Mysterious brake lights (Haunted Solara?)

[[SMAN]]

Might as well pull the fuse and watch it in the mean time to see if it goes on between now and when you drop it off at the shop.

[Down2TheC]

Question: How are you so "in tune" as to when the brake lights are on? You keep say they come on and that the "brake" warning light is off.

I help people with PC problems so forgive me if this seems beneath you. Just gotta check the little things that may be new to some.

1. You know the lights blink when you unlock the car, right? I can't see mine from the drivers seat so it sounds like you're outside the car when you notice it.
2. Not sure we're all talking about the same thing so a picture or a very graphic description of the lights you're talking about would be helpful. Your description above says it's the brake lights and not the "brake" indicator on the dash. (comes on for e-brake and failures only)
3. The daylight sensor is on the driver's dash. You don't have anything parked up there like paper or gloves or anything, right? And does it happen when you have the lights turned OFF entirely? Or just when you have them on DRL?

For troubleshooting, run during the day with the light switch set to OFF. What's the behavior?

[[SMAN]]

Yeah i was wondering how he could tell while he was driving (i think he was refering to the cruise control disengaging though) and he did say that "all 3 brake lights" come on. If the high mount 3rd light is comming on, then it should be the break, and not the running lights.

[rvman]

I obviously can't see the rear of the car while driving, but I can see the lights when its parked and when its causing my garage to turn a lovely shade of red. The problem seems to be worsening...cruise is malfunctioning more often as of yesterday and this morning. But of course I don't normally drive car and wife doesn't use cruise for her trip to work. Could have been this way all along...don't know. Drove with lights off most of the way home yesterday....exact same symptoms. I assume since cruise is kicking off, it thinks brakes have been applied. So I assume lights are on.
Located the switch...ain't no way I'm standing on my head to work on it. Pulling a fuse is one thing. Pulling the switch is another. And, pardon me, its a BRAND NEW FRICKIN CAR! That has already spent two days at a dealership. And didn't get worked on because the lights didn't come on in their presense. I shouldn't have to work on it. If my wife didn't work for Toyota, I would be raising hell.
Whew! Sorry for the venting...I'm just frustrated. But I do appreciate all of ya'lls advice and concern.
Pulling the fuse...calling another dealer for appointment for Thursday. I'll keep posting. Thanks!

[Down2TheC]

With one possible exception, sounds like the brake sensor needs a swap.

When you say cruise dies, you mean it's like you hit cancel? The Cruise light stays on and the system is on though, right? (i.e. as if you tapped the brake)

Also sounds like it's frequent enough to show the stealership. Simple cruise test drive should bring it out. Good luck with them. I can understand your frustration. But rest assured, once it's fixed, you'll love that car... not the dealer though.

[rvman]

Yup. Just like you tapped the brakes. System on, not engaged. The brake sensor you refered to....is that the "switch"? You mentioned there might be one other thing?
And thanks for understanding. We love the car...its saaweeet! And I'm sure the problem is minor. Just needs a little fixing.

[rvman]

BTW, the dealership we got the car from has been great. They are going to work on it Thursday. I took it in to another dealer who was closer initially, and they just sat on it. Guess they were mad at losing the business, but they had their chance. Do business at Wolfchase Toyota in Cordova Tennessee with Bryce Bivens and Bob Frederick.

[[SMAN]]

I think he means the switch we've been talking bout. So it should be simple, since all of those systems (cruis control cancle, stop lights, etc) are all fed from that 15A fuse, pull it and keep an eye on the garage. This should tell you if the switch is bad or not. If it still lights up even with the fuse pulled, then you are having some sort of a back feed issue via the ground wire. But with all things being equal, the simplest answer is usualy the correct one, so start with watching it whilethat fuse is pulled and see what happens. If it's happeneing as frequent as you say, it should be simple to notice over tonight and you can let us know tomorrow morning.

[rvman]

Update. Could see reflection of brake lights in the little reflectors on the highway, so for the first time I could monitor when the lights were on. Discovered that if I raised the pedal with my toes the light would go off. Lights and cruise malfuctions identical. Instead of pumping pedal, a slight raise of pedal does the trick. Works until bumps in roadway are encounted then vibration causes pedal to drop. So, its a tolerance problem between switch and pedal.
Is the switch adjustable or fixed? Is there anything that would cause hydraulic pressure to drop (no leaks)? Is the brake pedal mech adjustable?
I had this same problem with a brand new Honda Civic back in '82. I fixed it myself when I was still able to stand on my head and stack greasy BBs. Older now, but I might still be able to. That switch was treaded with a stop nut on either side of the bracket...simple fix. It would be great if this is similar. Long, expensive trip to Memphis would be great to avoid if possible. Any thoughts?
I am still gonna pull the fuse just to check.
Thanks for the help!

[[SMAN]]

From the diagram it apears as though the swith is adjustable via a nut/washer setup at the top of the pedal. I'm not sure how, but the dealer might be able to adjust it. Any results with pulling that fuse yet?

[Down2TheC]

Sounds like a sticky pedal all this time. Dealer will fix you up. You shouldn't be able to do that at all. Pedal should raise back up to the stops.

[rvman]

Pulled fuse....no malfunction. On the way to work was having trouble again with cruise. Pulled up on pedal with both feet as hard as I could and it worked perfectly from then on. Got to be an adjustment with switch, or just a plain ole bad switch. I am going to have one of our RV technicians look for adjustability this morning. If he can't solve it its off to the dealer.

[[SMAN]]

sounds good, It might not be able to be adjusted to work properly, but atleast you've tracked it down to the exact problem spot. Worst case is you replace the whole brake pedal assembly.

[rvman]

Tech didn't have a chance to look today. Car worked perfectly all day...cruise and no issues with lamps. Is it possible that pulling up hard on the pedal worked? Or perhaps it was the Holy water! Guess we will know soon enough.

[[SMAN]]

The pedal is linked directly to a piece of metal that is of fixed length. This metal, when pushed forward bridges the gap in the switch and causes current to flow. In your case, the gap between contact was probably so minimal, that slight changes in temperature and stuff caused the metal to bridge. Pulling up on the pedal may have bent the piece slightly so now there is a bigger gap (this is a good thing) but who knows how long that will last and if it's not just a prelude to a bigger problem with that unit. I would still have it looked at and explain this all to them and have them inspect and replace if needed.