Let me preface this by saying I did do a search and all i could find was information on 3rd gen tail light relays...

The tail lights and marker lights (not the brake lights) on my 85 wont turn off and I have to disconnect the battery cable everytime i turn the car off... This (obviously) is becoming quite a P I T A.

I am hoping it is a relay but I cant figure out where the tail light relay is on a 1st gen. I thought it was supposed to be next to the fuse box in the cab (the blue plug in the middle of the picture), but there is nothing there. Is it the yellow breaker right underneath?

Can anyone point me in the right direction?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/53379623@N04/5038115828/

 

I don`t think the relay is bad, but im not saying it can`t happen. I would lean more toward the headlight switch being bad.

 

x2 on myyota's diagnosis- a relay would not leave power on I don't believe-not saying it couldn't happen but would be first I had heard of it.

 

Update: I went for a drive last night and when I pulled back in the garage and turned the car off the lights were off?!?!

Does this mean a loose wire somewhere or do you think it could still be the switch?

Sorry for my complete lack of electrical knowledge.

 

I think we're suggesting that it must be a loose connection in the light switch. I don't know first gens-is the light switch on the dash or on a stalk on the column?

You got rid of your 3rd gen Runner and got a new one too?

ahh I am mixing you up with clemsonfan my bad..never mind

 

Its a stalk on the column... Ill check it out this weekend.

Just for future reference... Where is the tail light relay?

 

Back to ask more from the forum Gods- I finally got around to messing with the light issue again tonight.

I pulled off the steering column covers and the lower portion of the dash. Disconnected the switch and.....(Suspense)...... The lights stayed on. To make the matter more frustrating in the process of pullin off the plastic covers on the steering column the lights decided they wanted to go off for 5 minutes then come back on while I was messing around down there.

Any suggestions of where to look next? And does anyone have a picture or know where the relay is?

 

You've not given any indication the tail light converter is bad-that would be affecting the (rear bumper area)hitch 4 pin connector if you have one, or your tail lights/brake lights/and or parking lights. A typical malfunction would be that when you press on the brakes your dash lights up-meaning the parking brakes are triggered by the brakes.

To answer your question-honestly I do not even know if 2nd gen Runners have tail light converters, but if they do logically they would be in the rear cargo area side corner-either drivers or passenger side. Using a site like Toyota Parts Zone might satisfy your curiosity -you key in your VIN# and search for that black box in Electrical diagrams.

Your "fix" would likely be the headlight switch itself as suggested in post #2 by myyota.

At a bare minimum I have to think you could kill the parking and head lights by pulling the correct fuse related. Once you identify the correct fuse it has to be easier to pull that instead of disconnecting the battery under the hood.

It seems to make some sense (to me) that it has to be within the stalk switch itself, after all that is a constant hot source-by that I mean that any vehicle can turn on the head or parking lights without the ignition being on. It just seems to me that a contact point has worn down somehow so it sporadically gets power even though your indicator thinks the position should be "off"

I will do my best to put you in touch with a 2nd gen owner who had a similar stalk related issue and point him to this thread to see if the discussion is relevant. I kind of helped talk him through it and then he disassembled his stalk to fix it.

I'm no mechanic and not pretending to be but I will help talk you through this logically.

 

Hi there clemson4rnr, I'm the guy Ron was talking about. The problem that I had with my column was the signal selector arm on the left side of the column. It is a 'donut' shaped piece of plastic that is one piece with the lights selector arm on the right side of the column. If you have to replace that arm or even take it apart to see if that is your problem, you have to remove your steering wheel first, then there are 4 screws holding down this black donut to the rest of the column. I'm going to take a look at mine tomorrow and take some pictures. Hopefully I can answer the question about where the tail light relay is. I'm not really sure if your 85 will be the same as my 91 but then we can rule that out if it's not.
The picture that you posted, is that at the rear/left side behind all the plastic siding? Or up front, drivers side at the floor?

 

thanks michael1963 for chiming in

 

Thanks for the input guys... I appreciate you all trying to walk me through this. To address some of your questions...

It is a 1st gen and I dont believe mine does. The wiring diagram doesn't list anything like that.

I tried unplugging the switch altogether and the lights stayed on. I would assume that means the issue is not with the switch?

When I pull the fuse the lights stay on.

michael1963- That picture is the front fuse box next to the drivers side door. As for your diagnosis about the selector arm. Do you think this could still be the case if the lights stay on when the entire headlight switch is unplugged?

At this point I just want to take a shot in the dark and replace the relay. It is the next easiest fix, but for the life of me I cant find the thing. After that I guess i will just start unwrapping electrical tape and follow the wires.

Any other thoughts? I sincerely appreciate everyone's help. Also, below is a picture of the wiring diagram, not sure if it will help, but i figured it couldn't hurt. FEED THE NOOB!

 

sorry I meant to say 1st gen.

In my best Spock voice- "this does not seem logical at all Captain".

Let's rehash a second-pulling the fuse does not kill the lights when on. Pulling the switch does not kill the llights when on, well how are the lights getting power if not through a fused source?

When they are on some time-pull one fuse at a time to discern which one is feeding the power.

so back to the picture in post #1 what is that yellow thing exactly? Are there part numbers on it?-it's my guess that is an aftermarket addition of some type. Is there a wireless remote unlocking or some such gadget.

And clearly I have not been reading closely enough I was confusing the term 'tail light relay' with my fixation on 'tail light converter'.

Let's keep the dialog going and that keeps it bumping to the front page where more intelligent minds may spot the thread and jump in.Don't hesitate to jump over to General Electrical and bring some folks in to this discussion from over there. A good thread title might be "Where is my Tail light relay located please?"

And I'm still recommending Toyota Parts Zone so you can follow along the diagrams and get a feel for where the relay is located. If you like Private Message me your VIN number and I will play with it a bit.

Looking at your fuse box covers-both under the hood and under the dash are not any of the ports labeled Tail Light?

And also consider T4R.org Classic 4Runner section to get more insight from other brilliant minds.

We're going to solve this and dang you got me frustrated now.

 

Thanks Ron. I went to the Toyota Parts Zone site but never saw any diagrams. They sell the tail light relay for $30.

Its pricey but if i cant figure it out in the next couple days i might just buy it to see if that fixes anything, even though i highly doubt it will.

I will try pulling the tail light fuse again. As for the yellow thing it says "breaker" on it i will take a closer picture and get a part no. tonight.

PM with vin# sent

Anyone have input on the tail light relay location or where to get one for cheap?

 

got your VIN via PM and I will play with it and show you a link

 

Ok buddy, your fuse box is definitely different than the 2nd gen's. It's in the same location but mine has a few more fuse's to it.

Now that we have that straighten away, no, I really don't think it is the selector arm if your lights stay on even after the fuse is pulled.

Not being of the electrical side of expertise, I really don't know what this problem is, you've got me. Good luck with your fix and please post whatever else you do especially when you fix this thing.

 

Well thanks everyone for the help thus far. I got frustrate last night after pulling the relay and the fuse and the lights not turning off So I just starting pulling fuses all around the car.

Turns out when I pull the Haz-Horn Fuse (15A Blue Fuse) or the white plastic clip on the bottom left (Picture below) the lights go out. DOES ANYONE KNOW WHAT THE WHITE CLIP IS?



I followed the wires from the white plastic clip and found a hack job in the front passenger wheel well. When i took the wire connector off the passenger marker and driver tail light went off. What about the other 2!?!?!?



At least I am closer to the problem! To make matters worse when I cranked it last night it was blowing some serious white smoke and liquid out the exhaust (If this is a head gasket i'm going to explode!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! )

I am pretty frustrated right now so it will be a while before I update again

 

okay at least there is a logic to what is going on here. The previous owner screwed it up for whatever reason. I'll stick with my guess of a remote start or alarm system.

I don't know what to say other than to do it right it needs to be reconnected up properly. So now you know how to get at wiring diagrams and such, that would be my suggestion. However the original harness is likely so hacked up that is going to be difficult at best. You're likely going to need another first gen nearby to serve as an example of "how it should look" then you can try to re-create it the right way.

I sure hope you don't have head gasket issues going on as well. Thank goodness you have the new 2010.

Appreciate your sharing what was really going on cause it sure was not making any sense.