3rd gen tailgate woes

[4x4mike]

I'm having some tailgate/rear hatch issues and thought I'd ask before I go taking things apart. The most noticeable issue is that when you open the hatch the rear dome light won't turn on. If you glance up to the instrument gauge cluster the door ajar light is not on. Even though the door is open the vehicle doesn't acknowledge this. As such if I use the key fob to unlock all the doors and only open the rear hatch the doors will all automatically lock because it thinks none of the doors were opened. Opposite of this problem is that on Monday the door closed and locked with the key fob but the rear dome light did not go off and stayed on for 10 hours.

The latch and striker plate are in great looking condition and clean. When the door is closed and locked it's actually closed and locked.

One other problem I have with that door is the rear defroster, it doesn't work. The switch lights when pushed and the rear view mirror heaters turn on. I'm not sure if the defroster/dome light issue are related but thought I'd throw it out there.

Off the top of anyones head, is there anything I should check?

[YotaFun]

Sounds like a connector issue or wire issue.
Have you checked to see if your tag lights are working too?
How about the rear wiper or the power window operation?

Could be worn wires from opening and client the door or could be just loose connector for the locking system.

[4x4mike]

The rear wiper works as does the rear window. Both tag lights are good as well.

[MTL_4runner]

I believe the lights are all negative switched so that sounds like somewhere the light wire is grounding out and may be in combination with a bad trunk light switch (also negative switched). Hard to say exactly without looking at the vehicle myself but that's where I'd start. Try and trace the wire from the switch first and see if you find anything.

[4x4mike]

I took apart as much of the hatch as I could tonight and couldn't find anything. I also searched my FSM but it's for a Tacoma so it has no section on a hatch or rear defroster.

When the rear hatch is opened the light on the dash signifying an open door does not light. My rear dome light works if you put switch it to ON but only then. I'm thinking it's the door switch but I couldn't find anything I could see was a door switch. Most of the wires in the door go in and out of the ECM back there.

Does anyone know what the door switch looks like? I pulled the latch mechanism but it's only cables that go to the lever and a cable that looks to move the cam to lock the door.

I have the wiring diagram so I'll look for that but it doesn't tell me what I'm looking for or where it is. There are a lot of wires back there and feel as if it's a needle in a haystack situation. I'd rather not take the entire door apart because I don't want to deal with the window or the track.

Does anyone have the section of the FSM that deals with the rear hatch? Does it say anything more than "Check wires" "Check fuse" Check relay"?

Thanks.

[Seanz0rz]

mike, PM me your email addy and ill try to get some pics to you.

[4x4mike]

mike, PM me your email addy and ill try to get some pics to you.

Will do.

[Chaplain]

Mike,
If you ever figure out the problem DO POST UP the solution. My window stopped working this past summer as did the wiper and I've noticed the defrost doesn't work anymore either. Then the other day my newish battery was dead. After some investigating I found that my license plate lights turn ON when I turn the truck off every now and then. Weird? I couldn't figure that one out so I removed the bulbs so I didn't run the battery down again.
Obviously the hatches takes a lot of shock/abuse from bumps and shutting it, but this is killing me. I've gone as far as replacing the whole window assembly but still no solution. The computer box looking thing makes a clicking noise when I hit the window switch so I know signal is getting back there. I've also replace that box. Sometimes the defrost button lights up when I turn the truck off too???.
Anyway, I'm at a loss on this. PLEASE HELP anyone.

[4x4mike]

I looked through wiring diagrams last night and I believe I need to locate the door switch for the rear hatch. I'm not sure if it's broken, loose wires or something else but that's what tells the vehicle that the door is open. Once the door is open the dome and dash light should turn on. Looks like I'll have to remove the black metal panel that protects the glass to access this.

The defroster is a different problem but it's controls and wiring is supposed to be near the door switch so it looks like I'll have to make a day of it. The working space is small but I'll try to get pictures and post up what I find.

I have no idea why your tag lights stay on. That problem sounds independent from the door switch problem and defroster problem I'm having. The wiring for the tag lights are back there as well and maybe you've got a ground issue. I assume, since you removed the bulbs and fixed the problem, that it's only the tag lights that stay on? The dash lights and marker lights turn off?

[paddlenbike]

My window stopped working this past summer as did the wiper and I've noticed the defrost doesn't work anymore either.

The entire rear window, wiper, washer and defroster are on a fairly complicated interlock circuit. The rear wiper, washer and defroster will not work if the rear window is down at all (or the limit switch *thinks* the rear window is not fully closed). Obviously the wiper would tear itself right off the back of the truck if it were allowed to turn on while the window was partially open. I would start by checking the rear window limit switch. I know where it's located on a 2nd gen but not a third. I think your tag light is a separate issue.