Reverse light help! - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

Tuner571 · 09-11-2008, 06:04 PM

Does anyone know what to do when both of your reverse lights won't work, even though both bulbs are good.

Thanks for any help.

***Eye8Pussies*** · 09-11-2008, 06:49 PM

check the wiring on your trunk....the wires there tend to fray after time from the trunk opening an closing.

Tuner571 · 09-11-2008, 07:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eye8Pussies

check the wiring on your trunk....the wires there tend to fray after time from the trunk opening an closing.

Thats the first thing I looked at King, I noticed awhile back that the wires were beginning to fray so I wrapped them real well with electrical tape. Do you think it could be the switch in the gear shift?

forever 2 wheels · 09-11-2008, 07:55 PM

I have a 1996 Camry V-6 LE. The lights were out just as yours. I looked on the forum found my problem. Followed the wiring on the inside drivers side of the trunk hinge and found that the wires inside the conduit looked good but had broken.
You will have to remove all the black tape on the conduit to locate the three wires. All three wires were bad. Try to move the wires around and have someone watch the lights for action. I fit into the trunk area, it's large. Hope this helps.

islandboy57 · 09-11-2008, 11:00 PM

Does the "R" indicator on the dash work? The reverse neutral safety switch had to be replaced on my mom's gen 3.5. The reverse lights would only turn on when the "R" indicator was lit. The car would reverse just fine. It wasn't a cheap repair..

Tuner571 · 09-12-2008, 07:21 AM

Thanks for the help guys, the "R" indicator does light up on the dash so thats good. I guess I will remove the electrical tape and check the wires to see if any are damaged.

Thanks again guys!

Tuner571 · 09-12-2008, 09:51 AM

Well, after pulling the tape off I found that one of the wires had broken in half. After fixing that the lights began to work again.

Thanks guys!

forever 2 wheels · 09-12-2008, 07:05 PM

Hey Tuner571, that is great news! If the lights give you any more problems you know where the other two are located. It is something how the wires just break in two. Thank's for keeping us updated.

midnightmach · 09-12-2008, 07:46 PM

My brake lights on the center panel stopped working because they snapped where they go up the trunk hinge.

islandboy57 · 09-12-2008, 08:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tuner571

Well, after pulling the tape off I found that one of the wires had broken in half. After fixing that the lights began to work again.

Thanks guys!

Glad to hear you found the problem. Seems to be all too common on the gen 3..

Tuner571 · 09-12-2008, 09:30 PM

Yea, I really cant believe that they still snapped even though they were completely wrapped with electrical tape. From here on out, I'm going to keep a close eye on those wires.

Thanks again guys!

Mike Gerber · 09-13-2008, 01:15 PM

"Glad to hear you found the problem. Seems to be all too common on the gen 3.."

This issue is common to all generations of Camrys. The location of that loom is the same, even on the generation 6 Camry. Eventually the wires break from all the flexing they experience as the trunk is opened and closed over the years.

Mike

islandboy57 · 09-13-2008, 03:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Gerber

"Glad to hear you found the problem. Seems to be all too common on the gen 3.."

This issue is common to all generations of Camrys. The location of that loom is the same, even on the generation 6 Camry. Eventually the wires break from all the flexing they experience as the trunk is opened and closed over the years.

Mike

Interesting. I didn't realize Toyota kept the same flawed design all the way up to the current generation Camry. I'll have to take a look at my gen 5.5 - though it doesn't have any lights on the trunk lid except for the license plate lights.