Electrical stays on when ignition is turned off

Hello. I have 96 4runner. It started having an issue the other day when I was using it for deliveries for UPS, so there was a lot turning the ignition off and on. The issue presents when the car is turned off, the heater blower, windshield wipers, seatbelt light and oil light stay on. At first this was intermittent, sometimes things would power off and other times not, then it went to happening all the time in the course of a few hours. The night I started noticing this I did have to get the car jumpstarted, I am not sure this was the cause or just a coincidence, or if it is what caused my need to be jumpstarted. My thought was this may be the ignition switch going bad because of all the off and on, or that jumping it caused it to go bad. Any idea if I am on the right track or other suggestions?

 

All the items you mentioned will stay on if you turn the key to the ACC position (but the engine is off in ACC), if this is happening with the keys completely removed you have a problem.

Sounds like an ignition switch. The dead battery might be a symptom, but you can check with a multimeter (look this up since you can explode multimeters using them incorrectly)

 

I would have a new key cut by the dealer first.

 

Yes these are on with ignition off and key removed. Just had this split waiver ignition system rebuilt last year. That said I did get the head of my key stuck in the ignition and had a heck of a time getting it out. Not sure if this was before or after the issue started.

 

Split waiver ignition system? If you have an aftermarket system I would suspect that. Get a new key from Toyota, worn key might be why you cant turn the lock. Also put some silicone spray in the lock.

 

Have you found out what the issue is? I too have been having this issue with my 4runner. I’ve replaced the ignition switch and the starter relay. I’ve had to install a new battery as the electrical issue killed my other battery.

when I did install the new battery, I did not have the issues until I opened the rear hatch. Then they started again.

 

So a few issues. I ended up taking it in. At first they replaced the ignition switch which fixed nothing…..so I didn’t pay for that. The main issue was caused by bare wires on the rear hatch where it goes from the body to the hatch, touched things that caused power to be provided to systems that should not have power. Small secondary issue that I found was the driver door jamb switch was broken, so the windows would still work when then car was off unless a different door was opened which shut the circuit down. For now I moved the jamb switch from the drivers rear to the front.

I suggest looking at wires between the body and the doors as they are the high wear areas.

 

Awesome! I have been doing some reading through other threads and will check tomorrow for bare wires in the hatch.