07 TRD _ no speedometer, ABS, check engine, fuel gauge, e-brake light, popping fuses

This is by far the strangest issue I have ever encountered with any vehicle and I am praying the TW community can pull through and help like they normally do. So here we go....


This morning I took my truck to a quarter car wash to rinse some mud off my truck ( did some mild off -roading day before ) . I used the pressure washer on the fenders and exterior then shot some under my wheel well and fender to knock the mud off. I never spray into the engine bay or on the brakes, this was juts a quick 5 min rinse.


I go to drive off and notice my speedometer was not working at all and neither was the odometer. I then noticed that the ABS light, E-brake, and Check engine light were all on. coincidentally ( i think ) this happened when the odometer also hit 132,000.00. So I pulled over and popped the hood and did not notice anything visibly broken or unplugged so I assumed something got wet and just needs to dry off so I drove around for a bit until I started noticing other issues.

First I noticed that my fuel gauge is moving around very fast as if its moving like the sloshing gas in the tank, then I noticed my power windows, temp gauge, radio, and a/c do not work at all. Then my truck started to run as if it was being suffocated of air. I took it home right away and checked the air filter and it was clean and dry. After checking the fuses I found one of the 10a ignition fuses popped in the fuse box inside the truck. I replaced it and took it for a test drive and the power came right back only for a few minutes then it felt like the fuse went out again. I crawled under the truck to check the wheel speed sensors and they all seem fine with no visible damage. However i ( think ) I found the vehicle speed sensor on the rear differential and I noticed it has a bunch of oil around it from a leaky diff seal. ( not sure if that can cause this to happen )

So I take my battery to AutoZone and he tells me he cannot test it yet because it was drained soo low. This is an Optima red top battery only a few years old so I doubt its the battery, but now Im tipping because If thats true, then my Alternator is not charging my battery. there are soo many things going on I feel like someone hacked the computer to my Truck or something.... How the hell can all this be related???


Recap: Did some mild off-roading ( 30-50mph on sandy/dirt road drifting a little but no jumps or whoops or crawling ) Truck felt and drove 100% fine the all the way back ( 2 hours ) and drove 100% fine the next morning until i rinsed it with a pressure washer. Now I am experiencing the following symptoms:

* No speedometer/ odometer
* ABS and E-brake light stuck on
* Check engine light
* Battery drains very fast
* alternator does not appear to be charging the battery
* Fuses keep popping
* No a/c, radio, power windows
* Fuel gauge moves erratically

 

first off charge the battery and have it retested

 

Update : Battery is at Autozone charging and should be done very soon. But i grabbed a code reader and used a spare battery. It was giving me a 0500 ( vehicle speed sensor ) . It gave no other codes, but how the hell could one little sensor cause all this?? Autozone ordered the part $127 and will be here at 7pm tonight my time ( pst ) . I do remember seeing oil all over my rear diff and where those 2 electrical plugs are. Is that where the VSS is? Or is it actually on the transmission housing closer to the engine?

 

This is the rear diff as I mentioned with oil all over the place. Can anyone confirm this is where the VSS is?

 

Oh yeah I also found another nice surprise .... great.

 

My guess is that the alternator took a dump and just happened to take out the speed sensor when it went.

But that is just a guess...

 

A buddy of mine who owns a shop just told me he had a Ford focus with 29 codes and it ended up being just the alternator... Im really hoping its just the alternator. AutoZone just called and said my battery is fine. Im going to replace the alternator regardless because I have 132k and I know alternators start to go around this time. So tonight I will be replacing the VehicleSpeed Sensor along with the alternator. I will keep you guys posted and thanks for ay advice or help!

 

Problem fixed. Replaced the Vehicle speed sensor and the alternator and everything is back to normal.

 

I’ve got the same problem went threw some mud and my abs light check engine brake light and another red light don’t know what it is!!! I just put a new alternator battery and one sensor will only drive for 30 something minutes before dieing any advice would be appreciated

 

Are the lights still on?
If so, have the codes pulled.

When the truck dies, does it start back up?

 

You need to check the output from the new alternator. Is it a rebuilt one from some place like autozone? If so, I wouldn't bet against it being bad. I bought a starter once from that place. It lasted 3 starts before it self destructed at work, in the winter, while it was raining. Oh what frigid fun that was to remove and replace.

 

We’re exactly was the vss located u changed

 

One speed sensor for ABS at each wheel. Speed sensor for the speedometer is on the tail end of the tcase near the output shaft for 4wd models

 

Okay I’m just like you I’ve done changed the wheel sensors and 2 on trans this is driving me insane I have no clue how many miles I’ve got or anything. Thanks for the reply I’ll try the last one

 

Automatic transmission (& 12+ manual transmission) models do not have a vehicle speed sensor, vehicle speed comes from the rear wheel speed sensors.

05-11 manual transmission models have a vehicle speed sensor on the output shaft housing of the transmission/transfer case.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/2nd-gen-information-diagnostics.784008/#post-28042157

 

Is yours an automatic

 

No