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Blowing tail light fuses

Discussion in 'Technical Chat' started by foxroder, Nov 29, 2010.

  1. Nov 29, 2010 at 7:11 AM
    #1
    foxroder

    foxroder [OP] Member

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    i have a 02 reg cab taco, 4cyl auto. im having trouble with the tail light fuse blowing out. i have noticed (when the ignition is on) when i put a new fuse in the left turn signal comes on for a few seconds and then the fuse blows out. also the back light for the gauges and the tail lights does not work; but when i enable the left turn signal the back lighting in the gauges will flicker on and off in sequence with the left turn signal only. i am guessing that the switch unit is burnt out, but i could be wrong. is there anything else in the circut that could cause this problem?

    also my safety release for my shifter wont work, is this part of the tail light circut also?
     
  2. Nov 29, 2010 at 7:21 AM
    #2
    westrujp

    westrujp New Member

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    Tail light assemblies are notoriously bad for corrosion and shorts. I would take your tail lights off and inspect them for corrosion, use a meter to check for shorts between the power and grounds. Clean your bulb sockets and terminals with electrical terminal cleaner.

    If that doesn't do the trick, I would probably just zip in a new chassis ground in the tail light well using a new wire and lug. This may not be a great idea, depending on your experience with electrics.
     
  3. Nov 29, 2010 at 8:41 AM
    #3
    foxroder

    foxroder [OP] Member

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    i hope its that easy, for me it never is. also before this crap went down i thought i noticed the back lighting for the gauges was still on after i shut my truck off.
     
  4. Nov 30, 2010 at 5:19 AM
    #4
    EnolaGaia

    EnolaGaia Well-Known Member

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    If the turn signal circuit alone was the problem, you wouldn't be getting weird behavior from the dash lighting (which is on the taillight circuit, which is separate from the signal / flasher circuit). These two circuits seem to be shorting somewhere between themselves. This would explain why the left turn signal comes on all by itself when you insert a new TAIL fuse.

    If you've got a towing harness installed - start there. Such symptoms are standard for a towing harness gone bad.

    If you know someone with a 2001 - 2004 Taco you can try swapping out the combination switch (signal / light control on the column) as a quick test to see if your switch is shorting out somehow. A short or connection fault in the spiral cable could also explain this behavior.
     
  5. Nov 30, 2010 at 5:46 AM
    #5
    BeardedWeirdo

    BeardedWeirdo Junior Mint

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    I only blow tail light fuses if they buy me dinner first.
     
  6. Apr 30, 2014 at 8:22 AM
    #6
    Mtpeak

    Mtpeak Member

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    Same issues, did you find a fix for this?
     
  7. May 25, 2014 at 8:49 AM
    #7
    ZEROPILOT

    ZEROPILOT Can't re-MEMBER

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    Have you installed LED lights?
     

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