Blinker light stays on solid when brake is depressed...help!

So, this problem started yesterday with my 02 Tacoma 6cyl Prerunner. When my depress the brake pedal, the left blinker turns on solid and will remain on until the brake is released whether or not the blinker is on. The turn signal will not function but will stay lit up when the brake pedal is pressed. If the brake is released, the turn signal operates normally. I have had several Tacomas and this has never happened. It was raining yesterday - maybe something got wet. Weird.

Any thoughts out there?

Thanks! Devin

 

Double check that all of your bulbs are working properly. Sometimes when bulbs go out funny things will happen

 

do you have a trailer wiring harness/pigtail?

 

blinker fluid must be low

 

This here... I was getting some weird electrical gremlins until I replaced my trailer wiring harness. Just try disconnecting it for now (assuming you have one) and see if the problem goes away.

--Dan

 

Check your trailer harness and check the plug on the back of the tail light. Somehow your left turn signal is connected to your brake circuit. I've had similar issues with corrosion that was solved with some dielectric grease on the plug.

 

Do your brakes flash when your blinker is on?

 

^^^this^^^^^^^^^

its a well know result when they go bad that strange lights go on and off when you hit the brakes.

remove or replace the trailer like converter box

 

Thanks for all the comments, folks! I've only had the truck a couple of months and it only has 40K miles. It did come with a trailer hitch and wiring as the previous elderly owners did tow a small camper periodically. I will check that this weekend! Thanks again for taking the time to reply.

 

I've had the same thing happen to me. Checked all bulbs, completely removed trailer light harness, then found it was the flasher that died.

 

MYT4CO - when you say the flasher died, do you mean the flasher switch? Was both sides doing the same thing in your case? Or just one side?

 

Poor ground in the left brake light grounding back through the turn signal circuit.

Or the stupid trailer light converter.

 

Both blinkers worked fine unless pressing the brake they would go solid. The flasher relay was bad, but it could have been a combo of the trailer harness and flasher

 

Replace both sides bulbs and it will return to normal. Just did it last night. I went ahead and replaced all the bulbs when the lenses were off. Cheap insurance.

BB

 

that solves nothing as the turn signal functions normally.

there is a grounding issue making the indicator come on. either with the trailer wiring harness or at the light itself.

 

Hey Frizzman--

Did you just correct this issue last night???? Because I did.

It creates an open circuit when one of the bulbs is burned out, and forces the flasher switch to remain open when the brake peddle is depressed and the circuit will not be closed until the bulb is replaced.

BB

 

my chevy had something like this as well, if a blinker bulb went out, when you turned on the blinker both sides lit up and didn't blink. GM mechanic guy said that it was a safety thing, so you know your lights aren't working and the reason they just stay on solid instead of blinking is, so you know you have a problem and its easy to walk around the truck and see in a second which bulb you need to replace.

another thing with our trucks is, if you ever blow the fuse for the break lights, the shifter wont shift out of park until you snap off the tiny cover on the shifter so you can push the manual shifter release pin

 

when a bulb is burned out you get "hyper-flash" due to the draw being less. that's what it's supposed to do.

also our turn signals are on a different circuit than the brake lights. hence the separate bulbs.