Vehicle:
How it Happened:
I came out to the parking lot to put something in my car when I was really weirded out to see that the fog lights were on without the ignition or anything being on (fog light switch was set to off). I went and I unplugged the fog light connectors to plug them in again and then randomly my horn laid on and wouldn't stop. I then disconnected the positive battery terminal so that I wouldn't wake up the entire neighborhood because it was like 9:30pm. Then I realized that when the fog light switch was set to on, the horn got power. So naturally I disconnected the power to both of the horns and now the problem has been temporarily solved. Another odd factor is that when I turn on my headlights and then turn them off my high beams turn on and the only way to turn them off is to set my fog lights to on. If I set the fog lights to off again then the high-beams stay off.
Locational Context:
This car spent its life from 2012 - 2024 in the very rainy Washington State with absolutely no water issues. In 2024 I left for college to Montana State. We of course had a very cold winter as always in Montana. Now I'm wondering if some freezing water possibly busted open something near the windshield that was previously not an issue. The fog light occurrence happened right after 2 days of rain here in Montana but I thought little of it since the ol Cruiser has seen so much rain before in Washington.
Windshield Context:
After checking and replacing all the fuses using the fog lights and horn I went to Safelite windshield repair having read that placemotorsports post. They then told me about how the 99 and Y2k models of the 100 series had the riveted weather stripping for the windshield and that they wouldn't do it because the cowards were too scared to shatter the glass (I dont blame them I'm just pissed off at the situation). After looking through it with me as a common curtesy they saw that the last job used screws to tap into the pillar, rather than rivets. They said that I should really take it to the dealership to have the waterproofing done but they could do the windshield itself. They also said though that because the screws used were rusty and because I told them that I was having electrical issues with the horn and fog lights they didn't really want to touch it.
What I want to know:
I read the post I mentioned twice before so I understand that it's almost certainly water related but what can I do? It was hard to get a direct answer through some of the posts so I really wanted to see if y'all had a definitive answer. Once it dries out will the car go back to normal or am I not so lucky? Should I start saving up some money to buy a bunch of relays to deal with this problem or should just replacing the windshield and having the windshield sealed in very well also prevent this in the future now?
Here's the rig below:
Why it matters to me:
I know this is dumb and kind of unrelated but it's really important to me. This was my childhood family car and having moved around to nearly 20 houses with a single mom growing up, this thing is the closest thing I've ever had to "the house I grew up in". If the screws on the windshield waterproofing or electrical problems are a giant issue than I really don't know what I'll do. I really don't want to lose this car and would be so appreciative for absolutely anything you could add to this conversation. I am so grateful for you to even read to the end of this conversation and for your patience you have both my respect and attentiveness at your service, thank you.
Sincerely,
Your local broke car-enthusiast college student
- 100 Series Land Cruiser
- 2UZ-FE
- 344,000 miles
- Model year: 2000
How it Happened:
I came out to the parking lot to put something in my car when I was really weirded out to see that the fog lights were on without the ignition or anything being on (fog light switch was set to off). I went and I unplugged the fog light connectors to plug them in again and then randomly my horn laid on and wouldn't stop. I then disconnected the positive battery terminal so that I wouldn't wake up the entire neighborhood because it was like 9:30pm. Then I realized that when the fog light switch was set to on, the horn got power. So naturally I disconnected the power to both of the horns and now the problem has been temporarily solved. Another odd factor is that when I turn on my headlights and then turn them off my high beams turn on and the only way to turn them off is to set my fog lights to on. If I set the fog lights to off again then the high-beams stay off.
Locational Context:
This car spent its life from 2012 - 2024 in the very rainy Washington State with absolutely no water issues. In 2024 I left for college to Montana State. We of course had a very cold winter as always in Montana. Now I'm wondering if some freezing water possibly busted open something near the windshield that was previously not an issue. The fog light occurrence happened right after 2 days of rain here in Montana but I thought little of it since the ol Cruiser has seen so much rain before in Washington.
Windshield Context:
After checking and replacing all the fuses using the fog lights and horn I went to Safelite windshield repair having read that placemotorsports post. They then told me about how the 99 and Y2k models of the 100 series had the riveted weather stripping for the windshield and that they wouldn't do it because the cowards were too scared to shatter the glass (I dont blame them I'm just pissed off at the situation). After looking through it with me as a common curtesy they saw that the last job used screws to tap into the pillar, rather than rivets. They said that I should really take it to the dealership to have the waterproofing done but they could do the windshield itself. They also said though that because the screws used were rusty and because I told them that I was having electrical issues with the horn and fog lights they didn't really want to touch it.
What I want to know:
I read the post I mentioned twice before so I understand that it's almost certainly water related but what can I do? It was hard to get a direct answer through some of the posts so I really wanted to see if y'all had a definitive answer. Once it dries out will the car go back to normal or am I not so lucky? Should I start saving up some money to buy a bunch of relays to deal with this problem or should just replacing the windshield and having the windshield sealed in very well also prevent this in the future now?
Here's the rig below:
Why it matters to me:
I know this is dumb and kind of unrelated but it's really important to me. This was my childhood family car and having moved around to nearly 20 houses with a single mom growing up, this thing is the closest thing I've ever had to "the house I grew up in". If the screws on the windshield waterproofing or electrical problems are a giant issue than I really don't know what I'll do. I really don't want to lose this car and would be so appreciative for absolutely anything you could add to this conversation. I am so grateful for you to even read to the end of this conversation and for your patience you have both my respect and attentiveness at your service, thank you.
Sincerely,
Your local broke car-enthusiast college student
