Intermittent ticking that goes away if I turn lights on

I have a 2007 Tundra TRD 4.7, it is a 3rd vehicle for camping, jetskiing, etc.

I opened the garage one night & saw the tail lights flashing then went off. Eventually battery went dead. Charged it - in addition, when turned on, a ticking sound from the inside fuse box was is heard. I noticed the lights inside (clock/outside temp) were dimming at the same time. I changed the brake toggle switch and checked fuses. I heard it could be a relay switch- how do i find out which one?

 

That ticking is probably going to be a bad relay. You can actually feel it clicking on and off if you put your hand on the relays while it’s clicking.

 

OMG - I just did and can feel the fuel pump relay!! TYSM

Carolyn

 

Do yourself a favor and buy a new one from the dealer, one’s from Amazon are knock off and not oem Toyota

if you get one from a parts store get a Denso one

 

I bought the dealer one.
Could it be more than one relay? I replaced the fuel pump relay - the ticking noise went away but came back just not as bad.

 

Other relays are vibrating. The weird thing is it is attached to the instrument panel lights because they flicker until I turn the light switch to the parking ? (1st line) not headlights. Then it goes away

 

It could be any number of things. Could just be a bad battery causing odd electrical issues. There could be something back feeding into the relay. There could be a bad switch. It’s possible some rodents got into the wiring. It could be a bad ground somewhere. Could be water ingress… there’s just so, so many things.

Is there any more information you can give us? Mileage? Storage conditions? You tow jet skis with it, do these go in salt water?

I imagine as a third vehicle it isn’t driven much. So my first inclination is battery related, and or rodent damage, or maybe a corroded ground.


I would visually inspect the wiring harnesses first. I would check for signs of rodents in the cabin filter and under the hood where the truck pulls in air for said filter. I would also look in the engine air box.

Can you give us any more information? Water ingress into the vehicle maybe? Anything out of the ordinary?

do you have a multimeter and how comfortable are you with trouble shooting? What’s your level of experience here?