Trunk light not working?
 

hey guys, I recently replaced all of my interior lights including my trunk lights.
before the swap, my trunk light was not working so I figured it was a dead bulb, swapped the bulb with a v-led bulb and still nothing.

I did a search and couldn't find any answers.. has anyone else had this issue was were able to fix it? Tired of opening my trunk at night and not being able to see a thing.

Check the fuse box to see if it's blown or not.

After checking the obvious bulbs and fuses Also check your latching mechanism. When you pop your trunk open does your dash/MID indicate your trunk is open?

speaking of the trunk light, how do you access it? does the lense just pop off with a screwdriver like the interior dome lights or do you have to take off the liner to access like the backup/license plate lights?

:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

Did you swap the position of the bulb? You could have a dead light and an improperly installed LED bulb; they only work in one position.

I am just copying and pasting what I posted a couple of days in another post. :)

"From your right hand side, slide a small screw-driver between the plastic cover and the lining. Press it a bit, may be like about 0.25 to 0.35 of an inch, press down. There is a clip on the right side of the cover that needs to be unhooked and you will be all good to go. I used a 5 LED bulb from superbright in my 2008 TL, but I think there is enough space to fit a 9 LED or the 6 LED flank style from V-Led, without any problem."

Hope this helps. :toocool:

Thanks, raja! Strange, I actually found that exact post from that other thread after posting that question. Wasn't searching the right terms, i guess!

How do I check this?

Attachment 51642

Trunk opened.. is it the latch?

I checked both positions when I installed the new LED, still dead.

nope it should look like below:

Attachment 51641

your pic just has an open driver door.

Fuse box is at the footwell...time to knee down and bend over....dont forget to grab a flash light

What should I do when I access the fuse box? never messed with this before, sorry.

take off the cover and on the back it tells u which fuse controls what device, it's one of those 7.5A fuses....i used a fuse puller located from the fuse box in engine bay, or u can always use a plier to pull it...u can definitely tell if it's burnt or not...

You both got exact same gas level in your car..... :)

not to mention the dust particles are placed in exactly same spots. ;)

it only took me less than a min to ps that pic. im surprised it looked decent lol

haha, I think he just shopped my pic.

:toocool:

If it is burnt.. how do I fix this issue?

Attachment 51638

Attachment 51639

Attachment 51640

Checking the fuse box for the first time.. am I missing some fuses?

Some fuses are supposed to be left blank. If you look on the back cover of the fuse box cover that you pulled off, it will have all the fuses labeled with a # and it will also show you which fuse is supposed to be missing.

Also in your engine bay is another fuse box. Inside the fuse box located in the engine bay will have a "Fuse Puller" which is a white tool that looks like plastic tweezers, if you will, which is used to pull fuses out. You will need to use that tool from the engine bay fuse box to remove fuses in the foot panel to find out which one is burnt out.

this might help to ID which fuses to check:

under hood:
#22 (120A)
#15 (40A)

under dash/kick panel:
#8 (20A)

Get a new one.....pepboys...autozone or kragens...i think paid like $4 for 5 or 6 of them....

or use a small plier if u have one handy ....

Does anyone has Trunk Light Fuse info on TL 2009+?
Having similar issue after trying to change the trunk light with LED.
Now no trunk light plus lost some of the interior lights for night time.

^^ dunno...but i think u will get ur answer in the 4G forum

Its your latching mechanism. I've seen this in a few TL's already. If it was a fuse your trunk lights might not turn on but your "trunk open" indicator on your MID will show.

Go to the trunk and inspect your latching mechanism and fiddle around with it using a screw driver, there is a little piece that needs to make contact when the latch opens which completes a circuit and signals the trunk is open which results in powering up the trunk light. If you can confirm this.. then all you have to do is replace the latch. If its under warranty ... take it in. :thumbsup:

No current to trunk light - no reading on MID
 

Thank you. I did a little investigation on my broken one and concluded the same thing then searched out the thread and validated it. Makes sense that is for pin three on the latch solenoid mechanism. I cannot see the contact through the latch. Sprayed some compressed air up into it in both the latched and unlatched position. No luck. The PN is 74851-SDA-A22 for the LOCK, TRUNK (HANDLE+POWER+SWITCH) but it is around $50. Not worth $50 for the light at this point, plus because of the integration changing a lot of good hardware ie solenoid and latch plus a safety issue to make sure the internal trunk pull mechanism works after replacement. Will think about it some more.

I have the same trunk light and no dash warning on the trunk lid open problem on my 2004 TL. Fuses are good. I removed part of the trunk lid liner and can see the button on the little switch that needs to be pressed. When I press it with a screwdriver the light comes on. I can see where the metal part that is supposed to hold it down when the trunk is open is supposed to go, but it seems to rotate past that point when I imitate the latch closing and opening, and the switch opens again and the light goes off. I suspect a small piece within the latch that stops the travel when the trunk is open has broken off and the button won't stay down.

Anyone have a photo of a good latch? You don't have to take the trunk liner off, just the black plastic cover on the latch which slides right off. I'd upload a photo of mine but don't have that kind of permission.

Ok here is my post #5 which should give me permission to put up a photo shortly.

Hey OP, any luck on the trunk light? My trunk light doesn't come on when the trunk is open, but I notice the light is on just before closing the trunk.

I hate to bring up such an old thread, but this seems to be the only instance where someone has described my problem exactly. My latch seems to be missing a piece-could someone provide a photo of a working one?

Here's what mine looks like. You can see the little white button that needs to be pushed down, but the gold latch moves past that.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...eb61163373.jpg

Not sure if you still need an answer or not, but my 05 TL did the same thing. as I investigated using your photo, I noticed a little metal tab that comes out of the left side of the the white box housing the button. This tab in mine was bent the opposite way, thus nothing was pushing the button upon opening the trunk. This also caused my MID not to register the trunk being open. I was actually able to bend it back in place and so far, so good, the light/MID is now working fine. Saved myself a solenoid (although, probably would not have spent the money).

Sorry I do not have pictures but I was not sure if it was the cause. With playing with it and trying different things, I realized that was the issue. Hope this helps...if still needed:thumbsup::thumbsup:

I am having the exact issue. When I open my trunk, the open indicator on the dash quickly lights up and turns off. The light is off in the trunk, but if i slowly close it, the light comes on when the trunk is 90℅ shut. I'm guessing some wiring is getting pinched, or is damaged. What happened to your car?

I have a similar issue. My trunk light comes on until the trunk lid is opened more than half way and then it goes out. Likewise, the indicator light on the dash comes on until the trunk lid is opened more than half way and then it too goes out. Is the root of the problem in the latch on the trunk lid itself? I can't even figure out how to get the black cover off of the latch, so I haven't been able to do any troubleshooting. Any help/advice for this novice would be appreciated. Thanks!

Sorry to revive such an old thread, but my issue is very similar to this.My trunk light doesn't come on at all, and the trunk open symbol doesn't show up on my dash at all. If anyone has a picture of what the trunk latch should look like when its working, that would be greatly appreciated.

Ahh interesting. I was having several issues with my trunk - the trunk button and trunk light were both intermittently working (trunk wouldnt pop, light wouldnt come on) and then both pretty much stopped...I suspect these might be related now that I see the light mechanism.
I was trying to fix my trunk button issue and read that spraying the mechanism with lubricant might help. Sure enough, after I lubed it up, the button started working. I'll have to check if my light is now working reliably as well, now that the mechanism can more freely move.

I wouldn't count on that fixing the trunk light issue. My trunk latch has never had an issue opening, either from the button on my remote or the button in the car.

From looking at the pic, one can surmise that a buildup of gunk in that mechanism could lead to one or both issues. Perhaps the mechanism still opens the trunk but it doesnt go back far enough to trigger the light. I was having light issues long before the trunk button issues.

Just went thru trunk not opening situation. Spent 2 hrs trying to diagnose the problem. Found that there was no ground signal at the trunk actuator causing no light and no pop. I fashioned a temporary ground wire and it works perfectly. Will investigate where the circuit is broken at a later date