Hazard lights won't turn off? WTF?! (1 Viewer)

[Docwyte]

So it rained pretty well today, truck sat outside my office all day. Drove home, no issues. Was working in my garage and saw the turn signal lights flickering on the truck. Then the hazards came on.

Started the truck, they turned off. Operated the switch, made sure they were off with the truck running. Turned truck off, hazards came on. WTF?!

Checked the interior and engine bay fuse blocks, both are totally dry. Obviously something got wet here but what? Right now I have the battery disconnected so it won't kill the battery but I need to fix this.

Any ideas?

 

[GonzoShinyPants]

Is your battery ok? A weak battery will do some weird electrical stuff.

Otherwise hunt down the circuit for those lights and remove the fuse to hopefully open that circuit so you don't have to worry about them coming on and running your battery down and I'd look at fuses and relays to start with...

 

[Docwyte]

Battery is basically new. Where does water leak on these cars? Clearly the rain yesterday got inside, even tho things seem dry.

 

[phishtaco]

Battery is basically new. Where does water leak on these cars? Clearly the rain yesterday got inside, even tho things seem dry.

Sunroof drains and windshield if it is a replacement.

 

[Docwyte]

Windshield was replaced but years ago. Kinda strange it'd leak now.

I disconnected the battery so it wouldn't die overnight. Reconnected it this am, lights are working fine, but the drivers side window switch will only work the drivers window.

All other door switches work the windows fine.

Argh!!

 

[GonzoShinyPants]

You’ll have to reset the window switches after a battery disconnect, I think just push them all the way down and then all the way up, the lights on the switches will blink and then go solid once reset as I recall.

I had a Honda years ago that did weird things after it rained, could be some other electrical wire that’s giving interference from moisture …

 

[Docwyte]

You’ll have to reset the window switches after a battery disconnect, I think just push them all the way down and then all the way up, the lights on the switches will blink and then go solid once reset as I recall.

You do that to reset the auto up/down function. My windows aren't rolling up/down at all from that switch, with the exception of the drivers window

 

[joabmc]

You do that to reset the auto up/down function. My windows aren't rolling up/down at all from that switch, with the exception of the drivers window

Just want to make sure I'm understanding correctly. Lights are off now, You can operate your drivers window but no other windows from the drivers side?
If so, @GonzoShinyPants is correct. You have to physically go around to each door and operate the windows individually to reset... So go to drivers rear door, hold the switch down until the window goes completely down, then up until the window goes completely up. Repeat for all doors. Your drivers controls should operate correctly then. You will also have to do the same thing to the sunroof.

 

[Docwyte]

Really? Wow, that's some funky s***e. Never had to do that in my German cars, thanks for the info!

Yes, lights are off now, so I'll reset the windows and I guess cross my fingers that nothing gets wet again the next time it rains...

 

[joabmc]

Same boat... I have an E92 and F30 that aren't that picky!
There is a sticker located close to your battery that is supposed to remind you to initialize the windows after disconnecting the battery. I've had my battery disconnected a lot recently so everything is still fresh.
Have to go all the way down with the window and then back up or they don't work. That includes the drivers window as well (if you want the auto function) If not, the drivers will work but will not auto up or down...

 

[Docwyte]

Ok, reinitialized the windows and now the hazards are back flashing again. Sigh. So whatever is shorting out is somehow related to the initialization of the windows and the hazard switch

 

[GonzoShinyPants]

Check the owners manual about which fuses are for which circuits, they may or may not be related, but most likely you simply still have the hazard light issue

 

[Docwyte]

Taking it to the dealer tomorrow. Don't have time to deal with this. At least the weather is warm and I can ride my moto tomorrow, dealer will give me a loaner to use until they figure it out...

 

[Arailt]

Sounds like you have a short somewhere. Same thing happened to my TJ. Every time it would rain, my lights and signals would go haywire. Ended up finding a stripped wire leading to one of the fog lamps after hours of chasing wires.

 

[burtoncr]

So it rained pretty well today, truck sat outside my office all day. Drove home, no issues. Was working in my garage and saw the turn signal lights flickering on the truck. Then the hazards came on.

Started the truck, they turned off. Operated the switch, made sure they were off with the truck running. Turned truck off, hazards came on. WTF?!

Checked the interior and engine bay fuse blocks, both are totally dry. Obviously something got wet here but what? Right now I have the battery disconnected so it won't kill the battery but I need to fix this.

Any ideas?

Did you ever figure this out? Same thing is happened on my GX470, sunroof drains were clogged and let water in. Wondering if it is just the blinker relay box.

 

[Randy88FJ62]

To add on to the window reset:
The reset only addresses the sun roof, driver's auto up/down, and rear window. The 3 other passenger doors have no reset as they are always manual up/down to their switches.

 

[jumptrader]

Did you ever figure this out? Same thing is happened on my GX470, sunroof drains were clogged and let water in. Wondering if it is just the blinker relay box.

Same thing happening here too.. only when I take the truck to the car wash or when it rains. Did you find a fix?

 

[marshotel]

The dealer-installed alarm on my 2008 4Runner sometimes activates all the hazards if I unlock a door or roll down a window without completely deactivating the alarm system. It is really weird, it is just the hazard lights flashing and the horn does not sound.

To stop the hazards from flashing, I have to push the unlock button on the key fob several times. For me, pushing the unlock button on the keyfob always fixes it.

This might be a different problem from what the OP originally described, but if your 4Runner has the dealer-installed alarm system, it might be worth checking to see if the glitchy alarm system is somehow causing the unwanted activation of your hazard lights.