Elusive Brake Light Issue on Camry 2001

[lukertin]

Hey all, I've been having a strange problem with my brake lights that I can't seem to find the cause of.

All my rear tail lights work fine (turn indicators, license plate light, central rear window, four main red lights) when I turn them on, however, the moment I depress the brake pedal, my tail light failure warning light comes on.

Of the five red lights in the rear, only three go bright red when the brake pedal is depressed, the central two on the trunk lid stay dimmed (if my lights are on), otherwise they are dark (car lights off).

The warning light doesn't come up when I turn the car lights on, so it doesn't seem like it's a bulb associated failure. My brake fluid is topped off at the right level.

Any tips or advice would be appreciated! Thanks

[dc_98_cam]

The wiring diagram shows a splice point ... looks like it is in the lower left of the rear trunk ...that is, the left rear corner of the car/trunk ... Probably behind the carpet someplace.
Maybe a little below the main deck level ....
This splice point seems to have wires that are common to both the stop light and also the tail lights. ... It is labeled B8 on the wiring diagram.

The tail lights will have solid green wires going to them, while the stop lights will have green wire with white stripes going to them.

Maybe if you take a look at this splice point, you can find something that is shorted out ... bare wire rubbing against something ... something like that. ... Anything out of the ordinary here?

If you could try to explain one more time which lights are working .... or not.

The wiring diagram shows that there are only two stop light filaments (bulbs) that are low mounted, and then there are two rear high mounted bulbs.

[Pvt-Public]

If the 2 outer red lights and the center high light come on when you hit the brakes the lights are working correctly. All the rear lights except the center high brake light should come on with the headlights. If these are working correctly then the only thing that could be the problem is the wattage of the brake light bulbs, the failure sensor looks at the wattage being used. Have you replaced any brake light bulbs recently? Or the failure sensor itself is bad? You can pull one off a car at the junk yard just be sure you get one from a car that uses the same light set up as yours.

[lukertin]

Originally Posted by Pvt-Public

If the 2 outer red lights and the center high light come on when you hit the brakes the lights are working correctly. All the rear lights except the center high brake light should come on with the headlights. If these are working correctly then the only thing that could be the problem is the wattage of the brake light bulbs, the failure sensor looks at the wattage being used. Have you replaced any brake light bulbs recently? Or the failure sensor itself is bad? You can pull one off a car at the junk yard just be sure you get one from a car that uses the same light set up as yours.

Oh, so the central two lights aren't supposed to come on when the brake is pressed? To confirm (excuse the crappy drawing), the below is what the rear of the car should look like when the brake is hit and the car lights are off?



If that's the case then yea, it's probably just the bulbs that need replacing.

[Dave's]

My '01 has brake lights on the trunk lid so there's the 3rd brake light on the rear deck, one on each corner and one on each outer part of the trunk.

[Pvt-Public]

My FSM only shows 3 brake light bulbs One in each corner and the center high light. The trunk lid only has reverse, and running(parking) lights.

[jdonhowe]

I don't know about the '01, but our '00 had intermittent rear tail light problems. The trunk lighting wires run through a corrugated loom which runs along the left trunk hinge bar. The wires flex every time the trunk is opened, and one wire eventually broke entirely. The ends were close enough to make intermittent, unpredictable contact- hard right turn, for example. Soldering in a short jumper of heavier gauge wire solved the problem.

[Dave's]

I bought my '01 with 18K and one year old. I haven't modded anything and I doubt the rental company (previous owner) did either although I can't guarantee that. Maybe they're not all the same but I just double checked with a helper and pressing the brake pedal lights the center, the corners and the outer portions of the trunk lid. Still it would be surprising if both bulbs in the lid quit at the same time unless it's a wiring problem. And perhaps not all trunk lids light as mine does. I don't know. Hope you find your problem.

[thechrisman]

I don't know if its different in other countries, but in New Zealand when cars have that arrangement (Inner/Outer) brake lights the inner ones don't light up when pressing the brake. They only come on when the headlights are on. Only the outer and high stop light come on when pressing the brake.

[Mister_Perkins]

Originally Posted by lukertin

best illustration EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!

hahahaha.

If all your bulbs are good, and the connectors are solid, and the light on the dash still comes on, Ide replace the taillight failure box. Its easy to access .. Left Rear of trunk panel

[cmryhldr]

Had the same problem and found one of the bulbs blown on the trunk lid. New bulb fixed the problem. (All 5 lights come on when I press the brake pedal. 2001 Camry)