Rear Light Failure - Things to check?

Pheo

Active Member
Sep 11, 2009
275
0
Got into the car last night at 11pm to drive home, and had the "bulb out" warning light on. got out to discover the left rear inner light (the one mounted into the boot door) was not working either braked or just in position mode.

Duly stopped at a nearby garage to pickup a bulb replacement kit, checked bulb, not blown!

So, looked in the manual for the fuse listings, but it doesn't appear to be individually fused, only left side/right side.

Given I've checked the most obvious things, anyone know anything else I should look out for? Perhaps there is another fuse somewhere I'm not aware of, or some kind of recurring fault on the bulb holders!? Who knows!

All ideas welcome!

(Note, all the other lights are working fine!)
 

Cupranation

Active Member
Aug 20, 2009
74
0
Warwickshire
did you put the new bulb in regardless? or did you look at the old bulb and think not blown so wont change it? I had a blown bulb that actually looked completely perfect, the glass was clear and you could see that the fillament didn't look broken.

It was blown however becuse it worked as soon as I put a new one in.
 

Pheo

Active Member
Sep 11, 2009
275
0
Yep, changed the bulbs regardless as I thought the same thing. Will try to check the bulb holder, but need to do it in Daylight really (easier said than done at the moment. I guess it must be something like that as nothing else isn't working.
 

dannychapman10

K04 Time ;)
Mar 30, 2009
1,268
1
Grimsby, UK
Believe it or not, the exact same bulb has failed for me, except, it works now and then. If I get in the car after being stood all night, doesn't work, after being sat in the sun all day, works fine :S

Danny.
 

Pheo

Active Member
Sep 11, 2009
275
0
Believe it or not, the exact same bulb has failed for me, except, it works now and then. If I get in the car after being stood all night, doesn't work, after being sat in the sun all day, works fine :S

Danny.

It was extremely cold last night - did wonder if it could be some kind of expansion / contraction issue... we shall see (not tested today as was working at a different office)
 

Jonathan_Pow

Guest
Funnilly enough...

Oddly this has happened to me a few times in exactly the same place. I've never had a problem with bulbs going out elsewhere.

At first I just replaced it, the replacement didn't work at first, then I 'gently' wacked the rear cluster and it started working again (probably nothing to do with wacking, but it made me feel a little bit better). It is a little temperamental to say the least... but 98% of the time it works, so haven't bothered delving any further.
 

Tanel

Active Member
Nov 20, 2009
2
0
Estonia
Same here and not just one time. Sometimes switching off the ignition cleared the warning light, sometimes just heating the car. Seems to happen in cold and damp conditions. Plenty of that in here.
Usually has nothing to do with blown bulbs. According to local dealer common fault with leon's. Best cure is to let dealer clean the connections or do it yourself, fixes the problem for a longer period than just changing the bulb or whacking the light cluster.
 

Pheo

Active Member
Sep 11, 2009
275
0
Which connections need cleaning? The ones in the lamp holder connecting to the bulb?

Will try some WD 40 in there as well possibly?
 

Al

Active Member
Aug 29, 2005
7,331
9
Mine had this problem too. I cleaned all the contacts, swapped right and left over and changed bulbs. Been fine again since August.
 
Mar 30, 2008
621
0
Edinburgh
thank goodness, i thought i was going mad. My drivers side position light had been playing up too. bulb was fine but still warning. Ended up changing the bulb and it's fine for now. Could just be a bad connection.
 

bqd

need some chocolate
Apr 19, 2008
192
0
Belgrade, Serbia
same stuff here... when it's heavy rain or snowing that happens... but after 1 hour drive or periods of drying it works fine... dealer checked and said "well all is good, must be the Gremlins"... :)
 

OLDOILER

Full Member
Jul 28, 2005
1,292
1
Wiltshire, UK
thank goodness, i thought i was going mad. My drivers side position light had been playing up too. bulb was fine but still warning. Ended up changing the bulb and it's fine for now. Could just be a bad connection.
Had the same problem, been using the electrical contact paste [ the one for the MAF sensor] and had no problems since - or am I lucky?!?
 

ianltd

Active Member
Aug 31, 2008
89
0
Powys
Hi,

Yep, had the same prob last weekend (R/H inner tail bulb)

Bought some bulbs from Halfrauds - fitted one in the car park and it was fine.
Went down the road and dash light came on again:confused:

Swapped the bulbs from left to right and vice-versa, the right lamp still wasn't working[:@]

Anyhow took the farting little bulb out which felt kinda loose and VERY gently bent in the connections on the light unit with a pen knife.

Poked the bulb back in and has worked ever since in all this cold cr*p:D

Don't know if this helps??

Regards,

Ian
 

clark.bodie

Guest
There are some solutions I found from other fourm, hope useful.

Questions:
I got a warning indicator light on the dashboard of my 2001 Toyota Camry LE. It''s the "Rear light failure warning light". The manual states, "If this light comes on when the headlight switch is turned on (at first or second clickstop), it indicates that one or more of the tail lights are burned out. If it comes on when the break pedal is depressed, one or more stop lights are burned out." The light does not come on with the headlight switch or when the break pedal is depressed; however, it does come on when you put the car in reverse after depressing the break pedal. When we checked the lights -- backup lights, break lights, and turn signal lights -- all seem to be lighted, when appropriate. Any ideas on what the problem may be? Thank you. Tom Anello

Solutions:
A Common area to check are the wiring harness that runs along the left side of the trunk hinge. Peel back the black wire loom and inspect for broken wires. Pull the loom back as far as where the harness splits of into two. That's where the wires usually break. If you found some broken wires, repair that first.
B If not, then you need to inspect the brake bulbs. Make sure they are Sylvania brand because the Lamp failure ECU is very sensitive to different wattage bulbs. I have replaced the 3rd brake light bulb to resolve the issue. You might want to do that if you haven't already.
C Lastly, if the bulbs are all good and the right type and you have replaced the 3rd bulb, then you have a shorted out lamp failure ECU. This ECU is located left of the trunk, behind the carpeted panel. This ECU is not cheap and they cost around $200.

Questions:

My 1999 Camry has a rear light failure warning light on the dash that stays on most of the time. On occasion it'll go off when the brakes are pumped, but if the bake pedal is depressed for more than 2 seconds, the light goes on, and stays on. Anyone have any idea what’s wrong, or how to fix it, or is there anyway I can disconnect it? Thanks for all your help
My '92 has a similar problem. The manual just says that it indicates a burned out rear light. It also says that if it comes on when the brake pedal is pressed (there's always a second delay), that it means a brake light filament is at fault. In my case, I can't find a non-working light in the back at all(?), and I just replaced both rear tail/brake bulbs(1157s).
Someone at the dealer told me that sometimes the warning light will activate if teh contacts are a bit corroded, but I just checked and cleaned them tonight (they looked fine) and I still have the same problem. If I can't find the problem soon I'll be trying to dig through the wiring diagram and disable it. I'll update if I do...

Solutions:

If you guys follow the wire harness where the truck lid shuts at the pivots, there is a wire harness there and the wires flex inside the conduit look close and what happens is wires start to break and touch each other


Questions:

I have a 97 camry le and my rear light failure warning light indicator came on during the day. When I shut my car off and turn back on it goes off and then comes back on after a while. I check all my lights and everyone is still working. Any ideas on what is wrong. Thanks for the help

Solutions:

A It comes on when you put it in reverse because you are applying the brakes. The reverse lights are not monitored by the failure sensor. You should be changing 5 brake lamp bulbs.
B Does it come on when you press the brake pedal? If so, you have a burned out bulb, or bulbs that are not of the same wattage. In other words, one is "dimmer" than the other. Please let me know.
C Did you check the brake lamp that is in the back window?


Questions:
2000 Toyota Camry CE, 4 Cyl, Auto, mileage 48,000.
The Rear Light Failure Warning Light located on the bottom left side of the dash board comes "ON" when I depress the brake .Manual says to look for broken tail lights but all lights are working. Fuses are okay, no pinch or broken wires. What else can cause this Warning light to come ON? Thanks.

Solutions:

The warning light comes on when you press the brake pedal because there is a failure of the brake lights, make sure that all the stop lights are working including the center one, sometimes the bulbs can develop high resistance but still work, this will turn on the warning light also.
Check all the bulbs if any of them do not completely clear and are smokey looking replace them


Questions:

I recently had this problem with my Camry and found a few posts out there that indicate it is quite common. Actually, several of the posts helped me figure it out so I thought I would put the problem I had and the fix out with it so hopefully others would be able to find it and fix it as well.

A couple of months ago the rear light failure warning light on the dash started coming on and sure enough the backup lights were not working. They "R" on the dashboard lights also lighted up. At first this problem was occasional and stopping after a while. Then it became permanent. Also, one back up light stopped first and then the other.

One of the bulbs seemed to be blown out because water was leaking into the housing so I dried it, sealed it and replaced the bulb but to no avail. Then my check engine came on and the used car dealer that I bought it from said the diagnostics said the Park Neutral Switch was bad. Advance Auto Parts free diagnostic tester said the same. Checked all fuses but they were all good.

A couple of weeks later with the check engine light coming off an on by itself, the Trac Off warning light also started coming on. These also came on and off at random times. (Yes I know about the button that keeps the Trac Off, I am not a complete idiot)
I changed the whole lamp assemblies housing on both sides from parts bought from ebay but still not working. I looked it up here on some forums and thought to take a look at the wiring harness that goes down on the driver's side hinge in the trunk. Sure enough followed the wires up the harness and a white and black wire were stretched and cut. Take some power cord wire and reconnecting the two fixed the problem and the check engine and Trac Off light also turned off and have stayed that way for several weeks. Problem solved!

Really strange the check engine and Trac Off should also go on just because of a wiring problem but appears so. This also seems to be a common problem with the camry's as I found at least 4 other posts about it. Hope this helps someone searching for a quick fix. It will save you a couple hundred for the dealer to fix the problem.
Sincerely,
Ihtishaam Qazi

Thank you so much for the solution to my problem! After replacing all the bulbs, the lights were still not working. I checked the wiring under the trunk lid and sure enough, two wires were broken! I reconnected and every thing is just fine!
Pama

Thank you SO much for your help! my 97 Camry le has been having the same problems with the "R" light on the dash, backup lights not working, check engine, etc. the only problem is that I’m not much of an EE and don't really know how to go about fixing that wiring in the trunk. I'd rather not take it in if it's something I can just do myself, so if you could just give me a step by step run-through of the re-wiring process, I'd really appreciate it! thanks again!
-mp455

Great advice. I looked at that harness because I was having the same multiple light problems. Stripped the harness down and found three, count 'em, three wires broken and disconnected. Got the soldering iron out and voila!! Thank God the wires are accessible !!!!

I have 2001 Camry. Found 4 broken wires in the harness following up the trunk lid.
Symptoms were:
"Light Failure" warning lamp on instrument panel
"R" shift indicator being on always, in addition to "D", "N", etc
Check Engine warning lamp - OBD code P1780
All trunk mounted lamps not working - Stop, Tail, Back-up, License plate

All better after splicing them back together.
 
Chris Knott Insurance - Competitive quotes for forum members