lights work fine . Of course this happend 3,000 miles after the warranty has expired. Any help on this is appreciated.
Frank
Don't mean to imply aything here, but you *are* turning them on with the switch, right?
The new Corollas have an 'auto on' feature that turns the headlights on when it gets dark. Now, why they would ONLY turn the headlights on is anybody's guess, but if you are relying on the auto on feature to turn all the lights on, it doesn't. Only the headlights. Try hitting the switch and see what happens (or, have you already...?)
I have tried the switch and every possible combination of dashboard and light switch. Also received a warning from the police because they were not on at night while all other lights were on.
Oh, OK. Checked the fuses, both inside the car and under the hood?
Those Auto on headlights fool a lot of people. I guess the only indication you get the lights aren't on is that the dash lights don't come on, but, I was working at a Toy dealer this summer and they 'fixed' that, so you could REALLY be fooled into thinking your lights were on.
The other thing I would be looking for was a pinched wire or a loose connector. There are access panels in the back of the car, and IIRC the wiring harness runs down the driver's side of the car, under the 'kickers' in the bottom of the door openings. OR, you might have to lift the carpet.
Back in the 'good old days' Toyotas had crappy grounds for the taillights. I had a '72 Corona MkII that the lights were out all the time on. They used a chromed strip to ground the lights, and it worked loose frequently. We replaced it with a couple pieces of wire and never had a problem again.
I don't THINK Toyota has gone back to this type of system...I hope...
Fuses are good, the dash lights work. I will trace the wires. It looks like the taillights run on the same bundle of wires the brake lights and the blinkers do which work so i will start from the fuse panel under the steering wheel.
I did not check all the fuses, only the taillight fuse. Would it make sense to check all the fuses?
Thanks.
Yup!
Did you check the parking break? If the parking break is on, the daytime runners wont turn on. (bad switch?)
You were right, it was not the fuse called running light but the fuse call instrument panel dash lights and tail lights. I did not look well enough. It is blowing the 15 amp fuses that is called for but will take a 25 amp though it has the new electronics or burning electronic smell a little. Think that is a problem?
Thanks for your help.
Get that 25-amp fuse out of there NOW! Never, ever use a fuse with a higher amperage than what you should put in there. If it is blowing the specified 15-amp fuses, then you have an electrical problem somewhere. But using higher amperage fuses is NOT the solution.
Please take HTM's advice to heart. Fuses have ratings for a reason. That "burning electronic smell a little" is the prelude to a burning electronic smell a lot. Fuses don't smell. If you smell burning at all, the burning is in the circuitry the fuse would have been protecting if it hadn't been replaced with a larger one.
Many houses burned in the old days when owners substituted a penny for a screw-in fuse. Yes, the current flowed again -- right up to the point where the circuitry overheated and set the place alite
Gosh, Frank... there aren't so many good folks on the net that we can afford to risk one. :-)
Brent
GET THAT OVERSIZED FUSE OUT OF THERE NOW!! You can burn up the main wiring harnesses on the car and easily do $3,000 worth of damage - more than the car is worth in many cases.
And if you get really unlucky, the car can catch on fire. Total loss for sure. And the insurance will not cover it - comp and collision does not cover electrical problems.
If it is popping that fuse, you have a short circuit somewhere that must be diagnosed, located and fixed.
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