Headlights won't turn off, what's my issue?

I get tired of telling people. Don't LOOK at fuses. Use a meter, test light, or swap in new ones.

My fuse tester is currently locked in ny glovebox and apparently I only have the valet key to my 4runner. Haven't had the time to drive an hour to the nearest dealership to get another master key made.
 
Mine fixed itself

Hey all,

Just wanted to chime in on this one in case it helps someone else in the future.

Long story:

I had my sunroof drain clog and leak water all down the driver side. The next day we noticed the headlights on the car had not turned off. I didn't have time that night so I pulled the fuses from the headlights and left it.

The next day I went out to a dead battery. Put the fuses back in and headlights came right back on (after jumping it). Fog lights would turn off and back on but headlights would not respond to turning them off and on. They just stayed on.

Checked fuses and no moisture I could find. No corrosion.

I read a ton of stuff on here and other sites and after wasting 4 hours of my life checking things it occurred to me that many posters had just gone away which led me to believe the problem dried out and fixed itself.

Short version:

I put my dehumidifier in the car overnight with a fan blowing up into the internal fuse box area and the next day everything worked great. So in my case just drying it out did the trick.

Hope this helps someone else save their Saturday in the future. Thank you guys for all the great info over the years. My 99 4Runner thanks you.
 
Similar symptoms, different solution

I recently had a similar problem on my '02, so I thought I'd post my solution for anyone in the future.

Rainy day, left work, went to my truck, found the battery was d-e-a-d. Was able to get a jump from a coworker, and went home on my merry way. Everything seemed fine electrically on the way home, so I didn't think much of it.

Got home, changed, and ran out with the wife and kids to a school function in her car. When we got home, I noticed the 4Runner's headlights were still on.

After a bunch of troubleshooting, it turned out the culprit was some corrosion on the positive battery terminal. Pouring some baking soda and water on the top of the terminal wasn't enough to resolve the problem; needed to remove the positive terminal, wire brush/clean it, and reconnect it. The battery was also 6 years old so I replaced it a few days later for good measure.
 

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