drpdmazda

I have a 97 runner, and when i lift the rear gate the rear interior light doesnt come on. it works fine when i push the switch to the "on" position, but nothing when set to door. Does anyone know where the hatch trigger is located? i dont see a pin type trigger like the doors have, so i am assuming it may be in the latch assembly? any help would be greatly appreciated.

Bobs4Runner

Must be a 97 issue. Mine does the same thing. Haven't had a chance to tear into it to look at the wiring.

drpdmazda

it seems to be intermitent, the light grounds through two of its mounting screws. I cleaned up the grounding spot and the screws but still no luck. im assuming its the switch, just no clue where it is. maybe next week on my days off i will take the cover off the gate and take a look around

warpigg

i unpluged mine when my handle rusted off in the door. but it did work fine before the only reson i unpluged it was because when the door was shut the light would stay on along with dash light after it was closed, but thats after i installed a new latch.

jacumja

Ive got a 98 and it does it as well. Although my rear window has come off track so that might be part of the issue.

TheDurk

Sorry, but the light does NOT ground through its mounting screws in the tailgate circuit--it only grounds at the light when you use the switch on the light. Interior lights on all cars I have ever seen, including these, are switched GROUNDS--that means 12V+ is full time to one side of the bulb and the controlling switch completes the ground to the body AT the switch, door, liftgate, dash switch or wherever the switch is. This means they can wire all the switches with only ONE wire, not two, so everybody does it that way.

drpdmazda

Are you sure about that? open up the rear light on a 3rd gen 4runner and remove the two screws that are contacting the metal tabs. when you take them out, the light no longer works. so if that is not the ground, what would cause the light to stop working with the screws removed? with the entire housing removed but still plugged in, the light does not work on any setting. when either of the 2 screws that contact metal are put in place, the light works again. that to me seems to be the grounding points of the light

Mtn Mike

iTrader: (1)

My 2000 has the same issue, intermittently. Do you have keyless entry? On mine the keyless entry “re-lock” feature is affected too. Obviously one of the electrical contacts at the latch isn't working well. I doubt you have a ground issue. I've found that if I disassemble, clean and re-lube the latch mechanism with Tri-Flow the problem goes away for a while. If I could find the switch, I would shoot it with some contact cleaner. But I don't know where it is either. I suspect that if I tore apart the tail gate and really went through everything, I might fix the problem for good. Not sure if you have the same issue but cleaning your latch might be worth a try.

drpdmazda

i think that getting into the gate is the best option right now. i just purchased this 4runner and it has quite a bit of pollen through out the truck so i am assuming that is part if not all of the cause of the issue. maybe i will take my time and take some pics to help others with the issue if i can resolve it. when i get some free time i will update, maybe by then someone will chime in with more suggestions

TheDurk

http://www.ncttora.com/fsm/1996/SIL/...emci/023il.pdf
It won't work with the switch at the light. But it will work with the liftgate switch, if you had a working switch in the liftgate. The liftgate switch makes a connection to ground at the liftgate. The switch is on the left side of the first page toward the bottom. Note that it connects to ground. Yes, I'm sure. Try it with your front light and an open door and the switch set to door. The light will stay on as long as the wires are connected with the light not touching the body.

Note that the 12V wire is always energized, whether the light is on or not. The ground at the screws is ONLY for the switch at the light. Each control switch makes it own connection to ground.

drpdmazda

cool, thanks for the diagram that may help with my venture to fix the light.

Wazioc

Havn't had that problem but may want to check this thread out:
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f2/d...solved-235816/

ZenZzyzx

Yep, the switch to turn on the light when you open your tailgate is in the latch. Mine quit working, I took the latch off but could not get to the wiring inside because the assembly is riveted together. The latch is kind of expensive to buy just to fix the door light. For another possible issue, another thread on the topic mentioned checking the wiring in the rubber loom you can see by the tailgate hinge on the left side. I found a broken black wire and another wire with splitting when I checked.