Malfunction Camper Shell Third Brake light with 4-Pole Wiring Harness on a 2009 Toyota Tacoma

Question:

I have a Leer cap installed on my 2009 Tacoma, which like all caps has a stop light mounted on the top center position on the rear of the cap. Can I connect that wire for that light directly to one of the stop light wires on the cable that you sell without interfering with the skid control ECU and the turn signals? I have a cable set manufactured/sold by Cequent Electrical Products and have it installed in the truck. When I installed the wire to the cap stop light from the Tacomas stop light wire the cap light blinked when a turn signal was turned on, it was on for the brake light as it should have been, but was causing the skid control ECU to send a signal to the dash panel which caused both the ABS and skid light to turn on. In short that cable will not work with my arrangement without a lot or work and rewiring. Will the one that you sell work without any problems?

asked by: David K

Expert Reply:

If you connected the cab stop light to the wires that go after the converter box to the 4-pole connector, that is why you are having a problem. The signal for that wire is going to a trailer light that does not have separate turn and stop bulbs, so your camper shell is getting both brake and turn signals.

You will need to find a dedicated stop light wire in the tail light wiring harness on the Tacoma to activate the third brake light on your Leer cap. You may be able to use the red wire going into the converter box on your Custom Fit Vehicle Wiring, # 118496, to activate this light, if the light does not put too much draw on the system. If this wire will not work without the ABS/traction control light coming on, you will need to find the actual third brake light circuit somewhere on the truck to attach the cap light to.

Another thing to check for the ABS and Traction light coming on, is the ground for the camper shell light. Toyota frequently has ground problems. Make sure the grounds of both the camper shell light and the wiring harness are grounded to the frame and they have direct contact to metal, not through paint.

expert reply by: Patrick B