Philbert

iTrader: (2)

Thanks 4crawler - that makes sense now. Basically, my new gauge lights are stealing all the power before it can get to my dash ligths - path of least resistance, like you say. Whew!

I was so confused, because my fuses were fine....I'll dig into this tomorrow and re wire.

What wire would you recommend tapping into if I continue to share the same ground for both power and backlighting on my new gauges? You mention using your parking light power wire....where exactly is that?

And thanks for the AFM background too - it's a one wire set up - I'll see if it "kicks in" after longer running time.

Phil

4Crawler

iTrader: (3)

I found the parking light wire in the parking light up front:
- http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTri...#Modifications

Likely can find it in the steering column wiring or under the dash, but I simply ran a wire from the front corner light back to the cab back when I first modified my turn signals. Use that wire for all sorts of this, sending power to fog light relay, for the back lights inside, etc. Nice thing is that signal turns off with the lights and with the factory light reminder buzzer, you don't forget an leave them on.

Philbert

iTrader: (2)

Hey guys - got it all rewired up and it's working. Ended up tapping into the passenger side parking light hot wire to light the gauge pods (and anything else I need to in the future - thanks 4Crawler!

Couple things I noticed when I started it up and re parked:

1) The light in the pods is pretty weak. I pulled the bulb while it was on and the bulb is strong - the light on the gauges is just pretty weak looking. Looking closely, it seems light is leaking out of the edges of the black gauge face between the black part and the bezel. Is this normal? Can the "tightness" be adusted so more light comes out the gauge numbers instead?

2) Got some condensation inside the glass of the 2 gauges immediately after driving out of the garage and into the rain. Anyone know if it's normal to get moisture in the A pillar that wouldn lead to this? Never had any noticable leaks on that side of the cab before.

3) While I only drove it for a few minutes at idle, it seemed like an inordinate amount of smokey exhaust was coming out. My truck can smell bad - I know - but this seemed heaver than normal. Is there any side effect of tapping into the 02 sensor wire for my AFM gauge that could "interrupt" the signal to the ECU, and make my truck run badly? Engine sounds normal - just smokes more now. Also, 4crawler, the AFM gauge is still not coming on after a few minutes of idle - how long does it normally take to "warm up"?

Thanks guys for the help!

874runnersr5

im pretty sure youll need to run a wideband o2 sensor.. i "think" now dont qoute me on this because i might be wrong.. but you are messing up the signal from the o2 so now the ecu is reading wrong.

4Crawler

iTrader: (3)

The A/F gauge I used has a buffer amplifier that allows using the existing O2 sensor without affecting the ECU readings:
- http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTri...FuelRatioGauge

Might want to check that the ECU is still getting a good O2 signal (should be around 8 small 0-1 volt oscillations in about 10 secs of running # 2500 RPM). Might be the factory wire was damaged. You could always try the O2 sensor test connector (I found that after I tapped my stock wire):
- http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTri...CheckConnector

My gauge usually starts reading after a couple of blocks of driving.

Philbert

iTrader: (2)

Thanks again 3crawler.

When I tapped the 1 wire connector for the O2 sensor, there was some kind of sheathing that I peeled back to access the wire and tap into it. It was metal sheathing, like wire material, which was around the already insulated single wire. The sheathing as then insulated on the outside again.

I tapped into the wire right above the plug for the connector for the O2 sensor:

O2 sensor--------------plug----TAP-------....to cab/ECU


I wonder if this sheathing removal (I peeled back about 1/2" worth to access the single wire) did something to the signal to the ECU?

Also, 4Crawler, for the testing of the voltage from the O2 sensor to the ECU, do I short out the TE1 and E1 sensors like I do when I set timing? After this, do I test voltage while at idle from the plug in the photo below circled in green or blue?

4Crawler

iTrader: (3)

Sheath is the signal wire shield. It does not seem to run to the sensor, at least in the 1 wire version.

FSM has O2 sensor test procedure, but test it w/ engine hot, no jumper, running about 2500 RPM and check voltage with an analog meter or a high quality digital meter (most won't catch the fast oscillations).

Should be a round 1-wire connector ("There small round one-wire connector (not shown in the above picture) that has the O2 sensor voltage for testing purposes.") with the O2 signal on it.

Philbert

iTrader: (2)

Thanks 4crawler and happy new year! Sorry I've been off this post for so long....we bought a house, moved, and I just now got the truck in the garage to deal with a parasitic battery drain (which was a result of wiring up the gauges to constant power instead of switched power...sigh.).

I never resolved the A/F/R issue mentioned above - when I hooked it up, the truck started to put out some thick, stinky smoke and ran rough. I disconnected the gauge wire from the sheathed OEM wire and it went back to normal. not sure how next to approach it but that gauage is on the back burner. More important is the coolant leak I have from the drivers side water pipe that I'm dealing with now


And, while I'm on topic of gauges and wiring........the water gauge works, kind of...I think it's reading low and fluctuating because I've had the coolant leak and the sender is in the upper radiator hose, which isn't getting a full "load" of coolant going through it - more like a trickle.

The oil pressure gauge sender is giving me ZERO reading. I think because it's not grounded (the sender)?

I have this Glowshift sandwich plate installed, with the autometer sender installed in it, and wires running back to the cab for the gauge:



It's made of aluminum, and it has rubber gaskets between where the plate mounts and the block. I've read that oil pressure senders that are NPT like mine are supposed to ground using the threads...but if there's rubber in between (and it's aluminum - which is conductive but not as much as steel?), am I missing a step???

Thanks for any suggestions guys!

Phil

kiyobrown

Hey Phil. Hope you get it all fixed up. I am adding in a vac gauge to help me monitor the skinny pedal. The only pods that are made for our rigs are doubles and triples. So I am considering an A/F gauge. So looks like a need to find one with a buffer amplifier (thanks for the explanation, Roger I just want to tap the sensor I have instead of adding a new sideband sensor. I don't need it to be tuner precise. Lol

Also, I had to relocate my o2 sensor when I got the LCE header. They sent an extra length of wire and some connectors. Gonna check that wire again, pretty sure it's not shielded like the rest of the stock wire.

Philbert

iTrader: (2)

Thanks Jason.

Yeah, I actually could have picked up a vacuum gauge when I bought the pillar but I passed....wish I had gotten that instead, for the same reason you're getting yours!

Ah well....let me know if you ever figure out your A/F thing - I'm at a loss.

kiyobrown

I haven't bought one yet. But reading up on the narrowband sounds like they don't do too much. Trying to search and find someone who has bought one, hooked it up the same way (stock o2 sensor) and had success. Vital22re has an a/f gauge, but his is wideband with a separate o2 sensor added. You know, supercharger type of stuff.

I am still trying to find a universal single pod that can be trimmed to mount on the a pillars and still look decent.

Philbert

iTrader: (2)

Yeah, I've heard these are just " a light show" when driving - not something you'd use to diagnose any emissions stuff But it came with the pod I bought so I grabbed it.

Wdie band is the way to go I think, but they are EXPENSIVE! Plus you need to add an O2 bung too. PLX seems to have some great stuff, but WAY out of my budget these days...need to get truck on road first

http://www.plxdevices.com/

kiyobrown

Yup, at those prices I am sticking with the vac gauge. I have an autometer and a jdm vac gauge. One will go in the 4runner, the other into the 2wd pickup I have. It's already at 30mpg hwy, we'll see if I can't squeeze out a little more.

Philbert

iTrader: (2)

Wow - 30 MPG!! I celebrate when I break 20 MPG in my 4runner

Do you have any idea on how I should be grounding my oil pressure sender BTW? Stuck on this one....

kiyobrown

No I don't. I read up on that. Never saw about it being self grounding. I would ground it to the firewall where your rear engine ground is.

Philbert

iTrader: (2)

Hey Jason - did some more research (read: google) and it looks like I need to ground the sender to a ground in the engine bay (firewall, battery ground wire, etc. You need to ground the BODY of the sender - not the sending terminal itself that runs back to the gauge in the cab. What a lot of guys do is use a hose clamp to attach a wire to the body of the cylindrical sending unit, and then groun the wire elsewhere. Some folks (Honda circles) relocate the sender the the firewall using NPT hoses, and just use hose clamps to secure the sending unit to the firewall and ground it all at the same time.

I've been learned!

Phil

kiyobrown

stupid honda circles......

So I was right on the firewall ground, huh? Maybe this alarm install might not go so bad. There is hope for me just yet.

Philbert

iTrader: (2)

Hey, so I'm up and running! Coolant leak appears fixed (thanks to copious amounts of FIPG on the water pipe mating surfaces and a homemade gasket).

I also grounded the 2 sending units for my Autometer gauages, and found a *switched* power source (instead of a constant one...) for the gauges - we're in business!

One side question on the cooling system:

So, after letting the FIPG set for 24 hours, and putting the parts back on the engine, I filled the cooling system with some distilled water/coolant and let it idle. After a minute, I moved the truck out of the garage and reparked it, at idle still, on our slanted driveway, so that the truck was pointing uphill slightly, and the radiator cap was off.

While idling, I filled the radiator with more coolant/water mix and squezed the top radiator hose several times to try and "burp" the system. I also filled the overflow tank about halfway. There was some overflow from the radiator during this, so I used a large baster to suck out excess and put it back in my coolant container. When it looked full (just below the neck) and had been idling for about 15 minutes, I closed things up and parked for the night.

This morning, I drove it to the train station for work, about a mile. It was idling for about 3 minutes before I drove it over. During the drive over, my (now working) autometer gauage indicated around 125 degrees, which seemed cool to me.

I parked, turned off the truck, popped the hood, and felt the radiator and top hose - both were lukewarm, and the hose felt like it had a LOT OF PRESSURE - not sure if air or water, but a LOT! There was also some splattered coolant just below the top hose.

So, I gingerly unscrewed the radiator cap with a rag while looking away (and glad I had a raincoat on!), and a HISS eminated from it, and some coolant came out, and, also some coolant spilled into the reserve tank, making it pretty much full. Right after this happened, the pressure in the top hose relaxed The radiator and top hose, after the pressure release, both got really hot. Right after this, my gauge now read around 210 degrees. I started the truck again, with the radiator cap OFF. AFter a minute or so, the temperature dropped down to around 190 or so, which seems normal to me (?).

So....what happened? Did I have air in the system? Did I burp it wrong? Did I have too much coolant in there?

Sidenote: I have my temp sensor for the coolant in the upper radiator hose, on the TOP of the hose - should I not have it oriented at the top since that hose may not *completely* fill with coolant as it cascades down to the radiator?

Thanks guys - still learning ins and outs....just don't want to destroy my engine

Philbert

iTrader: (2)

Any coolant system experts want to chime in? Don't want to blow it up when I drive home tonight

Thanks!

xxxtreme22r

during all of this, did you have the thermostat out? Almost sounds like the T-stat is in upside down.