DAMN lamp failure sensor sux!

ma70

New Member
Jul 21, 2009
8
0
0
north carolina
I NEED pics on what the wiring should look like when you bypass the lamp failure sensor on a mk 3, can anyone please help me? and what is the correct size of the wire tap squeeze connectors the last ones didn't cut the wire...
 

87M-GTE

Slow
Sep 12, 2007
1,705
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Milwaukee WI
Why do you want to by-pass it? just get a functioning tail light failure sensor.

I had to replace mine a few times, I think it was from bad taillight gaskets leaking water into the box.
you need the correct box as well, one is for the led 3rd taillight, one is for the regular 3rd taillight.

Sam
 
Link to guide to remove is HERE

Don't use tap squeeze, they are appalling! Tap into & solder the wires together for a 100% reliable joint, these are your stop lights after all :biglaugh:

The LFM circuit is just plain rubbish from day dot, same team must have designed it that worked on the cheese head gasket.... Admittedly water ingress does not help it's life expectancy but, to route the the power through such a module meaning all lights fail when it packs up is not particularly intelligent, 1 duff bulb is far safer than loosing all lighting IMHO.
 

ma70

New Member
Jul 21, 2009
8
0
0
north carolina
the 3rd brake light wire is missing all together. Does anyone know which wire it would be if not the red with white stripe, there is only so many wires and it seems like i have tried them all i just want to drive the damn thing but can't
 

ma70

New Member
Jul 21, 2009
8
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north carolina
87M-GTE;1597560 said:
Why do you want to by-pass it? just get a functioning tail light failure sensor.

I had to replace mine a few times, I think it was from bad taillight gaskets leaking water into the box.
you need the correct box as well, one is for the led 3rd taillight, one is for the regular 3rd taillight.

Sam

the only reason i want to bypass the sensor is because my car leaks thru the hatch and i don't think the sensor would ever be safe from water. Where did you get your Lamp Failure sensor from?
 

Tony

New Member
Jul 12, 2010
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hertford
My hatch used to leak also but it was coming from the rear tail lights. I used roof tar in a caulking tube and sealed them and havn't had a problem since. Got my lamp failure sensor off ebay for 15 bucks.
 

wardog

R.G.V WARDOG
Jan 19, 2006
564
0
16
ALTON, TX
Tony;1598408 said:
My hatch used to leak also but it was coming from the rear tail lights. I used roof tar in a caulking tube and sealed them and havn't had a problem since. Got my lamp failure sensor off ebay for 15 bucks.

The cheapest one on ebay is $30 + dollars shipped. I have one more left , i sold 2 of them on this forum already. I can have it shipped to you by tomorrow morning you got pm.
 

jstutzm

New Member
Jun 23, 2010
5
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0
Largo, FL
My lamp failure sensor failed not too long ago. Turns out that the soldering on the wire harness connector was less than solid. Almost all of the solder joints on the connector were cracked. If you take the cover off of the sensor and resolder the connector (I think its like 8 pins), that might solve your problem. I don't know if it will help in your situation, but it would be worth a try before you go and buy another one.
 

ma70

New Member
Jul 21, 2009
8
0
0
north carolina
Supradupra.com;1597675 said:
Link to guide to remove is HERE

Don't use tap squeeze, they are appalling! Tap into & solder the wires together for a 100% reliable joint, these are your stop lights after all :biglaugh:

The LFM circuit is just plain rubbish from day dot, same team must have designed it that worked on the cheese head gasket.... Admittedly water ingress does not help it's life expectancy but, to route the the power through such a module meaning all lights fail when it packs up is not particularly intelligent, 1 duff bulb is far safer than loosing all lighting IMHO.

I connected all the wires together just like i was told and of course it didn't work am i the only one? I connected the green with green/red stripe, then i connected the green/white stripe wire with the red/blue wire but i CANNOT for the life of me find the 3rd brake light wire there is just not a red/white wire anywhere. Even without the 3rd brake light wire i still tried the bypass and it won't work. What color would the wire be if not a red/white one????? will do anything for brake lights.... ANYTHING!
 
The red/white ONLY supplies the 3rd brake light on certain models, as on the guide it may not appear at the LFM at all for instance, on JDM cars the LED spoiler light is tapped into the loom running down the RH sill & does not show at the LFM - if these stop working it's almost certain to be the LEDs are all blown, a very common condition.

The guide has been up for years with 100% success rate so, if you are having issues it may be the the LFM was not at fault in the first place & you should check the actual feeds to it. This is not a miracle cure for any light related fault it simply bypasses the LFM.

Check the Green/white cable has 12V on it when the brake is pressed. If there is not you need to check the 20A STOP fuse in the kick panel & the brake switch.

The other thing worth noting which is also mentioned on the guide is do not use the scotch type line crimps that cut through the insulation, they are utter shit & 70% of the time don't even cut through the wire insulation. In fact, don't use the shitty things for anything, ever!

So:

Green - 12V when tail lights come on.
Green/Red - output to tail lights.

Green/white - 12V when brake pedal pressed.
Red/Blue - output to main stop lights.
Red/white - Output to high mount stop light BUT, this is not always present as Toyota picked up this feed from other places too, particularly on JDM models etc.
 

jdub

Official SM Expert: Motor Oil, Lubricants & Fil
SM Expert
Feb 10, 2006
10,730
1
38
Valley of the Sun
FYI - the 7M tech section is for turbo specific questions - thread moved. In the future pay attention to where you post.
 

ma70

New Member
Jul 21, 2009
8
0
0
north carolina
the reason i am doing the mod to begin with is because it gets wet no matter what and i have to keep soldering it over and over. If you want to help thats fine but there is a reason im asking and the reason is not because i want a smart ass comment to go with it. I posted a question in the wrong category oh lord i must be punished. Way to discourage somebody from using this site great job!
 
If you want to help thats fine but there is a reason im asking and the reason is not because i want a smart ass comment to go with it.

I think it's YOUR forum attitude & skills that need correcting first MA70....

Same thread started on the UK site with pretty much the same outcome, your an arse, not other people. LINK TO THREAD

Mods may as well close this post TBH.
 

Orion ZyGarian

Jeff Lange wannabe
Apr 2, 2005
1,490
0
0
35
Sarasota, FLorida
www.suprastore.com
Kai;1603000 said:
I replaced mine with one from a previa - works fine. Search for it in the electrical section, there's a whole thread about it. Should just be a straight swap, but i know that UK and US electricals differ.

I havent looked into the LFM stuff lately, but I had no idea you could do that. That's awesome!