sagorski1611

Hello I am having trouble starting my pickup. One of the problems is it is 20 below and only getting colder (can't be fixed). When I turn the key the engine revs up for about three seconds and then dies. It was starting just fine even when cold. When trying to start it a friend noticed a spark come from the passenger side of the engine. Upon further investigation I noticed a loose wire (heavy gauge black with white stripe). I think this might be the problem. The end of the wire has a large metal ring. I think this wire comes from the positive terminal. There are three wires coming off the terminal 1. to starter 2. is to fuse box 3. Thick Black wire with white stripe ?

myyota

That sounds like a ground wire, being that its black with a white stripe, try cleaning the conections on this wire and putting it back on and make sure all of the conections are tight, also check all of the ground wires.

sagorski1611

Well here is a picture of the wire. this does not come from the positive terminal but actually comes of the wiring harness on the passengers side near front differential.
The truck is running without it. I wonder if this could have something to do with my 4wd not working. Oh this is not a ground wire (has power coming out of it).
Thanks for any help.

sagorski1611

bump .

Wes94

I doubt if it has anything to do with to 4wd. Looks like the battery to body ground to me. can you trace it back to the negative battery terminal? I can't tell from the picture where the wire comes from. Can you take another picture from a little further back for some perspective?

Wes94

If it's down near the front diff and would reach your engine block it may be the battery to block ground. Look on your engine block for a cleaner bolt hole where that might have been. I think you should try bolting that to your block.

sagorski1611

The last time I tried grounding that wire I had gotten a bad spark from it at first and found that while it was grounded my battery kept draining. I traced this wire back to the wiring harness. there is a black with white stripe wire that comes off the neg post as well though. I will take another pic .
thanks for your help. I believe that grounding that may have been the cause of my oil pressure gauge kicking the bucket.

Wes94

Weird. Something is shorting. Has there been any recent work done to your truck? is it a 22re or 3vze?

sagorski1611

The 3vze is out of a 95 4 runner. Most of the engine swap was done before I received it. There was still quite a bit of electrical connections to hook up and vacume lines that I had done myself. However I could never figure out where this black with white stripe wire went. As long as the wire wasn't left hanging I had no problems. the length of this wire is about 10" and I can see where it goes directly into the harness. When I tested this wire it showed that there was power coming out of it. What is the difference between grounding to the engine block or to the frame? Does it matter where I ground something?
Well here is another picture further away.

Wes94

The engine is on rubber mounts so grounding to it or the frame are very different. I don't know of anything that is grounded to the frame. the battery is grounded to the block and the body. the engine has another 2 grounds that go to the body, one from the top of the plenum to the firewall and another from the drivers side head to near the igniter.

Maybe that is your block to battery ground but the other end is hooked up to the wrong battery post.

sagorski1611

OK thank you I will see if I can find anything on the engine block that this might hook to.

Wes94

It definitely looks to be in the same spot as my block ground or possibly attach to the engine mount. The engine mount on that side should have a small bolt on the top part of the frame attachment. Check to see if there is a wire attached to the engine mount and if there isn't then we may have found your problem. i am still a little concerned about your battery draining when you grounded this wire. Seems strange. A thick black and white wire should not be that hard to trace. see if you can find out where it comes from. If you know what system it is connected to you can find it on a wiring diagram.