hadidx

Hey everyone, first time poster here. I just bought an '82 standard 2WD pickup. The headlight and blinkers are not working, but the rest of the lights are coming on (side lights and parking...). I would have guessed that it's the headlight switch, but am now starting to question this due to the other lights engaging when I turn the headlight switch. Checked and replaced all fuses and bulbs/lights. I'm about 1/4 mechanically inclined when it comes to electric wiring, so I am at a standstill. This really sucks because it practically renders my truck useless, especially with no blinkers. Also, if it is the switch itself, anyone know where I can get one cheap other than a pick/pull? New ones are $125+!!! I have a hard time swallowing that considering I only paid 1K for the truck and a freakin' switch is going to cost over 12% of its value. Any and all help would be awesome!
Thanks,
Joshua

suncomb1

First check the headlight relay and if the relay comes on when you turn the headlights on. The headlight and tail light relays are up under the dash near the heater on the driver's side. Do you have a tilt steering column? If you do you might have a broken wire, tilt steering colums are famous for this. Do you have 4 way flasher lights? If the turn signals flash when you turn on the 4 ways then either the turn signal relay is bad or you could have a broken wire. If you can not find any broken wires in the steering column, etc. then it is the headlight switch that is bad. Do yourself a favor, if the headlight switch is bad, spend the money for another switch because eventually all functions of the switch will fail. If you have more than one broken wire in your harness try and find another harness. Contact Trekker Paul on this WEB site. He has loads of parts and his prices are reasonable.

slacker

iTrader: (1)

check your fusable links off the battery

and then turn on your 4Way flashers .. then reply back


.

dirtdobberoffroad

I have a problem at this moment with the bright lights not working and its a solder joint on the blinker/headlight conrols that came loose you might check those too!

hadidx

Thanks for the replies. How do you check if the relay is bad? I have a really good voltage meter, but I'm pretty green when it comes to auto electronics. This has been a retarded nightmare + total buyers regret. The engine if fine, but without headlights and blinkers, I'm screwed. And apparently running the lights to a toggle switch is way more complicated than I thought it would be based on other forums. I wish my truck looked as good as all of yours.

hadidx

btw... I'm having trouble locating the headlight relay. You said it was under the steering column (which is not tilt). Is it the little black box near the gas pedal? Maybe my whole problem is that I don't even have a relay switch in the first place! I wish...

suncomb1

The relay you are showing in the top photo is the heater relay. The relay you are looking for is up above the steering column towards the heater on the driver's side. There are two relays mounted side by side in one black plastic bracket. One is the headlight relay and one is the tail light relay. There is one bolt at the bracket's top center that holds the black plastic bracket onto the dash frame.

hadidx

Well, the good news is I at least have news: So I finally found the relays (felt like I was climbing back into the womb tucking myself under the dash like that!)... the bad news is they are both good. My taillights and parking lights all work. Also checked both headlight fuses and I'm getting no reading on them. I'm assuming this means I have to replace the headlight switch? Is there a way to directly check them?

eng3inelt

My high beams would not work. I pulled the steering wheel off and found the wire had come loose at the solder joint. Yours maybe loose also. Cheap fix. Better than 125 dollars

suncomb1

Remember, the headlight switch makes the relay ground connection so trace the wires to see if they are making ground. Check your fusible links at the battery and check your ignition switch circuit which supplies power to the fuse box / headlights. There is a Red / Blue wire that supplies power to the headlight relay, Red / White wire goes to the headlight switch, Red / Yellow wire is headlight low beam and Red / Green is high beam. Remember the Headlight and Dimmer switches make ground.

hadidx

I asked a tech at the local auto tech school here in town and he told me that if I'm not getting any voltage to my fuse panel, then I'm losing power somewhere between the battery and the fuse panel. Does this sound right? I've traced all of the wire between the battery and the panel, and I don't even see any fusable links. And the wires coming off the lights go straight into a huge wire bundle that is covered and that goes straight into the cab. This is making my brain hurt. I guess the main question is if there is no power to the headlight fuses, does that mean that the problem is between the fuse panel and the headlight? And if so, how many fusable links should there be, and where would they be located?
And thank all of y'all so much for the time you've put in to help me!

p.s. I'll post pics of the wiring here shortly

suncomb1

The fusible links are located at the + battery post. There are two on one plug and a single one / single plug. One Fusible Link (Circuit A) goes to your headlight relay and Hazard Fuse, One Fusible Link (Circuit B) goes to your Alternator, Heater, Dome Light, Stop Fuse, and Tailight Fuse / Relay and one Fusible Link goes to your Ignition Switch then becomes Circuits C, D, E & F.

hadidx

Ok, here are several pictures of my trucks wiring. I have found no fusible link coming off of the battery. The positive wire coming off the terminal just goes straight into a wire cluster that attaches underneath the motor. The wires coming off each headlight also go straight into a wire cluster with nothing connected to them. Could the fusible link be under the dash somewhere? Or is the fact that I'm not seeing one anywhere under the hood a tell-tale sign?

Pics:
a.


b.


c.


d.


e.


f.


g.


h.


i.


*whew* !

hadidx

btw... in g. what is that button attached to the head/taillight relays that is fixed to the parking brake?

hadidx

Also, I can hear the relay click when I turn the headlight switch on. So, to sum up what I do know and don't know:
There is no power going to the fuse box for both headlight fuses.
The HL relay is good
The HL relay clicks when I turn the HL switch
All tail lights and parking lights and side lights come on when I turn the HL switch on
I can not locate any fusible links anywhere under the hood (refer to pics above)

thanks again!

suncomb1

In the top photo,the green plug with the red wire going to it is your fusible links; at least two of them anyway. The Red wire is spliced to the fusible links first then the links go to the plug. You need to find the third fusible link or the wire that goes directly to the alternator (WH), the wire that goes directly to the headlight relay (GR) and the wire that goes directly to the ignition switch (GR).

hadidx

Got it. Now for the amateur question: how do I check to see if the fusible link is still good?

RamahX

Use your voltage meter's ohm setting. Its the greek "Omega" symbol. You should be able to touch the red and black tips of the meter together and hear a tone. If not, see if the meter has a battery and change it.

That setting checks continuity, and will be your favorite setting besides the VDC setting.

Place one of the tips of the meter (doesn't matter which one) on one side of the fuse and the other tip on the the other side of the fuse. If the fusable link is bad there will be no tone. If it's good, you'll hear a tone. But most fusable links are easily checked visibly, (but not always).

You can also use this setting to check the wires on the steering collar. If a wire is bad hopefully you can access it enough to repair. If the switch is bad (not sure about Toyota but those are called "multifunction" switches (MFS) and they all go bad...) then search these forums as above, thats how I repair my German cars.

As a side note, its usually critical to check if everything on a given circut works, i.e. does the MFS have wiper settings, etc, and do they work.

RamahX

Whenever related items don't work, look at the root cause. My feeling is its the MFS, because the blinkers do not work either.

Hello Yota'ites, as you can guess I'm a spy over here from Rennlist and PeachParts... HadidX is my brother.

Oh, and another thing, especially with electrical probs, get the Chilton's or Haynes (or maybe Yota'ites know of a better book) as they will have the electrical schmatics. These older cars are noturious for electrical issues, it's the price we pay to drive these classics. And NEVER pay the dealer unless you have to. Welcome to forum land, ask around here where they all get their parts first, and as above there are guys who specialize in harvesting parts off these cars. These forums are why I drive pristine incredible-handling older cars.

Last word of advice, as in the CG (we were both in) you have to be hyper-vigilant. Stay ahead of repairs, or they will get $$$$ when ignored. Best advice I ever got was a Rennlister said:

1. The PO will give you a lot of information you do not understand. He may also have cut corners.

2. Most of the repairs happen due to poor maintenance on the basics.

3. You will need to spend at least 1 hour a week under the hood looking and listening for problems.

4. The car has a pulse and heartbeat. Once you understand the car will not let you down.

5. Read this forums new post every time you get on the computer for the first year.

6. The car can only be as good as you make it to be for a daily driver.

suncomb1

Unplug the green plug, take your voltmeter, set to 12V range, touch the Black - lead to a ground source and touch the Red + lead to one of the terminals inside the plug half that is still conected to the Positive battery terminal. You should get a volt reading. If you do not get a volt reading the fusible link is bad. Do the same procedure with the second terminal in the plug.