'99 Camry blowing the 'Gauge' Fuse

[Trajan]

This one is a tough nut ...

And: This is my first post here ... Nice to meet you all ...

Ok: Here it is ...

First: as I drive, I hear a faint click (which I presume is the fuse opening) and the dashboard goes dead: NOT the back lighting, but the information at the meters and annunciators: no tach, no speed, no gear indicator, no gas, no temp ...

Also: Windows go dead ...

Also: Cruise Control goes dead ...

Also: Overdrive goes dead ...

Also: The battery starts to go dead (stops charging) ...

I get about 15-30 minutes to limp home ... afore she dies ...

Some FACTS:

1) I spoke to a Toyota service manager, who recommended a change out all the taillight bulbs ... I did all except the license plate lights: didnt help ...

2) I at first thought this was a charging system problem, because my alternator output was measuring 10 volts, and when I shorted the regulator out (little hole in the back of the case), it went to above 15 volts .... I switched out the regulator: It didnt help ...

3) Back to that voltage: Hey ? ... My alternator measured over 15 volts RAW ..... isnt that a bit high ? ... should I be concerned about OVERvoltage from an alternator, especially considering I am blowing a fuse ? ...

Ok: NOW My rant ...

I am an experienced Electronics Technician, a Journeyman CET, who has over 23 years experience in electrical/electronic systems ..

I ask the Toyota Engineers: WHY in HELL did you place SO many systems (windows, cruise, cluster, charge, DRL, O/D shift) on ONE fuse branch ?? ...

IF you had chosen to fuse EACH of these systems individually, WE wouldnt have these issues .... We would KNOW where the 'short' is ....

As it stands: I must now remove the dashboard to try to locate the 'junction connectors' that I HOPE to be able to separate to further isolate the circuitry, subsystem by subsystem, until I get to the 'bad part' ... I may have to resort to cutting wires to forcefully isolate each subsystem ... after which I am considering FUSING them apart from the Gauge Fuse source ...

Anyways: I am looking for these things:

1) Integration Relay

2) Tail Light Sensor

3) Rhyme or Reason to Haynes connector designations ALA 1(1K) ... 2(1K) etc ..... I have no idea wTF they are talking about there .... and of course: they dont say ....

ANY help would be appreciated ...

and THANKS for this forum ....

[Porkch0p220]

Welcome to TN! i guess you should start with checking for shorts. it seems if the batt keeps going dead, there is a short.

[deekay140]

the alternater was probably reading higher cause the battery was low and needed charging. The guage fuse shouldn't effect charging system... however. open the trunk and follow the wire harness on the left trunk hinge.. behind the carpet you will see where it tees into the main harness.. grab a razor and cut open the tee area and see if there is broken wires in there.

[Trajan]

To Porkchop: Part of the problem: ALL of those circuits are fed from ONE fuse .... The 10 amp 'Gauge' fuse ...

Of course I'll be searching for that short, as I have been, but I am REALLY kinda PO'd at Toyota for placing ALL these systems on ONE fuse ....

This means I will have to trace out EVERY circuit that can be involved: Windows, Cruise, Instrument Cluster, RDL, Tail Light Sensor, Integration Relay, ECU ... nearly the whole damned car is connected to that ONE fuse ....

Im forced to rip out nearly the entire dash area to get to most of this, and I'll be tempted to separate ALL those circuits, and add another fuse block ....

Oh yeah .. Im lookin for a short .... like a needle in a haystack ...

[Trajan]

To Deekay: I suppose the high alternator voltage can be accounted by a low battery ( I really dont know ) ... The Haynes manual states that 14.5 volts is the upper limit ... and I swear I saw up to OVER 16 volts momentarily ...

I have read in this forum about the left rear trunk harness, and that is certainly a place I'll be focusing on ... ya gotta start somewhere ...

[duggy]

Did you try looking at the big fuse under the hood? I blew the master fuse in my Avalon and all of my gauges went dead. Windows, shift lock, and gauges and radio didnt work. try that

[Trajan]

Crazy .....

The short was in the Park/Neutral Position Switch ... It was a little bit of metal inside the connector ... shifting about and shorting the drive pin to ground at will ...

The drive pin, is connected to the gauge fuse through the P/N switch ...

I cleaned the connector .. and VIOLA ! .... no mo gauge fuse failures .....

Though it took some time I am SO glad I didnt let the Dealer charge me $90 per hour to diagnose this: ... I suspect I saved about $1000 .. it took me about 10 hours over 5 weeks to locate and fix the fault ...

Thanks all for your responses

[dna59]

Yeah when I had my fuses keeping on blowing it was my park lamp that was shorting it out.

[MK2 GTi]

Ok im having the same issue i changed the switch on the tranny... itake it was the wrong one?

[freshislandcoconuts]

Sorry for resurrecting this thread, but I have the EXACT same problem as the OP with my 98' Camry.

I blew through 4 fuses already and was able to catch the act itself twice. It happened as I tried to switch the shifter from out of the Parking position.

I'm guessing it's most likely the P/N safety switch? I've seen a DIY to clean it on GEN3 Camry's, is it the same for GEN4?

Or does anyone else have any other suggestions?