Tail lights on 99 Solara don't work

[nmatthis]

I have a 99 Solara SE V6. My tail lights have gone out. My brake lights, backup lights, headlights, foglights, turn signals, hazard lights and domelight all work. I did notice that the lights for the license plate are also out.

I've looked at every fuse in the engine-bay compartment next to the battery and all are intact. Annoyingly, the schematic on the inside of the fuse box lid does not say anything about a fuse for the tail lights or brakelights.

The headlights come on fine, but the tail lights will not illuminate. I've tried physically turning the headlight switch on and also waiting until dark and letting the automatic headlights turn on. In both cases, the tail lights do no work.

I've physcially checked both tail lights. The brake light and tail light are the same bulb, just with two separate filaments. The tail light filaments are intact on both bulbs. Also, I checked the voltage at the connector where the bulb plugs into and there is 12V at the two terminals for the brake lights (depressed the brake pedal while checking voltage) and there were no voltage on the other set of contact, presumably for the tail lights.

Anyone have any idea what the problem is? Thanks.

[1gSE]

work backwards and find the last source of power

[Eye8Pussies]

so, your brake lights work, but not your taillights?

and do your front corner lights work? if they also don't work, then look for the corner light fuse, as they are on the same one

then check your bulb holders, because for some reason, they have a habit of shorting out for some reason and then must be replaced

[nmatthis]

Eye8Pussies,
Ah, yes, the corner lights are out as well. The blinkers work but the corners have a single bulb with two filaments. Obviously the blinker filaments are on a different circuit than the parking light filaments.

Do you know which fuse is for the corner/tail lights? Like I said, i've already pulled all of the fuses out and checked and none of them are blown. Do one of the relays control these lights? Thanks.

[fctoyota]

check the lamp failure sensor in the trunk on the left side

[nmatthis]

check the lamp failure sensor in the trunk on the left side

Where exactly is this sensor? Is it mounted to the tail light assembly near the bulbs or somewhere else?

[nmatthis]

I found in an electrical schematic in my Haynes manual that there is a tail light relay. Problem is that it doesn't tell me where this relay is. I've found three places that contain relays; two boxes under the hood and under the knee bolster. I guess I can just test every relay (the Haynes manual does tell you how to test a relay), but it would be great if someone knows which one it is. Thanks.

[Eye8Pussies]

Sorry, I don't remember where the fuse is, which isnfunny since I had to replace it 4 times before I figures out what was causing it. But recheck all the fuses . It's still more likely to be a fuse than a relay, and sometimes when quickly checking fuses, you may miss what you're looking for.