84-85 Trucks & 4Runners 2nd gen pickups and 1st gen 4Runners with solid front axles

Brake lights not working, driving me insane

Old Oct 14, 2008 | 04:59 PM
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Brake lights not working, driving me insane

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Hi i just got a paint job on my truck and when i got it back i noticed my brake lights are not working? It looks like the back passenger plug got primer on it. I have tried brush the connector but the lights are still not working.

Could this be a coincidence's that my lights are out?

i picked up a new brake light switch, plugged it in and i compress the spring loaded switch the lights don't come on... (not the switch?)

Recently i noticed that my cruise control is also out... (no the fuse is not blown)...

Any tips?? there really isn't any other problems besides my back speakers not working...

I have been going round and round on this trying to follow the FSM for troubleshooting but am getting nowhere. Anyone have this problem before if so how'd you solve it?

Thanks much appreciated!




EDIT:

I checked the rear tail lights no power to the brake light terminal.
The switch is good, it has continuity.
The relay is also good.
all other lights work besides the license plate lights and the brake lights.

where are common locations for shorts?
Would the cruise control computer have caused this?
Need help, i'm about to take it into the dealer!

EDIT

OK fixed the lights. It turns out that i had a simultaneous failure in both lights. The filaments for each light looked perfect and the low watt part of the bulb worked fine. But when i checked the bulbs on the high watt terminal: nothing. Replaced both lights and wallah worked like a charm.

Thanks for the idea's all.

Last edited by thewjsand; Oct 27, 2008 at 04:06 AM.
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Old Oct 14, 2008 | 05:34 PM
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So you got your truck painted, then suddenly these things stopped working?

Or they weren't working before?

If everything was working before, then the paint shop screwed it up. Shouldn't they be the ones fixing it?
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Old Oct 14, 2008 | 05:40 PM
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You would think.

I am taking it back to them tomorrow to have them clean the connector.

I never noticed the brake lights nor did my bride who followed me to the paint shop.

But I'm not 100% that it wasn't out before i took it so I'm checking my possibilities.
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Old Oct 14, 2008 | 06:19 PM
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Got trailer wiring...check that for shorts/cuts.

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Old Oct 14, 2008 | 06:35 PM
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Originally Posted by waskillywabbit
Got trailer wiring...check that for shorts/cuts.

good call, yeah it did and it was cut...

I'll check it out tomorrow.
Does anyone know what the wire that goes through the bed is? There is main loom coming off the light connector, goes through the light pocket wall and up toward cab. Then there is a green or blue wire (can't remember) that goes down through the bed and connected to the old towing harness...
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Old Oct 14, 2008 | 07:03 PM
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4crawler probably has a wiring diagram...he has everything else 1st gen.

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Old Oct 15, 2008 | 01:41 AM
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Were the tailight housings completely removed with the lenses? Paint + light sockets = no ground. (You'd be suprised how sloppy some paint places get).

Did you check your under-hood fuses?
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Old Oct 15, 2008 | 03:38 AM
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Originally Posted by waskillywabbit
4crawler probably has a wiring diagram...he has everything else 1st gen.

yeah i was kind of waiting for him to chime in

I'll starting surfing his site more carefully.



Originally Posted by XtraSlow_XtraCab
Were the tailight housings completely removed with the lenses? Paint + light sockets = no ground. (You'd be suprised how sloppy some paint places get).

Did you check your under-hood fuses?
Yes the lens and housing were both off when they painted it... plus all the other lights work... turn and general.

No i didn't think there was any fuses under the hood that would effect that... i'll pull them this morning. that would be a very nice fix to this problem!


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Old Oct 15, 2008 | 04:14 PM
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Still nothing

So checked my ground it was good. All my other lights work, just not the brake.

There is continuity at the brake light switch.

The trailer wires are spliced into the drivers side lines, the blue wires go down through and come out underneath. There is one additional one that comes of the passenger side and goes down as well. None of them go anywhere. All have been cut all summer.

At the splice joints (rear drivers side) i can see voltage when i turn on the turn signal, backup and running lights but not the brake.

I am wondering if it is coincidental that my cruise control is also out or if they are linked. I know the CC compute works at least a little since the light comes on when i push the CC button. But when i remove the CC computer the brake lights still don't work.

i have no idea what else there could be...

Let me know if you have had anything like this happen to you!
Thanks!
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Old Oct 15, 2008 | 04:37 PM
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check the relay in the cab by the fuse box. mine went out when coming back from college.
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Old Oct 15, 2008 | 04:56 PM
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Originally Posted by speedracer365
check the relay in the cab by the fuse box. mine went out when coming back from college.
the wiring diagram from the FSM doesn't show a relay connected to the brake system... (I have 22re don't know if that makes a difference)...

I'll go out and look right now.

OK i looked there are 3 silver relays near the Fuse box, the breaker, and a smaller green box.

Last edited by thewjsand; Oct 15, 2008 at 05:04 PM.
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Old Oct 16, 2008 | 09:52 AM
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it should be a 3 prong relay. if i'm right. i'm in class but when i get out i'll look to verify if you can't find it.
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Old Oct 16, 2008 | 05:55 PM
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Originally Posted by speedracer365
it should be a 3 prong relay. if i'm right. i'm in class but when i get out i'll look to verify if you can't find it.
if you can take a picture that would be solid.

I still can't figure it out.


Thanks!
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Old Oct 16, 2008 | 06:19 PM
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is the bulb burnt out? lmao
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Old Oct 17, 2008 | 02:53 AM
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no the bulb isn't burned out.

The brake light terminal on the connector is not getting a voltage when the brake is compressed, while all other lights are when their signals are sent via respective switches.

and i have checked the switch with a brand new one.
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Old Oct 17, 2008 | 01:42 PM
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If the relay is what I'm thinking it is, they're sold in many autoparts stores, and vehicles of all makes and models use these standard relays for lights, etc. etc.

I had to replace a 5 prong one for my Jeep CJ5 to make the offroad lights work, as well as the horn.

They're a square black box looking thing usually, maybe 2 inches in width, 2.5 in height, but that's working from memory.
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Old Oct 17, 2008 | 07:52 PM
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so you take a multimeter and check for continuity from the bulb socket bayonnet to ground, and check for voltage on each of the terminals as you activate the functions. start at the light bulb and work backwards.
do the running / marker lights cause the low watt filament in the bulb to light? if so, ground's aren't an issue.

oh, and you've checked your fuses?
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Old Oct 19, 2008 | 04:00 PM
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Originally Posted by abecedarian
so you take a multimeter and check for continuity from the bulb socket bayonnet to ground, and check for voltage on each of the terminals as you activate the functions. start at the light bulb and work backwards.
do the running / marker lights cause the low watt filament in the bulb to light? if so, ground's aren't an issue.

oh, and you've checked your fuses?
Not Fuses.

Ground is good. All other lights work.

I'll check the contiunety from the bayonnet to the ground tomorrow...

No voltage to the brake wire.



I'm very curious what this relay is...
What is a good technique for determining if a relay is bad?
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Old Oct 20, 2008 | 08:12 AM
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Pictures of relays under kick panel:

Originally Posted by speedracer365
check the relay in the cab by the fuse box. mine went out when coming back from college.
Originally Posted by Johannes
If the relay is what I'm thinking it is, they're sold in many autoparts stores, and vehicles of all makes and models use these standard relays for lights, etc. etc.

I had to replace a 5 prong one for my Jeep CJ5 to make the offroad lights work, as well as the horn.

They're a square black box looking thing usually, maybe 2 inches in width, 2.5 in height, but that's working from memory.
OK i found the three prong relay... it looks good but i ordered one from napa anyway.

I will update the thread if it works.

Which one?

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Last edited by thewjsand; Oct 20, 2008 at 06:11 PM.
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Old Oct 21, 2008 | 05:15 PM
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Bump

EDIT up top.

Still need help.

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