1st Gen Crawler

I am having one hell of a time trying to figure out what the heck is wrong with my 1982 toyota pickup truck. I will try to specific since it is an electrical problem, but i am really hoping somebody on here has dealt with a similar problem.

When i get in to my truck and start the engine both turn signals indicators illuminate as if they were in the blinking position, when i use either signal it blinks rapidly (although the left side works externally, i know the RR has a very corroded reverse bulb socket), oddly enough the flashers work fine when turned on. Here is where it gets even weirder; my tach will pulse and the turn signals will dim down to the point of almost being off every second or so rhythmically and consistently, its really odd. My battery meter will do the same thing except it stays down low to the left side and does not read accurately. Most recently my temp gauge will climb through the roof really quickly, within 5 minutes or so, and scare the crap out of me. (I made another thread on here pertaining to that particular issue as well)

Other weird things are happening with the high beams as well. When i turn the lights on nothing seems to change from what i posted above, but when i pull the high beams back my headlights go out, and when i push it forward the blue indicator light barely comes on, and my turn signal illuminators get even brighter than before!

Here may be the weirdest part of all; sometimes (1 out of 10 times i start it) nothing is wrong, and everything works perfectly until i try to use the high beams! If i activate it either way (forward or back) everything goes right back to ˟˟˟˟ an is all effed up.

Here are a few things to note:
-My oil pressure gauge seems to work fine as it always has.
-Temp battery gauge was not at zero until i swapped in LED bulbs, although it has always read a little low and pulsed a tiny bit. (have not swapped back old bulb to check for difference)
-Trucks interior was swapped because of nasty cracks and gashes, i believe the cluster worked before it was parked.
-Truck was parked uncovered for about 2 years due to a blown tranny.
-I pulled apart the entire cluster and meticulously detailed the entire thing, so i do not believe the problem in with the cluster itself, although i do not have another one to plug in and check for sure. (I took a bunch of pictures of the cluster detail process so i could do a writeup if it has not already been done. i could not find anything on it when i was researching before i opened it up.)

Anyways i am sure i am forgetting some other things, but i really hope this is enough to get started.

suncomb1

Did you install LED bulbs in the turn signal indicators in the dash unit? If you did, remove them and install regular #158 or #194 bulbs. Did you install LED bulbs in the front or rear turn signal lights? If you did, remove them and install #1156 bulbs. Did you change your turn signal flasher?

Does your truck have a tilt steering wheel? If so, they are famous for causing wire breakage so check your wiring in the steering column.

Check your ground circuits on the gauge cluster and for damage, burn marks or cracks in the solid state circuitboard of the gauge cluster.

Lons81

iTrader: (2)

Checking and cleaning all the grounds would be a good start. Having a wiring diagram would help in identifying where they are, and using a multimeter in checking point to point continuity.

1st Gen Crawler

I did install LEDs in the indicators for the turn signals in the cluster.
Did not change any external bulbs yet.
Have not swapped the physical flashing unit, do those tend to go out?
Do not have a tilt wheel, have inspected and looked around in the wiring as much as possible. Any idea on where the ground for the cluster might be?
Cleaned the entire board on the back of the cluster, damn near took the entire thing apart looking for the issue as well.

I have a multimeter, i do not have a wiring diagram and i cannot seem to find one ANYWHERE. it is killing me.

83

Yeah I don't know if it's going to be one of those "oh yeah! same thing happened to me. it's _____ this". It's probably going to be something you have to track down. Connections and ground are definitely what I'd be looking at. Even at the battery.

I was thinking maybe somebody swapped clusters and didn't wire the new one right. But if it occasionally works fine, that can't be right...

1st Gen Crawler

Yeah, it is a weird issue for sure. I do believe it all stems from one problems since everything seems to be tied together. Does the cluster have one single ground that i should check?

Also i know that there are some issues up under the hood by the battery, problem is that i am not sure how to properly rewire it without a real wire diagram.

Anybody know where i can get my hands on one of those?

83

You'd either need to find a FSM, or get as close as possible with this, understanding that some things probably changed (at least as far as wire colors):

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f114...wnload-261385/

Pretty sure he's got the wiring diagrams in there, too, but not sure. They're at the very back of my manual, and fold out several times. Very large...

1st Gen Crawler

Thank you for that, i think this is a huge step in the right direction. Now, can somebody briefly explain to me how to properly read these wire diagrams?!

From what i can tell (which is probably not much since i have not read one of these in years) some of the issues may be caused where the ignition coil ties in to the tach.

Also, most of what is messed up seems to come from the line "D" at the top, does that "D" mean that is one physical wire in there that all sorts of stuff is tied in to? If so, that is the one that i will be checking grounds and all that in ASAP.

Thanks for the help

RAD4Runner

Turning headlights on/high beams on should not affect your turn signal indicators, unless someone decided to tap off power for your headlights from your blinker circuit or vice-versa.

Symptoms suggest that someone took shortcuts and/or butchered your wiring, not just your grounds. Best approach is

• Stop depending on stealers and incompetent shops and learn/understand the schematic and proceed carefully.
• Get a multi-meter, if you haven't, yet. Next to our senses (sight, hearing, touch, smell, common... Nope, don't taste things- LOL!), a multi-meter is the best tool for diagnosing problems on classic Yota's. Harbor Freight is your friend. I have a nice Fluke meter but I got this for rough and tumble life on the truck. Makes current (headlight, starter solenoid, etc). measurements very easy.
• Trace every single wire, make sure they make good connection with what the schematic says they're connected to, and nothing else (or else you have a short or same problems you're having).
• Or come to San Diego; we'll do it over pizza and Stout- no fizzy, yellow, yuppie beer please

Good thing about our classics is they're simple. Basic rules on the schematic:

• A wire is connected to something, or another wire IF there is a "dot" at that point.
• Where wires intersect, they are only electrically-connected to each other if where is a "dot".
• Actual physical connection/junction/splice may not be shown exactly by the dots. But if you followed one of the wires along which the "dot" is on, you'll find the junction/splice.

1st Gen Crawler

Thanks for the advice, i will take it all into consideration. Not quite sure my toyota would be up for 950 mile (one way) drive at this point. I live in the land of good beer my friend, it flows freely from the fountains up here.

I am sure somewhere along the line something was messed up, we ended up getting our hands on a rolled toyota and decided its interior was better than mine. So we swapped it. I don't remember anything going wrong during the swap although i had to go out of town for 2 days and when i came back it was finished, due to the fact that my friends father wanted his shop space back. I dont recall anything being wrong after the swap, but my 5th gear did go out shortly after that and it ended up being parked for 2 years in the elements. I was thinking that it might be some corrosion or something, somebody tried to start it to move it and i think they left the battery connected till it drained out which for an Optima Red Top can take awhile.

Trouble i have with tracing wires is that just after the 3 connectors would attach to the cluster those 3 small clumps of wire meet up with a hell of a lot more wires before it runs through the fire wall. Would it be wise to unwrap everything to get a good look at it, or could that just cause me more problems in the long run?

i have a meter, but it is probably about 30 years old at this point, and i am going to need a new one, along with some good electrical tools if i wanna get this fixed up. Thank you for the wiring info as well, reading those is going to take some getting used to.

RAD4Runner

COOL!

Yeah, moist climate would do that; all those connectors and splices need checking. Given your climate, I would redo every critical splice I work on with a touch of solder, then liquid electrical tape to make it's weather-proof and corrosion-proof.

1st Gen Crawler

^ Looks like i have my work cut out for me. I already have a decent auto electrical kit going although i do not have any wrap or a heat gun just yet. soldering in that tiny cramped area is not going to be fun though. Good thing the weather is starting to turn in my favor, although i will miss the snow for sure.

I'm still looking for any other suggestions, although these are all great ones.
Anybody happen to have a picture of the electrical system under the hood of these first gens? I have a pretty bad hack job right near the battery, and i would like to know how is it supposed to be run correctly.

suncomb1

Remove the LED lights from the turn signal indicators and install regular bulbs as stated earlier. The LEDs will mess up your turn signal circuit because the stock Toyota flasher will not work with LED lights. You must purchase a flasher designed for operating LED lights and possibly inline resistors for LED lights to work on your Toyota. Do the change as described above first then see how your gauges / tach work. You could be getting feedback from the LED lights that could be affecting your ground circuits in the gauge cluster. LED lights are polarity sensitive.

Pumpkinyota

x2. Change that first. Glean battery grounds and motor ground second. After that, it is unlikely that there will be a single "smoking gun" type problem, track each issue separately.

1st Gen Crawler

Will be doing both of those suggestions tomorrow bright and early, as well as getting a mechanical gauge to measure temp, and possibly a new thermostat to fix another "threaded" problem.

LED bulbs will still work fine in the other sockets? i put 6 of them in after reading that it was ok on a few forums, must have missed the part about the signal indicators.

suncomb1

LED lights are fine in the other dash indicator sockets, gauge lighting, heater control panel light, and door courtesy lights. Just remember they are polarity sensitive. LED lights are okay in your side lights, parking lights, back up lights but tail /brake lights could have a problem (sometimes they work without a problem and sometimes they do not-depends on the LED light quality).

1st Gen Crawler

Made some progress yesterday i do believe!

Swapped out the turn signal indicators for regular bulbs, new brake and signal bulbs, and reinstalled most of the dash.

temp gauge seems to be fixed now, but the gas gauge has suddenly stopped working, and no change in the battery meter.

Turn signal problem may have just gotten a little weirder too.... If i use my left turn signal the right one blinks in the cluster and my tach goes ape-˟˟˟˟ wild (bounces up 2500 rpm and back down rhythmically). The right signal illuminates the left indicator in the cluster and the tach spikes rhythmically, although not nearly to the degree of when the left signal is used (500 - 1000 rpm change)

Note that externally all the lights are working, except for the right front signal (new connectors where it connects to the harness), and the reverse lights. (RR is heavily corroded, cant even get the bulb out, and they have honestly never worked) used to have a H4 on a switch i would use as a back up light.

And now although i got the temp gauge fixed (not that it matter, installed a mechanical one yesterday) https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f114...al-not-267907/
the gas gauge does not register at all... I am considering just trying to do as many mechanical gauge conversions as possible to try and weed out issues in the electrical system. Are there any good threads on here about full conversions?