Voltage drop at night and switches, normal? - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

gladis · 05-21-2009, 01:40 PM

Hey all, I haven't taken the Camry out to stretch its legs for a few months now at night. Last night (~2am) I took it out for a cruise and noticed a few interesting things. The car's age must be catching up to it.

I noticed a dimming of my headlights whenever any power is drawn from my car, from holding a window switch, power locks, to braking (brake lights) and signals. The headlights would dim noticeably and slowly climb back to normal, even if the switch (like the brake light/window switches) were held down. I'm just curious whether this is normal and if there's a way to fix this. Extraordinarily annoying especially when I'm braking.

Not sure if I just didn't notice this before or if it's a new problem.

Other thing I noticed that was interesting was that my broken switches (driver's side power unlock, rear left passenger window) was not dimming the lights, meaning the switches themselves are not drawing power.

One more thing, my brake (ie hand brake light) comes on intermittently, is this because of the hand brake cable, or some other brake related problem?

gorckat · 05-21-2009, 02:50 PM

For the brake light, I'd start with a check of the fluid level. My light was on and the fluid was low. Once topped off and I determined there were no other brake issues, it still took 1-2 weeks to shut off (would disconnecting the battery reset it?)

I'm curious to here what others say about the lights dimming when using the windows. My car does the same, even after I changed the battery about a year ago.

Manny1337 · 05-21-2009, 05:22 PM

mine also dims.

prob a universal camry thing =P

***ASG14*** · 05-21-2009, 07:42 PM

Parking brake light also comes on for low brake fluid, check that.

As for the headlights dimming, it's normal, reguardless of age.

***JohnGD*** · 05-21-2009, 11:07 PM

Slight dimming is normal especially when window motor is working against a stop (fully opened/closed).

If you put a voltmeter on the battery it shouldn't drop outside of the specified range (don't remember but like 13.5-14.5??).

How old is the battery? I like to swap it out 5-6 years no questions asked.