When The Car Is In Drive And I Touch The Brake, The Reverse Light Illu

[Tanyaq2000]

last week i noticed that a tail light was out. when i did my daughter backed up the car and said that when she applied the brake, the reverse light illuminated and the car was downshifting but the rpms were revving up. when this happened to me, i felt i wasn't going to stop but yet the engine was "fighting" itself. i have a friend who is a machinist at heart but use to work on race engines so he came over and he totally removed both tail lights and noticed that the recently replaced bulbs (not all) were black (but not necessarily blown) and decided that perhaps if he replaced the socket wiring, problem solved. However, once he removed both tail lights & the wiring from the car as well as the brake light switch, the reverse light still illuminates but the engine isn't down shifting (purrs like a kitten). Now I can ignore the reverse light illuminating but I have to have rear lights (braking, reverse, turn signals). i was going to take the car to a Lexus repair shop to have them connect the scanner for codes but that is generally only for mechanical issues and not electrical. the next step i'm taking is to buy new socket wiring and then my friend will disengage the 3rd brake and then the cruise control and eventually track thru the turn signals trying to eliminate or id the problem. any suggestions?

[landar]

It sounds like you have the classic broken wire in the trunk harness issue. It is very common on early LS models. Basically, a wire in the trunk cable leading to the taillights gets broken from the bending that takes place over the years when opening and closing the trunk lid. Do a search on "trunk wiring" and you will see lots of similar issues and fixes. Don't spend any more time replacing socket wiring or whatever.

[steve2006]

It's usually the white colored wire.

http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/lighting/bulbout.html

[Tanyaq2000]

I cannot thank you all enough. at this time, all wires appear to be ok but where the wires physically come from the car, there is a connector before the wires lead into the hinge & up onto the trunk lid and that is where we find the problem. friend/mechanic to come over tomorrow and look at it himself

[landar]

Just be aware that a wire can "appear" to be ok from the outside or from one side, and actually be chafed or pulled/cut internally. The result is an open connection or a wire that touches ground when it should not.

[Tanyaq2000]

when my friend pulled off the plastic "bender", the white wire had a step up meaning it was broken and the yellow was totally separated. this forum rocks!!!! thank you all so very much

[Tanyaq2000]

wires that were broken are mended and all problems are gone...........thank you all so very much!

[landar]

wires that were broken are mended and all problems are gone...........thank you all so very much!

You are quite welcome. And welcome to the forum, Tanya!

Its a quaint, little virtual world where we all live in harmonious cyberspace. ^_^