Check lights--needs attention

[Gandalf]

I'll call it a check light for lack of a better term.

My daughter's '92 Camry recently, over the weekend, had a side marker (front) bulb burn out. No sweat. We replaced it without a problem.

She got about fifty yards from the house, turned around, and complained that her "check light" was still on, saying that she had a bulb out. As far as I can tell, they're all working.

The only possibility I can see would be rear side marker lights. There aren't any. The rear lenses wrap around enough to the side that there could be a bulb there, but neither side lights up. Are there supposed to be rear side marker lights? If not, is the 'check light' resettable?

Need some help on this. She expects me to fix this, and I can't even find a list of lights to look at.

[ASG14]

Yes, there is a #194 bulb on each corner. No one ever realizes when they go out, lol.

BUT, that has nothing to do with the check light on the dash. Did you make sure all 4 lights come on when you turn on the headlights, AND all 5 (Same 4 bulbs, plus the center mounted one in the rear window) come on with the brakes? A lot of people forget to see if the one in the rear window works.

[Gandalf]

I just got an email from my daughter. She reports that the 'check lights' light did not come on this morning. Maybe it just needed more time to check it's system. It sat overnight and seemed to be satisfied. Or maybe it realized that I might perform further surgery if it continued to misbehave.

Are you saying that there should be rear side marker lights? If that's the case, why did the 'check lights' light go out when the rear side marker lights are not working?

Thanks the the quick reply.

[ASG14]

Well, it;s just a coincidence, lol. BUT, here is the thing. Did the light come on when she hit the brakes, OR turned on the headlights? If it is a brake light issue, it will go on after you press then depress the brake pedal once.

[lgcongbach]

Here is my experience:

Turn off the car completely, turn on again, dont step or touch anything. Watch the dash and see no checklight, then step on the brake and checklight goes on.

=> brake light on rear window.

[Gandalf]

I got another email from my daughter last night. She reports that the fix is not complete. Her backup lights are intermittent, at best. Not one, but both backup lights are failing.

Several years ago I worked on the wiring on that car. There was a broken/shorted wire in the bundle in the topside of the trunk. I can't remember just what the problem was, what the symptoms were, only that it was inconvenient (high in trunk on driver's side), that I had to lie in the trunk on my back, and that the neighbors learned some new words.

That's probably my job on the coming weekend. I'll have to open that bundle again and take a look.

The 3rd brake like, BTW, does work. The only possibility there would be if there is more than a single bulb.

Thanks to all who reply. Keep the ideas coming.

[Gandalf]

I worked on the car this past weekend, and found the problem.

There were two, not one but two, broken wires in the bundle in the trunk. The wire bundle passes the trunk hinge on the driver's side, high up where it is least convenient to work. A mechanic has been in there once and I've been in there twice. I've repaired three wires which were broken, just like they had been cut. She now has backup lights and tail/stop lights on the trunk lid.

Its a high wire movement area there near the trunk hinge, the wires flexing every time the trunk is opened. Is this a common problem? Have many people here had to do the same repair? It looks to me like perhaps a poor design if many of us have had the same problem.

[94cylcamry]

My backup lights are intermittent as well...not because of wiring issues though. There's just some play in the automatic shifter...for instance I'll put it into reverse, and it'll shift into reverse, but meter on the dash will not register that it's in reverse, and therefore the backup lights will not go on. You have to pull the shifter a certain way to get the lights to actually come on. Doesn't sound like that's anything like your problem...just sharing it.