Help! I've Replaced Every Bulb I Can And The Light Won't

[fenderzig3364]

Hey guys! I'm brand new to the formum and to Lexus ownership! I purchased my first ever Lexus just this past Thursday. It is a 2000 GS400 Platinum with 98K miles on it. It really has been cared for and all around seems like a great buy for me.

Right away in the dash I noticed that my "bulb replacement" light was on so I did a quick walk around and noticed that one of the tail parking bulbs was out as well as a reverse bulb, a license plate bulb, and a high beam bulb. I replaced all of them, plus every other bulb in the back so that I would have brand new bulbs throughout the car. Well, the problem is that the "replace bulb" light in my dash still comes on when I turn on the parking lights. It is so frustrating because when I walk around the car all the bulbs are on! Is there a bulb that I'm missing? The headlights are fine, daytime driving bulbs are fine, high beams are fine, brake lights are fine, reverse lights are fine, turn signals are fine . . .everything seems to be fine. Can someone help me!

Also, inside I notice that my transmission selector switch (the switch that says "ECT power/normal/snow" does not light up with the rest of the interior. Is this supposed to be like this or is there a bulb out behind that switch as well

Guys, seriously, any help would be really appreciated. I'm at my wit's end and I've spent over $70 in bulbs...the wife ain't happy!!! :(

Thanks in advance!

[fenderzig3364]

I know I'm replying to my own post but here's some more information for you. The"replace bulb" indicator light does not come on until AFTER I turn on the parking lights. The brake lights do not activate the indicator nor do the reverse lights. It is only when I turn on the parking lights. I came across another post where someone said that the trunk mounted parking lights prefer actual Lexus bulbs. Well, the bulbs I put in are from my local AutoZone not Lexus. Could that be my problem?

Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

[cduluk]

Type of replacement bulb won't be a problem unless you replaced them with LED bulbs, as these use less current and will trigger the light to come on still. Any brand regular halogen bulb should fix the problem.

The fact that the dash warning light only triggers when you flip the parking light switch bothers me. Normally, it should be on even if your lights are OFF (if one of them was blown out i mean).

Is this how the warning light operated before you replaced all the bulbs? Would it only come on when you put the parking lights on? Or was the warning light on even if everything was off?

Stupid question, but did you check the 3rd brake light bulb(s) ? The one in the rear window i mean... Because that could trigger the warning light too.

If not though, i would try to reset the light. Unplug the cars battery, and turn on the ignition (well, pretend to). This will drain any and all memory from the car and "reset" everything.

And as for the ECT switch, i think it's supposed to be illuminated. Those switches have a tiny little bulb built into the switch box. If you can take the panels out and access the switch you can try to replace it. But it's not the type of bulb you can get at autozone- it's got a little green cap, you'd need to get that from Lexus as matching the green is very impossible (tried it...).

[1990LS400]

Are the tiny 5 watt "city lights" in your headlight housings working OK? They should light up with the parking lights.

Also, if the headlight switch is in the "Auto" position, does the bulb-out warning light come on when you start your car and release the parking brake?

I think it is normal for the dashboard bulb-out warning light to come on if there is a problem only after the light switch is turned from Off to the parking light position.

Recheck that you have used the correct bulb type in every socket. Seriously ... a frustrated friend almost dumped her Suburu when she had a similar problem before I found an incorrect bulb type she had installed in a rear bulb sockets.

Perhaps check each bulb socket for corrosion or other obvious problem. Check the wires leading the socket to see if they are cracked. If doing all that doesn't find the problem, check for a problem ground wire in the trunk. It's been along time since I've had all the trunk trim out of a Lexus but I think there is at least one point in the trunk behind the trim where a ground wire for the tail lights connects to the car body.

I'd tend to focus on the rear of the car. It could be something weird or silly. I had the bulb out warning light up on my previous Lexus LS for several years until I discovered that an installer had failed to firmly connect a trailer light wiring harness hidden behind the trunk trim. And I once -- a long, long time ago -- had the rear lights on a car messed up a bit by an unsecured beer keg.

[fenderzig3364]

Guys,

Thanks so much for the advice and the direction. I'm going to disconnect the battery and see if that changes anything. To be honest I didn't really pay attention to when the "bulb replacement" light came on before I changed the bulbs. I figured it would be a simple fix so I didn't really pay attention to that important fact. My high mount tail like (3rd tailight) is fine so I don't think it's that.

When I pulled out the bulbs that were in the car before all this, there were two different types . . .a 7440 and a 7443. I've replaced them all with 7443 because according to the Autozone computers either bulb would work. The manager told me they were interchangeable bulbs. Maybe that was bad advice?

Anyway, I'm taking it in to my local mechanic tomorrow for a tune up and just an overall check up. I will let you know if he finds anything and thanks for your help. If anyone has any other experience with this problem, please add your wisdom :)

[GS300dude]

spent over $70 in bulbs?? hahahaha well here is a guy with some money!!! sorry couldnt help it.

[cduluk]

7440 and 7443 are NOT the same bulb... <_< They are the same "size", but the internal components are different.

7440 has one filament inside. It's designed for ON or OFF.

7443 has two filaments inside. It's designed for one filament to be ON, and allows for the second filament to go ON separately- like brake lights.

When you're replacing them with LED-bulbs there's no difference between 7440 and 7443.

But when replacing them with bulbs you need to keep them the same type.

I'm not sure if that's what's causing the problem but it's worth a try.

Your rear turn signals call for 7440 (because they're either ON or OFF)

And your regular taillight brake lights call for 7443 (filament A is ON at night and filament B comes on when you apply the brakes, making them get brighter).

If this doesn't work, i'd suggest removing the warning bulb from the gauge cluster. That's what i opted to do when i replaced the taillight bulbs with LED's in my Rx300. It was easier than having to install load resistors (which wouldn't even fit behind my headlights). Just take the cluster apart and remove or destroy the indicator light bulb.

Here's the complete list of your bulb types.

2000 LEXUS GS300, GS400 (With halogen capsule headlamps)

Low beam headlamp

9006

9006SU Silverstar ULTRA for Ultra Night Vision - The Whitest and Brightest Halogen

9006ST Silverstar High Performance Lighting: The Whiter and Brighter Halogen

9006EB EcoBright - Your Environmental Choice

9006XV XtraVision Halogen - The Brighter Light

9006CB Cool Blue Halogen - The Whiter Light

High beam headlamp

9005

9005SU Silverstar ULTRA for Ultra Night Vision - The Whitest and Brightest Halogen

9005ST Silverstar High Performance Lighting: The Whiter and Brighter Halogen

9005EB EcoBright - Your Environmental Choice

9005XV XtraVision Halogen - The Brighter Light

9005CB Cool Blue Halogen - The Whiter Light

Parking light

2825

2825LL Long Life Upgrade: Up to twice the life of the standard lamp

Front turn signal

1156

1156ST Silverstar Signal Lighting: Complete the Look: Crisp, Clean, Style

1156LL Long Life Upgrade: Up to twice the life of the standard lamp

Rear turn signal

7440

7440ST Silverstar Signal Lighting: Complete the Look: Crisp, Clean, Style

7440LL Long Life Upgrade: Up to twice the life of the standard lamp

Tail light

2825

2825LL Long Life Upgrade: Up to twice the life of the standard lamp

7443

Stop light

7443

High mount stop light

921

921ST Silverstar Signal Lighting: Complete the Look: Crisp, Clean, Style

921LL Long Life Upgrade: Up to twice the life of the standard lamp

Fog/Driving light

9006

9006SU Silverstar ULTRA for Ultra Night Vision - The Whitest and Brightest Halogen

9006ST Silverstar High Performance Lighting: The Whiter and Brighter Halogen

9006EB EcoBright - Your Environmental Choice

9006XV XtraVision Halogen - The Brighter Light

9006CB Cool Blue Halogen - The Whiter Light

License plate

2825

2825LL Long Life Upgrade: Up to twice the life of the standard lamp

Back up light

7440

7440ST Silverstar Signal Lighting: Complete the Look: Crisp, Clean, Style

7440LL Long Life Upgrade: Up to twice the life of the standard lamp

Front sidemarker

194

194LL Long Life Upgrade: Up to twice the life of the standard lamp

Glove box

37

Dome light

DE3175

DE3175LL Long Life Upgrade: Up to twice the life of the standard lamp

7443LL Long Life Upgrade: Up to twice the life of the standard lamp

Step/Courtesy light

194

194LL Long Life Upgrade: Up to twice the life of the standard lamp

74

DE3021

Trunk/Cargo area

194

194LL Long Life Upgrade: Up to twice the life of the standard lamp

Instrument-general

194

194LL Long Life Upgrade: Up to twice the life of the standard lamp

[fenderzig3364]

cduluk,

That is great advice! It seemed suspicious that the 43 and 40 were the "same bulb". Why sell both bulbs? Anyway, your advice and the bulb chart are greatly appreciated.

I guess I should explain the $70 in bulbs . . . $50 of it was new high beam bulbs for the front and the rest was bulbs for the tailights/brakelight assemblies and the license plate bulbs.

Thanks for the help. I'll keep updating in the event that someone else has this same question in the future.

[cduluk]

no prob.

And i think the dash indicator light only works in conjunction with the rear lights, everything that's red. Doesn't work for the directionals, back-up, or any of the front bulbs... maybe the parking bulbs though.

So the issue is only with the rear bulbs.

[fenderzig3364]

Well, got it figured out. The problem was the Autozone did give me incorrect information. The 7443 and 7440 bulbs are NOT the same. I had the incorrect bulb in the parking lights so once the bulb was corrected the indicator light went out. So, after taking my rear lights out three times, I'm good to go! You guys have been a huge help. Thanks!!

[cduluk]

Oh good, i'm glad you got it straightened out :D