No dash lights...any help?
06-05-2009, 10:12 AM
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No dash lights...any help?
(Yes,I posted this in the electrical forum as well,but ironically...most of the true Yota guru's are here instead)
90 Yota 4 runner,3.0,Automatic...
About a week ago,I my Yota wouldnt start. I had no power to anything except starter.
No door ajar warning buzzer,no dash lights,no power windows,etc.
Found out that it was the wire from the battery to the fusebox. At the battery,the wire was broken.
Got the truck back from my mechanic friend and everything works fine,except the dash lights and the door ajar warning buzzer.
I checked the Chilton manual and it says nothing of the dooor ajar warning buzzer..at all!
I found some wiring schematics and fuse layout schematics in the manual.
From what I can make out,it looks as if the dash lights are fused in with the "Tail" fuse. I checked...ALL,fuses and they are all good. I checked the fuses under the hood...all good.
The wiring schematic has me completely lost.
Yes,I spun the light dim knob both ways and have no dash lights.
Dash lights also include the ash tray light and the automatic shifter console light as well.
I have all the other interior lights. Door lights,dome lights...all outside lights work fine. Break,running,turn,head,hazard.
Does anyone know if their is a resettable circut breaker for my dash lights/door buzzer?
Are the door buzzer and the dash lights on the same wiring path?
Any other suggestions?
I never realized how effective dash lights are until i had to drive in the dark without them.
I really dont need a speeding ticket for not being able to read my guages.
Any help is greatly appreciated!
Thanx all!
Michael
90 Yota 4 runner,3.0,Automatic...
About a week ago,I my Yota wouldnt start. I had no power to anything except starter.
No door ajar warning buzzer,no dash lights,no power windows,etc.
Found out that it was the wire from the battery to the fusebox. At the battery,the wire was broken.
Got the truck back from my mechanic friend and everything works fine,except the dash lights and the door ajar warning buzzer.
I checked the Chilton manual and it says nothing of the dooor ajar warning buzzer..at all!
I found some wiring schematics and fuse layout schematics in the manual.
From what I can make out,it looks as if the dash lights are fused in with the "Tail" fuse. I checked...ALL,fuses and they are all good. I checked the fuses under the hood...all good.
The wiring schematic has me completely lost.
Yes,I spun the light dim knob both ways and have no dash lights.
Dash lights also include the ash tray light and the automatic shifter console light as well.
I have all the other interior lights. Door lights,dome lights...all outside lights work fine. Break,running,turn,head,hazard.
Does anyone know if their is a resettable circut breaker for my dash lights/door buzzer?
Are the door buzzer and the dash lights on the same wiring path?
Any other suggestions?
I never realized how effective dash lights are until i had to drive in the dark without them.
I really dont need a speeding ticket for not being able to read my guages.
Any help is greatly appreciated!
Thanx all!
Michael
06-05-2009, 11:08 AM
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slight correction
I was wrong about the door ajar warning buzzer...I have that.
The buzzer is the one that goes off,when you open the door...and the headlights are left on.
Sorry about that :>)
The buzzer is the one that goes off,when you open the door...and the headlights are left on.
Sorry about that :>)
06-05-2009, 01:39 PM
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i just had a problem similar to this it was the tail light relay by the driver side kick panel. i just went to a junkyard (cheaper than buying new) and pulled all the relays from a corresponding truck and replaced it now everything works again
06-05-2009, 03:04 PM
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Waskillywabbit...my sincerest apologies for the double post. Sometimes my "noobie" brain over rides the normal brain. I will be sure in the future to post only once in the appropriate forum.
swapped89 - you are " da man"...thank you. It was the tail light relay. Unfortunatly,the yards around me have no Yota's...of any kind!
But it wasnt all that bad. i had an instore credit at AutoZone that I was in need of using and it covered the cost of a new relay.
Thank you for you help!
swapped89 - you are " da man"...thank you. It was the tail light relay. Unfortunatly,the yards around me have no Yota's...of any kind!
But it wasnt all that bad. i had an instore credit at AutoZone that I was in need of using and it covered the cost of a new relay.
Thank you for you help!
06-07-2009, 11:15 AM
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There is another potential problem you might want to consider. I have a 1990 4runner auto V6, and my problem was in the dimmer switch itself. The Dimmer switch circuit in my 4runner shared a fuse with the tail lights, so if your tail lights don't come on when you turn on the headlight switch, then it is likely, if not definitely, the fuse. Check the drivers side fuse panel (where your left foot is while driving) in the car for a 15amp fuse located at the top/left/front. If the fuse is fine then it’s the dimmer switch itself (a.k.a. Rheostat)that has gone bad. That was the problem I had. In that case you can easily bypass the dimmer switch so that your dash lights come on at full brightness whenever you turn on your headlights, but you will not be able to "dim" your dash lights anymore. To do this, you just unplug the dimmer switch and use a paperclip to "jump", or connect, the positive and negative. Be careful here though: The plug coming FROM behind the dash that plugs into the Rheostat housing (knob on your dash) has 3 prongs. 2 prongs provide power (positive) and one is negative. You have to jump the 2 prongs that are over and under each other, or parallel. These will be a positive and negative that you are jumping. The other is off to the side and is facing a different direction (sort of up and down). Leave that one alone. This is a quick fix that will enable you to have dash lights until you can afford a new Rheostat. Broke people like myself prefer the quick fix because I never wanted my dash lights dimmed anyway! I can provide much more detail if you need it. Nobody posted this solution for me so I had to figure it out myself. Now that I have, I can share this knowledge with my fellow "do-it-yourselfers"! Just post here again with another question and I'll reply.
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12-21-2013, 07:29 PM
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There is another potential problem you might want to consider. I have a 1990 4runner auto V6, and my problem was in the dimmer switch itself. The Dimmer switch circuit in my 4runner shared a fuse with the tail lights, so if your tail lights don't come on when you turn on the headlight switch, then it is likely, if not definitely, the fuse. Check the drivers side fuse panel (where your left foot is while driving) in the car for a 15amp fuse located at the top/left/front. If the fuse is fine then it’s the dimmer switch itself (a.k.a. Rheostat)that has gone bad. That was the problem I had. In that case you can easily bypass the dimmer switch so that your dash lights come on at full brightness whenever you turn on your headlights, but you will not be able to "dim" your dash lights anymore. To do this, you just unplug the dimmer switch and use a paperclip to "jump", or connect, the positive and negative. Be careful here though: The plug coming FROM behind the dash that plugs into the Rheostat housing (knob on your dash) has 3 prongs. 2 prongs provide power (positive) and one is negative. You have to jump the 2 prongs that are over and under each other, or parallel. These will be a positive and negative that you are jumping. The other is off to the side and is facing a different direction (sort of up and down). Leave that one alone. This is a quick fix that will enable you to have dash lights until you can afford a new Rheostat. Broke people like myself prefer the quick fix because I never wanted my dash lights dimmed anyway! I can provide much more detail if you need it. Nobody posted this solution for me so I had to figure it out myself. Now that I have, I can share this knowledge with my fellow "do-it-yourselfers"! Just post here again with another question and I'll reply.
I know this is an old thread but this reply was vry helpful for me. I was able to figure out why my lights weren't working by bypassing the dimmer. Thank you!!!!!
06-05-2014, 04:37 PM
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(That would really be something, wouldn't it. Tail lights that can be dimmed!)
If your dash lights and taillights are both out, check the tail fuse and taillight relay in JB1 (next to your left ankle).
03-09-2015, 08:04 PM
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No dash lights
Ok..so it tried the jumping method pos to neg, didn't make since to me tho, but I tried out of desperation and it popped the fuse, replaced the fuse, back to square one, I then got another rheostat plugged it in and it burned up! Direct short ?? I'm lost...help !
03-09-2015, 09:33 PM
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Huh? What on earth is that? (I am surprised it only blew a fuse; usually when you jumper pos to neg you get a fire or something.)
What is your problem, what are you trying to accomplish, and what have you tried so far? All of these things could help someone give you an idea what to try.
What is your problem, what are you trying to accomplish, and what have you tried so far? All of these things could help someone give you an idea what to try.
03-10-2015, 07:42 PM
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That's what I said to myself! Anyway it didn't work and I knew better, I'm trying to get my dash,climate control.and license plate lights to work, so far I've swapped the tail light relay,dimmer switch, dash cluster, I got all parts from a rolled 2nd gen and nothing has worked, I haven't got into the wiring yet trying to avoid that, the guy I got the truck from said that they stopped working after he had the stereo system installed, so I guess I'll start there, I'm pretty mechanically inclined, however electrical is my Kryptonite .
03-10-2015, 08:14 PM
#16
Got schematic?
Got multi-meter?
Without those, it'd be like driving in the dark without your dash lights or headlights
Got multi-meter?
Without those, it'd be like driving in the dark without your dash lights or headlights
03-10-2015, 09:24 PM
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The chance of that method doing you any good is about 1-2%. You need to get in there with a multimeter and work your way through the circuit until you get to the short (or open). There is no shame in seeking help from people who do it for a living; if electrical isn't your forte, take it to someone who knows her stuff.
Would Superman sit there banging his head on a piece of Kryptonite?
Last edited by scope103; 03-11-2015 at 03:20 PM.
03-10-2015, 11:34 PM
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03-11-2015, 09:03 AM
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as I appreciate everyone's input, it's not like I am swapping major parts just to do it, pretty sure the rolled truck I got these few part off of didn't roll because the tail light relay went out, process of elimination (all tips I have gotten from this forum) when I get this figured out I will post the resolution in hopes that it can help someone down the line with similar issues, thanks again everyone. 
