1993 toyota camry tail lights don't work

Hi, I've had this problem for a few weeks now. my 1993 toyota camry tail lights dont work, but all the other lights work just fine. I've researched this topic and found out about the yellow lamp failure box in the trunk. I opened that up and immidietely saw a large black spot in the middle of the box. I went to a junk yard and bought another lamp failure box and hooked it up as soon as I went home. At first it seemed I had solved the problem. The tail lights came back on as soon as I turned the lights on, but not even a minute later the new box started to smoke. I shut off the lights and luckily the box I bought from the junk yard did not get shorted out. I looked at all the wires leading into the lamp failure box for frays and have found nothing. Can anyone help?

Clean light sockets, replace bulbs, inspect wire harness running on the left side of the trunk near the hinge.

All these fixes and more are all over this forum. Use the search function. Also look through the FAQ files at the top of the forum. There is a factory manual for your car there too. Welcome aboard.

I replaced the bulbs and checked all the groundings, they are fine, no problems. I checked the wire harness on the left side of the trunck hinge and found no visible breaks. I check the wires all the way from the start of the taillight to right were they enter the passenger compartment, no problems.

To check the wiring, you are going to need a meter or a test light with a sharp probe. If there is a break in the copper, you might not see it through the insulation.

Did you unwrap the wiring harness to check the wires? If the replacement box smoked then it maybe no good. It doesn't take much to burn a circuit board. Electrostatic discharge from your fingers can burn a board and you can't feel the charge because it is too small. You will need a meter to check its connections.

You say you researched the topic. Did you do a search on this forum by typing "light failure sensor camry" in the search function at top right? It appears to be a common problem sometimes fixed by replacing brake lightbulbs(????). There's 15 or so threads to look through.

ok, i'm currently looking for shorts in the wires but I have another question about why the replacement lamp failure box started to smoke. The replacement box is for a 94 camry, i have a 93. However, it is the same exact model number and has the same exact voltage as the old box did. Is it possible that the box started to smoke because it's for a 94 camry? Do i need a box from a 93 camry?

ok, i'm currently looking for shorts in the wires but I have another question about why the replacement lamp failure box started to smoke. The replacement box is for a 94 camry, i have a 93. However, it is the same exact model number and has the same exact voltage as the old box did. Is it possible that the box started to smoke because it's for a 94 camry? Do i need a box from a 93 camry?

Hello rinaldo,

The lamp failure box from the 94 camry should be fine for your 93 camry considering the numbers on the box are the same for both cars.

you have a short someplace. it is probrally the bulbs for the rear lights or the wiring harness that runs along the left side hinge of the trunk has a break in one or more of the wires. buy taking of the tape and looking at the wires, sometimes you can see the breaks in the wire/wires because the plastic insulation is broken.
other times the wires could look fine from the outer appearence but be broken internally.:banghead:

the only way to know if the wires are broken internally is to do a continuity test for each wire located in the wire harness located along the left hinge of the trunk.:crying:

to do a continuity test you will need a digital multimeter that is capable of testing for continuity.

I don't know what else it could be. Good luck...

Regards,
JOET/CAMRY

I thank everyone for their very helpful comments, I purchased a digital multimeter and now I just need to know how I would go about testing the wires for continuity. Do i need to break the insulation of the wires along the left trunk hinge?

I thank everyone for their very helpful comments, I purchased a digital multimeter and now I just need to know how I would go about testing the wires for continuity. Do i need to break the insulation of the wires along the left trunk hinge?

Hello Rinaldo,

you do not need to break/strip the insulation off the wires to do a continuity test. if the probes on the multimeter are sharp enough they should be able to poke through the insulation of the wires. it can be very difficult to test for continuity by yourself; holding the probes and flexing the wire that you are testing at the same time.:banghead:

when you test for continuity you are trying to see if the wire has a continuous/unbroken path. on my multimeter (micronta) it makes a buzzing sound if there is continuity. if the wire is broken and therefore no continuity the buzzing sound stops.

I tested the wiring near the drivers side door hinges for continuity in my 1989 camry. I was having difficulty locking the drivers side door (using the power lock button) unless the door was almost closed. :eek: I knew one or more wires were broken. :frown:

:) the easy way I found to test the wires for continuity was to..

1. strip the black tape/casing holding the many wires together far beyond where the flexing takes place.

2. take two sewing pins/needles and stick them into each wire beyond where the flexing takes place. make sure you poke through the insulation of the wire

3. take two aligator clips and attach the (red) positive probe to one pin/needle and the (black) negative probe to the other pin /needle. this way you have both hands free to flex the wire your testing :grinno: you want to flex the wire in different directions, because it might have continuity in one direction (when flexing it) and not in another direction

:uhoh: remember, a wire could be broken internally and look fine externally! thats the reason you want to do a continuity test of each wire.

4. if you find a wire is broken because it failed the continuity test spice a new peice of wire in place of the broken peice. make sure it's attached well.

5. retest the spliced wire to make sure it passes the continuity test.

6. tape the bundle of wires back together.

I hope I explained it well enough. if you are unclear about what I wrote just post back.

actually, post back anyway to let us (automotive forum members) know the outcome. :thumbsup:


Good luck,

JOET/CAMRY

Thank you very much for your help joet/camry. Before I start testing the wires I have one more question. What type of reading should I expect considering that the replacement yellow box started to smoke. Does this mean that the box is getting to much power? Because the box smoked does this mean it is still receiving power, so there must still be some continuity among the wires? What type of reading on the multimeter should I look for to suggest the problamatic area that would cause the box to smoke?

Thank you very much for your help joet/camry. Before I start testing the wires I have one more question. What type of reading should I expect considering that the replacement yellow box started to smoke. Does this mean that the box is getting to much power? Because the box smoked does this mean it is still receiving power, so there must still be some continuity among the wires? What type of reading on the multimeter should I look for to suggest the problamatic area that would cause the box to smoke?

Hello rinaldo,
I don't know what you mean when you ask what type of reading you should expect considering the yellow box started to smoke. the yellow box was smoking because I believe you have a short somewere. if the yellow box located in the trunk started smoking then it was recieving power.

my knowledge about electricity is very limited. I don't know what else to tell you. maybe someone else reading this thread can post and give you some better advice than me.:frown:

I had a problem with the yellow box (lamp failure indicator) burning out on my 1989 Camry and had a hell of a time :banghead: figuring out what the problem was. come to find out it was a bad lightbulb for the brake lights. it had an internal short in it. the bulb looked fine!! I believe it was a #1157 bulb. you might want to have your car looked at by a professional mechanic if you can't resolve this problem yourself. good luck.

Regards,

JOET/CAMRY

Ok, after weeks and weeks of trying to find the short in the wires along the left trunk hinge, I couldn't take it anymore and brought the car to a mechanic. The guy is an expert on toyotas and found the short in ten minutes! He fixed it for 60.00 and now I finally have tail lights back. Well worth it, I wish I would of brought it to him sooner. If there are others out there who are not specialists in car electrics, I recommend bringing the car to a mechanic. It saves time and weeks of frustration.

"I couldn't take it any more" I've sure been there a number of times. Glad to hear you found a mechanic who knew what he was doing. It's always tough for all of us to fish through the troubleshooting process without having hands on the car. Kind of like telling a novice how to do an appendectomy over the phone.

Did the mechanic happen to tell you where the short was? Did he use anything more than a multimeter? Maybe he knew exactly where to look based on his experience. That info might come in handy for a lot of people because tail light issues seem to be a fairly common problem on Camrys as they get older. We all know to look at the left hinge area. Is there another area we should consider? Cheers.