nickbrumme
New member
Hey all-
I read a couple other old threads about this, and even posted in one, but I haven’t found an answer and it doesn’t seem like people are responding to the old threads so I thought I’d start a new one.
I have a standard 1998 SR5 V6 2WD 4Runner. All original sound system and alarm system (I did disable the alarm and remote lock years ago though, so I only use the physical key to unlock. I forget exactly why I did that. I think it was because of something like when I locked the car with the fob and opened it with the physical key the alarm would go off or something like that. Pretty sure that’s unrelated. It was years ago. This current headlights issue is only months old). I do not have the auto off headlights. I have standard headlights.
The headlights work completely fine, everything as you’d expect, but when it rains, they turn on. Even if the key isn’t in the ignition. Clearly some water is getting somewhere and shorting the circuit. When it's raining, keys are not in the ignition and light switch is in the OFF position, the headlights are on. If I turn the PARKING lights on, the headlights turn off (like they should be when the parking lights are on). And of course when I turn the switch to the headlights ON position, the headlights turn back on. But when I move the switch back to the OFF position, the headlights are still on. SOMETIMES going back and forth between on and off like this shuts them off. But only temporarily, and then as it rains more, jiggling the switch like this stops working and the lights are just always on. I've been functioning by taking the fuses out whenever it rains for a couple months now (doesn't rain much in LA). But every so often it starts raining while I'm sleeping and I wake up to a dead battery.
Some more info:
When I turn the car on sometimes after it's been off for awhile (raining or not raining) I hear what sounds like water draining from right where the dash meets the windshield. I'm sitting in my mechanics waiting room while I'm writing this and I told him what I just told you and he says what I’m describing sounds like there's something wrong with the heater core. My cold air AC definitely rarely works, though the heater seems to consistently work... I don't know if this is relevant to the lights. But it seems like a similar area...
One night, it was raining and I had taken the two headlight fuses out like I have learned to do. Went to get dinner and when I came back out to my car, the PARKING lights were intermittently flashing and I THINK I remember when they flashed, the horn also briefly beeped with it? It was probably like every 20 seconds or something it would just barely flash & beep for half a second. This only happened that one night (that I saw). Usually (to my knowledge) when I pull the headlight fuses out and it's raining, everything stays off. To my memory it wasn't raining particularly heavy that night either...maybe just more consistently?
Pretty sure that's all the info I have related to that issue. I first noticed it happening probably 6 months ago. But it hardly rains in LA so I've lived with it. Maybe it was happening before without me knowing. It took me a second to put it together that it was happening while it was raining. But it’s definitely only when it rains.
Any ideas about what exactly is happening and how to fix it?
I read a couple other old threads about this, and even posted in one, but I haven’t found an answer and it doesn’t seem like people are responding to the old threads so I thought I’d start a new one.
I have a standard 1998 SR5 V6 2WD 4Runner. All original sound system and alarm system (I did disable the alarm and remote lock years ago though, so I only use the physical key to unlock. I forget exactly why I did that. I think it was because of something like when I locked the car with the fob and opened it with the physical key the alarm would go off or something like that. Pretty sure that’s unrelated. It was years ago. This current headlights issue is only months old). I do not have the auto off headlights. I have standard headlights.
The headlights work completely fine, everything as you’d expect, but when it rains, they turn on. Even if the key isn’t in the ignition. Clearly some water is getting somewhere and shorting the circuit. When it's raining, keys are not in the ignition and light switch is in the OFF position, the headlights are on. If I turn the PARKING lights on, the headlights turn off (like they should be when the parking lights are on). And of course when I turn the switch to the headlights ON position, the headlights turn back on. But when I move the switch back to the OFF position, the headlights are still on. SOMETIMES going back and forth between on and off like this shuts them off. But only temporarily, and then as it rains more, jiggling the switch like this stops working and the lights are just always on. I've been functioning by taking the fuses out whenever it rains for a couple months now (doesn't rain much in LA). But every so often it starts raining while I'm sleeping and I wake up to a dead battery.
Some more info:
When I turn the car on sometimes after it's been off for awhile (raining or not raining) I hear what sounds like water draining from right where the dash meets the windshield. I'm sitting in my mechanics waiting room while I'm writing this and I told him what I just told you and he says what I’m describing sounds like there's something wrong with the heater core. My cold air AC definitely rarely works, though the heater seems to consistently work... I don't know if this is relevant to the lights. But it seems like a similar area...
One night, it was raining and I had taken the two headlight fuses out like I have learned to do. Went to get dinner and when I came back out to my car, the PARKING lights were intermittently flashing and I THINK I remember when they flashed, the horn also briefly beeped with it? It was probably like every 20 seconds or something it would just barely flash & beep for half a second. This only happened that one night (that I saw). Usually (to my knowledge) when I pull the headlight fuses out and it's raining, everything stays off. To my memory it wasn't raining particularly heavy that night either...maybe just more consistently?
Pretty sure that's all the info I have related to that issue. I first noticed it happening probably 6 months ago. But it hardly rains in LA so I've lived with it. Maybe it was happening before without me knowing. It took me a second to put it together that it was happening while it was raining. But it’s definitely only when it rains.
Any ideas about what exactly is happening and how to fix it?
