I have to plug in the block heater to get the pup (V6 standrd 4wd 240K km lifted rig) to start.... if i'm lucky if its been raining hard.... good luck....
been disconnecting the battery as well, preventing battery drain, looked at 2008 thread on this issue, it seemed to be CTS issue... am going to replace that, but also the 80amp fuse which is "mcgiverred" with copper.
the battery and sparks have been replaced, prob want to replace battery terminals.... really need to know where the grounds are on this pup... already have blown dome light and clock fuses when replacing them....

comments? tips? suggestions?

thanks in advance...
yes i am a noobie to this place.

 

There are several ground points for different equipment but the main grounds off the battery one goes to the inner fender well

the other to the block.

I use the Marine battery terminals and crimp on lugs

Most often you have ground points on the 2 fenders

the left door post

but with some of the wiring on these trucks things get moved allover the place

 

thanx wyoming9 I was told that there is one ground off the manifold to the chassis,
then there is one that goes to the fender, BUT there also seems to be some cross talk regarding the grounding of the battery.
The length of the 4runr battery cables is 40" for the neg and 45" for the positive.
Yet the battery is only 12in away from the fuse box. Is there some squirrelly looping i have to do around to the starter and then up thru the fuse box? Do i also have to get a starter/battery cable?
And is the battery grounded? One the red contact there are two wires, one going to the fusebox and then the other going to i guess the starter ???

Re: "I use the Marine battery terminals and crimp on lugs."
dont understand...

Re:"Most often you have ground points on the 2 fenders"
Would this be closer to the front or the back?

Re: "the left door post"?
I am assuming look from the inside or just underneath?

Re:"...but with some of the wiring on these trucks things get moved allover the place"
Oh yeah there is some CREATIVE wiring going on this truck....

 

Marine battery terminals have a stud and a wing nut the negative is 5/16" and the positive is 3/8" .

For my negative cables I just make my own out of welding cable.

Crimp on lugs are just like the small crimp on terminals only bigger and a bigger crimping tool more$$

another important wire is the one coming off the B terminal of the alternator to the fuse block.

The smaller red wire off the positive store bought cable is the wire that goes to the fuse block that is from the output of the alternator via the way of the fuse block

Fender grounds are most often towards the front the door post ground is behind the trim piece if it is still there.

There is a ground strap from the rear of the engine to the firewall but I very seldom see that on trucks this old.

I know on the 22REC engines the ground for the ecu is on the intake manifold just snugging up the bolt one day was enough to cause a no start issue.

Positive battery terminal

Off the battery you have the heavy cable that goes to the terminal on the starter this can be run any way you like in this respect longer is better then shorter. I also make these myself.

Next you will another wire going to the fuseblock now some have a a fusible link in line others it is mounted in the fuse block.

Then if you have any extra added wiring it would also come off the positive cable.

Negative battery terminal

I run one cable to the steel part of the block if you are having serious starting issues I have run the ground cable to the bottom starter bolt.

I next run another cable to the inner fender.

I clean and use copper Never Seize on all the ground hardware.

If I need more grounds like for a winch etc I run them right off the battery

one of the other upgrades is the wire coming off the B terminal of the battery from the thermal cycling this wire gets burnt and brittle and the ability to conduct degrades.

I hope that helps If you don`t have a wiring diagram and a multimeter it can be quite frustrating

 

Thanks for all this Wyoming9!
I will wait until daylight before crawling around the pup.
What is "copper Never Sieze"?
I have a multimeter (whooohooo!!!!) and i know how to use it!!!! (MORE whooohooo!)
but i have to get a boost tommorrow to get to work....

Does it make sense to you that the coolant temp sensor is one of the problems of why the truck wont start without the block heater being plugged in for several hrs?

 

On my truck, there's a ground to the frame, a ground to the block, ground to the head and a ground to the intake manifold- nothing to the fender. (I've a 22re so your v6 may differ.)

A "marine" type battery, also known as "RV" and "deep cycle", is not meant to deliver instantaneous current like you'd need to start the vehicle, but rather to deliver low amps over a long period of time to do things like illuminate reading lights, run the radio/stereo, etc. You can run deep cycle battery(batteries) in parallel with the standard battery if you want.

As for "copper never sieze", use something like Koppr-Kote, NoAlOx, or similar dissimilar metal anti-corrosive agent.

And, for cold starts are hard unless the block heater is plugged in... yeah, the coolant temp sensor could cause issue with that. However, you should check the basic things like having spark, got fuel... and is the cold start injector actuall spraying fuel when you're cranking.

 

does anyone know how much wattage a block heater on a 90 4runner would use?

say for overnite use?

 

There are several different heaters, as far as I know.

Best analogy I can make is to hair driers. There are 800W, 1000W, 1400W and many other "Watt" in between hair driers. What makes each different is the more "Watts" the drier is rated for means it blows hotter air. Hotter air means the drier "needs" more Amps.
[Naturally straight hair wanting curls should use lower wattage and "style" the hair, and naturally curly likes hot 'cause that makes it easier to straighten the haie.... ; Oh wait, fashion doesn't matter on YT? ]

The rule is Watts=Amps x Volts. In your house, much like in your truck, Volts are relatively constant: around 12-14 in the truck, around 115-125 in your house. The 1000W hair drier in your home needs around 8.4 Amps @ 120 volts. A 1000W hair drier running on 12V needs 83.4 amps.

 

Thanks abecedarian!
Is there any way to find out exactly what my block heater is rated at?
Do they work all the time or do they work based on a thermostat or timer thing?

A friend told me they don't really use that much power.... more like putting a 60w light bulb under the rig....

The 800w - 1200w analogy sounds good but sure sounds like a lot of power use. hmmmmm an 800w light bulb under the truck sure seems hot!

LOVED! the hair dooo analogy LOL - I never tried a block heater to do my hair - but you never know - when things get a bit rough out in bogger land... you might need to do something to attract help....

 

I think the reason the truck had issues starting in humid weather is that the gasket was starting to go - is this a reasonable theory???

Opinion please.... my 1990 4 Runner has blown the gasket............ should i repair the gasket, replace the engine - or just sell it?
it has 245,000 km its been a good daily driver, but it has some electrical hickups etc , guess its part of the age. its been lifted,
please let me know asap........

 

My 90 4runner has a block heater, oil pan heater, battery maintainer/charger, and i use a little tranny pan heater for my 5 spd gearcase, to keep the gear oil warm at -50 temps. Electricity in fairbanks alaska, is super high on cost, but my average daily cost of plugging in every night for 8-10 hrs, is only approx. .35 cents a day. As for the head gasket, you have water in your oil? I don't know anything but what i've read on the V6 on yotatech, but if it were the 22re, i'd def rebuild it.

 

Finally got my 4runner back, they fixed head gaskets and timing belt and did some manifold stuff but (even after i said hey if your gonna do the timing belt - do the water pump...)
the water pump failed....
so now i dont have the $ to fix it, and i'm tired if the 4runner plus my dog who is an older lad cant jump into the back - (a rubbermaid step-up doesnt work)
so i want to sell the beastie

950 or best offer - am in Oregon
541 490 5819
http://portland.craigslist.org/grg/cto/3146700210.html