Electrical Problem - Please HELP

i have a 2003 tacoma prerunner v6 auto. lately i've noticed my park lamps are not blinking when i set my alarm. also on the way home from work today my interior lights for my spedo, tach, and ac/heat were not working. when i got home i noticed my taillight also were not working. when i applied the brake the light did light up. my headlights and blinkers also work fine.

i thought it was a fuse and i looked at all the fuses. i found a burnt fuse under the hood labeled "tail 10A". i thought i had solved my problem, as there was another 10A replacement fuse under the cover. i replaced it and cranked it up. the spedo/tach light light up for about a half a second then went out again. i checked the brand new fuse i had put in and it was burned through. i assume this is a short somewhere, but i was hoping someone out there has run into a similar problem and had any suggestions before i take it to the dealership and give em a few hundred $s. thanks

 

disconnect both rear taillights,put the fuse in and see if it blows.if it doesnt the problem could be the bulbs.

 

i bought the truck used, but it does have a towing harness, not factory.

 

wow, could it be that easy? what could be wrong with the tail light bulbs?

one other weird thing that happened last week was on the way home from work my left blinker went on and stayed on??? it finally went off after about 10 minutes. don't know if this is related or not.

 

see the two connectors on the bottom of the bulb,over time they can flatten out because the sockets are spring loaded,then become shorted to the housing that is the ground.

 

X2

You know the short is after the fuse, that helps a bit. I would check all of the wires in the tail end of the truck next. Good luck, shorts are a PITA to find sometimes.

 

any idea how much the dealership would charge (ballpark) to fix this?

 

most clock in when started and off when finished,with a minimum of 1 hour flate rate.did you try to diconnect the rear taillights?

 

no, i don't have another replacement 10 amp fuse with me.

 

btw, in your opinion, is the taillight bulb thing a long shot or do you think that could really be the cause?

 

ok,try to get some fuses.my 03 done the same thing,not saying its your problem but it could be.

 

you need to start at the rear and work your way forward,disconnecting the taillights is the best way to start,also the tag lights are on the same circuit.

 

ok, will try this. i'm just worried about getting a ticket cause i leave early in the morning and drive home late (both dark) and my taillights don't work. if i see a cop behind me i'll just ride my brake, lol.

 

It may not be a bad idea to check your trailer plug as well. I had a clip on type plug on my truck when I bought it, and all of the wires were corroded together. It will take you all of 5 minutes to remove the tail lights.

The dealer like, Jbob said, will charge a min. of the first hour. The problem with electric is you could walk out there and in five minutes find the problem, or you could spend four HOURS trying to find it.

Remove the tail lights and replace the fuse, if by some chance the tails are the root cause you will know. if not, then you know that the problem is between the fuse block and the tail light connectors.

Good luck man.

 

thanks for all the replies. i bought some more fuses and 2 tail light bulbs this morning. 90% chance of rain here (houston area) today and i have to work until 6. after work i'll pull my taco into my garage and see if the tail light bulbs are the culprit or not. i'll also check the license plate lights and tow hitch wiring. i'll report back tonight.

 

Check the trailer light wiring adapter. Mine went out a few years back and showed all kinds of weird issues. Step on brakes and the turn signal indicator would come on in the dash. Turn signals would affect tail lights. It was odd. But it was a free fix for me under warranty. At worst it's probably a $20 fix for a new adapter.

 

I also had an issue with my Uhaul trailer wiring harness. Whenever I hit the brakes, the corner lamps and dash lights lit up. They also lit up with the turn signals.I replaced the harness and everything worked fine.

 

well, no luck. i took out all 3 bulbs in each taillight, still burned the fuse. took out the license plate lights, still burned the fuse. checked the wiring for the tow hitch, everything looked ok to me. i guess to the dealership i go tomorrow.

if i go early in the morning do you think they'll have it fixed that day?