LGJeff

I noticed something weird on my '97 ES today, the back-up lights aren't working at all. It's very strange, because all of the other lights work without a hitch. I looked up the fuses in the owners manual, but it's shared with things like interior lights, so that's obviously fine. I opened up the little panels behind the lights in the trunk, and everything seems to be connected properly, but I didn't know what connected to what. I'm going to the dealer tomorrow to pick up floor mats and could have them fix it, but if possible I'd rather do it myself. If anyone has any ideas on things to check for on why they're not working, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

steviej

iTrader: (1)

1. If both bulbs don't light up then I would suspect that it is the switch that is triggered when the car is put in reverse. (It would be odd that both bulbs blew at once.) This would most likely be a dealer fix.....get them on warranty.

2. Check to see that both bulbs are present. See if you can see them through the plastic. If they are there and it is not the switch, them maybe both are blown. My guess they are 16w Type E's. You have to go in through the trunk to replace. Lexusk8 has a good description of how to get to the taillight and license plate bulb area in a current thread. refer to that.

3. You just bought the car........make them work for the money they made. Bring it back to them, it should be under the sale warranty.

In MA, you would not have been able to get an inspection sticker without the back-up bulbs.

good luck,
steviej

LGJeff

thanks, you're right, i'll just have them do it hehe

meZoom!

Backlights not working has become a common thing amongst ES owners of many different years (but i think all are under before 2001). I *suspect* it's some funky wiring that toyota did for our cars...either that or corrosion. Hmmm...must look into this.

zexen

my first thoguht was wiring of power if the bulbs seem fine. i'm not too sure if my backup lights work... i guess i'll have to check one of these days.

sur4dude

Did anyone figure this out? Bringing this thread back up.

Mines just started doing this. Bulbs look fine (I gotta test them to be sure) I don't think bulbs are the culprit here because what's the chance that both, blew? Both don't light up when car is placed in reverse. They were intermittent at first, sometimes they light when car's in reverse, sometimes they wont. Now they wont.

Anyone know where the switch is?

Car is a 99 ES, out of warranty already.

csaxon

The neutral safety switch is connected to the throttle cable and the manual shift lever on the transaxle. The switch, in addition to preventing vehicle start with the transaxle in gear, also actuates the back-up warning lights.

csaxon

csaxon

Align the groove and the neutral basic line. Maintain the alignment and tighten the bolts to 48 inch lbs. (5 Nm).

sur4dude

One BIG MAHALO to you!!

I'll check this out on my car.

csaxon

Check those cables, they may have stretched and need adjusting.

sur4dude

Well, did some checking on the car earlier today. Guess what i found?

Looked at the the park/neutral switch, even looked at the throttle cables, etc. Looked at the fuse for tail light. Went out an bought a multimeter to check voltage at the light socket. Guess what no power going to the socket with trans in reverse. Why is that? Hmm.

Ok. Just by accident I touched the set of wires running up to the trunk lid. I saw the trunk light flicker. I touch it again. It flickered again. I decided to open up that set of wires. Peeled off all the elect tape, pulled it out of the housing guide it was contained in. The wires were kinked at the end of the wire housing that toyota used. As the trunk openned up, it bent the wire. I guess after 7 years of openning/closing the trunk, it decided to break on the inside of the wire. Like bending a paper clip back/forth until it broke. I crimped all wires (all wires had kinked, and lost connection inside). ALL IS GOOD NOW!!! Yeah.

Sorry long story there. Thanks for the bad design/assembly Toyota!!! In my opinion anyway.

Thanks for your help though, CSAXON!

csaxon

Glad it's fixed! Good Luck!

spazcar

Hey my first post - I have a 88,000 km 1994 ES300 in brilliant condition

So far I have replaced the dash back lights with LEDs / managed to connect my Ipod to the stereo direct, refreshed the transmission fluid and installed front driving lights - all of which was a breeze thanks to you guys.

Sadly my back up lights are now failing - the switch is the problem as I can get them to come on by jiggling the transmission selector. It looks fairly complex to get the switch out to clean it up - I suspect the addition of reverse sensor system hasnt helped as it will have added additional current load to this poor switch.

Any one been able to get to or fix the switch ?

cheers

kevin1000

Spazcar--did you get this resolved? I am going to start digging in to the problem tomorrow. I also get a check engine light, and the code i pull indicates the park/neutral position switch. It looks like all of the circuits to the lights in the trunk lid run through that switch.