Lx450 Turn Signal/gear Indicator/brake Wackiness

[StevePetzer]

Here's a problem that I have not been able to find any mention of in the various Lexus resources on the web...I would appreciate any help/thoughts/wisecracks...

1996 LX450 (123k miles)

Yesterday afternoon, the turn signal started making a thump/thump noise under the dashboard.

Even stranger, activating the turn signal causes the little "R" light on the dashboard gear selector indicator to light up. Pressing the brake pedal also causes the "R" light to illuminate.

Not content with that run-of-the-mill strangeness, using the turn signal on the highway will cause the cruise control to cancel (as if I tapped the brake).

To add a bit of slight scariness to the increasing strangeness, the throttle surges slightly to the blink/blink rhythm of the turn signal.

Does anyone have a clue...?

Thanks for the help!

Steve Petzer

Atlanta, GA

[StevePetzer]

PROBLEM SOLVED:

In case you are curious, the solution was quite simple and easy. The solution was easy once we figured out what caused the unusual electrical problem!

After spending a considerable amount of time scratching my head over the problem and the terrific technicians at Braxton Automotive (in Atlanta, GA) pouring over the various electrical components in the dashboard area...my wife suggested that the problems may be related to a flat tire that I had fixed immediately prior to the electrical foul-up.

Flat tire? huh? Why would a flat tire cause an electrical problem? My first reaction was to laugh at the silly nature of her comment.

Until we realized she was correct.

It seems that in lowering the spare tire from the back of the truck, some wires were dangling and mangled in the operation. The damaged wiring caused ground problems with some of the electrical circuits. Some simple splicing solved the problem.

And everyone lived happily ever after (although I feel stupid that my non-automotively-inclined wife figured out the problem while I was still scratching my, um, head.

Steve Petzer

Atlanta, Georgia

[dougjohn2]

wires from the trailer harness can cause all sorts of odd electrical stuff. a friend of mine went through a dozen fuses for his head lights -- kept blowing them out. turned out to be a similar issue -- trailer harness had worn through the insulation and bare wire was touching metal which caused a short. took a couple hours to figure out.