iworkalone

Hey everyone, I have an '87 4runner w/ plow setup I purchased last year. Some hacks put in an earlier model 22RE but not sure what year. I also have an '83 celica gt & they look very similar, but on to the problem. I was plowing yesterday after finally getting a new alternator installed (thought it was going to take me the usual 1/2 hour to do. 5 hours later...) and after the second push and second hard bump from the plow hitting a curb the truck died. Wouldn't start at all. Here's what I found;
the power for the plow flasher & turn on relay were tapped into a 30 amp fuse @ driver kick panel. the cover is missing so I don't know what else this is supposed to power. If I jump from another fuse to the 30 I can drop the plow, so I am ruling out a ground issue for now.
The blower motor does not work.
the windows do not operate.
the wipers DO work
the radio works
the lights work

As I was sitting in the truck today troubleshooting, trying to figure out how Haynes stayed in business with the total useless CRAP they put in their manuals, the blower started working! (I left everything on so that as I went around wiggling wires trying to find a break I could hear any success)
I jumped in the drivers seat and tried to fire it up but nothing. When I turned the ignition back on no fan. After a few minutes fan again, tried to start, nothing, repeat. As I listened I could hear a relay click just before the fan would start.

I have been checking posts here for a couple of hours, tomorrow after my feet thaw out I am going to go check the fusible link, but I can't see how these 3 items are related. I have a degree in electronics, been an electrician for over 30 years, I know my chit BUT this has me totally frustrated (and the fact that I am troubleshooting in sub zero weather)

Any help from one of you 'yota genius' would be GREATLY appreciated. Also, wondering if the push in connector @ the alternator could have anything to do with it, the wiring is pretty stiff and poorly routed.

thanks in advance

i

I forgot to mention that when I was trying to start it after hearing fan running I hooked up some jumper cables to another running vehicle. After I did this the fan never came back on.

mattches

Does it turn over?
Do you get spark?
Maybe a grounding strap to the block is loose/ broken?

wyoming9

iTrader: (1)

Some place you have a bad loose connection/. open connection

Just about every thing not powered runs through the fusible links

It must be the cold weather with me it makes me think better.

Could be your battery just died of old age ?? The last hard bump was enough to short out some of the plates.

Check battery voltage if it is down may as well kiss it good by because it has frozen by now if it was sub zero.

Check your ground cables if they have not been upgraded now is a good time as they are very small from the factory Then again maybe they got so corroded the bump caused them to just open.

Did you pop the coil wire out of the coil if it was not inserted proper it might have burned off:jessica:

You still don`t know if this could be a fuel issue or electrical.

you didn`t run out of gas??

Have you really troubleshot anything like you very well should know how to do

Do you have power to the fuse block by the battery

If you can`t figure it out I have the electrical manual PM me I will get you through it.:jessica:

iworkalone

thanks for the replies; I downloaded a great instructional on the 4 grounding points in the engine bay, which I'll check tomorrow. I checked every fuse and relay I could find, even the window & wiper control unit. But why are my wipers working & not the windows if they both are controlled by the same unit? I agree it has to be a wire somewhere barely making contact, but what other than a ground would be common to all three (blower, windows, and ignition)? When I jumped 12v to the circuit that feeds the plow it worked, that's why I didn't look too closely at the grounds.

scope103

I'd start with the right manual. http://www.ncttora.com/fsm/index.html

Since some of accessories work it is "probably" not the fusible link. It could be a "bad" ground or 12v connection, though. The starter and blower are both big current draws, the radio and lights are not. So if you've got enough resistance in either side of the circuit the blower just won't turn.

Try checking the voltage right at the battery as you turn on various items. If you get a big voltage drop when you turn the blower to "on," your battery's probably discharged.

I assume that your plow lift is a big current draw, and it probably has it's own solid ground. That suggests you might be losing a ground elsewhere, one that isn't shared with the plow lift, and which is taking out the blower motor (big current draw) but not the radio (no current draw).

In the end, your best bet is to work systematically through the electrical diagram, diagnosing where you have good voltage and where it drops to low voltage when the high-current draw items are turned to on. You have lots of places to look.

iworkalone

Well I spent another couple hours trying to trace out the open without a schematic to go by. The wire w/ no power is colored B R R (pretty sure the little dashes are red, possibly orange but I didn't see this color combo in the Haynes manual).
I jumped a known good 12v to this fuse & I could get it to start but then the only way to turn it off is to remove the jumper. Also it doesn't run right, but well enough to finish plowing the drive!
First chance I get I'm going to drive it into a garage and trudge on. I will post when I figure it out.

morena67

At the rain season, my truck suddenly starts having ignition problems, and stalls at once...
I took off my cheap aux lights... wires was flooded with water in the connections...
-Problem solved...

...Good Luck...

morena67

How did I knew something was wrong with my aux lights?
-One morning they were turn on...I turned them off, and they never turn on again...

iworkalone

Well I messed with it again today. Checked the ignition switch, checked out ok. Re- connected positive lead @ battery, which was a crappy connection but still did not fix anything. When I hopped in and the battery was almost dead the fan blower started going on again intermittently. STILL could not locate faulty connection, wondering if it could possibly be the ECU. I have the vehicle running, however, as I installed a jumper from an unused connector (think it was from factory radio) that provided +12v when key is turned on. Last time I used a jumper I grabbed a constant 12v, which is why it wouldn't turn off when the key was removed. I think first chance I get I am going to install a solid jumper directly from the connector coming off of the ignition switch (car side) to the dead line @ fuse panel. Too much time for a crazy problem like this.

thanks for all the input everyone

i