o1d_dude

Just sharing what I learned: There is a tail lamp failure sensor hidden in the left/driver's side of the trunk. You will have to remove the carpet and the left/driver side trunk panel (three press-in connectors). There is vertical body member that connects the top of the fender to the trunk floor. Follow the cable harness behind (!) this member. See that yellow box about the size of a pack of cigarettes? That's the sensor. To remove this sensor, feel around on the top of the box for a press down latch. After a few moments of fumbling, you will probably succeed in releasing the sensor from it's mount.. You must then detach the cable bundle from the sensor. Easily done, it's a standard Toyota cable connection. The lid of the box is held in place with for little nubs so just pry the lid open with a small screwdriver. Remove the cover, drop the printed circuit board into your hand. Turn it over and look at the burned wire. In addition to the burned wire, one of the traces was in tatters and separated from my PC board. There's the problem. The replacement part can be ordered on the net for approximately $25 US. I'm going to try to obtain one locally tomorrow. Ironic that the diagnostic becomes the point of failure, isn't it? Do a web search on "toyota tail lamp relay" or "toyota tail lamp sensor" to get an idea of how many Toyotas have this problem.

I need one for the passenger side. Was thinking about visiting the local "pick and pull" auto salvage.

First it started out with the tail lights not working, as in none of the four panels lighting up. All other lights including brake lights worked fine. The manual said the running lights and a few other things were on the same circuit so the fuse had to be intact. Therefore, I checked the bulbs and found no problem there. Then I checked the fuses. As a matter of fact, I checked all the fuses (driver side kick panel, passenger side kick panel, engine compartment, battery box) and found them all to be intact. The only thing I did find was that the positive battery terminal was pretty loose so I tightened it up. Today I inadvertently shorted out the brake light circuit by removing one of the 1157 bulbs and clumsily using a 6/12 volt circuit tester. Briefly sparked but now none of the brake lights work. Back to the four fuse panels where all fuses are still intact. Checked all the light bulbs and found them intact as well. Not a single blown fuse and yet, no tail lights, no brake lights. Is there some sort of circuit breaker that can be reset? Or am I hosed once again by this POS?

Hi Steve. Thanks for replying. As you say, the switch is threaded into a fitting that feeds the upper radiator hose into the intake manifold. I take it this is the coolant temperature sensor. What is the switch down in the lower radiator hose fitting? Is it the fan switch? Should I replace it, too? Thanks. OD

I recently bought a 1991 Toyota Camry DX V6 automatic with 61,000 original miles but the motor appears to have been replaced...mileage unknown and probably out of another vehicle. In the last month or so, the car has started overheating. This usually occurs after driving at highway speeds and then having to idle in traffic. The temperature guage spikes up rapidly until the I hear the fans kick in, drops back down to a reasonable range while the fans run, and then spikes back up when they stop and they don't seem to stay on very long. Applying a bit of throttle also seems to lower the temp a bit. Radiator looks clear. I have flushed the cooling system, added new coolant, etc. First thought was thermostat followed by fan switch. Just tonight I noticed there were two switches on the engine: one on top of the fitting where the upper radiator hose enters the engine and a second switch on the fitting where the lower hose enters what I believe to be water pump (I can't see it to be sure). Any advice would be welcome. Thanks! OD

I recently bought a 1991 Toyota Camry DX and figured I'd better join the club. Hello to all from California!