Stop Light fuse keeps blowing which effectively prevents car from starting.

[AGLePoer Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close AGLePoer]

Any ideas folks - Prado VX late 2009/2010 The stop light 10amp fuse keeps blowing and therefore the system doesn't recognise that you have your foot on the brake and kindly refuses to start - Grr - So far One racq membership, a tow truck ride and a 1 hr Toyota service fee later and its still doing it. I checked and rewired the trailer plug and its still the same problem. It's the one weak point I have found with this vehicle (apart from the annoying door beeping), 1 x .10c 10amp fuse shuts down the whole vehicle! After the Toyota people checked it and got me going yesterday, the ABS and Traction Control lights were showing on the dash. Now they have switched off. Any suggestions??????????? Recently towed heavy trailer (but last week). Problem started immediately I had unloaded a substantial load of steel from inside the vehicle yesterday pm. (probably no more than 7 lge adult passengers but)

[MacroP Member Find all posts View Profile Close MacroP]

If the fuse is popping all time now, I'd start by pulling the various wiring loom plugs from rear first. Once I get to my PC I'll post a few pics of the loom and plug locations. The full service manual on DVD is very handy

As for the annoying door chime. That's an easy fix. You can easily remove the main instrument cluster and screw a small self taping screw into the little piezo buzzer mounted on the back of the cluster. You'd be hard pressed to hear it after that. Takes all of 5-10 minutes to fix.


Edit. Looks like there is a trailer loom connector somewhere behind the left taillight or probably inside the left rear panel on the inside of the cargo area. I'd start by unplugging that.

[AGLePoer Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close AGLePoer]

MacroP - Thank you I will try unplugging that loom - Would it be worth checking/replacing bulbs in rear tail lights?

[Mick015 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Mick015]

I'd start with the trailer wiring plug, and work back to standard vehicle wiring. Check out the relays for trailer wiring in the left rear panel....... not sure if there's a fuse or a dodger plug in there? Let us know what you find

[AGLePoer Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close AGLePoer]

Re door chime - '....easily remove main instrument cluster' - Easier for some? I just know I'm going to get into trouble after I've removed all sorts of things that I shouldn't have touched. (hacksawn off steering wheel etc haha)

[AGLePoer Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close AGLePoer]

Will have a go later today - thank you for your help - I will post back with outcome.

[AGLePoer Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close AGLePoer]

Its intermittent - I replace fuse in under bonnet fuse box - everything is sweet, short drive checking brake etc possibly reversing sets the fuse off again. Thinking I might also have a look at the trailer wire possibly having been rubbed through to bare wire under the vehicle having had a couple of heavy loads?

[MacroP Member Find all posts View Profile Close MacroP]

Its kinda intermittent - I replace fuse in under bonnet fuse box - everything is sweet, short drive checking brake etc possibly reversing sets the fuse off again. Thinking I might also have a look at the trailer wire poss having been rubbed through to bare wire under the vehicle having had a couple of heavy loads?

As I mentioned earlier pull the connector inside the left inside rear panel. This is the trailer plug loom so wont have an affect on other systems and will isolate that part of the wiring loom. I disconnected that plug and all my tail lights are still working.

In the pics I posted yesterday, the middle pic shows this trailer connector on the left. This not the trailer plug on the towbar but another connection upstream (the one pictured) on the main wiring loom that can be accessed very easily like I said from the inside panel.

9/10 the trailer wiring and the socket are main culprits with these type of faults so best to eliminate these first as you know.

I've taken some pics for you of my connector inside my Kakadu. There's plenty of slack in there to pull the loom out of the recess and unplug it. All the colours and the connector type line up with my service manual so this is certainly the correct plug to pull as a start.

As worst you lose trailer lights. Throw in a new fuse and see how you go over a day or so.

Edit. Also double check your jack is correctly mounted inside this little recess and hasn't fallen down and damaged the wiring loom inside there.

[AGLePoer Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close AGLePoer]

Argh! Yes the jack was (somehow) loose inside that compartment. I have taken out the fuse that powers the trailer loom and controller box. Will see how we go. Thank you for your advice and help.

[Ghandi Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ghandi]

On my previous BA Falcon, I have had crazy (flashing, intermittent) / no electrical lights on the main instrument panel/indicators.

After much searching, diagnosis with mechanic and auto sparky (including possible instrument panel replacement! $$$$) it turned out to be the trailer wiring shorting out after the rear end had bottomed out on a speed bump/steep driveway and damaged the wiring juuust behind the trailer plug/bumper.

[Guest Close Guest]

Having a heavy load has possibly crushed your trailer loom, the body flexes on its mounts. More weight in rear will compress the mounts possibly meaning a pinch point.
Or as stated a jack has moved and crushed the loom or damaged a plug.

[Nebulous Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Nebulous]

With the "Door Chime" an easy temporary fix is with the door open (drivers) and the door chiming then just press once the rubberised switch that detects that the door is open and the chimes will stop. I don't know how it goes with more than one door open though. Works on my GX.