Haunted Truck or Intermittent Beeping While Driving Driving Me Crazy!

Having a strange issue on my 05. It’s a 4x4 6 speed manual, and a week ago it started beeping sporadically while driving. It’s the exact beep that it does when you put it in reverse on a manual. At first it was super sporadic and random, primarily when coasting/decelerating but not only then. Normally it would go away after driving awhile, and sometime it wouldn’t do it at all. No warning lights /abs light/check engine lights. Today it got worse, and started doing it every time I applied the brakes, even at a stop. Brakes are working flawlessly.

2 factors that might have had an effect on it.

1. This happened immediately after fixing a misfire cause by a bad ignition coil. Swapped it with a denso coil and the misfire went away. (Forgot to unplug the battery while doing this, but truck was obviously turned off)
Once i fixed it and started driving it again the beeping started.

2. I also washed it the day before the coil swap, maybe water got somewhere it shouldn’t have?

Any thoughts? 1500 mile road trip planned for the weekend and would love to not deal with the beep the whole way. Still have no dash lights to indicate any issues, and reverse lights are working fine.

 

If it's the same beep as when you put it in reverse then I'd be looking into the backup light circuit. Do you have aftermarket taillights? If a wire was rubbing/shorting onto another wire back there it could possibly backfeed into the circuit make the chime go off. Check the reverse light switch on the side of the trans and see if it's closed when it should be open

 

I think that’s a good plan. I do have an aftermarket backup camera installed that I have hooked in to my backup light circuit. It turns on every time that circuit gets power. It’s been hooked up for a year and has been flawless. When the beep happens, the camera has yet to turn on, making me assume that it’s not getting power. Maybe there’s a short that’s brief enough that it doesn’t get power long enough to power on. Not sure. Any thoughts?

 

Just curious. I replaced the reverse switch last year, and it may be going out. If I just unplug the harness for this trip, I know I’ll lose backup lights and I think the beep. Any problem with doing that while I get this sorted? This beep might drive me crazy in the truck all weekend.

 

Intermittent issues can be a pain to troubleshoot.

I’d start with the brake bulbs since it’s doing it now when braking. Look for a broken filament, connection at the bulb socket.

Also try unplugging the tail light connectors, see if the problem disappears, plug one at a time back in to see if it returns.

 

Your fine doing that but I'd tape it up to keep moisture and debris from getting into the connector.

 

Sounds like either your brake lights are somehow feeding voltage to your reverse circuit or check under the dash, your brake pedal could be grounding out a wire for the back up beeper and causing it to beep. I’m not sure if there are any ground controlled relays in these trucks or not. I’d also check grounds at the back of the truck, faulty grounds can do some really weird stuff.

 

Strange, but which Tacoma's have a backup beeper? I have never heard one beep nor have I seen anything in the circuit diagrams about a reverse beeper.

Puzzled.

 

I was thinking the same. But I have an auto.

 

Only 6 spd manuals have it, I think it's a safety because reverse is where 1st would normally be on a 5 spd manual.

 

Is it in the circuit schematics? I've never seen a reference to it...

OP - Sorry for the highjack...

 

I'd have to look, I know the actual beeper is in the Combination Meter (Instrument Cluster). It's the same one as the key in and seatbelt alarms use.

 

Thanks. I was thinking along the lines of an external beeper as you hear on commercial trucks to warn pedestrians of a backing vehicle...

 

Nope it just gives one beep as a caution that your in reverse.

 

Thanks for the response.

Yet another useless feature I can live without.

LOL

 

Doesn't bother me, it's there but if it would happen to stop working I probably wouldn't worry about it.

 

Feel the same about the clutch pedal switch.

 

Idk I think those kind of safeties are a good thing but some of the nannies they are putting on stuff now are just stupid.

 

It's only a warning beep that sounds one time when putting it reverse with a manual.

Not like a truck back up beeper

 

I'd unplug the camera 1st

I have a peddle commander, 120k on the odo
Never a problem
Installed one of those
2 months later check engine light and limp mode 2 times. Have not plugged it back in since.

Not all aftermarket stuff works
Maybe for a while but never seems to hold up