Ok - new to this forum. Have a question about the electrical wiring on my TLC 76FJ-40. Have a fuse that keeps blowing (4th in the box) -wipes out my wiper fluid pump and my windshield wipers. I've disconnected the washer fluid pump, the wiper motor and the switch completely and I am still blowing fuses...

Pulled out the wiring diagram...
I have now unwrapped my wiring harness all the way from the fuse box to the point where the bLue wire splits - on lead going to the wiper motor and one lead going to the washer fluid pump. I cut the wire lead to the fluid pump and still blew a fuse. Then I cut the wire headed to the wiper motor and re-connected the wire to the fluid pump and wholla - the fuse didn't blow.

Soooo, with all that done, can I assume that somewhere between the junction that I just split and the motor itself, that wire has gone bad (likely in between the dash and the motor itself as that area has to flex when I put the winshield down).
Can I just cut that blue wire at the motor, cut it at the junction and replace it? Will that fix the problem, or am I missing something. As I know little about wiring......and ive been working on this stupid project all freaking day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Chris
"Beast" 76FJ40

Yes but more more importantly you need to check the circuit for resistance while flexing the harness just incase you have it shorted to another wire...other wise just piggy back another wire and be done with it....just need to check with a resistance meter (mutli-meter) as its very important to understnad the whole problem before you bypass...it.....

Ok - I bypassed the wire, but then when got it all put back together, two new problems (most likely related) surfaced. I now have no headlights (lo or hi-beam) and the Cruiser won't shut off. I can turn the key, take it all the way out and its still running. (had to d/c the battery to kill the engine)

What gives?

Any help appreciated!

Chris

How did you get the engine to shutoff by disconnecting the battery? If that happened you have other issues besides the wipers nad the headlights. By looking at the schematic I have I don't even see where the wipers would tie into the ignition or the wiper circuit. You might have some wires in the harness chaffed through and shorting on each other.
Had this happen on the 74 I used to have, one wire burnt throughout the harness and took a bunch or other wires with it. I ended up removing the entire harness, unwrapping the shielding, and replacing burnt wires one by one.
One other area you might want to check is behind the fuse box. I have also had issues with corrosion building up from one terminal to another causing circuits to bridge. This caused some wild electrical problems. :skull:

Chris,

Best bet is to remove the tape from the harness, so you can trace the wires out.

Odds are you cut and spliced into the wrong wire. :eek:

Couple of comments: I have seen harnesses built when the factory ran out of one wire, and used another color! Yes, one or two wires not matching the wiring diagram. No need to shut down production, use what you have! Frustrating to say the least.

When the battery is disconnected, and everything else is NORMAL...the engine will continue to run! The alternator will keep everything powered up. [Since the ignition switch was off, no power to the alternator terminal was applied, so in this case pulling the cable off worked] There are some huge voltage spikes on the system that could destroy some electronic gear. This was an issue with early 80 vehicles, but by 1990 most OEM's knew of the issue, and designed in a little more robust filtering and overvoltage protection on the electronics such as radios, car computers, etc.

Do NOT use plain electrical tape to retape up the wiring harness, it will be a mess within a couple of years. You need to find "friction" tape, that holds by friction. No sticky stuff to it, but you need to finish is off with a "loop over, and back through" at the end of the tape.

All else fails.... load it up on the trailer next saturday, bring plenty of :beer:, and drive down I-35 to Round Rock. :D

EDIT: Went to look for the friction tape to find the 3M part number on it. No luck. I remember different names being used such as "linerless, cold shrink, or friction". Last time I ordered some it was from Waytek Wire.

Tom :usa:

Ok - :confused:

Thanks for the clarification about d/c the battery, thought that could be a real problem if it should've stayed on.

I don't think I re-wired the wrong wire, because I was very careful and made sure that my splices operated and sent power to the right components before I did that.

Here's my initial assessment. I don't even think that the wire that went bad on the wiper motor is related to this new problem. As I don't even think these wires are bundled much together except for right out of the fuse box. I checked, they are not burned or melted together. And the wipers and washer motor now work great.

Background - have been having an issue with the headlights turning off completely when switched between hi and lo beam.
Also, for past week the starter motor has been sticking on for a few seconds even after I stop applying pressure....:mad:

Theory?:confused: - When I was under the dash, I pushed back the two wire bundles from the steering column back and forth a couple of time (in the process of moving the harness around).

Is it possible that
A - something in the hi-lo beam switch is screwed up. If so, whats the best way to troubleshoot this

B - something in the ignitions switch is messed up causing the starter to stick on until the engine engages (sometimes) and NOW not turning off the engine when it should be. Again, Is this something i can replace easily, or am I getting in over my head??? Would like some help on how to think about tackling this new problem......

first, with the starter problem, i would get a new ignition switch, i think JTO had them for like 25...you might want to check sor too.

Headlights: sounds like a problem in the colum...you might want to check that.
also, my headlight SWITCH was having problems....so i took it out and took it apart (not that hard) and cleaned it. Just make sure you DONT LOOSE those little spring-loaded balls. After i rebuilt mine it worked 300 PERCENT BETTER! So try what i suggested and let us know.

also a common problem associated with the iginition switch: when going to (run or accc??) the starter "jumps"...scares the crap outta you when your working in the garage and thought the battery was disconnected!! :eek:

let us know.

Just for clarification. The cruiser will start fine, but will not shut down (without d/c the battery after taking out the key from the ignition).
What's happening here is exactly what? Other than the switch is apparently worn out and not breaking the circuit? Is this a common problem with older cruisers? I ordered the new ignition switch from the Toyo dealer. Just don't want to replace the switch and figure out that its just a short in the steering column wiring or something like that....

Chris :rasta: :confused: :nuke:

Headlights not working is typically a GROUND problem. Touyyota uses switched ground instead of Hot...

Originally posted by TLCObsession
Headlights not working is typically a GROUND problem. Touyyota uses switched ground instead of Hot...

TLC -- A quick note on this: If the fuse box has ONE FUSE for the headlights (i.e. FJ40) then the headlights have traditional power going to the high/low beam through the dimmer switch.

If the fuse box has TWO HEADLIGHT fuses, then they use the "reverse logic" of supplying power to the headlights "ground" connection, with HIGH or LOW beam being selected by grounding that side.

On my FJ60 I really went nuts trying to figure out why I had a high beam indicator, yet no high beams. Simple on the FJ60 the highbeam indicator lights when the LOW BEAMS are off. :D Turned out the wire for the high beams came off the combo switch when I was in there replacing the horn contact button. Didn't notice until I went in for inspection (failed: no high beams! But the high beam indicator worked fine!).

Tom :usa:

Stumped again ---:confused:

I replaced the ignition switch with a new Toyo one and I still have the same problem, the engine won't shut off after I start it.

Can someone help me with this situation - where to look? 76 FJ-40. I am not to familiar with how the shut-off switch should be working - or what I should be looking for to fix the problem.

Could this be the result of a ground wire for the ignition switch making contact with the hot wire from the lights? :bounce2:

Chris

I replaced the ignition switch - fixed the starter problem (would stay engaged), but still won't shut off. I also still have no headlights.

I took out the fuse box, and on the back of fuse #8, which is supposed to control the headlights, is a tab that looks like it shoud be hooked up to something. Don't know if something came loose thats causing me to have no lights, or if its always been this way. Can anyone take a look at theirs and let me know what the brass tab (male connector) is connected to on the back of the fuse box (#8 Headlamps). Am I looking for a hot lead or possibly a ground for this connection..

Would post picture of back of fuse box, but cant figure out how to insert .jpg into these postings.

Thanks

Chris
Beast 76FJ40

C:\Documents and Settings\Chris Struempler\My Documents\My Pictures\76FJ40 Electrical\Fuse Box (Back).JPG

:crybaby2: ok - here was the issue, I hooked up the wire on the back of the fuse box to the wrong tab. The result was a fuse box that was always hot. It didnt allow the headlights or the ignition to ground out (thus no shut off or no headlights)..... what an idiot. thanks for all the advice...

Just happy that all is well for now (knock on wood)

Chris
"Beast"76FJ40;)