Are my electrical problems related?

[BIGSMATRIX]

Hi, I will attempt to put this question as simply as possible, but it is a bit involved. We have very recently bought an 06 Matrix XR. 58K RVG! I got a great deal on it because the rear hatch had damage and the rear cover was knocked off. Pretty basic fix, at least body parts wise. I've turned lots of wrenches over the years, but in my day cars were simpler....

I have 3 electric issues that I'm wondering if they are related. Also its unknown if the car has been serviced for the recent recall on the ECM.
I dont think its an ECM issue but......???

1- MAINT REQRD lite is always on. I've tried the "disconnect the battery" routine... NOPE. Did the the plug in the code reader and clear codes... NOPE! Did the turn the ket to acc hit the odo button ect ect...NOPE! The lamp is still on.

2- Door adjar lamp is always on and I mean ALWAYS. Originally I thought it was because the hatch was damaged. But now I've got the hatch replaced. Same problem. Pulled and checked all the door pin swtches, they all checked good and ground to the door pillar nice and clean.

3- I didnt know it when I bought it but the dome light was in the "off" position. Well sure enough... turn it on and it stays on! Related to problem #2 I'm sure.

Must be something I'm missing , anyone have these issues? Thanks in advance for your help!

[fishexpo101]

Hard to say - could be a flaky ECM or bad integration relay - main wiring junction.

How is the title - any mention of water damage? Possible that one of the wiring running to the hatch is shorting to ground and causing electrical noise in the system. That will cause the ECM to flake out and weird electrical "gremlins" to start popping up.

I know that this was pretty common on some older Camry's - rear taillight wiring would get shorted to ground, then you'd get all sorts of weird electrical problems following that.

[BIGSMATRIX]

Thanks for the reply! No, it is not a flood car. And I've seen no evidence of unreported water damage either. I suspect something is grounding somewhere were it shouldn't be.(completeing a circuit).... but where? I wont have a chance to work on it again for a few days. I'm also planning on calling the dealer just to see if its been in for the computer recall.

[BIGSMATRIX]

Ok first off, I got the Maint lamp to go off. Cant trust the darn internet. Found a total of 3 different procedures. Tried the CORRECT one and the lamp is off!

As for the door ajar/domelight.... defective hatch latch! The one for the body not the window. Had a spare hatch to get another one out of that was bad too! So I snipped the wire lead to the switch in the latch. Now the dome light wont go on when you open the hatch but works in all other doors and hatch glass.

I can live with that for now. I'll switch it out when another wrecked one come in.

[silver04rollas]

I would say the ECU has something malfunctioning, which is giving all these false warnings. I would say have Toyota run the codes from the check engine light and see if it is related to the issues.

[BIGSMATRIX]

I have finally come to a resolution on this problem. And I want to share it incase it happens to you!

First off I called the dealer to see if the recall on this car was taken care of by the previous owner. It was taken care of in the fall of '09.

So...

The maint reqrd light. Cant trust the freakin' internet for anything!
I found 3 different procedures for the maint light... #3 was the CORRECT one. Light is off/all good.

Now the door adjar/dome light problem.

DEFECTIVE switch in the tailgate latch! took me time and scapped knuckles to find this one. I even swapped one out of the damaged gate the car came with. Easy to repair.... just cut the wire! Now the dome light will not go on if you open the hatch. But I dont care, the wind and snow is blowing here, I'd rather not have than drain on the battery! I may swap this out with another recycled one at a later date.