Toyota Repair: 1988 Toyota Camry Tail Lights / Dash Lights Out, 1988 toyota camry, toyota camry

Question
Hey Ted, I've been poking around google for quite some time on this problem. We have a 1988 Toyota Camry, we've been having problems with the tail lights being out as well as the dash lights. We know a fuse is blowing and have tried replacing it several times but it blows again. This makes night driving impossible without any tail lights or dash, all other lights work (even when we push the brake, the brake lights come on). Any ideas on what the problem may be or how we can track it down? It's been driving us crazy. Thanks in advance - Charles

Answer
The first thing to check is the tail light socket assemblies and make sure that all the ground screws are tight, check to see if the correct bulbs are installed, make sure there are no burned areas on the connections or sockets, if there is no problem there open the wire harness on the trunk hinge it is quite common for the wires inside the harness to stretch and break causing short circuits to ground, check the wires all the way to where they go into the body.
Another cause may be the tail light failure relay it is located on the left side attached to a metal brace in the trunk.