SQOD Squad - Stupid Question Of the Day

[Fisher23]

Alright, this is pissing me off, and I can't figure out how to get it to stop.

If I leave the headlight stalk switch in "Auto", when I shut the truck off and open the door, I get an annoying "beeeeeeeeeep" noise, like "hey you left your headlights on dummy". If I ignore it and get out and walk away, when I come back to the truck many minutes later the headlights are still on. Like, it's gonna kill the battery. The only way I can get it to stop is flip the switch all the way down to "Off", then back up to "Auto" again.

I have my DRL disabled, if that matters. Does it?

Or did some setting change somewhere? I looked in the options, and nothing is relative to this.

Stupid truck. What a POS. Time to trade for a Prius and join the sheeple.

If you hit the lock button on the remote a 2nd time it turns off the lights right away. .. on my 2016. not sure about the 2015.
AFter so many minutes they do turn off automatically.

 

[JetFuel]

Alright, this is pissing me off, and I can't figure out how to get it to stop.

If I leave the headlight stalk switch in "Auto", when I shut the truck off and open the door, I get an annoying "beeeeeeeeeep" noise, like "hey you left your headlights on dummy". If I ignore it and get out and walk away, when I come back to the truck many minutes later the headlights are still on. Like, it's gonna kill the battery. The only way I can get it to stop is flip the switch all the way down to "Off", then back up to "Auto" again.

I have my DRL disabled, if that matters. Does it?

Or did some setting change somewhere? I looked in the options, and nothing is relative to this.

Stupid truck. What a POS. Time to trade for a Prius and join the sheeple.

I get the beeeeeeeeep too when I turn the car off and open the door like I left the key in the ignition (if there was one). I haven’t checked to see if the headlights are on Auto. It’s annoying but if I close the door and reopen it stops.

However, the lights should go out after after a set number of seconds even if you don’t lock the car, I think like 30 if I had to guess. But they should also turn off when you hit the lock button twice. Does that happen?

 

[JetFuel]

If you hit the lock button on the remote a 2nd time it turns off the lights right away.
AFter so many minutes they do turn off automatically.

I wonder if the duration they stay on is adjustable via techstream or via the Setup or Config menu. Mine go out pretty quickly after I turn off the engine.

 

[jdo748]

I wonder if the duration they stay on is adjustable via techstream or via the Setup or Config menu. Mine go out pretty quickly after I turn off the engine.

Default is 30 seconds and the owners manual shows how to customize time up to 90 seconds.

 

[grinchy]

@KLF Do you have a window or sunroof open or extra key fob in the car, is your tailgate closed?

 

[KLF]

@KLF Do you have a window or sunroof open or extra key fob in the car, is your tailgate closed?

Nope, nope, and yes.

Happens whether I lock the truck or not.

The other day I came home and parked in the garage like normal. I ignored the beep and went inside. 10 minutes later I had to get something from the garage, and the headlights were still on.

 

[grinchy]

Maybe one of the latches isn’t reporting closed. I get that long beep when I leave the sunroof open and when I leave a fob in the car.
Could be the neutral/park switch in the transmission?

 

[CruiserFan88]

This link is somewhat dead, but seems to apply.

Engine Air Box Latch Repair

Article by: SupraTuRD and RobRed Applicable Models: 1998 - 2007 / 100 Series Land Cruiser or Lx 470 So you broke an air box latch. Let's see that airbox

tlcfaq.com

Also, this looks like the right part, but not sure.

ARCHIVE - ( NEW PRODUCT RELEASE ) NOS NEW OEM TOYOTA AIR CLEANER FILTER BOX HOUSING 3pc CLAMPS SET KIT ALL LAND CRUISERS USE THESE SAME CLAMPS ! FJ , BJ ,. HJ

https://vintageteqparts.com/collections/everything-else-hardware-fsms-shop-manuals-special-teq-stuff/products/nos-new-oem-toyota-air-cleaner-filter-box-housing-3pc-clamps-set-kit-f-2f-3b-fj40-fj60-bj40-all-land-cruisers-use-these-same-clamps ( NEW PRODUCT RELEASE ) NOS NEW OEM TOYOTA...

forum.ih8mud.com

Nice finds! I appreciate the help. Those older carb filter clamps might work or be made to work. I didn't think about replacing with another style clamp but that looks easy enough also. Thanks for the inspiration!

 

[Bryanseye]

Nice finds! I appreciate the help. Those older carb filter clamps might work or be made to work. I didn't think about replacing with another style clamp but that looks easy enough also. Thanks for the inspiration!

Have you tried a salvage yard? I can't imagine that a Sequoia or Tundra, or even a 4Runner, is all that different.

 

[nakman]

Nope, nope, and yes.

Happens whether I lock the truck or not.

The other day I came home and parked in the garage like normal. I ignored the beep and went inside. 10 minutes later I had to get something from the garage, and the headlights were still on.

I think you need to dive into the settings menu. While parked push settings, then vehicle customization, then the light settings are all in a sub menu there. There should be a way to adjust this to turn off after 30 seconds or so.

 

[CruiserFan88]

Have you tried a salvage yard? I can't imagine that a Sequoia or Tundra, or even a 4Runner, is all that different.

I was looking for a replacement I can get delivered to the house. Wont be able to make it out to a junk yard for a while or that would likely be the fastest/cheapest answer.

 

[KLF]

I think you need to dive into the settings menu. While parked push settings, then vehicle customization, then the light settings are all in a sub menu there. There should be a way to adjust this to turn off after 30 seconds or so.

That's the thing... I've done all that. First thing I tried. I even changed and Saved the setting just to see, and it made no difference.

This is the 5th... no 6th vehicle (Toyota/Lexus) I've had with Auto headlights. In the past I mostly just left it in Auto all the time. Shut the engine off, get out (no beep), and after the preset time, the headlights turn off. Something has changed or broken, the behavior is different.

 

[linuxgod]

If there's a beep, it either thinks something is open or it thinks your key is still in the vehicle. I don't think the vehicle will lock if it detects another key inside, so my hunch is one of the door or trunk sensors might be mis-reading. (If it was the sunroof you'd get a message on the MID telling you it's open).

My 2013 operates exactly as you expect. Headlights go off after 30 seconds when set to Auto. If I get out, close the doors, and push "lock" on the keyfob twice it will turn them off early.

The FSM says there are 4 suspected areas for your problem, btw:

Let me know if you need the debugging info from the FSM for this

 

[KLF]

If there's a beep, it either thinks something is open or it thinks your key is still in the vehicle. I don't think the vehicle will lock if it detects another key inside, so my hunch is one of the door or trunk sensors might be mis-reading. (If it was the sunroof you'd get a message on the MID telling you it's open).

My 2013 operates exactly as you expect. Headlights go off after 30 seconds when set to Auto. If I get out, close the doors, and push "lock" on the keyfob twice it will turn them off early.

The FSM says there are 4 suspected areas for your problem, btw:

View attachment 2793096
Let me know if you need the debugging info from the FSM for this

I'm not even getting out yet. As soon as I open the drivers door, it starts beeping. So, yeah the key is still inside, it's in my pocket. And I'm often in my garage, where I don't lock it.

If there was a door sensor out of calibration or failed, it would beeeeeeeeep as soon as I put it in Drive. But it doesn't do that.

And, the ONLY way I can get the beeping to stop if the door is open is to turn the headlight switch to OFF, then back to Auto. Then the headlights shut off immediately, no delay.

Man, I hope this isn't a burned up ECU... Or water intrusion... Or critters chewing on the wiring...

 

[linuxgod]

It’s worth checking your door sills for signs of water. Is this issue recent or has it been doing it for the last couple years since you joined the 200 club? if it was due to water I’d expect it to be intermittent as things dry out

 

[linuxgod]

@KLF. so given your issues, here's how I'd go about this.

First, do you have any extra lighting on your truck at all? Anything like a light bar or spot lights you added months ago? If so is any of that tied into any of your switching (i.e. driving lights tied to the high beams)? Or did you use an add-a-fuse on the light circuit to get an always-on accessory? I'm assuming the answer to all of this is no, but I figure it's worth asking since I'm doing this online and not in person.

Now, fire up Techstream and see if there are any codes stored in the system somewhere under "Body Electrical". Not the normal emissions codes, which throw the check engine light, but Toyota-specific codes, which might be related. You probably don't have one stored, but if you do it would save a bunch of time trying to diagnose this. I've attached the FSM troubleshooting steps which basically say the same thing (check battery voltage, check for codes, then try to troubleshoot).

The "operation check" portion of the troubleshooting is pretty straightforward. I suspect the part I highlighted in red below will fail but I'm curious nonetheless

4. CHECK LIGHT AUTO TURN OFF OPERATION

(a) Turn the engine switch on (IG), and turn the light control switch to tail or head.
(b) Turn the engine switch off and open the driver door. If the light control switch is tail, check that the taillight turns off immediately. If the light control switch is head, check that the headlight and taillight turn off after approximately 30 seconds.
(c) Turn the engine switch on (IG), and turn the light control switch to head.
(d) Turn the engine switch off and open the driver door. Within 30 seconds, lock all the doors. Check that the headlight and taillight turn off immediately.

Next thing I'd personally try is to swap the headlight relay with another similar relay, if one exists. I'm wondering if the relay is bad and shorting. A bit of corrosion or water in the relay can cause the lights to stay on if it's shorting (or sticking). I've attached the inspection procedure for the headlight signal circuit as well, which hopefully will help you.

Techstream has a huge "main body" "active test" section which will let you confirm signals for all sorts of stuff. This is definitely a good way to diag. For instance it'll let you check the ignition switch to see if it's ACC or IG "position". So while you may have turned your vehicle off, perhaps the switch is bad and shorting to IG or something weird?

Finally, I also attached the 3 inspection procedures (light control switch circuit, engine switch, and door courtesy switch). There's no other test procedure for the main body ECU so let's hope it's not that.

 

[ExpeditionMan]

Stupid question because these trucks get used on this forum but... what brand are you using for touch up paint? There are a few rock chips I want to clean up.

 

[KLF]

@KLF. so given your issues, here's how I'd go about this.

First, do you have any extra lighting on your truck at all? Anything like a light bar or spot lights you added months ago? If so is any of that tied into any of your switching (i.e. driving lights tied to the high beams)? Or did you use an add-a-fuse on the light circuit to get an always-on accessory? I'm assuming the answer to all of this is no, but I figure it's worth asking since I'm doing this online and not in person.

Now, fire up Techstream and see if there are any codes stored in the system somewhere under "Body Electrical". Not the normal emissions codes, which throw the check engine light, but Toyota-specific codes, which might be related. You probably don't have one stored, but if you do it would save a bunch of time trying to diagnose this. I've attached the FSM troubleshooting steps which basically say the same thing (check battery voltage, check for codes, then try to troubleshoot).

The "operation check" portion of the troubleshooting is pretty straightforward. I suspect the part I highlighted in red below will fail but I'm curious nonetheless

4. CHECK LIGHT AUTO TURN OFF OPERATION

(a) Turn the engine switch on (IG), and turn the light control switch to tail or head.
(b) Turn the engine switch off and open the driver door. If the light control switch is tail, check that the taillight turns off immediately. If the light control switch is head, check that the headlight and taillight turn off after approximately 30 seconds.
(c) Turn the engine switch on (IG), and turn the light control switch to head.
(d) Turn the engine switch off and open the driver door. Within 30 seconds, lock all the doors. Check that the headlight and taillight turn off immediately.

Next thing I'd personally try is to swap the headlight relay with another similar relay, if one exists. I'm wondering if the relay is bad and shorting. A bit of corrosion or water in the relay can cause the lights to stay on if it's shorting (or sticking). I've attached the inspection procedure for the headlight signal circuit as well, which hopefully will help you.

Techstream has a huge "main body" "active test" section which will let you confirm signals for all sorts of stuff. This is definitely a good way to diag. For instance it'll let you check the ignition switch to see if it's ACC or IG "position". So while you may have turned your vehicle off, perhaps the switch is bad and shorting to IG or something weird?

Finally, I also attached the 3 inspection procedures (light control switch circuit, engine switch, and door courtesy switch). There's no other test procedure for the main body ECU so let's hope it's not that.

Oh wow, thanks for taking the time to type all that out, and gather the docs. I'll try to work on this tomorrow evening, hopefully my Techstream still runs, haven't used it in awhile.

No extra lighting has been added to the headlights circuits. I do have several other lighting circuits, mostly interior stuff, but they are powered from a totally separate fuse panel and house battery. The only place where there is cross contamination is I am using the reverse light circuit to fire a relay that turns on the Rigid lights in my rear bumper, but I was careful to put a diode in line so it can't backfeed.

This is fairly new, within the last couple of months. It used to work as expected. And when I say beeping, I mean it's a long continuous "beeeeeeee...." until I either close the door again, or shut the headlights off. Not the "ding ding ding" of the key warning.

 

[linuxgod]

Interesting. I wish I had a single diag sheet that explained what all the beeps and chimes and various dashboard lights actually meant. They're mostly in the FSM but they require a lot of work to find.

I've heard that loooooong beep once, when my engine was running and I was in gear and opened the driver's door. I can't imagine how that would translate to your issue though, since if you're in gear you can't turn the truck off - it will skip over "off" and jump right back to accessory mode.

 

[gasman4u]

Stupid question because these trucks get used on this forum but... what brand are you using for touch up paint? There are a few rock chips I want to clean up.

I believe it has been recommended elsewhere on mud that the dealer will sell you a small touch up pen based on your paint code. It's around $20 iirc.