'96 Toyota Camry Indicator Lights Won't Turn Off Even With Key Out of Ignition. Help Please.

15

Asked by Tom Dec 20, 2016 at 04:21 AM about the 1996 Toyota Camry LE

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

My '96 Camry started fine yesterday and drove it to the bank. When I
turned the car off, I noticed all of the indicator lights stayed on even when I
took the key out of the ignition. I happened to press the brake and all the
lights shut on and off as I pressed and released the brake. Very weird. I
tried to start the car again and it was hard to turn over, but it did start. I
turned the car off again and all the indicator lights shut off as normal and
restarting was not a problem at all. I then went to another store and the
same thing happened. I pressed the brake and the indicators turned off.
When I finished shopping, I started the car with no issues, but when I when
to engage into reverse, the safety lock on the shifter wouldn't let me go into
gear. I pressed the brake, still nothing. I also noticed my brake lights would
not turn on when the brake was pressed. They were working just 2 hours
before. Needless to say, I was stuck in the parking lot which is a whole
other story. What can be happening here, because I don't think it's the
brakes themselves. I think something is creating havoc in the system, but I
don't know what. Any ideas? Suggestions? Tom

7 Answers

21,360

Seems you might have a bad/corroded electrical connection some where or a bad GROUND. One would use a Voltmeter and start with checking the Battery for State of Charge. Look for corrosion ...white powdery goo around those Battery Terminals. Get back with results

15

Thank you for your quick response. Yeah, it does sound like a short somewhere. I brought it to my mechanic this morning who's been working on Toyota's for 20 years. I'll post what he finds.

15

Okey dokey, So, I just got the car back today. The brake switch shorted out and the battery was actually cracked and leaking acid in the tray. There was corrosion everywhere. A new brake switch and an Interstate battery did the job and the car is running fine now. It's a good thing I made to the mechanic without any trouble, because they had trouble starting it with the old battery. Thanks again for taking the time to answer my concerns.

21,360

Wow....a cracked Battery. I have not seen that in awhile. A cracked battery is usually a result of a dead cell in the Battery. Then....when the ambient temp drops below freezing....and ..the dead cell's acid turns to water...the water freezes ...expands...and...either swells the Battery or cracks it. Very interesting. Thanks for the update.

Best Answer Mark helpful
15

It's been very cold here in NY for the past week. We had a few nights where the wind chill was 6 degrees. I would imagine that's when it happened.

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