masinoshane Posted July 16, 2023 Share Posted July 16, 2023 Hey, guys, I just noticed my brake lights were working. I saw it was a bad fuse when I put a new one in. Popped when I stepped on the brake pedal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
extech Posted July 16, 2023 Share Posted July 16, 2023 shorted to ground circuit. could be a bulb not installed correctly. remove the brake light bulbs and see if it still happens. if so you'll have to look for a wire exposed to chassis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted July 16, 2023 Share Posted July 16, 2023 Long way from the switch to the light! Simple stuff first, had it been working fine up to that point? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masinoshane Posted July 16, 2023 Author Share Posted July 16, 2023 6 hours ago, Maineah said: Long way from the switch to the light! Simple stuff first, had it been working fine up to that point? Yes it was working so what color wire am i looking for Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fred heath Posted July 16, 2023 Share Posted July 16, 2023 What year is your camper, who made it and how long is it? The reason why length is important is because the original factory wiring harness was configured for a standard truck bed. Motorhome manufacturers had to extend this harness to fit the coach body. Many times they used wire with a different color code than factory Toyota wiring. Identifying the correct color of your brake wiring by simply looking would be a guess at best. I have several different wiring diagrams for early Toyota trucks. Depending on your year I can give you your factory wire color for the brake wire. You would then need to find the original factory harness termination point under the truck and see what color wire was used for the extension. Chances are a pinched wire somewhere is shorted or a corroded or damaged socket. Voltmeter or test light will be needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
extech Posted July 16, 2023 Share Posted July 16, 2023 i think the brake light switch is on the brake pedal under the dash. there you can find the factory color, but as stated it's likely a different color at the lights Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masinoshane Posted July 17, 2023 Author Share Posted July 17, 2023 21 hours ago, fred heath said: What year is your camper, who made it and how long is it? The reason why length is important is because the original factory wiring harness was configured for a standard truck bed. Motorhome manufacturers had to extend this harness to fit the coach body. Many times they used wire with a different color code than factory Toyota wiring. Identifying the correct color of your brake wiring by simply looking would be a guess at best. I have several different wiring diagrams for early Toyota trucks. Depending on your year I can give you your factory wire color for the brake wire. You would then need to find the original factory harness termination point under the truck and see what color wire was used for the extension. Chances are a pinched wire somewhere is shorted or a corroded or damaged socket. Voltmeter or test light will be needed. 86 sea breeze 20' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masinoshane Posted July 17, 2023 Author Share Posted July 17, 2023 2 minutes ago, masinoshane said: 86 sea breeze 20' I have a test light and a voltimeter. But not really sure what exactly to do with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fred heath Posted July 17, 2023 Share Posted July 17, 2023 I can’t give you instructions online. Do you have any friends or neighbors who are electrically/mechanically inclined? Somewhere your brake wire (while energized) is shorting to ground. Check for any pinched wires. Chances are the problem is between where the harness was extended and the brake light(s) themselves. Factory wiring rarely goes bad. A bad or corroded bulb socket could also cause a short. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masinoshane Posted July 17, 2023 Author Share Posted July 17, 2023 15 minutes ago, fred heath said: I can’t give you instructions online. Do you have any friends or neighbors who are electrically/mechanically inclined? Somewhere your brake wire (while energized) is shorting to ground. Check for any pinched wires. Chances are the problem is between where the harness was extended and the brake light(s) themselves. Factory wiring rarely goes bad. A bad or corroded bulb socket could also cause a short. Do they still sell the surface mounted rear light assembly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masinoshane Posted July 17, 2023 Author Share Posted July 17, 2023 1 minute ago, masinoshane said: Do they still sell the surface mounted rear light assembly the one side is really dim is that from old failing pos.wire Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linda s Posted July 17, 2023 Share Posted July 17, 2023 I would need to know what your tail lights look like Linda S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fred heath Posted July 18, 2023 Share Posted July 18, 2023 11 hours ago, masinoshane said: the one side is really dim is that from old failing pos.wire When you say “dim”, do you mean the taillights in general or just the brake light? If no recent work has been done that could cause the wires to become damaged, I’m leaning towards a bad light socket. Try disconnecting both brake wires from their sockets. Now step on the brake and see if the fuse pops. If no, the socket(s) should be replaced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masinoshane Posted July 18, 2023 Author Share Posted July 18, 2023 23 hours ago, linda s said: I would need to know what your tail lights look like Linda S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masinoshane Posted July 18, 2023 Author Share Posted July 18, 2023 14 minutes ago, masinoshane said: I remember hearing that if you're gonna upgrade to led, u have to replace something, a blinker. Maybe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
extech Posted July 18, 2023 Share Posted July 18, 2023 yes they will blink really fast if you don't change the flasher to one for leds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masinoshane Posted July 19, 2023 Author Share Posted July 19, 2023 14 hours ago, fred heath said: When you say “dim”, do you mean the taillights in general or just the brake light? If no recent work has been done that could cause the wires to become damaged, I’m leaning towards a bad light socket. Try disconnecting both brake wires from their sockets. Now step on the brake and see if the fuse pops. If no, the socket(s) should be replaced. Are there any other things hooked up to that brake light circuit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linda s Posted July 19, 2023 Share Posted July 19, 2023 They look like Reflecto lite 1400's. Haven't been made in 30 years. Sorry Linda S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
extech Posted July 19, 2023 Share Posted July 19, 2023 if you have cruise control the brake lights will be part of it's circuit. otherwise no Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masinoshane Posted July 19, 2023 Author Share Posted July 19, 2023 58 minutes ago, linda s said: They look like Reflecto lite 1400's. Haven't been made in 30 years. Sorry Linda S I found some l e d's That look like they screw in like the lenses But there are 200 bucks. 34 minutes ago, extech said: if you have cruise control the brake lights will be part of it's circuit. otherwise 3 Where's the cruise control switch located Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masinoshane Posted July 19, 2023 Author Share Posted July 19, 2023 17 hours ago, fred heath said: When you say “dim”, do you mean the taillights in general or just the brake light? If no recent work has been done that could cause the wires to become damaged, I’m leaning towards a bad light socket. Try disconnecting both brake wires from their sockets. Now step on the brake and see if the fuse pops. If no, the socket(s) should be replaced. Having a positive wire coming disconnected from the socket. Would that cause the fuse to blow I pulled the light bulbs and pulled the housing off and looked in the back didn't seehang out of the ordinary.yr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fred heath Posted July 19, 2023 Share Posted July 19, 2023 2 hours ago, masinoshane said: Having a positive wire coming disconnected from the socket. Would that cause the fuse to blow I pulled the light bulbs and pulled the housing off and looked in the back didn't seehang out of the ordinary.yr Don’t know what to tell you. Somewhere you’ve got a short in the brake wiring. Until you find and correct that problem nothing is going to change. Sockets can go bad internally. They can look fine from the outside. I’m not saying this is the cause but you have to start the process of elimination somewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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