My brother in law has this Toyota. It is a four cylinder diesel.

I want to know how hard it will be to.rewire the truck.
When I say rewire all I want is for it to run and charge the battery.

I don't want lights, no radio no heater nothing.

I know this sounds crazy but the truck is in Nicaragua where they don't need lights or even wipers.


Also because it is in Nicaragua everything has been done to the truck. Paper clips for fuses
Push button starter with a light switch for a kill switch.

Anyway if I.can start over starting at the.battery I would like to help my brother in law out.

All ideas welcome.

 

Only as hard as you make it? Locate a wiring diagram, or break out the multimeter and probes and get to work. doesn't sound like there is anything inherently wrong with the wiring

You didn't say what year ect so you're gonna have to yer self.

 

We have been having allot of problems. The battery stopped holding a charge so we replaced the voltage regulator. Now we think something else is messed up.

 

Ok the truck is a 81.

 

Find a wiring diagram. Rip it all out and start over is the only way you'll ever find/replace all the bootyfabulousness.

:wabbit2:

 

Ok. I world like to keep everything simple then later maybe hook up some lights.
How do I find out the correct readings?
Like with my meter. What should it read comming from the alternator?

 

I can see you have your work cut out.

Perhaps a basic reading on automotive electrical.

If you don`t understand the basic concepts your up the creek without a paddle

The battery would not charge so you replaced a voltage regulator without checking the battery

if this is a 12 volt system and who knows your alternator should put out between at the lowest 12.5 VDC to around no more then 14.00 VDC

 

We had the battery tested and it tested bad. My brother in law sais the battery was getting very hot and making a boiling sound.
I did not have my meter with me. I will take it next trip

 

Then you may have made the correct choice; if the voltage regulator fails and puts out more than about 14.2v, then it will boil (and destroy) the battery. An inexpensive meter would be a perfect house-warming present. http://www.harborfreight.com/7-funct...ter-98025.html

www.autoshop101.com has some basic and not-so-basic articles on automotive electronics.

Good luck!

 

Ok. Thanks for the help. I will check it out. It is very hard to repair stuff in Nicaragua. They just cut wires and use parts from other cars. It is a very different life their.

 

just wondering about this idea. on my brother in laws truck, if i was to take the positive wire off the battery and take a test light and connect it from the positive post to the positive wire, will this tell me if he has a short somewhere. i am guessing with everything turned off like a radio and any lights and stuff like this.

what i am trying to do is see if his wiring has a short somethere.

keep in mind the truck is in another country and he does not have a meter yet.

see what i am thinking is that if their is a short somethere the test light will light up. if their is not short then the light will stay off.

anyway i have been thinking about this idea and weather it will be a good thing to have him try.

 

It might work and it won't hurt. If the test light illuminates, then yes, there is a connection (short) somewhere.

But if the short is a moderately high-resistance, it won't pull enough current to illuminate the test light. For instance, on a "regular" truck the clock pulls power all the time. But not enough to illuminate a test light.

You're not worried about that small a short (a car battery will run a clock for several years). But it is possible that there is enough of a short to run the battery down over several days, but not enough to light a test light. To find that you'll need a multimeter.

 

Thanks i think he took the altenator some where and had it worked on i will know more
In a couple of days

 

Brother in law sold the truck
He now has a 93. Looks better than my 91.
It needs a starter and has a noise coming from the rear end. I can deal with this better than rewiring the other one.