93 Camry backup light hassles - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

webpilot · 06-20-2002, 02:51 PM

Hi all! Wifes 93 Camry LE V6, has once again lost its back up lights. Bulbs ok.Dashboard indicator light is always on indicating lamps out etc. 2 years ago same thing. toyota dealer repaired something in the electrical harness. My hope is that it may be common problem/ easy troublshooting that this driveway mechanic can fix it!!! Something that may/may not be related is: when engine started, the dashboard indicator light that tells me bulbs are out doenst come on until you engage/move shifter..Could the reason the backup lights are not operable perhaps be something loosing contact in the shifting console? any tips appreciated and thanks for your time!

Xenon · 06-21-2002, 02:40 AM

I don't have an indicator light that tells me lights are out in my car, but I had a probelm with my reverse lights before, everytime I'm in reverse and I brake my reverse light used to go off.. Then it turned out that my light bases had some rust and corrosion on them so all I did was I went to a hardware shop, bought a wire brush and brushed all the bases and sprayed WD40 on them and it worked like a charm.. So sometimes the rust and grime shorts out the circuits!

I hope this helps!!

***Silver Streak*** · 06-21-2002, 08:23 AM

Two things to check:

1. Your wiring is being pinched on the left upper side in the trunk. Slice open the black wire loom and make sure all the wires are still intact. This is a common problem of Camrys.

2. If you're saying that the reverse lights come on when you move the shifter, I would suspect it's your neutral safety switch. Basically it prevents your car from starting in Drive or reverse...it also tells your car when to turn on your reverse lights. Either your switch is dirty (contacts inside) or simply worn out. This part is $450 Cdn so if you can take it off yourself to clean it and inspect it, that's the best thing to do. It's connected to the manual shift lever and transaxle.

But of course, make sure your bulbs are in perfect working order first!

***Silver Streak*** · 06-21-2002, 08:26 AM

Just reread your post...it's very unclear what's going on...does the light come on when you hit the brake pedal? Or just shift?

webpilot · 06-21-2002, 10:48 AM

hi henry, thanks for the response..dash indicator light comes when shifter is moved,(from park to drive,reverse etc)and light stays on until car turned off again.. I like both your responses and the previous post. If it indeed is the same cause as 2 years ago,it probably is the wiring harness in the trunk being pinched, Ive tested the bulbs. cleaned the contacts etc to no avail..ill tear apart the loom off the harness and look for pinched/nipped wires...ill let ya know..thanks again!

webpilot · 06-22-2002, 05:41 AM

Silver Streak..YOU BE THE MAN!!
thankyou very much....the wiring harness near the truck hinge was the problem...Sure enuf...followed loom back, found area with broken wire (same area Toyota dealer worked on 2 years ago,) resoldered and away i go!!! thanks again!!! problem solved.!!!

lankanprince · 06-22-2002, 12:57 PM

Henry's too smart !

coltcraft · 12-02-2009, 10:18 PM

Just a trivial observation but I don't believe those wires are being cut, stretched, split or pinched. The loom is the flexible part of the wire assembly attached to the trunk hinge. A section of that same loom is attached solidly to the trunk inside wall. So as the trunk is repeatedly opened, where the flexible section and the fixed section meet, the wires eventually crack due to fatigue. A design problem that Toyota should look into and correct.