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Automatic headlights stopped shutting off.

17K views 16 replies 10 participants last post by  01 SolarYellow 
#1 ·
I have a fairly consistent schedule. I go to work in the morning, get off at 5 and then go to class till 9. When when I get home from class it's dark. I park the car, get out, and then hit the lock twice to lock it and then turn off the auto lights. Well Some days when I don't have class, I'm getting home and it's just starting to get dark. I did the same thing and lock it twice.


ANYWAY, I came home one day and locked it the usual 2 times to shut the lights off out of habit, but I since it was still light, I didn't notice they were still on and they kill the battery.

I'm trying to figure out why the lights do not shut off any more. I can click lock on the key-fob as many times as I want and the signal lights flash but the headlights stay on. I can't figure out what changed to make them stop working.

What I do now is when I turn the car of, I switch the lights to on for a second and then back to auto and they turn off.

Ant ideas?
 
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#6 ·
If you are referring to the dome light not going out then you need to check the plunger (courtesy) switches that detect a door closed, as Greg mentioned. They may "feel" operational but you need to physically pull them out and test with a meter. When the door is open the switch is closed, so if the switch has continuity while being pushed..then a bad switch.
 
#7 ·
While pressing your key for automatic lock. Listen to hear if all your doors are locking. If you have a bad actuator not locking your door, your lights won't turn off since your car isn't securely locked. Try that.
 
#8 ·
Greg was right, more or less. I was having a problem with the headlights. The problem was that Since the switch on the driver side door has a loose wire or something, it never thinks the door opens. So when I go to lock it, it's like I never got out of the car. Anyway. I wiggled the switch (plunger) when i got out and made the door ajar and dome light flicker so after I shut the door and tried locking it twice, it worked as expected.

I just have to figure out what's making that switch always think the door is closed. Probably a lose wire.
 
#11 ·
See if you can squirt some electrical contact cleaner into the switch. That will clean the contacts as well as provide a bit of lubrication to the plunger mechanism.
 
#12 ·
I just picked one up for like $10.
I couldn't get it apart inside and I couldn't pull the passenger side one out far enough to swap them. Since it was cold and dark, I didn't want to pull interior paneling apart to get to it or even spend much time on it. So I just got a new one. The problem is definitely the switch.
 
#14 ·
Hey guys I am having the same problem............(yes I know the thread is 6 years old but this could help future users)

I think your door sensor may not be working

Here's somethign from Club lexus.....


DIY - Trouble with door jamb sensor solved.
I've been having issues with the driver's side door jamb sensor, which detects whether or not the door is open, not operating correctly for a while. In my case, when the door was opened, it would intermittently not detect the door is open. The LEDs on the door itself as well as various other things like the courtesy lights would either sometimes not activate or flicker on and off randomly.

Sorry, no pics as usual but it's a simple operation.

What I did to solve the problem was remove the sensor (switch) from the door jamb. It is a single bolt. I thought at first that it was a matter of the switch itself getting sticky and needing lubrication so I removed the rubber boot from it and wiped it down well with silicone lubricant.

At this point after plugging it back in, I noticed that it would not operate at all when attached to the harness but not attached the vehicle. I realized then that the screw holding it to the chassis must actually be providing the ground. When I started screwing it back in, while the screw was loose, it was flickering on and off as before but when I held it in certain positions the flickering stopped.

Now, the bolt holding it was far from loose to begin with but there must have been a layer of corrosion or something that I loosened up just by removing it and re-tightening it because after I got it good and hand tight my problems were gone and the ground was properly restored.

Some of you claim to have issues with your lights not automatically turning off, the default state of the circuit seems to be open (door closed, which is smart of Toyota this should effectively cover the switch going bad) so I'm not sure if this will help you at all. My problem was the car not thinking the door was open, not with not detecting that the door was closed. In your cases, it may not be the ground that's the problem and it may very well be the physical switch is not travelling to the closed position and simply doing the lubrication may help.
 
#16 ·
I have a fairly consistent schedule. I go to work in the morning, get off at 5 and then go to class till 9. When when I get home from class it's dark. I park the car, get out, and then hit the lock twice to lock it and then turn off the auto lights. Well Some days when I don't have class, I'm getting home and it's just starting to get dark. I did the same thing and lock it twice.


ANYWAY, I came home one day and locked it the usual 2 times to shut the lights off out of habit, but I since it was still light, I didn't notice they were still on and they kill the battery.

I'm trying to figure out why the lights do not shut off any more. I can click lock on the key-fob as many times as I want and the signal lights flash but the headlights stay on. I can't figure out what changed to make them stop working.

What I do now is when I turn the car of, I switch the lights to on for a second and then back to auto and they turn off.

Ant ideas?
I found this forum because I was having the auto headlight feature not turning off the lights also. After reading the forum and trying the suggestions and still no resolution I decided to trio all the doors by opening them all and closing them all I hit the door button lock twice at the drivers door and shortly after, less than 90 seconds the lights went off 👍 I'll be checking them to confirm they are consistent 😉

Yes the doors need tripped, worked for me 👍
 
#17 · (Edited by Moderator)
I found this forum because I was having the auto headlight feature not turning off the lights also. After reading the forum and trying the suggestions and still no resolution I decided to trio all the doors by opening them all and closing them all I hit the door button lock twice at the drivers door and shortly after, less than 90 seconds the lights went off 👍 I'll be checking them to confirm they are consistent 😉


Yes the doors need tripped, worked for me 👍
Old dead thread 2017. Shadowen925 has not posted since 2018 and MrGregski has not since 2014. If you look at the profile info's.
 
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