So I'm in the process of replacing the tailgate on my 1991 4Runner. I was able to locate a replacement (used) tailgate which was imported from Japan. It's in impeccable condition which is a great thing for these vehicles.

Now the tricky part is that the original tailgate on the truck had a rear tire carrier. This means that the truck has separate wiring running along the right side of the truck for the license plate light while the wiring harness for the tailgate runs along the left side of the truck.

Upon inventory of the wires I determined that the new tailgate has 11 wires that were cut from its original wiring harness. The wiring harness on my truck has 10 wires. A discrepancy of 1 wire.

I compared wire colours to both the new tailgate and my old harness and was able to match 10 of the 11 wires. The 11th colour (solid green with red rings I believe) matched the colour of the wire going to my license plate light. I thought... could it be that simple? Well apparently not.

Here's where I have netted out:

- backup lights work
- window motor is operable. I was able to get the window up/down by reversing the motor wires (thick red and thick green wires I believe) and pressing the "down" side of the button located between the two front seats.
- tailgate license plate light does not work
- I cannot get the window to roll up using the switch located between the 2 front seats.

Now, when I press the "up" button, I get a beeping noise which essentially is telling me that the tailgate is open. So what I did is latch the two latches (one on either side of the gate) to the closed position to simulate a closed gate. I'm assuming the latches have a built in switch that indicates whether the gate is open based on the position of the latches.

Any help in resolving this issue would be greatly appreciated.

 

I have a gate from a tire-carrier truck and mine wasn't originally. I just mounted an LED light and ran it off the power to the tail lights.

You test for any power going to that 11th wire?

I take it overall your problems are:

-No plate lights
-11th unknown wire
-Beeping noise is still present or isn't now that you "latched the two latches"?

 

did you order the tailgate online?

 

Nope. Local place imports parts from Japan. This one is clean.

I was able to get everything working. I don't know what I did different from what I was doing before... maybe the planets aligned I don't know. I basically took all the wires apart and diagnosed one by one. It all worked out in the end. Oh... and what I did for the license plate light is run the wire from the old configuration over to the left side and ran that along side the harness.

Here are some pics:





This is a temporary connection. Once I get the gate in place I'll trim the wires, solder and insulate using heat shrink tubing cause I'm no hack.







Also, since I diagnosed each wire one by one I was able to compile a listing of wire colours and what they do:


Ground: white with black stripe

Window Motor: red with blue bands, green with red bands; both thicker gauge wires than the rest

Back Up Lights: red with white stripe

License Plate: green with red bands; thinner wire not to be confused with the thicker gauge one for the window motor

Key Switch Up: green with red stripe
Key Switch Down: green with white stripe

Door Latch Sensor: green with yellow stripe

"Window Up" Limit Switch: red with black stripe

Door Lock Sensor: yellow with black stripe

Rear Defroster: black: thicker gauge wire

 

Good to hear ya got it

Also good to see you posted what the wires do...That'll for sure be useful to me when I replace mine. by the way, how much did you pay for this from your local place? I'm looking to get one soon but I dont know what price I should be expecting.

 

yes thanks for posting the wire details I just got a new tailgate for my 95 and havent swapped it yet
Somone smashed in the key hole tryin to lower the window avoiding setting off my non-existant alarm lol
it looks like i can pull the wiring harness out of the new one and reuse the old harness one in order to avoid cutting/soldering wires.
Not sure if that was possible for yours with the different styles.

Cam72ss- I got a decent condition shell with clean guts and no window for $100 on CL.
I was quoted around $200 for just the shell from a local toyota salvage yard.
Hope that helps

 

There's a couple of places that import these parts from Japan. They're used parts off old trucks but generally rust free. Going rate is $250 - $300 CDN. That includes window, motor, interior trim, etc...

 

Wasn't possible as I was switching door styles. Also, to get the harness out of the gate would have been difficult. And even so, I noticed that some of the connecting plugs were different so I'd have to swap those out anyway. Easier to just splice where the wires come into the gate.

 

I just switched in a new tailgate yesterday. The old one had the license plate in it along with the light. The new one is from a truck with the swing out tire carrier.

I used the wiring harness in the new one, as it had the tail and the plug that goes up into the DS quarter panel. What a bitch getting the plastic interior off the DS back. I did have to swap out the wiring that goes to the three plug for the motor. The ends did not match up for some reason. Different years???

I have the parts for the swingout tire carrier and will need to install them so that I can mount and illuminate the license plate.

Any one done this or have any tips? Is the wiring for the license plate light already in the PS quarter panel, or will I have to cut into some wireing to get power?

 

As per my wiring identification above, you'll have to take the green wire with red bands (thinner wire not to be confused with the thicker gauge one for the window motor) and run it over to the ps. You'll also need a ground for the wiring going to the swing out gate.

I also noticed that some plugs did not match from one gate to the other. Luckily I didn't have to swap any of the wiring within the tailgate. Only plug I needed to restore was the one for the lock cylinder. That was easy enough as I disconnected the new cylinder from the harness and plugged my old one in. Worked seamlessly.

 

OK. Problems with the tailgate again. Now I can't get the window to roll down.

I diagnosed all the latch switches, limit switches etc... but can't get the window down using the interior switch or key switch on the tailgate.

I can hear a relay click. One tucked in the rear quarter panel when using the key switch, the other relay near the front of the truck when using the switch by the front seats. Somehow, there's power telling the relay to energize but the power is not getting the the motor to lower the window. As I said, up works fine.

Any insights?

 

When I was reinstalling my window, and associated rods and switch linkage, I noticed that the positioning of the switches was very important. The cut-out switches are very sensitive and when I repositioned the locking latch, everything worked right. Until then I could not get the window to move. The locking latch must have be a millimeter or two in the wrong position.

I also noticed it was easy to get the window in place but it actually may not be on one of the tracks.

 

I had a revelation this morning.

I disconnected the rear wiper as I am currently doing a rebuild. Must have been a late night last night because both my brother and I were looking at the rear wiper motor thinking... could that be the problem? Nah, that can't be it.

Well this morning I got to thinking, the window won't go down if the wiper isn't in its resting position. I connected the wiper motor and voila... it works.

I hope someone takes something positive from this dumb ass move.