Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!

Toyota Camry Fuse and Electrical Questions

1…1718192123

Comments

  • andrelaplumeandrelaplume Member Posts: 934
    I think my point is that they will do it quickly and hoepfully correctly (I've had mixed luck in that dept) BUT only they are aware they did it quickly. The book says it takes 2.5 hours to remove and reassemble a door so thats what they charge. Nevermind it takes less than 1/5 that time. Plus, do they give me my car back after an hour...no they hold it 3 hours. Personally if they halved their labor rates I bet thir business would quadruple. I''ll look for an indy shop or if I can find a video or procedure, try it myself I guess. Otherwise it remains broken I guess.
  • kiawahkiawah Member Posts: 3,666
    edited October 2010
    I say go for it!

    If you have the video, and it will only take you minutes, then within 1/2 hour you'll know whether you're in over your head, or you can most likely handle it. What's the worst that can happen, a back door that won't open?

    Well actually now that I think about it, perhaps it's a door that won't shut, or one where the window won't go up anymore, or a short where none of your door actuators work anymore.

    I still say go for it, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Have faith in yourself.
  • propwash49propwash49 Member Posts: 38
    I had a similar situation on an old Chevy. To unlock the driver's door, you would click the unlock button on the fob once. To open the other three doors, you would click it a second time. The passenger's door lock wouldn't always unlock. The lock slide would go about halfway as far as it should have. I found out that by clicking a third time, the lock would travel the rest of the way to unlock the door. Total cost was zero. Granted, it was not a "fix" because the door would not unlock when it was supposed to (after two clicks), but it became a habit where I would always give three quick clicks on the fob, and all four doors would open. I drove it that way for another four years with no problems. See if this might possibly help in your situation. It's worth a try, because it's free! Good luck.
  • andrelaplumeandrelaplume Member Posts: 934
    that did not work. Funny though it started working last night but stopped again this morning....
  • kiawahkiawah Member Posts: 3,666
    edited October 2010
    You're going to need to get that door apart, to diagnose/find the root cause of the problem.

    - Bad/binding locking solenoid.....solenoid bad, and not able to move good linkage
    - Bad/binding locking linkage....solenoid good, but not able to overcome problem with bad linkage
    - loose/corroded electrical connection...electrical power not getting to the solenoid
    - frayed/broken wire in the door jamb area, providing intermittent connections (although I would doubt this is the cause of your age vehicle on a back door)
    - or something else
  • butcherben08butcherben08 Member Posts: 1
    I got tricked about 2 years ago buying a used 1999 camry , they reset the engine lights and right before I got home the speedometer starting acting crazy and tranny slipping..Replaced the vehicle speed sensor which seemed to help..Speedometer would go wacky during heavy rain with puddles or if I ran the air..But car ran good..
    3 days ago , I didnt really pay attention but I plugged a iphone charger into my cig lighter , I coulda swore i saw it light up but not 100%..But now I look at the charger and the nipple is missing , but the cig lighter still heats up but there are some burn marks on the inside of the lighter..
    Problem im having is that the 10amp Gauge fuse keeps blowing , sometimes on startup , sometimes when I put in reverse , or sometimes when I drive about exactly a quarter mile..Seems to be that I can drive the quarter mile after the car has been sitting , but right after if I try to change the fuse it blows on startup..If its in between , the car will start but fuse will blow upon shifting from park...
    There was kind of a loose bulb in the trunk light that I disconnected , looked thru all the wiring in the trunk and it looks fine..Disconnected and pulled fuses for the trunk and the Gauge fuse still blows..Disconnected an old alarm system and tried pulling various fuses still same thing...
    Where would be next place to look??..the wiring behind the Cig lighter that still works but possibly got shorted?? or the vehicle speed sensor that has been kinda wacky from time to time??? Thanks!!!
  • kiawahkiawah Member Posts: 3,666
    edited October 2010
    Well unfortunately, the 10A gauge circuit is one of the more difficult circuits to diagnose a problem with, since it is wired into so many different things and powers many of the 'control' circuits, for other devices.

    I'll make up an analogy, which is not quite technically correct, but hopefully you'll understand the concept. Your house thermostat is a control circuit, and it needs power to run. It monitors the temperature of the house, and then closes a switch when needed, thereby telling the furnace or air conditioner to turn on/off, and the blower fan to turn on/off. The furnace and airconditioner may use it's own much larger power sources, but the 'control' circuitry can be powered by it's own circuit. (The reason my example is not technically accurate, is because in most furnaces, the thermostat is directly powered by the furnace power, not it's own power source). However, the way Toyota has these circuits built is as I described. The gauge circuit is involved with:

    ABS system and traction control
    backup light
    charging circuit
    dash combo meter
    cruise control
    door lock controls
    auto tranny
    engine control
    headlight
    key reminder and seat belt warning
    auto turn off light circuit
    moon roof
    power window
    stop light
    tail light.

    Thus the 10A wire runs all over the place and connects into a lot of different control circuits.

    There's a couple of things that are easy to check and do, the rest would be too difficult, particularly without a set of electrical schematics.
    - Go check that loose bulb, bulb fitting in the trunk,
    - Also check VERY carefully, and re-insulate each wire if necessary, the bundle of wires that rub against the trunk hinge.
    - Disconnect that alarm system, I am always very suspicious of aftermarket devices that people add into the wiring. Cut/insulate the power source to it, if need be.

    Beyond that, diagnosing the problem is going to be a bear. You'll need the electrical schematics, a wire routing diagram, volt/ohmmeter, and a lot of patience and determination. You'll need to unplug as many of the control circuit devices as possible, until you can get the fuse to stop blowing yet is still driveable. Even then however, the problem could be in the wiring itself, and with unplugging everything, the fuse still blows.

    If this was my vehicle and I couldn't immediately find it, I might consider wiring in my own new 10A circuit. Wire in a brand new 10A circuit, and then begin using that new circuit to feed the power to all of the other different control circuits. One by one, move the device over from the old power source, to the new power source. At some point when cutting the device off the old 10AGauge circuit and connecting into the new, the 'problem' will shift over to my new circuit, and I'd prove exactly what the problem was.
  • seattletwodogsseattletwodogs Member Posts: 15
    I needed front brakes replaced and also had brake fluid flushed. Problem solved. Thank you.
  • kiawahkiawah Member Posts: 3,666
    Super, it's great when a warning light does what it is supposed to do!
  • guntherhopsguntherhops Member Posts: 21
    The alarm button on my smart key sometimes gets pushed when the keychain is in my pocket. Is there a way to disable that button on the key? Or disable the alarm itself? I don't think I would miss it - who pays attention when an alarm is going off?
  • mwj32mwj32 Member Posts: 1
    Is there a fuse for the Fuel Pump? When I turn on my ignition switch I don't here the normal sound from below my back seat. The car turns but will not start.

    Where would that fuse be located?
  • kiawahkiawah Member Posts: 3,666
    Two fuses associated with the fuel pump and pump control.

    15A EFI (electronic fuel injection)
    10A Gauge
  • whh188whh188 Member Posts: 1
    I have a Toyota 2001 Camry, the front driver side door lock not working by remote
    I were told to check on fuse but have no clue which fuse is for door lock
    Any help will be appreciated.
    Thanks,

    whh188
  • kiawahkiawah Member Posts: 3,666
    Can you clarify your symptoms please, you may be going down the wrong path.

    1. Verify that your door locks work by the door switches. Try both the driver side, and the passenger side, and make sure all the locks open, and all the locks lock from both doors. If these are not working correctly, then it has nothing to do with the remote key fob. Tell me what you find when you do these tests.

    2. If everything is working correctly via inside the car, then click the remote keyfob to lock and unlock the doors. Tell me what you find.
  • aces24aces24 Member Posts: 2
    I have a 1998 Toyota Camry. The insturment panel lights do not work, as does the power outlet under the cigarette lighter. When I checked the fuse (fuse #29, behind the change holder), I noticed there was no wire running behind the port, and therefore the fuse either sits in there loosely or falls out. It still does not work even when I tape the fuse in. My manual says this fuse is for the power outlet, but I do not see which fuse is for the panel lights (I am assuming it is the same one, unless someone knows differently). I am not very electrically inclined, and do not want to replace the whole panel, but I would like to see the speedometer at night. Is an in-line fuse the only solution (and where would I attach it to...the wires behind the stereo?)?
  • kiawahkiawah Member Posts: 3,666
    edited January 2011
    The instrument panel illumination, get's it's power from a 7.5Amp "Panel" fuse. Behind lower finish panel.
  • aces24aces24 Member Posts: 2
    Thank you! There is definitely a short somewhere in that fuse, as it blows immediately upon ignition. The audio system, window defogger, cigarette lighter, etc. all continue to work b/c they run off multiple fuses, but I would like to see my speedometer at night. I'll probably get led lights that plug into the cig lighter, as I imagine that will be cheaper that getting an electrician to look at all that wiring...
  • kiawahkiawah Member Posts: 3,666
    That fuse handles basically three things: clock, combo meter, and the little illumination lights (goes to dimming rehostat first) that are all over the place.

    Try unplugging the clock, and then see if you can get to unplug the dimming rehostat. That may help you break the circuit apart, to see which chunk is causing the fuse to blow.
  • 94camryxle94camryxle Member Posts: 1
    Hello. I have been digging through this site a bit trying to solve my problem. Based on what I have read, I understand that several components are on the 10A gauge circuit. I have followed some diagnostic steps laid out by kiawah and I am pretty sure I have isolated my problem to the AC system.

    Here is my current status: If I replace the 10A fuse and start the car with the AC off the fuse remains fine - gauges, windows, etc. operate. When I turn on the AC by pushing the AC button the fuse blows immediately.

    As a test, I replaced the 10A fuse with a 15A fuse to see how the AC would function. The AC does indeed work and blows cold air. Of course, that was just a temporary measure.

    So, what is the likely cause? I do not know enough about automotive AC systems, or cars for that matter, to be able to deduce what is faulty.

    Thanks in advance for any feedback or guidance.
  • sangurinimsangurinim Member Posts: 2
  • sangurinimsangurinim Member Posts: 2
    My generous school snow plowers pushed snow into my car (right under the hood). snow covered radiator upto right in front of battery. I cleaned snow out using a random stick. Driver's side head light was out so I bought 2 pairs of brighter light bulbs for both low and high beams. After replacement, I tested all lights. Only driver's side low beam does not work. How can I approach this problem?
  • kiawahkiawah Member Posts: 3,666
    Sorry, been off the system for a couple days.

    First, let me say do not ever replace the fuse in a circuit with a higher rated fuse. The wire is only rated for the fuse, and the fuse keeps the wire from burning up. If your wire burns, you will have one heck of a time trying to rewire that circuit, having to tear everything apart. It would be an extremely expensive repair.

    The 10A circuit, when it gets into the A/C area, powers a couple of things:
    - Heater Relay
    - A/C Magnetic Clutch Relay
    - Heater control switch
    - Air inlet servo motor
    - Air vent servo motor

    You have to try and find a way to isolate those things, and figure out what is drawing too much power. If after replacing the fuse, with no A/C you can adjust air inlet and vents, then it probably isn't those. I'd then pull both the heater relay, and the clutch relay, and try flipping the a/c on. If it blows, then I would lean to the heater control switch being bad. If it doesn't blow, then shut evertything off, and put the heater relay back in. Try it again, see if it blows. If that works, then put the magnetic clutch relay in, and if that blows, then you have it isolated down to that circuit.
  • kiawahkiawah Member Posts: 3,666
    Need to figure out whether the problem is the bulb, or the circuit to the bulb.

    Take the bulbs out, and measure resistance of the different filaments. You have two bulbs, so should be able to compare them. If you find them different, then one of the bulbs is bad. If they are the same resistance, then put the bulbs back in different side. Switch the drivers with the passenger side.

    If the problem stays with the driver side, you know the problem is in the circuit feeding the bulb, and both bulbs are good. If the problem moves to the passenger side, you know definitively the bulb is the culprit.
  • allen200allen200 Member Posts: 2
    edited February 2011
    hello, none of the lights on my trunk hood works. these include the license plate lights and parking lights. first i replaced them, but no good. then i examined the fuse box (behind the coin storage, under the steering wheel). nothing looked out of the ordinary. im guessing the fuse in question is the 15A, the blue one 2nd from the bottom on the 2nd column. i dont have extra fuses at the moment to replace it, but just to test, i used a different 15a fuse and plugged it in just to see if the lights would come on. they still didnt. all these lights worked about a month ago.

    dont know what to do!
  • allen200allen200 Member Posts: 2
  • kiawahkiawah Member Posts: 3,666
    edited February 2011
    You're mucking with the wrong fuse. You don't want the 15A Stop fuse, you want the one directly below that, which is a 10A Tail fuse.

    If that doesn't fix it, or it blows again, let me know. There's some other things to diagnose where the problem may be.
  • mvdawgsmvdawgs Member Posts: 2
    Hazard lights are working and flashing, all running lights are working and headlights are working. Dash lights are working but we are unable to get the front and back, left and right turn signals to work. They do not turn on or flash. It is a 1993 Camry XLE
  • mvdawgsmvdawgs Member Posts: 2
    This forum is great, I kept reading posts and found the solution and found the resolution it was a fuse and I found the location it was not in the fuse box which was throwing me.
  • kiawahkiawah Member Posts: 3,666
    Excellent, congrats.
  • nika2011nika2011 Member Posts: 2
    Hi everyone! I had this camry (it is a great car, runs like a gazelle!) since jan 2000, and have never had any problem 'till now. It started a couple of weeks ago, after I washed my car at the carwash station. 10 A fuse was blowing out everytime i start my car. this fuse controls window power on driver side, dashboard lights, windshields and maybe something else I forgot to mention. Fuse blows everytime I try to move my car from parking position to neutral or reverse. What could be a problem? it is obvious to me that my cat has shorting in electrical wires.. but where could it be? My car passed emission and inspection test day before it happened. Where to look at?
  • nika2011nika2011 Member Posts: 2
    Hi everyone! I had this camry (it is a great car, runs like a gazelle!) since jan 2000, and have never had any problem 'till now. It started a couple of weeks ago, after I washed my car at the carwash station. 10A fuse was blowing out everytime i start my car. this fuse controls window power on driver side, dashboard lights, windshields and maybe something else I forgot to mention. Fuse blows everytime I try to move my car from parking position to neutral or reverse. What could be a problem? it is obvious to me that my cat has shorting in electrical wires.. but where could it be? My car passed emission and inspection test day before it happened. Where to look at?
  • kiawahkiawah Member Posts: 3,666
    I don't have time right now to pull out the schematics to investigate further, but off the top of my head, I would say you either have a bad electrical switch on your transmission, or some wiring in the trunk hinge (specifically the wiring feeding power to the reverse/backup lights) is shorting.

    Crawl in the trunk on your back, be careful not to get locked in, and while on your back look up at the wiring on the trunk lid hinge, on the driver side. You are looking for whether the insulation has worn thru and the wire is touching metal, when the trunk lid opens/closes. "If' this wiring on the reverse circuit was shorting out, when you took it out of park and moved it thru reverse, the transmission switch would power the reverse lights, instantly shorting out the fuse.

    If no wiring problem, then I'd suspect the transmission switch, and you can check that with a meter.
  • laura6813laura6813 Member Posts: 1
    IM having the same problem with my 92 camry were you able to fix your problem?
  • dallas_dudedallas_dude Member Posts: 1
    I have a 1995 Toyota Camry LE 4 cyl, 4 door, close to 214,000 miles and runs great.

    Couple of weeks go, all 'power' items stopped working. The power locks wont work, even for the driver side. Each door have to be locked and unlocked manually. The power windows do not work, luckily, the windows were closed when it all stopped working. The sunroof open/tilt/close do not work either.

    I assume this is because a fuse for the power system went off and I cannot figure out where the controls are. I opened the fuse box on the left hand side of the driver above the hood release, and it doesn't look like none of them are for power door or locks. Where else is it controlled from ?? Thanks in advance for your response.
  • kiawahkiawah Member Posts: 3,666
    edited March 2011
    Common to all three of the windows, doorlocks, and moon roof.......are the 10A Gauge fuse (powers control circuitry), and the 30A Power fuse (powers the motors).

    Both are in the fuse box by your left knee.

    10A Gauge is a little fuse, which you would typically recognize as a fuse.

    30A Power is up in the right hand corner, just beneath a cable connector.

    Let me know which you find blown, and if the replacement fixes your problem.
  • kribbiekribbie Member Posts: 2
    Hello, new here. I recently purchased a 1994 toyota camry. The headlights and high beams do not work, all other lights work,running and tail. I know the bulbs are good from bypassing the relay and they work. i have replaced the headlight relay and the complete switch on the steering column. the fuses are good and I believe everything else works as far as I can tell, I haven't noticed anything else not working. I have looked at a wiring diagram and see the integration relay in the system. Would that be the problem, if I had changed everything else. And also the high beam indicator doesn't even come on when lights are switched. Thanks for your help.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Soooo....you said you bypassed the relay and then the headlights worked, but replacing the relay did nothing? This doesn't seem possible, unless you bypassed the relay by taking voltage from some other hot wire than the one that comes from the headlight switch----if the headlight switch sends power to one side of the relay, and then you hop over the relay and the lights work, then it has to be the relay.

    But if you took power from some other source than the circuit from the headlight switch, then it's possible that it's not the relay but rather that the relay is not being activated by the headlight switch.

    Which means, (phew) that you have something open between the headlight switch and the relay, or that the headlight switch is not getting any current itself.

    How 'bout fusible links? Check any of those?
  • kribbiekribbie Member Posts: 2
    edited March 2011
    I dont see any fusible links in the wire diagram I have. Do you have any idea where they are located? I have the 2 hot wires at the relay butdo not have anything from the switch. like I said I have replaced the switch and the relay and now the integration relay. I do not know what the problem could be now. I am getting frustrated with it.
  • kiawahkiawah Member Posts: 3,666
    edited March 2011
    Take out the headlight relay, and note where the relay socket numbered pins fit within the socket itself.
    - Pin 4 is the +Power, coming from the 40A main fuse
    - Pin 2 is also +Power, coming from the 40A main fuse
    - Pin 3 is the ground connection which goes to both the integration relay, and the headlight switch.
    - Pin 1 is the wire that runs out to the headlight fuses, and then to the headlights themselves.

    So, a couple checks to figure out what is happening.
    1.) With a digital voltmeter, verify that you have a +13ish volts on both pin 4 and pin 2, with the black voltmeter lead on engine ground. This will verify that you're getting the main power to the relay. If correct, move on.
    2.) With a wire, in the socket, jumper pin 2 to pin 4. This will provide a constant ON voltage to feed down to the low beam headlight fuses, and then to the low beam headlights themselves. Verify that they are working. If correct, move on.
    3.) With the above jumper in place still, now flash the high beam switch, the high beams should also come on. Now also turn on the high beam switch, and verify that the high beams are on. If all correct, you would have verified that all the fuses are good, all the bulbs are good, and that 'dimmer' piece of the headlight switch is good. Then your problem is either in the relay itself, the integration relay, or the 'light control' piece of the headlight switch .
    4.) Remove the above jumper wire. You can test the headlight relay, by 'carefully' attaching jumper wires from the socket to the relay...using only wires to pins 1,2, and 4. On pin 3 "of the relay" (careful, not the socket), connect a wire from pin 3 of the relay and ground it to engine ground. Take care to make sure the ground wire on pin 3, does not come in contact with any of the other pins 1,2, or 4 (or you'll either blow the 40A main fuse, or the the relay secondary points). You should hear/feel the relay primary energize, and the headlights should come on. These headlights are high current draw, so make sure your connections are sound, wire strong enough. If correct, the relay is good.

    Let me know what the results are of above, because it gets more complicated if we have to go further.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    the way I'm reading his posts, he's getting no power to the relay.
  • kiawahkiawah Member Posts: 3,666
    edited March 2011
    If #1 test above does not have power, then pull and check the 40A main fuse. That is what supplies power to pins 2 & 4 on the relay socket.
  • tobias1tobias1 Member Posts: 1
    wow thanks alot i was having the same problem ,now if i only had a fuse box cover that would be great
  • danspinelldanspinell Member Posts: 10
    I am having a problem with my 1990 Camry. The dome light doesn't work. I have tried replacing the bulb and fuse that is under the hood.

    My dash lights are also dim when the car is idle, they brighten up when I press the gas.

    The dash gear lights are strange also, when in park the P and R light up at the same time. The R and N lights will light up at the same time when in reverse and the Neutral light goes out when in Neutral. The drive, 2 and 1 lights are fine.

    I am assuming all of these issues are tied in together somewhere, but I am not sure. I have tried replacing most of the fuses under the hood, but that didn't fix the problem.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    How old is your battery?
  • danspinelldanspinell Member Posts: 10
    The battery is about 2 years old. The altenator is about 5 years. This problem has been going on for quite a while, since before I changed the battery and altenator. In the past year, I changed out the negative battery cable and the ground. I have had both battery and altenator tested within the last month or so at Advance Auto and both came back fine.

    There are other things dash related that might help diagnose the problem. The cruise contol doesnt come right on. When I hit the button, it takes about 10 or so minutes before it activates.

    When I turn on the A/C or heat, the first 2 fan speeds do not work, I can only use the 2 higher speeds. The air and heat also seem to dont blow the way they should unless my foot is pressing the gas, same reaction as the dash lights.
  • danspinelldanspinell Member Posts: 10
    edited April 2011
    I'm wondering if the problem could be the underhood fuse box itself or the wires connected to it. It seems like that is what everything has in common.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Yeah I was also thinking maybe a corroded fuse box (behind the box) or some bad grounding...maybe engine to frame ground strap?

    And I have to say I don't have a lot of confidence in Advance Auto diagnostic reports regarding the alternator/battery situation. On the other hand, I don't think the alternator/battery per se are the issue here. But you shouldn't have such voltage drops at idle.
  • danspinelldanspinell Member Posts: 10
    When I replaced the negative battery cable, I also replaced the engine to frame ground wire. I have tried searching the web for the under hood fuse box but have had no luck, any suggestions?
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    All fuse boxes, relays, etc are located on the left side under the dash. I don't see anything underhood on this year and model.
  • danspinelldanspinell Member Posts: 10
    My under hood fuse box is bolted to the frame between the battery and the air filter housing.
Sign In or Register to comment.

Helpful Tools

Most popular vehicles