ill truck, any clues?

[SLOW LN]

okay so a friend has a '98 and theres something messed up. when the lights are on, the transmission doesn't shift up to the next gear (works fine with the lights off).

the gear indicator only goes between park and drive, which makes the reverse lights stay on.

there are other oddities within the lights in general: interior door lights are always on if the key is in (always on when driving, shut off after five min or so of the truck being shut off). oh and not all the lamps up front are in the best shape: they work but never all at once.

he hasn't messed with or modded anything in the darn thing... he thinks he might have messed something up while towing, but who knows if that has anything to do with it.

anyway I think this is pretty funny (my bj42 doesnt have computers so i wouldnt have this sort of problem), let me know what yall think it might be and we can keep another land cruiser on the road. thanks

 

[OregonLC]

I've seen weird behavior in lights when the trailer bundle is shorted against the frame. If that was the only recent change I'd start looking there.

 

[SLOW LN]

thanks, not a bad place to start.

oh and i meant to say the gear indicator only goes from park to reverse, making the reverse lights stay on while driving

 

[AimCOtaco]

I've seen weird behavior in lights when the trailer bundle is shorted against the frame. If that was the only recent change I'd start looking there.

Definitely the place to start, I think the trailer light controller (the factory unit is weak and fails often, at least the early ones for sure) is located in front of the left rear signal or in a floor recess in that are (can't recall exactly but in that general area). So if you pull the interior panel in the rear cargo you may find it and be able to simply disco the weak brain. Fuel pump relay is there to so care is required.

Keep us posted, that's a unique set of symptoms to say the least.

 

[hoser]

As said, start with pulling the trailer wiring. There also is usually a trailer connector by the exhaust resonator, aft of the spare tire. (Search for pics). If that doesn't help, I'd pull one light fuse at a time (brake lamp, parking, headlamp, etc) and see if any of those make a difference.

 

[SLOW LN]

it ended up being a messed up wire back in the fuel pump relay area. Thanks again for each of your suggestions!