Rear break/STOP lights, tail lights are out, plate lights working?

[MzTyla]

Hi all,
I know this is my first post but I haven't had any major issues with my Yaris until now and thought I'd ask some of the gurus here :smile: and perhaps you could help me.

So, I have a 2008 Model Yaris hatch which I have serviced myself over the past 4 years. I had recently changed my air filter and battery as there were issues with the engine cutting out when it was cold (its winter here) and that problem is now fixed.

Now, last night while driving down the motorway, I had several people tailgating me and madly flashing their high beams at me and though wth... what's wrong with these people, only to come home and find out my back end had no lights... go figure, go me..

So after spending 2 hrs changing fuses in the engine bay, under the dash and under the dash - yes ALL the fuses I could find, my license plate light is now on and working but my parking lights and brake lights are still out.

I've also pulled out and checked the light bulbs and they're fine. I've had no changes to the original wiring to my lights so I can't figure out why it's not working.

I'm not keen on bringing my car to a service center or mechanic as they tend to go oh.. you're female, let me talk to you as if you don't know anything and charge you an arm and 3 legs to fix your car and not actually do it.

So any help on this would be much appreciated, otherwise I'd have to shout a male friend lunch just to come with me to these places. :frown:

[CTScott]

The brake lights are driven by the 10A STOP fuse in the under-dash fuse panel, and the parking lights are driven by the 10A TAIL or 7.5A PANEL2 (depending on the car's configuration).

Check those to make sure that they have not popped again. If they are still OK, the next thing to do is to measure the voltage on the taillight connectors to see if power is making it that far, and also if the ground are OK.

[MzTyla]

Found the problem. The light wire for one of the rear lights was bolted in with the actual light fitting and over time was rubbing the wire, causing it to short out. more fuses blown but yay, found the problem. Thanks CTScott for your contribution :D only found it by pulling out the wires when I was trying to pull out the light connectors.

My baby is back on the road!!