1998 Camry XLE

[scott9]

Hello. Wife was driving car on Friday and noticed the gauges (RPM, speedometer, gearindicator) Were not working, as well as the electric windows. So I quickly phoned and got her into our trusted garage. They couldnt find anything but a blown 10 Amp fuse. They replaced the fuse, viola it works!! We drove it for a bit the next day, same problem, the fuse is blown again. So today I go out and buy some more fuses. Replaced it, works fine. So I'm feeling pretty good about myself (i'm no mechanic so any car feat is a big one, lol) I get about 100 ft, and notice the gauges are not working again!! I park, replace the fuse, as soon as I put the car in Reverse, wham, gauges dont work!! Drive for a bit, pull over, replace the fuse. I go forward, and soo far no problems. So I am now wandering if going inreverse is blowing the fuse. Any suggestions to help fix this?? I can see the $$$ starting to roll up at a garage if they spend all day trying to fix it. Any suggestions wil lbe greatly appreciated. thanks Scott

[Mike Gerber]

Find out all the devices that fuse protects. Check the cover on that particular fuse panel and the owner's manual for that information. Now, visually inspect the wiring to and from all those devices looking for frayed wiring where bare metal wiring strands are showing through and may be contacting some bare metal spots causing a "short to ground". If you find any bare wiring spots, cover them with electrical tape. That's the first thing most techs will do and is something you can do yourself without any special equipment. You may have to crawl under the dash in ackward positions with a flashlight to do this. If you don't find anything or don't feel comfortable doing this yourself, it is best to seek professional help.

If reverse is causing the problem, I would suspect the wiring to the back up lights in the rear. Check that wiring first.

Good luck with the problem.

Mike

[scott9]

As well the check motor light is illuminated as well
Scott

[Mike Gerber]

If you mean the check engine light, go to Autozone and have them read the codes for you. They will do this for free and it may give you a starting point on where to look for the electrical problem, or it could be something totally unrelated.

Mike

[flames9]

Ok, ( I must have signed up for this forum twice!!) I took car back to garage, took them awhile, but they found some loose wires in the trunk of the car. Al seems fine now!! Time will tell. Cheers