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Toyota Camry Fuse and Electrical Questions

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Comments

  • mycamry1mycamry1 Member Posts: 3
    Hello to everyone. i got a serious problem i was installing a remote start in my 2009 camry 4cyl. and i accidently grounded the constant 12v wire located in the ignition harness and popped a fuse, everything works in the car but the instrument panel dont light up and the car will start and die right away, I have spent 6 hours in the garage tring to find which one blew and cant find it nowhere can someone help me before my wife kills me..
  • kiawahkiawah Member Posts: 3,666
    Check three fuses.

    In the Engine compartment, on the left fender wall, you'll find a fuse & relay box.
    - Check the 7.5Amp (AM2) fuse
    - Check the 20 Amp (IG2) fuse

    In the passenger compartment under the dash by the drivers left knee, you'll find a fuse box.
    - Check the 7.5Amp (AM1) fuse

    If you don't find one of those blown, I'll dig into this a lot deeper tomorrow (have to get to bed, it's almost 2am) and give you some things to check to help isolate the problem.

    Do you have a volt/ohm meter?
  • mycamry1mycamry1 Member Posts: 3
    The 7.5amp AM2 & the 20amp IG2 are not in the fuse box under the hood the slots are there but there are no fuse the one under the drivers dash is good actually none of those are blown. The 20amp AM2 is a 15 amp under the hood. Yes i got a meter not to good with it though it has been awhile.
  • kiawahkiawah Member Posts: 3,666
    My bad, I knew I was tired. There's a different AM2 fuse to check.

    Up in the engine compartment fuse/relay box, look for a green 30A fuse labled ST/AM2. It sits way up in the front in the box (forwardmost position). See if that is blown. That feeds the second pole of the ignition switch, which when your key is in the ignition position, it then provides power to your gauge, ignition, and injector fuses.
  • hmyershmyers Member Posts: 14
    Does anyone know which fuse powers the dashboard lights (speedometer area)? I can't find it. Any help would be appreciated as I can't see how fast I'm going at night!
  • kiawahkiawah Member Posts: 3,666
    That would be the 15Amp TAIL fuse.
  • hmyershmyers Member Posts: 14
    where do I find that one? i've tested and changed out the fuses in the engine compartment fuse box and the one down by the driver's left knee...
  • mycamry1mycamry1 Member Posts: 3
    Thanks alot I found the problem, it was the main three and a half inch long blue fuse located in the fuse box. what a pain in the a
    *&* to change....LOL
  • kiawahkiawah Member Posts: 3,666
    Behind the left kickpanel. Put your left foot on the floor, swing it to the left and it will hit the left side kickpanel. Take that kickpanel off.

    The tail fuse is in the first row of fuses, kind of in the middle of the fuse/relay block, on the far right hand side. There are two relays right above the fuses, the defogger relay on the left, and the taillight relay on the right. It's down below the taillight relay.
  • kiawahkiawah Member Posts: 3,666
    Well that's interesting, that is upstream (toward the battery) of the 30Amp AM2 fuse. Somehow the 30Amp didn't blow, but the main higher current one did.

    If you have your ohmmeter, check that 30Amp fuse to make sure it isn't a higher resistance. If you can't, you may want to swap it out with the spare 30Amp (green) fuse that is in the cover, just to be on the safe side.

    Good job and congrats in finding the problem!!
  • rawolffrawolff Member Posts: 1
    Does any one know where the AC clutch relay is located on a 2003 Camry (4 cylinder)

    Thanks
  • kiawahkiawah Member Posts: 3,666
    Sure,

    It's in the engine compartment relay box (which is on the left driver side wheel well area).

    The relay is called: MG CLT

    It's in the first column on the left, 2nd relay down.
  • hmyershmyers Member Posts: 14
    i'm looking at buying a used alternator. how do i know if i need a 70amp or 80amp alternator? i've got a 1990 camry v6 LE.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    70 amps
  • hmyershmyers Member Posts: 14
    wow. that was easy... maybe TOO easy... :)

    i'm taking your word for it.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    I looked it up on ALLDATA...so if it's wrong, we now have thousands of misinformed mechanics :P

    Actually I did eeny-meenie minie mo and that's what came up.
  • tlsullietlsullie Member Posts: 2
    I am trying to figure out which relay is for the starter on my car. It's a 4 cylinder, model CE. Does anyone know?
  • kiawahkiawah Member Posts: 3,666
    Relay for the starter?

    The solenoid (relay) is on the starter itself.

    What are your symptoms, and what/why do you think some relay is a problem?
  • tlsullietlsullie Member Posts: 2
    That's what Oreilly's said, but a mechanic friend of mine said there is a removeable relay. Anyway, when I turn the key to start the car, the starter clicks only once and does nothing else. I've already replaced the battery and the starter and am about to replace the battery cables. I had my original starter tested and it passed. I don't know what's going on. Oh also, the battery runs everything just fine so I know tx not dead.
  • kiawahkiawah Member Posts: 3,666
    I went back to the schematics, and for that model year there is a small relay in the circuit.

    Check the relay box, on the fender wall. The relay is marked ST. It's in the corner of the relay box, near the Radio No. 1 fuse.
  • jltran92jltran92 Member Posts: 2
    Today, my aftermaket deck, clock and indoor lights stopped working, I checked all the fuses that i knew of, under the hood and below the drivers knee in the change holder and none of the fuses weere blown, then i checked the yellow and red wires with a voltage meter and found that no power was running through the yellow wire(constant power) and now im trying to locate the contant power fuse and i have no idea where and which one that is. Can anyone point me into the right direction?
  • kiawahkiawah Member Posts: 3,666
    There is no such thing as a constant power fuse.

    If someone has put in an aftermarket deck, no telling how they connected it.

    Let's try this. The clock is powered by two fuses, the 20A dome fuse (engine compartment), and the 15A Cigarette/Radio fuse (cabin left knee). Have you checked those fuses, remembering to turn on the ignition?
  • jltran92jltran92 Member Posts: 2
    yes ive checked both with a voltage meter while the ignition was turned on, anything else i should check for?
  • kiawahkiawah Member Posts: 3,666
    You've checked both of those with the power on, and what are the results?

    If both power lines to the clock have power, and your clock isn't working, then your clock is bad.

    The interior dome light power, comes from the Dome 20A fuse as well. How did you check that fuse to determine it was okay? Can you also pull that fuse, and measure the voltage in the fuseblock on the connectors that the fuse would connect to. You need 13volts on one of those connectors.

    Also, verify that both your horn and hazard lights are working.
  • dhopkins1dhopkins1 Member Posts: 1
    My power windows,seat,door locks and sunroof stopped working on my 1993 Toyota Camry. All fuses in the car and under the hood are OK. What could be the problem?
  • kiawahkiawah Member Posts: 3,666
    There are 2 fuses and a relay common to all three of those items you reference.

    10A gauge fuse, 30A Power fuse, and the Power Main Relay.

    All three of those are inside the car on the left instrument panel junction box. The fuses are on the front side of the junction box. The 10 gauge is on the left side, and the 30 A Power is on the right edge at the top. The Power Main Relay is on the back side of that junction box, and is in the lower left corner.
  • wwestwwest Member Posts: 10,706
    Put a voltmeter on the battery and when you hear the click if the battery voltage drops seriously then your engine is seized.
  • justlostjustlost Member Posts: 6
    The power locks and windows on 96 Camry XLE quit working at same time. As far as I can tell everything else(dome light, moon roof, personal lights, pwr seats, pwr mirrors, etc) works. I checked fuses in engine comp and next to steering column, and can't find any blown. I have read that there is a breaker/relay for the dors and windows, but I can't find it. I don't know what it looks like or where it is. Does anyone have really good description of the location, or a picture?
    Remote locks work ok from a after market that has been on for about 10 years.
    Thanks in advance for any help.
  • sid007sid007 Member Posts: 12
    Suddenly the Head and tail lights of the 1997 Camry stopped working. The dashboard lights are also out. However the power windows are working fine.I checked all the fuses and they are fine.I removed the panel under the knee(driver side) and noticed that when I turn the ignition key on and off there is a chattering noise which I am sure is some kind of a relay.The indicators/brake lights are working fine
  • kiawahkiawah Member Posts: 3,666
    Check your 40A main fuse, and the headlight relay. Could also be the headlight fuses, but I suspect they're okay because there is one for the left, and another for the right.....you would have had to coincidentally blow both fuses. I suspect the headlight relay.

    All of these are in the terminal block up in the engine compartment, on the left wheel well. The headlight fuses are just marked with a 1 and a 2, and sit sort of in line with the headlight relay. The 40A main fuse, sits underneath the starter relay.

    If you have a meter and know how to test relays, pin 4 & 3 are the primary winding coil. Pin 1&2 are the normally open secondary points w/infinite resistance. When power is supplied to the primary 4, 3 to ground......the secondary 1 to 2 should be zero ohms.

    You may want to also check that your battery is sitting at 13+ volts, and no corrosion on the terminals. You shouldn't have any relays chattering. One cause of chattering is that the voltage is too low on the coils, and it's not able to pull the secondary down and hold it in place. Does your vehicle start and run okay? This headlight problem you have may be a symptom of a larger problem effecting other things as well. You can get your battery and alternator tested at auto parts chains, they can do a load test on both the battery and alternator for you, usually free.
  • kiawahkiawah Member Posts: 3,666
    just lost,

    I hesitate to try to answer, since who knows how and where they connected the aftermarket door locks. But, if you assume they wired it similarly to where the factory install hooked up, and the door lock relays work the same, then here is where I would suggest checking.

    For your year, the items you need to focus on are on the junction block by your left knee, and there are 3 things. A 10A gauge fuse, a 30Amp Power fuse, and the Power Main Relay. That junction block has items on both sides of it (front and back), so you'll also have to crawl under the dash.

    On the rear side, are the gauge fuse (which is in the slot 2nd column over, in the first row). the 30 Amp Power fuse is all the way to the right edge of that board, kind of in line with the row of small fuses.

    On the front side of that junction block, is the Power main relay. There are 3 relays on the junction block, and the power one is the one on the left edge looking underneath and up at it, actually on the passenger side edge.

    Good luck.
  • sid007sid007 Member Posts: 12
    Thanks for the reply. What you say does make sense. I checked the voltage on the battery it is 13 V. However there is some corrosion. I will ty to get it cleaned and see what happens. But the car does start and run great.I do have a meter.Can yo guide me how to test the relay ? Any help would be highly appreciated.
  • kiawahkiawah Member Posts: 3,666
    A relay is an electro-mechanical device, which means it has some electrical pieces in it, and some mechanical pieces in it. It is comprised basically of two functions, and an analogy I'll use is a butler opening the front door for you. The 'door' is what is either open or shut, to allow air in. It is the 'butler', that causes the 'door' to either be open or shut, or something in between.

    The 'primary' of a relay, is like the butler. It is the thing that opens or shuts the door. It is made up of a metal rod, with wire wrapped around it. When you apply power to that wire, it creates a magnetic field, drawing down a metal frame, and closing the secondary points. If you apply power, there is a magnetic field and the points close. If you release power, a spring returns the metal frame to the open position. To test the primary, you apply voltage to it and see if it clicks. Apply 13 volts to pin 4, and ground pin 3, and the relay should energize and click. This is the same as telling the butler to open or close the door.

    You can also change your meter to measure resistance, disconnect the relay from the voltage, and put the meter across 3 and 4. It should have some small resistance (it's a wire), it should not be infinite (open).

    Now let's move to the secondary points, which is the 'door', and we have to check whether the butler actually opened or shut the door. Pins 1 and 2 are the output of the relay. When the relay is in it's normal (un-energized state), pin 1 and 2 are not connected together. Therefore, if you put your meter to measure resistance, and connect it to pin1 and pin2, your meter should read infinite resistance.

    Now turn on the relay, by putting 13 volts across pins 4+ and 3-ground. When the relay is energized, when you measure the resistance across pins 1 and 2 it should now show zero resistance. The voltage across the primary flows thru the wire, it energizes the coil creating a magnetic field, which draws down the frame of the secondary, and the secondary points on pins 1 and 2 now touch each other, which turn on whatever is connected to that circuit

    If you leave the meter on the secondary points 1 and 2, and alternate disconnect/connect the power to the primary, you should hear the coil click and unclick, and you should see your meter alternate between showing an open(infinite resistance) and a short (zero resistance).

    How a relay typically fails.....
    1.) What fails in relays on the primary side, is that the coil overheats and the wire burns, thereby creating an open wire. With an open wire, it can't create the magnetic field, and it never energizes. If it never energizes, it never connects the secondary points together. The device would always remain off, and never turn on. The butler is not there or not listening to you, he doesn't open the door.
    2.) The secondary points, as they open and close over time, can electrically arc (spark) and burn or get metal pitting. This can result in either an always open condition, or an always closed condition.
    - They could effectively weld together, creating a 'short' all of the time. In this case it doesn't matter whether the primary coil is energized or not, the secondary is always connected.
    - They could effectively not make a good connection, creating an 'open' all of the time. Again, it doesn't matter whether the primary coil is energized or not, the secondary never connects.
    3.) It's rare, but you can also get a mechanical failure of the relay, where perhaps the return spring breaks and falls off, and therefore the secondary points never make a good connection.

    So in your symptoms, you are not getting power. If the 40A fuse was blown, that could cause the problem. If the relay was defective (either the primary wire burnt, or the secondary points always open), that could also cause the problem. Pull the fuse and check the resistance of the 40A fuse, and if okay, measure the voltage of the fuse socket, one of the pins should have 13 volts on it.
  • sid007sid007 Member Posts: 12
    Hi
    I checked the relay and it is good. The 40 A fuse is also working. I tried to be smart and shorted terminal 3 & 4 on the fuse panel using a loose wire. I lights came on. Then I also shorted 1 and 3 and the lights are on again. This means there is voltage at point 1. But there is 0 V between points 1 and 2. Is this because point 2 has shorted and is at (13 V) and since there is no potential difference between 1 and 2 there is no current flowing through the coil ? This is what I mean. I tried hard to get the picture right for you bt this is the best I could come up with,Is there an effective method where I can pinpoint a short circuit ? The lamp is connected between 4 and ground.


    1 2

    3 4
  • kiawahkiawah Member Posts: 3,666
    Okay, we're going to have to get further into the downstream headlight circuitry. Do you have daytime running lights on your vehicle model, or not? There are two different circuits.

    That additional info you provided above will help zero in on the problem.
  • comfixrcomfixr Member Posts: 1
    Im having the same problem with the power windows. I was wondering if you could send me the pics because I dont see the power cb by the flasher. Theres a couple of silver relay switches but no power cb.
    My email is comfixr@yahoo.com im not sure if I have an email on Edmunds. I just signed up so not sure.
  • kiawahkiawah Member Posts: 3,666
    Is your vehicle a 1990?

    Did you take the left kick panel off? Put your left foot on the floor, move it sideways to the left until you hit the kick panel, take that panel off.
  • sid007sid007 Member Posts: 12
    By day time running lights if you mean automatic lights that senses the external lights. Then 'No'. Mine is an 'LE' 1997 Camry (4 cylinder).
  • kiawahkiawah Member Posts: 3,666
    No, that's not what I mean.

    DRL or Daytime Running Lights, are headlights that are on during daylight hours. They come on, when the engine is on. You see many cars on the road with them. Some 97 Camry's have DRL's, others don't.

    In the case of a Camry, they are actually the high beam bulb, wired in series, which runs at half voltage. They achieve this with a bunch of relays, to switch the high beams between running in DRL mode at half voltage, and regular High Beam mode when they operate at full voltage.

    Do you normally have headlights on during the day, which you didn't turn on?
  • sid007sid007 Member Posts: 12
    OK I get it. I do not have the DRL.I have to turn on my switch to get the lights everytime.
  • kiawahkiawah Member Posts: 3,666
    Okay...lets try to figure out exactly where the problem is now.

    Gen 4 Headlight no/DRL

    You have determined that you have power to the relay socket, and you believe the relay itself is good. So the problem is either in the integration relay (the circuitry that controls the relay), or the headlight switch. The headlight switch has two circuits in it.

    Let's verify that one piece of the switch is working correctly, and is able to switch between low and high beams. Since you know how to take out the headlight relay, and put in some jumper wire, let's do exactly that and effectively hotwire power to the headlights. Pull out the headlight relay, and jumper the socket (where the relay plugs in), from pin 1 to pin 2. This will then provide power the the two headlight fuses, as well as the headlight bulbs. Putting the switch in the low position, should have the low beams on (by completing the circuit to ground), putting the switch in the high position should have the high beams on (by completing that circuit to ground), and flashing will flash the high beams. If you don't get this, replace the switch. Unplug your jumper wire.

    Assuming the above is okay, then you'll want to check the top half of the switch. You'll need to get into the wiring of the switch, and you want to put a meter on pins 13 and 18. When you turn on the headlight switch, you should see zero resistance between pins 13 and 18. Turn the switch off, and it should go to infinite resistance. If you don't get this, replace the switch.

    If the above checks out, then either your integration relay is bad, or your headlight relay really is bad even though you think it is good. See the following for info on the integration circuitry.

    Gen 4 Integration Relay

    If you get to the integration relay area, make sure that all of the power fuses that feed into the integration relay are good. The integration relay itself, is physically on the 'front side' of the junction box by your left knee. For instance, the 'gauge' fuse is on the back side (facing the passenger compartment, the integration relay would be on the front side, access up under the dash.

    Gen4 Integ Relay Power

    Good Luck !
  • sid007sid007 Member Posts: 12
    Amazing ! I tried the steps with the switch and everything worked perfectly. Also when I turn the engine off(relay connected) and just pull the switch towards me I can hear the relay clicking and the high beam lights up. So I guess the relay is also o.k. I think with the chattering noise and the door locks and tail lights not working the integration relay could be the culprit(when I turn pull the lamp switch for high beam the seat belt light also glows !! ..i didn't think they could are connected unless the integration relay acts like an onboard computer!!).Problem is how do I get to it. Is there a way I can dismount the relay from behind the dash board.Is it the white box that has wires from the lamp switch connect to(red/black and green) ? There is also a huge connector with about 15 wires connected to it behind the dash.It is such a difficult area to do the trouble shooting.If I could easily gain access to it ,it would make things much more easier.
  • kiawahkiawah Member Posts: 3,666
    Great job.......

    I'd verify that the 10A Gauge, and 7.5A Dome fuses were also okay, before pulling the trigger on the integration relay. Since you know now how to check out a relay, verify that the taillight relay is also working. You need voltage flowing thru the primary coil of the taillight relay to feed current to the integration relay. I guess to be complete, you should also check that the driver side door courtesy switch is working as well. You may also try unplugging and reseating the connectors.
  • sid007sid007 Member Posts: 12
    The tail lights are not workking.Where are the 10A Gauge, and 7.5A Dome fuses and the tail light relay located ? What is the driver side door courtsey switch ? Is it the switch with which you lock all the doors ? If that is so when I press that switch there is some kind of relay chattering going on.
  • kiawahkiawah Member Posts: 3,666
    The 10 Gauge fuse, is in the fuse box by your left knee, 1st column of fuses on the left.

    The 7.5A Dome switch, is in the fuse box in the engine compartment, in the lower left quadrant.

    The 15A Cig fuse, fuse box left knee, right column

    The 10A Tail fuse, fuse box left knee, 2nd column from the left

    The taillight relay, is on the 'front side' of that fuse box by your left knee. It is right above the integration relay. There is a series of 3 relays above the integration relay. They go from left to right, power/defogger/taillight. Pull the taillight relay, and check to see that it is working. The pin configuration is a litle different. Pin 1 is the +voltage for the primary, Pin 2 is the ground for the primary. Apply 13volts to those pins to energize the relay. Pin 5 to Pin 3 are the secondary points, that when the relay primary is energized, the resistance from 5-3 should be zero resistance. When the primary is NOT energized, the resistance should be infinite.
  • sid007sid007 Member Posts: 12
    Checked the fuses after I came back from office.All the fuses are fine.But I couldn't get to the relays. I could feel them with my hand but the area is so inaccessible that I could not pull out the relays. I removed the metal plate in front of the junction box and could gain easy access to some of the connector points. I guess to remove the relays I have to somehow dismantle the junction box but I don't know how.I didn't dare to do it fearing I might break something in the process.Can you tell me how to do it.The weekend seems the perfect time to solve this problem.
  • sid007sid007 Member Posts: 12
    I could get all the relays out as well as the integration relay.But I haven't tested them yet.If I am correct these relays have a diode across their coils so the polarity is important while applying the voltages ? The coil resistances are about 75 ohms in all the three relays.I am yet to test the secondary sides. Now that I have the integration relay with me is there a way to test the relay ? One more thing I happened to tested the voltage between both the terminals of the taillight fuse to ground on the fuse panel (with the engine running) it shows 0 V.This means that either the secondary side of the tail light relay is permanently open or the coil is not getting activated to close the switch. When I press the door lock switch on the left hand door there is a chattering of relays either in the junction box or within the integration relay -I am not sure.By the way I jumpered the red/black and red /yellow wires on the connector to the integration panel and the head lights operated perfectly.
  • kiawahkiawah Member Posts: 3,666
    Re; Coil w/diode. That is correct, relay primaries should be energized as I identified earlier with the + on a particular pin, and the -/ground on the other pin. Most relays will have a diode across the primary winding, it's purpose is to dissipate stray electrical voltage that will spike when the relay is turned off. Because it has created a magnetic field when the primary is energized, when the primary circuit is opened up that same magnetic field will want to continue that current in the primary, and will create a large spike voltage. The diode kills that spike, preventing the voltage spike from damaging other components.

    Re: primary resistance. That looks good. You want to have some resistance (of the wire wrapped around the coil). If it is open or infinite resistance, you won't get any current flow to energize the coil. If it is zero resistance, then the wire on the coil is burnt thru and is shorting itself out, again you won't get the necessary current flow to energize the coil.

    Re; integration relay. I am not aware of a way to easily bench test the integration relay. It's not really a 'relay' as your other relays are, it's an integrated circuit with transistors. I'd have to reverse engineer the circuit, and then you'd have to recreate all of the different inputs, which could take a ton of time. It's got a number of different inputs, and a number of different outputs.

    Re; testing the terminals of the taillight fuse holder. You are correct, if you do not have voltage on that fuse holder feed, then the 'secondary' of the taillight relay is not closed. Just as before, either the taillight primary is energized and the secondary points are bad.....or....the taillight primary coil isn't getting turned on. What turns on the taillight relay?.....the integration relay. On the taillight relay, pin 1 is the primary +, pin 2 is the primary - which is connected to ground by the integration relay, pin 5 is the secondary point connected upstream to the battery power, and pin 3 is the secondary point connected to the 7.5A fuse feeding the downstream circuit/lights.

    Re: the door switch. That is a good symptom, it is telling you that the door switch itself is working, which is one of the inputs to the integration relay.
  • wakeman2wakeman2 Member Posts: 1
    How do you get the black fuse block off, have removed the bolts but cannot fiqure out the protective plastic off.
  • sid007sid007 Member Posts: 12
    So assuming that the integration relay is bad but the Tail light relay is ok. If I short the green(from the combination switch) with the green/red that leads to the coil of the tail light the tail lights should start working when the engine is running right ? Same with the head lights(red/yellow with the red black) Doing this as a temporary fix (until I get hold of a integration relay) do I risk damaging my car in any way ?
    Thanks a lot for leading me thsi far !!
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