I have a 1982 4WD r22 motor. Driving down the road about 3 months ago it quit on me, suddenly as if the ignition went out or electrical failure happened. Determined that it had no spark. Replaced the following parts;

Coil from O'Reilly, no spark.
Pickup coil in distributor from Rock Auto, no spark.
Ignition control Module from Amazon (Wells), no spark..
Voltage regulator from Amazon, no spark.
The whole distributor from Rock Auto, got spark and it started. However have the charge and the parking brake light on.
Alternator that was in the truck tested bad at O'Reilly installed. Pulled it out and tested bad at O'Reilly.

Purchased alternator from O'Reilly. I have a 40 amp alternator. Got the one the specified and put it on, charge and parking brake light still on. pulled it and had it tested at O'Reilly, said the brand new one was bad.


Took my old Alternator and my old voltage regulator to a local shop that services alternators for commercial vehicles and verified my alternator and voltage regulator were bad, and they were both bad. They do not rebuild alternators unfortunately. Quality Alternator in Colorado Springs.

Ordered alternator from Rock Auto, #14552, put it in out of the box, and charge and the parking brake light on. Rock Auto took it back.
Ordered 2nd alternator from Rock Auto, #14552, for a quick test, had O'Reilly test it on the bench and it tested bad sent it back to Rock Auto, they took it back without question.
I noticed that the white wire was grounding out on the back of the alternator, so fixed that before #3 arrived from Rock Auto.
Ordered a 3rd alternator from Rock Auto, had it tested at Quality Alternator, tested good. put it in the truck, both lights still on.

Any recommendations out there? is there a wiring diagram on line that anyone knows off?
I might disconnect all wires from the alternator and voltage regulator and run new wires to eliminate a possible problem.
I don't see any fusable links by the battery, there should be two there? i have continuity from the battery to the ignition on the steering column, which make sense because it starts, and i verified with a volt meter.

thanks for looking,

frustrated Nate

 

Damn Nate! I see why you're frustrated. A wiring schematic for your truck (EWD) would definitely help if you can find one or download one. Can you put a meter on the battery terminals and compare the voltage with engine off and then running? Maybe it's charging now? You'd still have to troubleshoot the warning lights though.

You should also check your battery cables and grounds. All connections really. It's an old truck. Even ignition switches get crusty and sloppy and can cause intermittent problems on older vehicles. I've had battery cables that looked ok and were badly corroded under the insulation.

Good luck with it and please follow up.
Scott in AZ.

 

Sounds like your coil igniter is going out. The Amazon igniters sometime work or not. Get a good used Toyota unit (new is no longer available).

 

I do have spark now, the truck runs. I do have a new coil and ICM (ignition control module) in the truck. I did order a new voltage regulator from Rock Auto last night. Thinking about it over the weekend, I drove the truck for a short drive when I first got spark when the hot wire was on the back of the alternator was grounding out. That is now resolved. Maybe fried the voltage regulator I had purchased from Amazon two alternators ago, and I read the new ones can be bad out of the box. Also I see it was specified for a '79-80 Toyota. The Rock Auto one I ordered last night that is for an '82.

This weekend I need to do some investigation with the voltmeter with old voltage regulator. I will bet I will see the old one is faulty so I will throw on the new one and cross my fingers that is it!

 

A good video on explaining how a external voltage regulator works. I don't have the equipment to do this, but if a regulator is faulty it will behave like the bad one in this video.


Here is a 2nd video of a guy diagnosing a faulty alternator and a voltage regulator with a multimeter on an American car, but I think these principle could be applied to the Toyota.

 

r100guy, Ignition coil was first part I replaced. Is that what you are referring to? I did not get spark after that so moved onto other parts.