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Dash & Tail lights DON't WORK

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Old 10-22-2014, 11:18 PM
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Originally Posted by Flinstone
Does anyone know where all the stock ground connections are? If so can you list them?
On a Cadillac Escalade? What year?
A problem well-stated is a problem half-solved already...
Old 10-23-2014, 12:05 AM
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Red face

Buy the EWD for the year vehicles you have it will tell you where the ground points are and other real interesting things.
Old 10-23-2014, 11:39 PM
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Ok my bad. Way to make an ass of myself. First time on a forum and I've had a one track mine as of lately. That track is focused on a 1989 22re.
Old 12-18-2014, 12:25 PM
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fuse keeps tripping on my '86 4x4 pickup

Dash and taillights are out, checked the fuse and it blew. I replaced it because I replaced my heater core and disconnected a hard shell connector under the dash to remove the heater case. I didn't disconnect the battery (stupid I know) and believed that was the reason for the blown fuse. So I probably have a short but don't know where to start and don't have equip to test (i.e. meter, etc). I also cut the wires going to the light bulb in the ash tray. I tried to splice the wires together thinking that I needed to keep that circuit complete. Could the splice (or lack of a good splice) of those wires be the cause of the short? Any info is greatly appreciated.
Old 12-18-2014, 12:30 PM
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Oh, and the fuse blows only when I put the lights on. Hope that helps too.
Old 12-18-2014, 02:14 PM
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Originally Posted by red247wings
... and don't have equip to test (i.e. meter, etc). ...
No excuse for that: http://www.harborfreight.com/7-funct...ter-98025.html

Seriously; we can all guess until the cows come home, but you'll never fix an electrical problem without a multimeter. With one, it's pretty easy.

And yes, you have a short somewhere. That's why you have fuses. You might be able to find it by retracing your steps on every wire you've cut, spliced, bumped into, .... But you won't know for sure without a meter.
Old 12-18-2014, 03:23 PM
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Sorry about that...
Gotta specify what year model. This way we an even tell you what color wires to check IF (but only IF) we have similar trucks.

I agree with Scope103. Once you have a multi-meter, you can safely find that short.

Best to do this with battery disconnected AND all marker lights and headlights disconnected or bulbs removed. (Headlights would look like dead short to ground).

Connect one probe to load side of fuse that blows and the other probe to ground. Check resistance. You'll will find a dead short.

Disconnect and inspect all circuits you touched and toe near it you may have disturbed until that dead short goes away.

Best of luck
Old 12-29-2014, 03:11 PM
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86 toyota pickup 22r

I'm having a problem with the running lights staying on even when the switch is off and the one way to shut them off is by pulling the fuse from under hood have hids and other marker lights spliced in to running lights also have the trailer wiring all fuses are good all this started today when I went though some water let me know if u can think of any thing I'm at a loss thanks
Old 12-29-2014, 08:41 PM
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Originally Posted by travisp86yota
... have hids and other marker lights spliced in to running lights also have the trailer wiring
All of the above spell trouble. Just add water

By "running lights, you mean Daytime Running Lights or "Marker" / parking / tail lights?

Which fuse are you pulling to turn off the running lights? As afar as I know, on the 1986 22RE pick-up/4Runners, the tail light fuse is in driver's kick panel, not the fuse block under the hood.

Got schematic for your truck?
Old 12-30-2014, 09:32 PM
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did you just install a stereo? my buddy had the same problem... idk how but apparently you can mess that up by putting in a stereo
Old 12-31-2014, 10:42 AM
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Originally Posted by RAD4Runner
All of the above spell trouble. Just add water

By "running lights, you mean Daytime Running Lights or "Marker" / parking / tail lights?

Which fuse are you pulling to turn off the running lights? As afar as I know, on the 1986 22RE pick-up/4Runners, the tail light fuse is in driver's kick panel, not the fuse block under the hood.

Got schematic for your truck?
Hazzard \ horn fuse under hood to shut them off I unplugged the trailer harness and in did the splices in to the running lights and still nothing any ideas have no schematics and can't find any thing online
Old 12-31-2014, 10:43 AM
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Originally Posted by nunes5344
did you just install a stereo? my buddy had the same problem... idk how but apparently you can mess that up by putting in a stereo
Is this for my problem
Old 12-31-2014, 02:16 PM
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Originally Posted by travisp86yota
Hazzard \ horn fuse under hood to shut them off I unplugged the trailer harness and in did the splices in to the running lights and still nothing any ideas have no schematics and can't find any thing online
You still have not answered the question. What are "Running Lights?"

Schematic for 1986-1988 22RE here.
Name:  Headlight_Tail_Light_1988_zpsa485e52e.jpg
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Not sure if same with your trucks but tail lights do not take power from hazard/horn.

I suggest you restore to stock.

Happy New Year.
Old 07-25-2016, 09:56 AM
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This is for anyone reading this in the future is having the same problem.

Toyota's electrical wiring is very similar to each other, but if your dash lights and tail lights are gone but you're absolutely sure that your fuses and relays are all good. Another weird thing that happens with this is, your low beam and permanent high beam don't work. However, your high beam flash works.

If this is the case,

Open up your light switch and check for resistance on the actual switch to make sure it works. This is the first step. If you're confident the switch works, Look on the female clamp to determine which one is ground pin and the dash light and tail pin, and low beam pin. They are beside each other and one of them has green wire.
They should be giving 12 V. The way it works, is when you turn the switch knob it takes that 12 V coming in and grounds it to complete the circuit and thus your tail, dash,license plate,
tail light relay tail light relay
get activated. Yes, the
tail light relay tail light relay
gets activated after you turn the switch.
I was getting 1.1 V from this green wire, and thus I had discovered the ˟˟˟˟ery in the system.

Why is it 1.1 V and not 12 V?

There is a transistor inside your integration relay that uses smaller voltage to control the bigger voltage. When you changed the radio or did anything electrical without taking battery off (and not shutting headlights off). There was a discharge from the ground up and it damaged electrical equipment that connected things to ground. The transistor got damaged, and is unable to provide to let the full 12 V through.

What do you do?

You change the integration relay. This is located behind the instrumentation panel. There are two really hard to access 10 mm hex nuts at top and one easy to access near the door. It's located on top of the
tail light relay tail light relay
. Get part source or Canadian tire to print you a drawing if you can't simply google it.

I bought mine from a local junk yard for $ 20. It was for a different edition and different year model. The number on the relay wasn't the same either. But it worked. The wiring on the inside is the same. Try to get an exact one from ebay, it'll be a better way to go.

Make sure you disconnect battery while doing this. It's a simple swap. And you're done.
Old 06-03-2018, 05:18 AM
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I realize this is an old tread but maybe... I have a 1989 4X4 pickup the cluster lights are out and the tail lights work. Only the cluster is out, the lights behind the climate controls work and dim so I have to assume it is not the rheostat. I at have had the cluster out and checked continuity across the bulbs and replaced the bulbs with new and good continuity. I am thinking there is a bad ground but where? I don't mean where in the circuit I mean where physically? The ground wire seems to go out of the rheostat and go back behind the cluster into a wrapped mass of wires. The last thing is my stepson added a radio and bunch of gauges when I let him drive the truck for a few months and he cut the wires that were attached to the connector for the digital clock that was an option that year. I have some other things to check today and I will add to this if I get new info. I found a green wire in what I will call the clock connect that give me 12v switched to the headlight switch so I am thinking I will re-route that to the cluster and if it lights I am done. I have to check the ground continuity from the cluster plug when I pull it out again today. I don't know why I didn't think about that but what the hell.
Old 06-03-2018, 05:35 AM
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Check the fusebox. I had a loose connection due to a fuse splitter. I had to replace the fusebox. I also had a loose tail light wire.
Old 06-03-2018, 07:45 AM
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Originally Posted by mrcocoa
I realize this is an old tread but maybe... I have a 1989 4X4 pickup the cluster lights are out and the tail lights work. Only the cluster is out, the lights behind the climate controls work and dim so I have to assume it is not the rheostat. I at have had the cluster out and checked continuity across the bulbs and replaced the bulbs with new and good continuity. I am thinking there is a bad ground but where? I don't mean where in the circuit I mean where physically? The ground wire seems to go out of the rheostat and go back behind the cluster into a wrapped mass of wires. The last thing is my stepson added a radio and bunch of gauges when I let him drive the truck for a few months and he cut the wires that were attached to the connector for the digital clock that was an option that year. I have some other things to check today and I will add to this if I get new info. I found a green wire in what I will call the clock connect that give me 12v switched to the headlight switch so I am thinking I will re-route that to the cluster and if it lights I am done. I have to check the ground continuity from the cluster plug when I pull it out again today. I don't know why I didn't think about that but what the hell.
#1 Stepsons are really good at breaking things
#2 Trial and error and playing 20 questions with people hundreds and even thousand miles away is no match for getting a wiring diagram and a multi-meter.
#3 I would need a wiring diagram in order to help you out since I am not pulling my dash apart to tell you what wire colors are there and since mine is a 95 4runner it probably wouldn't help anyway
#4 if you can put the stereo wiring back to stock and maybe it will work. Show your stepson how to get a stereo installation harness that just plugs into the stock connector.
#5 If you don't take the keys away he'll find something else to "customize" that will end up being your pain in the ass to fix. As a step son it is his job.
Old 06-03-2018, 09:17 AM
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Like akwheeler says^^^, AND...

Originally Posted by mrcocoa
...Only the cluster is out... I have to assume it is not the rheostat..
OK to assume, but verify. Find schematic.
Are you sure rheostat also control climate control switch backlight? Understand how rheostat controls cluster lights.

..checked continuity across the bulbs....
Of course, you will get continuity across a good bulb. Since you were already at it, why did you not turn tail light switch on, AND probe across each bulb for voltage to see if they're getting +12 Volts and ground?
Old 06-03-2018, 10:25 AM
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Okay so It works now. When the additional gauge were installed, the green wire was cut. When I pulled the cluster again the cluster lights had no power when the headlight switch was on. (I do have a wiring diagram BTW but since Mr. Install things without remembering or WRITING DOWN EXACTLY WHAT YOU DID SO YOU CAN UNDO IT cut the green wire no power.) Jumped the green wire and it is all happy again. THanks all. BTW AKWHEELER you are dead right good at break stuff; also not good at fixing OR PAYING FOR it! All good, life is an adventure and what does not kill me makes me fatter.
Old 06-03-2018, 11:31 AM
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Originally Posted by mrcocoa
Okay so It works now. When the additional gauge were installed, the green wire was cut. When I pulled the cluster again the cluster lights had no power when the headlight switch was on. (I do have a wiring diagram BTW but since Mr. Install things without remembering or WRITING DOWN EXACTLY WHAT YOU DID SO YOU CAN UNDO IT cut the green wire no power.) Jumped the green wire and it is all happy again. THanks all. BTW AKWHEELER you are dead right good at break stuff; also not good at fixing OR PAYING FOR it! All good, life is an adventure and what does not kill me makes me fatter.
Your best bet would be to sit Mr. Install down and explain that there will be no modifications without the blessing of Mr. Owner and that he would even teach Mr. Install the PROPER way to complete said modification. Good luck! I have been there!


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