I was cleaning the interior of my 2015 Prius V, spraying some cleaner on the dash and inadvertently some overspray got on the headlight / turn signal lever. I head a soft hissing, like water on a hot pan, which I knew wasn't good. Now the headlights and DRLs do not work. High beams are fine. Checked continuity on all interior and engine fuses with a multi-meter, and none seem to be blown. Quick google search suggests causes might be the headlight relay (not sure where that is, apparently it's floating outside the car based on the diagram) or both lights are blown. is there anything besides this? Does this warrant a trip to the dealer? EDIT: I can't post images (either local or from URL, not sure if this is a server upgrade issue) and I can't post any links (due to not having posted before).
was the engine on or in the ready mode? You might get a few more responceses now that I have posted...
i don't think so, but i can't recall exactly. I may have had accessory power on so I could use Bluetooth audio to play a stream from my phone.
Given highs are ok most likely fuses are good. Low can be led or halogen so we are are guessing on that critical fact. However both are powered the same. If you have Toyota Techstream I would try a utility command to turn on the low beams. Otherwise and maybe first, you 90% need a new or salvaged headlight stalk. On rare occasions drying it out may help but “hissing” is a bad sign.
thank you for the response and the diagrams so, remarkably a few days later, the DRLs came back, and then rarely, I could even get the lows to work. so I'm thinking there must be an intermittent short, likely, as you speculated, in the headlight stalk. I wish I had TechStream, that would have made isolating the fault easy. is headlight stalk replacement a difficult task? DIY-able? I found a video for a Gen2 and while it doesn't seem complicated, you do have to remove the steering wheel and airbag assembly. why is the type of light critical? how can I figure out which it is? do you have to get into the headlight assembly, or would it be listed in the manual (I haven't had to change any lights from the factory placed ones)
Just as likely an intermittent open contact in the stalk. Given it sometimes works the electrical contacts in the stack are the most likely issue. You could try some DeoxIT D5S-6-LMH Spray in an attempt to remove moisture or contaminates the moisture left behind. Replacing it is not that hard but you have to get the right one and be careful with the airbag.
I appreciated the guidance given. As a final update, I had taken the car in for some body work after an accident and asked them to check out the lights, and it seems both bulbs were out, so no intervention required at the stalk. I had tried an electrical contact cleaner as suggested, but, as can be predicted given the ultimate cause, it made no difference. perhaps the fluid I sprayed created a temporary short that allowed to much current to the bulbs? not sure, but perhaps this info will be helpful to someone in the future.
My old girlfriend's headlights were out..... she took it to a shop and they said that the switch was bad and had to disassemble the steering Colom to repair...... I told her to bring it over to my house and I would check it out..... Both headlights burnt out......... sent her to Auto Zone......... I replaced them....... went from $900+ to $35.00 got some major favors for that one.....
