Hi:

I am looking for some help. My 2004 RX330 which has gone many years without a problem suddenly has instrument panel gremlins.

I started the car a couple of days ago (it had rained during the day), and the airbag light did not turn off. Then the TPMS warning light came on, the water temperature gauge dropped to zero. The AC controls stopped responding. Since I needed to get home, and the car seemed otherwise fine, I drove home, after a few minutes the transmission "D" drive light went blank and the instrument back-light went to full brightness.

A few minutes later, all the warning lights went off and the back-light went back to normal. The AC controls still seemed to be off. A few minutes later the airbag warning light came back on, followed by the TPMS light and the back-light went to full brightness again. This cycle kept happening all the way home.

The next morning, hoping the problem had been some errant water getting into something, I started the car, opened the driver's door to get something and got back into the car, closing the door. The light showing the door was open stayed on. I put the car into reverse, the doors did not automatically lock as they usually do. I turned off the engine and restarted it, most of the other lights were off, the doors would lock; airbag & TPMS light came back on.

It has stayed that way, except I also get the A/T temperature warning light coming on periodically, and after some cycle it goes off.

I borrowed a car code reader, it does not seem to show any error codes.

In reading some other postings it has been suggested that the Brake light switch is the cause, but the brake lights come on/off without any problem. Before I replace it, does anyone have experience with a similar problem?

Thanks

 

Have your battery checked, make sure you have good ground connections as well. Bad battery can cause electrical gremlins

 

check battery - and leave the battery disconnected for at least 30 minutes before you reconnect

 

Hi, the battery is 3 years old based on the date on the battery and is a 7 year battery.

In the last couple of days I have been parking the car in the garage and yesterday the problem lights went off and things are working properly again.

Since the problem started when it rained, I am thinking there is an electrical short somewhere. Does anyone know if there is a central location where the sensors for all this stuff come together?

Thanks

 

I tried disconnecting the battery; another post in the forum and suggested 10 minutes; I did about 20 and there was no change.

 

There are two junction blocks located in the front, one on the drivers side by were the parking brake pedal is, and on the passenger side in the same area. If a water leak is present there and dripping on the junction blocks it would cause the electrical system to go haywire. All power to components is routed at those junction blocks.


Has the windshield been replaced recently ? If that hasn't been replaced recently there's still a possibility that it could develop a leak. Another thing to check is if your sunroof assembly drainage is working correclty there is two of them running down the A-Pillars, make sure the drainage hoses are not clogged and or damaged in any way.

 

I ended up taking the car to the dealer; they checked for a water leak and did not find anything. The tech checked all drain holes and said the holes were all clear.

The windshield was replaced about 10 years ago, no problem since.

The problem did start after an afternoon of pouring rain, much more that it usually rains around here.

I will check the floor area again to see if anything turns up. Is there another point in the engine compartment where the wiring has a connector which could have gotten wet?

Thanks

 

Since the problem seems to have gone away on it's own for now, the urgency is less.

Thanks to the person that pointed toward the fuse/junction boxes on the driver & passenger sides. Things look OK, but it gives me a place to look if the problem comes back. I am inclined to agree with the suggestion that water got in somewhere it should not have.