Red light on dash

This red light came on recently and won’t go off when I turn off the truck. It goes off when I crank it up. Can’t find anything about it online or in owners manual. Any ideas?

 

Self destruct mode has been activated. You have 24 hrs before......

That ain't stock so it's not gonna be in the owner's manual. Probably aftermarket alarm. Some alarm systems the indicator LED comes on when valet mode has been turned on.

 

Don’t see any way to control it. It’s a ‘99 Tacoma and didn’t come with any remote or anything. Just hope it doesn’t kill the battery.

 

Switch or button below steering wheel area usually

 

Some place there is an alarm or left over parts of one.

I would find it and remove . That bad thing it might disable the truck in the worst possible place.

 

Check under your dash or pull the interior fuse cover off, look for a toggle or momentary switch. That is what will enable/disable valet mode. Some alarms have 2 switches. Just that LED won't drain the battery.

If you don't know anything about the truck having an alarm & don't have the remotes, I would take the alarm system out.

 

Thanks for the replies. No switch or button to be found. Had the truck for about 5 months and this light has never came on before.

 

The button is probably there somewhere. It's used to program or bypass the alarm- so the installers intentionally hide them. They are usually momentary buttons (push, no click). Check around the fuse panel opening, glove box, or maybe even the center console. But once you find the button, that doesn't mean much, it's not like pushing it will turn the light off. You need to know what alarm it's connected to and find the manual for that alarm to do something about it. As the others mentioned, it's probably best to identify the system and meticulously remove it.

Obviously you know where the light is, so best bet is pop that trim piece off (search for instructions on installing an aftermarket radio, they will cover how to remove that piece) and follow the wires.

 

Yep that's true, even if you do find the switch, as said might not be as simple as pushing it. Depends on the alarm, my alarm has a momentary switch & a toggle switch. IIRC my alarm uses the toggle switch to turn on valet mode and/or disable remote start. But if the alarm goes off & I don't have the remote around, I have to press the momentary switch in a certain sequence to turn it off.

If you do activate the alarm & it goes off by accident, you could have trouble deactivating it. And if it has ignition cut off then you won't be able to start your truck. That's why I would just remove the entire system if you are able to. The brain might be behind the driver's kick panel. That's the easiest & most common place alarm installers will choose. Some installers will make an effort to hide it but most will not.

Or simple solution, cut the wires to that LED if all you want is it to be off.

 

Also, before you start messing with anything. Pull the horn fuse. You and your neighbors can thank me later

 

Most alarms put a horn under hood next to brake master....
IF there is/was an alarm.....they always tie into the ignition wiring that goes into the ignition switch........thats where you check first....
......switch behind key cylinder.......