I’ve got a 90 Toyota Camry (don’t laugh) and the tail-light failure sensory relay is busted. Rather than spend $200 on a new one, is there anybody out there that can tell me a> where the relay is and b> can a straight-wire past it?
You might want to go to the auto parts store and buy (or at least look through a Chilton’s (or another brand) of auto repair manual. That will tell you where it is and how to replace it. Then go to a parts lot (pick-a-part or similar) and get one for five bucks. I had a 90 Camry and it had relays all over it.
I love that plastic on those books. If they didn’t put that plastic on those books, they would look real grimy.
try bn.com & buy the book for your car. Or your library should have a general book on it.
why does it matter if the failure sensor doesn’t work properly? does it help in some way other than telling you a light is out? unless it turns on the brakelight/blinker/backuplights/whatever lights there may be I wouldn’t worry about it. if there is a dash light that is always on just disconnect that and save even more money. and the reason it costs so much most likely is because they are selling the whole wiring harness. you might be able to goto RAdio Shack or something similar and pick up the parts that you need. Those Chilton books don’t do much good IMO unless you are looking for basic stuff.
Thanks for the resposes, everyone. The Chilton and Hayes books don’t go into detail about where the relays are located, other than in the trunk.
Edward: I need to wire past it because when the failure sensor is out, the power to the tail-lights is cut. Ironic though it may be, the sensor that tells you when the tail-lights are out will cause the tail-lights to go out when it gets broken. I know, I know: serves me right for buying a Japanese car.
Odd, never thought that someone would do something like that. the other option is to goto some parts store and ask for the same thing or a junk yard. Dealers will try and stick it to you for such crap. if you can find the right part a junk yard might be the way to go. as for jumping it I don’t know. I’m sure you can but I don’t know much about relays and stuff like that. as for a book you can always order a repair manual from the dealer. they may not do it for you and it will probaly cost an arm and a leg to do as well. or try finding a message board for the toyota. hope this helps some.
ooops I almost forgot something. is it JUST the brake lights that don’t work. what about the blinkers/backup lights? I had a problem with a dodge colt, made in japan, where the brake lights where always on. the problem was this. the switch for the brake lights was a button so if the button was open the brakes lights were always on even when the car was off. what happened was there was a hole behind the switch that had a piece of metal in it. the metal fell out and the switch was always open so the lights where always on. try checking those kinds of connections as well as it might be the switch isn’t working properly or the switch has become disconnected in some way. you might have to slide under the pedels to check that stuff out but that’s an easy fix. I’ve had all sorts of problems that where simply switches or connections.
This is really nothing more than an amusing anecdote that may have some relevance here, but I was surprised to find it out.
On my 1997 Mazda B-series truck, the engine computer takes readouts from, among many other things, a Brake On/Off (BOO) sensor. The BOO sensor apparently gets its info by measuring current in the brake light circuit.
My Haynes manual describes this, and then cautions that a burned-out brake light will kill the BOO sensor reading, and thus may cause rough idling of the engine(!)
Go figure…