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100 series headlamps gremlin

Geoff 28

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Evening all, I seem to have got myself a little electrical gremlin! Earlier today I parked up and locked the Amazon as usual and returned about 20 mins later to find both dipped beams were on. I checked the headlamp switch but it was in the off position. Main beam and flash worked as normal but dipped beam wouldn’t turn off. Drove 10 mins home and found dipped beams had turned off by then so tried switching them on again to check and they stayed on with the switch back in the off position.
I’ve since removed the column cowls and disconnected the multiplugs from the column controls but no luck there so I can discount a faulty switch.
The info I’ve found so far is that there is a separate control box for each headlamp, it seems highly unlikely they will both have failed but I’ve still got to get to those!
Apart from the usual pre flight checks before a 500 mile round trip last week there hasn’t been any work carried out recently and there were no early waning signs.
I’ve no idea yet if there are any other relays or control units buried anywhere so any suggestions from those of you who have mastered the dark art of LandCruiser electrics would be most welcome!!
 
I have the same problem, intermittently, usually after it rains. I think the fault in mine is where the trailer socket wires were joined into the main loom. I think moisture gets in there causing a short. When it happens I open the fuse cover and just take the headlight (10 amp) fuses out when I stop driving. It is odd that only the headlights come on not tail lights. Did you get a towbar fitted recently?
 
Thanks for that Keith, I was kicking a few ideas round last night after I added the post and came to the same conclusion! We had a 4 hour drive home last Thursday on some very wet roads and ran into a torrential downpour about 30 mins from home!
The Amazon had a tow bar on when I bought it but whoever wired up the 7 pin socket didn’t bother with the Toyota towing loom and just chopped the plug off the main loom and soldered the wires in, that said they haven’t caused a problem so far!
I changed the plug for a 13 pin and added 2 lives, one permanent and one switched by a voltage sensitive relay, ( you’ll have gathered by now we tow a tin tent)
So the plan this morning was to refit the 10 amp fuses then pull the fuse for the permanent live,but the law of sod intervened and when I refitted the fuses I found the fault had cured itself!
I stripped the socket anyway and found it was ok then removed the tape from the soldered joints on the 7 core, it seemed dry enough but there was some evidence of corrosion so I’ve dealt with that and re taped it.
As you’ll know that joint sits above the rear silencer so I’m wondering if the residual heat when parked up has dried any moisture out.
It would have been good to find something conclusive but so far the headlights are behaving themselves, time will tell!
 
A tin tent LOL, Jeremy would love that. What I don't understand is why only the headlights come on? Hopefully someone else knows more than we do.
 
Had a customer ask me to look at his 07 plate 45K miles from new 100 series today for this very same reason....although unsure if the rear lights were on or not

He left it parked up and locked outside his house and some while later noticed the headlights were on , he unlocked the car turned the lights on and then off and the lights went out....since then it's behaved fine but he now disconnects the battery's when leaving it parked up at home .

As you can tell from the mileage it get's very little use ..... I had a look and all seems fine with no damage to any looms , only thing I could see was an earth point under the fuel filter on the inner wheel arch was a bit green and may have been a bad or high resistance connection .

This vehicle has never had a towbar so we can rule out dodgy trailer lighting wiring .....

Funny but that's now 3 that have all done the same thing !
 
Sounds similar to the very first cruiser problem i had , indicators were turning headlights on and stuff like that . So i i bought the stalks set up used only to find it came with a female electrical connector to mate with the female on my loom .
Fortunately contrary to what everybody i had asked before you can change just the stalk .
 
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