‘YotaTech’ Forum Member Battles a 1984 Toyota Wiring Headache

Classic Toyota pickup is slowly being rebuilt, but the current hang-up is the turn signals.

Many people who restore or rebuild older Toyota pickups will remove unneeded wiring. That is what “BirdSlayer86” did when modifying his truck, removing the wiring for the now-gone heating and air conditioning systems. The problem is that since rewiring the lighting systems, the turn signals don’t work. After searching through the forums for a solution and triple-checking his work, he posted in the Newbie Tech section with the hopes that someone can help.

Toyota Pickup Turn Signal Problem

When the OP first posted his question to the forum, seeking help with his 1984 Toyota pickup project, he provided the following background.

Good evening. I search this site for all kinds of things and it’s truly helped me learn these yotas but I’m extremely stumped with these turn signals not working and my cluster. I’ve been threw all the threads regarding these issues and can not seem to find anything to help. I tried messaging RAD4runner for further help but your inbox is full and will not except any more. I have no one to help me here. My time is becoming limited as I’m moving jobs due to a family loss and our company shutting down. I’ve put close to 6 grand in this truck motor and drive train wise in the last few months and I almost have it where I am happy but these electrical issues are driving me bat s**t crazy. Yes I’m not a very good mechanic and I’m self taught because I have no one to help. Anyone that may want to help is welcome to reach out to me. I live in southwest Florida if it helps anyone and anyone can shoot me a text or a phone call 941-302-2147 as you can tell I’m getting very desperate thanks again for anyone help and I greatly appreciate everyone’s time and sorry to bother

“RAD4Runner” would join the thread later on, but “Republic77” was the first to reply, asking for details on the problem.

Hey Bird,
What is the problem, specifically?
What year truck, motor, what will the turn signals do and not do? any electrical mods?
What is going on with the cluster?
do you have a multimeter?
Fsm?
Will pictures help us?
State the problem clearly, and someone will be along.
Its also Christmas time and a lot of people are very busy with life.
Hope this helps

Problem Detailed

Next, the OP provided detail on what is going on with his 1984 Toyota pickup.

Ok so here goes… 1984 pickup cab and chassis at the moment. Here in the last few months I’ve done a full emissions delete. Complete LC block off plate kit. All the AC and heat have been removed. Offenhauser intake. 32/36 Webber carb. LC header. Crane ignition. Webber electric fuel pump. Webber fuel regulator. H4 headlight conversion. Electrical system was completely exposed and gone over by more then one person. All the deleted sensors and AC / heat wiring has been removed from source of origin. All the lighting has been rewired from the front bumper to the rear bumper exactly as it was from the factory. Spent the entire day going over everything multiple times and slowly putting it back together. Headlights work great. Running lights work fine. Break lights work fine. Hazards work fine. I did get the turn signals to work as they should before I put all the wiring back in place and the turn signal switch back on the steering column. Now I got them to work by taking the switch apart on the steering column cleaning everything up and adjusting it multiple times. First I could get one side to work and not the other. I could take it apart swap the contacts and get the other side to work but not the one previous working. Finally got it adjusted and working right and got all the signals working as they should. I put the switch back together on the steering column and now when I hit a blinker I get a click noise from the flasher relay and it goes dead. Nothing working but the hazards. I can take the switch back apart put it back together and get power to the 2 circuits in the switch for the blinkers. Hit the blinker and it goes dead. Could it possibly be the flasher relay? Or is it my original thought.. the switch on the steering column?? I just don’t understand how I can take the switch apart and put it back together and I have power to the circuits again until I hit the blinker and this is a never ending circle. All the switch does is slide a spring loaded bar Up and down making the contact points to turn the blinker on. Yes I have 2 sets of lights running to the rear of the truck. 1 set for tail/stop and 1 set for turn.

He also provided details on the problem with the gauge cluster issue.

The cluster doesn’t seem to be quite as big of a deal at the moment. Sometimes when you hit the wiper switch the cluster goes dead but I haven’t completely but the dash back together and put the cluster back in to see if that problem still exists. It was all working fine earlier when I had it plugged in and had the turn signals working. The temp gauge won’t work because of the offenhauser intake. Gas gauge is working again but not reading right but probably just the sender. Only thing in the cluster I want to work that doesn’t is the tach and I can’t for the life of me trace the wire that works the tach. I’m pretty sure it hooked up to the one I believe is correct but it doesn’t work. I did read something in the crane literature that mentions depending if it’s off the pos or neg on the coil not sure which one at the moment it could need an adapter to work but if I can’t figure it out I’ll get an aftermarket and just hook it up. I’m not good at reading electrical schematics they confuse me. I think I have a multimeter but I’d have to go get it out of my work truck and see what it is and I’ll be honest I have no idea how to work it. I have reasons in life to be scared of electric so I’ve always kinda avoided it. But seems the older I get the more it intrigues me and I want to learn more about it. And it seems to be the one thing in vehicles that gets the best of me so I’m determined to start learning more about it. I’ve been trying to get this truck done before the first of the year but doesn’t seem it’s going to happen. I’ve been chasing these turn signals for a couple weeks now and get aggregated and want to burn the truck to the ground but walk away and try another day. I’ve seem to make head way but am still stumped. Everything worked before and after messing with the electrical besides the turn signals. Some would not work consistently but that was bad wiring or a plug not making good contact. I’m not sure the turn signals ever worked to be honest. I bought the truck maybe 10 or 11 years ago. It’s a turd to be honest and the cab is pretty ˟˟˟˟ but it’s my baby and I’ll never part ways with it. I really want to learn them in and out and plan to do more of them. Just want to get this electrical figured out so I can put it back together and start on the axles and brakes so I can get the rest of these parts out of my living room lol … not that I care but I’ve been catching heat for awhile now for boxes of yota parts in the living room hahaha

The Community Responds

The first person to provide in-depth help with the wiring issue was “JBTVT”, who shared insight and a diagram.

Wiring diagram fro a 90 attached, have to assume yours is similar unless you have other info. Power for turns flows through fuse,then hazard switch, then flasher, then turn signal switch. Unlikely to be flasher if hazards work. Could be a contact inside hazard switch which routes power to flasher from turn signal fuse (haz fuse is different circuit, at least here). Most likely IMO would be the turn signal switch itself, they can be temperamental. Possibly some corrosion built up on one of the contact in there (appear to be several, don’t know never taken one apart) limiting votage from activating flasher. You can use your meter set on volts to test for power, set to 20 on DC current, touch red probe to contact you want to test to see if it has power and touch black probe to good ground (clean metal or wire to neg battery terminal)

Your tach runs off signal from igniter, on most it’s a black /red wire.

Finally, “RAD4Runner” joined the thread with an assortment of diagrams, labeled images and insight on the problem.

We need to know more about your truck, especially because those years were like Frankenstein just starting his career – LOL!

Is yours a first gen truck or a second gen truck that looks like the first-gen 4Runner?

Do you have similar wire colors to these going to your switch and blinker relay? (1986 and 1988 wire colors shown) Do not mind the cross-bands, just the STRIPES.

From there, the OP and the community members who are trying to help go back and forth with some questions and answers. We don’t know for sure if the OP solved the problem, but along the way, he shared the images here showing his 1984 Toyota pickup, including the slick custom driver’s seat.

If you have any insight on this problem, or a related issue of your own, click here to head into the thread in the forum.

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