acousticrawk

not sure where my "911" thread went... but anyways... my 4runner died on me on the side of the road last night. the voltage was really acting up as of late (while driving with the light on, it would drop, then pop back up... see my thread about "substantial voltage drop")

last night it died. it would crank just a little then the battery was toast too. i was assuming the alternator went bad... it has the original toyota alternator in it... so i replaced the alternator, and bought a new battery. jumped in the truck and nothing! i had a burned up fuse. once i replaced it... it cranks just fine.

i have noticed none of the relays that used to click on, click on. none of them make any noise. there is a round one on the fuse box under the flashers that i used to have to tap on sometimes, but its not doing anything now, even when i tap on it. i have no idea what relay that is.

my fuel pump isnt getting any juice either. i did notice last night that i must have been running very lean too, which is a first... because the exhaust manifold was starting to glow red just a bit. it was at that point i started heading home and about 2 miles later the 4runner died.

any suggestions at all??

also my turn signals stopped working right out of the blue. yesterday. then later that night the truck died.

im very close to just pulling my new parts off this thing to re sell them and just haul this thing to the junkyard for the scrap!

SEE VIDEO BELOW FOR UPDATE!!

justin_4runner

have u checked the main fuse or main relay? sounds like from trying to crank it with a low battery could of caused a fuse able link to go. so check that one too... or the main relay could of fried... do u smell anything that smell like it could of fried?

RBX

Glowing manifold, could be cracked. Had the same issue.

Sounds to me like your wires have corrosion. I have had similar issues. And i don't mean corrosion at the tip, I'm talking down into the jacket. I'd check that stuff thoroughly.

acousticrawk

well, i ran direct power to the fuel pump and walla. truck starts right up. no problems at all. i did notice none of my gauges are working now either... sigh...

im starting to hate this truck.

RBX

From the looks of your build thread, that wiring to the fuel pump looks...uh....shotty at best. If the PO did any other handy work like that, you'd save your self a huge headache and just replace it all properly....solder, heatshrink, repeat.

James Woods

iTrader: (1)

x2, if the wiring to the fuel pump was just connected and wrapped in tape, who knows where else could be the same, you could have the same job going to or from the wiring to the ECU, etc. etc.....

acousticrawk

not to be a jerk. but if you READ my build thread.... i replaced all of his wiring, removed and rewired a lot of things properly... with solder and heat shrink.

but, as for an update... there is definitely some type of wiring issue still going on. where does the red wire from the alternator go??? my red wire is powerless. even with the new alternator (and new deep cycle battery). if i ad 12v to that wire, my gauges work... but there is a catch... my voltage gauge reads about 25% lower than it did with the old stock (original from toyota) alternator. and when i kick the lights on... its drops massively.... well below the middle line. before, with the old alternator, before it died... it read up near the high end, and with the light on, it barely dropped. doesnt change if i hit the gas. my voltmeter says im charging at 14.0-15.1 volts... from the bolted single wire on the alternator to a good ground.

i have tried splicing wired into the red wire... like a 12v constant power from the battery which allows my gauges to work... but my battery light is on.... now... if i interrupt power to the gauges and reconnect them, the gauges work and the battery light goes off. WTF!?!?!

this red wire from the alternator is killing me!

(i do think my old alternator may have been over charging... but that still doesnt explain why my gauges and battery light are on with the red wired jumped.... until i disconnect it and reconnect it, then the battery light goes off. then if i turn my headlight on it all goes to pot.)

justin_4runner

what red wire? under dash or in engine bay?

acousticrawk

engine bay. red wire coming from the alternator.

also... for some reason, my 15amp windshield wiper fuse keeps blowing, and when it blows, te truck wont even crank!? haha. what the eff is going on with this thang???

86yota321

Is your wiper fuse the only that is blown and keeps blowing? Red wire from alt goes to the 15 amp 'engine' fuse in the cab fusebox.

justin_4runner

yeah u have some wires that are fried together, do u try to use the wipers or does it just keep blowing?

acousticrawk

see below!!

acousticrawk

okay, now where getting somewhere.

the engine fuse in the fuse box has been bypassed. im not sure why.... the PO did it... theres not even a way for it to hold a fuse... one side of the female fuse holder is missing.

in the vid you will see, i have a 12v constant power wire run to a switch, then to the red wire. my fuel pump is also on that switch at the moment. with the switch on, everything is fine... with the switch on... and the headlights on, it all goes to crap... or if i have it running with the switch on the battery light will stay on until i flip the switch off (then back on quickly of course because my fuel pump is on the same switch.)

the wiper fuse just blows. its a 20a, i have a 30a in it now. youtube says it will be like 2 hours to upload my video. haha. ill post it up when it finishes. hopefully the internet doesnt crap out before then.

justin_4runner

and this switch that runs everything. it comes from the battery then off to fuel pump and a wire off the ignition? it sounds like the po did some ˟˟˟˟ty stuff by passing things and that.

Sportsmanphil

Easy on upping your amp fuses, you might cause more melt down. If you are tired of blowing fuses, get your hands on a diagnostic relay. It will power the circuit and when/if it gets hot will cut the circuit and once cooled down turn back on.

Every gear head needs one.

acousticrawk

yes... the switch seems to power everything. i had eliminated the switch before and had ignition power run to the red wire and pump. it worked great... now... im back to the switch.

86yota321

Not saying this is exact but there's a chance the engine fuse was bypassed for this very same or similar issue beforehand. The only line that comes into that fuse is the red wire from the alt. From the fuse its continues on to your gauges and such. I'm going to go back and re-read this from the start and a little slower this time to see if my thought process is going in the right direction. I'll circle the wagons and get back here...

justin_4runner

did u just put the switch back on due to this last problem fuel pump not running or something else? u have to have a relay or switch (combo switch) that has gone faulty and is grounding out. if u didn't have any smoke or burning smell when it all happened last night then im thinking a relay went bad, i do believe there are some behind you glove box too? on the passenger side wall. you could go thew and remove the covers on them and see if any looked fried on the inside or like it might of failed.

86yota321

Quick question: The round relay under your flashers on the fuse box, isn't that the EFI fuse or relay? I ask because I don't have one there since I have a carb'd motor but I think that's what it is. You said it doesn't click anymore. Wonder if that might have dumped out on ya?

acousticrawk

oh yeah! i forgot to mention... relays are all fine. they are all clicking. i just couldnt hear it over the wind. put my finger on it and i could feel it. and COR clicks when i click the key to start.

the switch is just installed so i can have a switched constant power for diagnostics. i have the switch there so i can add power to powerless wire (that are supposed to have power) to see the result.