Weird Issue, has anyone seen this before?

So my wife calls me Monday evening, stating that her truck won't start getting in after work (2015 Sequoia Limited). I had a jump pack in the back, so I walked her through how to use it, and she got her Sequoia started and headed home with no issues, except for she said the traction control light was on and the check engine light. When she got home, I began to look at it. It started right up so I checked the battery voltage, and it was at 13.9V and when turned off dropped to 12.7V. I let it sit for a few hours while I ran some errands, and it started right up. So I just chalked it up to she left something on, and shut the truck off to go inside.
This is where it got weird. I shut the truck off, and went to press the lock button on the key fob, and nothing happened. It wouldn't lock or unlock. I got in and out of it a few times. And same deal. No lock or unlock from the key fob. I walked inside and changed the key fob battery. Same issue. I grabbed the second set of keys. Same issue. During all this time, the headlights and fog lights never turned off. So I figured something happened to the security system, and it never locked and kept the headlights on all day, and that's what drained her battery. So I reached in and turned the lights off manually and the lights shut off. I read somewhere that possibly a bad fog light relay could cause this, so I unplugged that. Still same issue. No lock, unlock, and headlights won't turn off in auto. If I stick the key in the driver door, and turn the key the locks with auto lock and unlock. I also tried to reprogram the key fobs. Nothing worked. So I told the wife how she was going to have to lock/unlock the truck. And that she was going to have to turn the headlights off with the light stalk. Noted: She wasn't happy....
Fast-forward to the next evening. I researched where the remote key fob transmitter was located and removed it to check and see if it was shorted. I remove it, look at it, and plug it back in. Not only that, but I remove a bunch of panels on the back door and driver's side and disconnect a few connectors, and look to see if I can see anything shorted. Now get this. . For S&G's I tried the key fob, and get this. The key fob unlock worked, and the lock work, only it wouldn't lock due to the back door being open. So I shut the back door hatch and now nothing happens. No lock/unlock with the key fob. I walk around to the back and the back door button doesn't work. The door won't open. I stick the key in the back door, and the window rolls down and up, but the back door open button doesn't work. I crawl inside and unbolt the door and I found the manual release lever for the back door and open it. Now I crawl outside again and try the remote. Back to the doors locking and unlocking. I place the headlights in auto, and they won't turn off, but the lock and unlock works only when the back door is open. The wife comes out and tells me, Oh yeah, by the way, a coke exploded in her lunch box on Sunday. That she forgot in the truck over the weekend. It was second on the second row seat, driver's side. I start looking at that, and the carpet is all wet. I am like what the hell did you have in your lunch box?? A 3 liter? The carpet is soaked and sticky behind the second row, but in front of the third row. I remove the third row driver side seat, and close all the doors, and now, the remote works. All the doors will lock and unlock, but the headlights will stay on in auto. And now, you can hear clicking sounds from the dash as if the security system is going off, and it's flashing the lights when you unlock the doors and open the driver door. But nothing is happening (No lights flashing). Press the lock button on the key fob, and it goes away.

Has anybody ever seen or heard about something like this? I cannot find what is shorting the truck out. Battery seems to be good. I get 12.7 volts off of it. I guess I could start checking amp draw on the fuse box, but it doesn't seem to be draining the battery. Just has caused the security/key fob system to go nuts.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

Thats a weird one.
But...while I cant help with your problem you could do me a Solid and use paragraphs.
Kept going back to the same sentence.
Always hated electrical problems!!!
A short somewhere,anywhere,can gum up the works.
And even if you have a voltmeter where do you even start?
I'm sure someone here will be able to point you in the right direction though.

 

That is very odd. I'd say you'll probably have to take it in and get someone on the electrical issue. Did you make sure that ALL the fuses/relays and other electrical bits were seated? In my experience sometimes a fuse or relay can jiggle itself lose to where it's not making the proper contact. Try that, it's still the cheapest option.

 

How old is the battery? Even though your voltage is reading good, your symptoms sound like the battery is on its way out. I rarely get more than 18 months out of normal flooded lead acid batteries anymore.

 

I think the exploding coke is the smoking gun here.

 

Thanks,
I see 4 different paragraphs.
I'm not sure if you understand how a paragraph is constructed.
Furthermore, I will also add.
There is a key on your keyboard for an apostrophe.
Could ya use spaces after commas?
I didn't know if I should pause, or take a breath, or keep reading.
I would also add, if you're going to correct someone on how they post, and not help with the issue at hand. At least make sure your post is grammatically correct.

Now to find some info about this problem.

 

Any rodent evidence ? Those little bastards can cause a ton of problems in the chew wires.

 

Yes, thats where I am headed.
I was just seeing if anyone had ever had this before.

 

fuse are good

 

battery is about 13 months old

 

That was my thought too, but where the carpet is wet, there isn't any wiring near it.

 

Everything I inspected, I did not see any rodent chewing. I know them bastards love the Toyota wiring flavors.

 

You have what seems to be an intermittent short that began after a liquid intrusion event. Just seems way too coincidental for me

 

Sounds like an issue with body control module or a connector that got Coke wet that ties into it?

 

Update:
After tearing the interior apart and removing the rear hatch interior body cover. It looks like the rear hatch door has been leaking, and also the rear hatch seal.
We have had some heavy rain over the past few days, and when I got home from work, I opened the rear hatch door to find water inside the hatch door and bottom of the floor board.
The very back carpet in the storage area was damp as well, and I think the coke exploding was just additional issues, that triggered a bigger event.
Where the Coke exploded was located at the passenger doors, and that area is not damp anymore. As of last night, all remote functions were working and the lights would turn off in auto now.
New carpet, and seals on order. I hope this takes care of the problem.

Anybody else have the back hatch door leak before? Is this a common problem?
I have had this Sequoia for 8 years now, and this is the first time I have ever seen it leak.

 

If this behavior returns another thing to check is the door switch on the drivers door. Make sure the door open light comes on when you open it. Otherwise the vehicle doesn’t know you exited and will keep the auto headlights on, refuse fob controls, etc. The switch is easy to swap on most Toyotas (one bolt, one wire).

 

Thanks for the heads-up,
Right now the interior lights turn off after closing any of the doors.
It was just the exterior lights not turning off.
There is a module on the back door, that I unplugged, and nothing worked after that, I had to disconnect the battery for 15 minutes and reconnect to get everything back working again.
I think some moisture got inside of it, and maybe it dried out enough to start working again.

 

I’m not certain on your vehicle specifically, but on other Toyotas I’ve seen this issue keep the headlights on. If yours is similar, you’ll find the headlight auto off timer doesn’t start counting down until it sees the driver door open and close, so when that switch fails the vehicle doesn’t sense the exit, and the lights don’t turn off. The fob issue may be similar if it thinks the driver is still inside the vehicle.