My Tacoma is falling apart.

Wow... fuck fuses.

It's a love hate relationship with those bastards.

 

That's to reset maintenance required light.

 

...like an 18 year old cheerleader on prom night...

 

Holding the odometer pin only resets the "Maint Reqd" light when you change the oil.

Disconnecting the battery may or may not clear the codes... but even if it does, it resets ALL buffers and any error will return.

There really is no need to pull the battery... the light will clear itself after a few start cycles with no error reported. Depending on which code is set, it could be anywhere from one restart to a couple of weeks of normal driving.
EGR codes on my '06 Duramax cleared after 2 restarts.

 

Nevertheless when that engine light is on and that code is set, even if the problem has been resolved and all is back to normal operating order, the computer is still using default known good values consistently which may not be good enough for that particular instance of driving at the moment. It's always better to clear the light as soon as the problem has been resolved, that way the computer can resume normal operation using it's varying values correct to it's particular situation.

 

Scary stuff right there. Reminds me to get a couple of extra fuses and toss in the console

 

If the fuse blows again, look closely at the 7 pin trailer connector and wiring if your truck has the tow package, its a common place for damage.

 

I just did this, and you cannot find these fuses in the dark without a flashlight I blew the same fuse after taking my boat out of the water. Either the trailer has a short or I dipped the 7-pin connector in the water...

 

Dipping it shouldn't be a problem. Check for salt or mud down in the bottom of the socket.

 

I'm so glad I did the relocate on my trailer connector after getting away with it just getting bent from offroading.. I won't have to worry about damaging it again

See post above

Mud seems to be my problem.. lol but it's self inflicted damage in my case (not lately ) ..

 

Just did this myself. I was shocked at the prices (@ Autozone/Walmart) for those little tiny fuses, like about $3.00 each! Slightly cheaper if you buy a big assortment.

Dating myself here, but I can remember when fuses were about $.25 each. My how things have changed. Anyway, now we have spare fuses in all the cars.

 

Thanks for clearing that up Rich.

 

As a side note, all toyotas I've owned have a small assortment of spare fuses held right in the fuse panel. On our tacomas, they are in the panel under the hood, held in the cover. Mine has a 10A & 15A, which covers the ones in question here. I still pack a few more spares, including the larger ATO/ATC and a few more ATM mini fuses. You never know when they'll be handy.

 

And don't buy spare fuses at Harbor Freight.
There have been a ton of stories about those fuses melting and starting fires and not blowing when they should.
On the DDM harness for the HIDs in my Suburban, the lights started getting intermittent. For no reason they'd shut down. I could shut them off, back on, and they'd light off no problem. Both at the same time, so not a ballast, it had to be in the harness.

Opened the fuse holder and the plastic was melted. I replaced the fuse and never had a problem after that.