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SOLVED - Blown fuse for dash lights and tail lights

Discussion in '1st Gen Tundras (2000-2006)' started by tburick, Sep 23, 2020.

  1. Sep 23, 2020 at 5:55 AM
    #1
    tburick

    tburick [OP] New Member

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    Hi Guys,

    Hoping to get some direction here. I have an '03 Tundra that constantly blowing the same fuse. I don't know yet if it blows the second you plug the fuse in or it blows when you turn the night time lights on. Will try to determine that this evening.

    It's the fuse that supports the dashboard lights and the tail lights. When it pops, I have no dashboard illumination and no tail lights (headlight switch "on"). Everything else seems to work. Brake lights, turn signals, headlights, etc.

    No recent changes to the truck except the drivers side from turn signal assembly replaced with a new off-brand assembly. (factory assembly glue gave way and turn signal assembly fell apart). The front turn signals are not tied to the fuse that keeps popping because the signals work after the fuse fails.

    Anybody see this on their Tundra? any suggestions?

    Thanks!
     
  2. Sep 23, 2020 at 12:47 PM
    #2
    Stuck in the '00s

    Stuck in the '00s Experienced member

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    Mikey
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    Western plow, custom bed
    Wondering if brake light switch is shorted??
     
  3. Sep 23, 2020 at 2:17 PM
    #3
    Lil Steve

    Lil Steve Living the dream

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    I'd start at the turn signal assembly you just changed. While your turn signals are working, the turn signal bulb is a dual filament type, parking light as well as the turn signal. So if you accidentally pinched the wire that feeds the parking light circuit against the body, it's possible it's shorting out and blowing your tail/parking light fuse.
     
  4. Sep 23, 2020 at 8:02 PM
    #4
    tburick

    tburick [OP] New Member

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    Ok...let me tell on myself. I ALWAYS buy genuine Toyota OEM parts for the truck. ALWAYS. Except this time. I didn't want to pay Toyota $150 for a turn signal assembly. Couldn't find a cheap used one so I recently bought Chinese garbage off of Amazon for $13 delivered. It's just a piece of plastic, right? What could go wrong? I didn't take into account that that Chinese plastic turn signal assembly was attached to a Chinese 12V bulb socket. In short, (pun intended) the socket failed and was causing the short. So, I'll poke around a few local salvage yards for a Toyota socket. Otherwise it's new OEM. Lesson learned. Thanks for the replies!
     
    NewImprovedRon and bmf4069 like this.
  5. Sep 23, 2020 at 8:08 PM
    #5
    Lil Steve

    Lil Steve Living the dream

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    Cant use the original bulb socket?
     
  6. Sep 24, 2020 at 5:20 AM
    #6
    tburick

    tburick [OP] New Member

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    Sure...if I wouldn't have thrown it away lol. Never would have imagined that the replacement socket would be defective.
     
  7. Sep 24, 2020 at 5:56 AM
    #7
    N84434

    N84434 In the Frozen Tundra

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    Milwaukee WI.
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    I’ve done the same thing too many times. After 54 years, I’ve finally learned not to throw parts away until the job is done...
     
  8. Sep 25, 2020 at 7:53 AM
    #8
    Professional Hand Model

    Professional Hand Model A.K.A ‘Golden Hands’

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    Always keep your spare parts so you can back test if a problem arises! Same thing happened with door switch I replaced (Wells which is OEM for Toyota). Replaced both front doors as the driver side was bad. Figured lets do both at the same time.

    After 10 months the new one on the pass side failed, but guess what? I had saved the old one and swapped it in. Stoked!
     
  9. Sep 25, 2020 at 11:23 AM
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    shifty`

    shifty` Is the Gila Copter a love machine?

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    I just don't bother to get rid of them until the vehicle is gone unless there's nothing viable to salvage on it, like a mangled bumper or door skin. I keep a bin and just toss stuff into it. When I sell the vehicle, it all goes in a box in the trunk or bed.

    This kind of stuff is what helped me kick a part over to @abcinv this past week. When I swapped out my climate control knobs, I saved the old OEM ones for parts, one of the knobs was cracked, so I harvested the retainer clip out of it and chucked the rest. Lo and behold, that's the exact part needed. $2 in postage and ... able to hook another member up.
     
  10. Sep 25, 2020 at 1:39 PM
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    abcinv

    abcinv OEM (+) Junkie

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    and abcinv much appreciated it!
    Life is good
     
  11. Jun 20, 2021 at 5:41 AM
    #11
    Phillips20211978

    Phillips20211978 New Member

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    June 2021.
    2000 tundra..

    Hello
    I see this has been solved, I'd like to chime in too.

    I've just fixed a similar issue in a 2000 tundra.

    I bought replacement headlights and running lights from a discount online store.

    Then the fuse for running lights, taillights, and dash lights kept instantly blowing.

    In my case it also was the poorly made front running light sockets that came with the new light fixtures.

    Luckily the sockets from the old fixtures were still good so I dicarded the new sockets and installed the old sockets.

    I think the new sockets could be fixed if a person were to bend the copper tabs inside so they wouldn't short out.

    Thanks everybody.

    Praise and hope and thanks to GOD Almighty, the Holy Spirit, Christ Jesus of Nazareth, hallelujah
     
  12. Jun 20, 2021 at 6:36 AM
    #12
    TurdFerguson

    TurdFerguson New Member

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    2002 TUNDRA SR5 AC 4X4 V8 TRD
    I guess I got lucky when I replaced every exterior light assembly on my 2000. Every lens was broken or badly cracked when I bought the truck. I bought them all from the same seller on eBay. I had just over $100 in all six assemblies. They fit well, they're bright, and I've been running them since 2015. The headlights were sold with the disclaimer that bulbs were not included, but they showed up with bulbs anyway. Go figure.
     
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    #12
  13. Nov 16, 2021 at 12:53 PM
    #13
    Gen1Lez

    Gen1Lez New Member

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    After a week and a half of following wires and Googling every possible keyword combination, I found this thread. This has led me to fixing a really frustrating short and I just wanted to say THANK YOU! A previous owner had replaced the front turn signal housings, and also the bulb sockets and bulbs (1157NA). I installed the correct Toyota parts (90069-81003) and some 4157NALL bulbs and everything is now working correctly! I must've blown 12-15 of the 15a fuses testing after each thing I tried.
     
    bmf4069, abcinv and Punk1974 like this.

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