Hey guys,

1981 Toyota 4x4
22r w/ Weber Carb (electric choke)

When I turn the key on, I'm getting nothing. No dash lights, no radio, nothing. (my headlights will turn on). When I turn the key to crank the truck, also getting nothing. No clicking, buzzing, etc.

My battery is full charged. New positive terminals and a new negative terminal & ground wire ran to the fender.

The starter is getting power from the battery. I can take a wire and start the truck by touching where the positive wire goes into the starter & to where the connector that runs to the switch goes into the starter. Truck will start right up & run fine.

^ That tells me the starter is fine & the battery is fine. I would also say that the grounds are good?

Bad ignition switch? or what? I'm not an electrical guru & get confused with the relays & soleniods, or lack thereof, between the starter and ignition switch, etc.

I've searched but it seems like mosts people's vehicle won't crank at all and it winds up being a bad ground or starter.

Thanks guys

 

On the older trucks sometimes the soldiered connections on the ignition switch can pop off. Haven't had a later one apart yet but if its a similar design it could be possible. A schematic would help you, but there is a relay on the right side kick panel. That might only be for the charge circuit though. I haven't had to dig into the electrical system yet so I don't know exactly how it's set up.

You did check fuses? You can test wires at the switch as well.

 

If the battery terminals are stock it should have two fuseable links on each side of the + battery terminal. They are small black rectangles about an inch or two long. They plug into two tabs which are soldered to each side of the terminal. The one closer to the - terminal is what powers the starter/ign/wipers etc. Try bypassing it with a jumper wire. That could very well be the culprit.

 

I found it.. Broken wire next to a plug!

Thanks anyways for the help! I had checked the fuses and the terminals were aftermarket. I guess when I was messing around earlier I missed where the wire was broken.

I also had checked the soldered wire on the back of the ignition & they looked surprisingly good for their age!

Thanks again