Voltage regulator burn up (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Feb 19, 2019
Threads
62
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316
Location
BOISE, ID
I switched out my VR and all seemed ok until about 15 min into a test drive. Lots of smoke coming out of the dash and a wire on fire. Hoping you guys can help...guessing maybe I wired it up wrong. Have a white with black wire and a green wire instead of white with red stripe. Looked down and there was a wire glowing. Any help is appreciated.
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Now that don't look good !! Looks like a ground got crossed in some how.
JP
 
Anyone know if switching the green and white wires would cause this? All I did was pull the wires off and put the on the new one on. The two wires on top were connected as they are in the pic so the only thing that could be wrong are the green and white striped wires on bottom??
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Anyone know if switching the green and white wires would cause this? All I did was pull the wires off and put the on the new one on. The two wires on top were connected as they are in the pic so the only thing that could be wrong are the green and white striped wires on bottom??
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you crossed your Ground terminal with the IG terminal most likley .........
 
White/Green goes to the terminal on the regulator labeled F ( this goes out to the alternator)
White/Black goes to the terminal on the regulator labeled E (This is the ground connection)
Green (Should be White/Red) goes to the terminal on the regulator labeled IG (This is the +12V connection)

If the GREEN wire is the one that burned up then Matt is correct you probably put it on the E terminal which created a dead short.

FYI you have that burned wire at the fuse panel on the wrong side of the fuse panel. It is NOT fused the way you have it connected and that is exactly why it burned instead of blowing the fuse. You need to get a schematic and hook that wire up to the fuse panel correctly. There should only be two wires on that side of the fuse panel. The White/Blue wire which is constantly HOT +12V. This wire feeds the top three fuses. The second wire, depending on the year of your truck, should be a black, black/yellow or green wire that is key switched hot. That wire feeds the bottom three fuses and are only hot when the key is on.
All those black wires are NOT fused and are a fire waiting to happen. ( I do see that one of the black wires appears to be going to a circuit breaker which is OK)
 
White/Green goes to the terminal on the regulator labeled F ( this goes out to the alternator)
White/Black goes to the terminal on the regulator labeled E (This is the ground connection)
Green (Should be White/Red) goes to the terminal on the regulator labeled IG (This is the +12V connection)

If the GREEN wire is the one that burned up then Matt is correct you probably put it on the E terminal which created a dead short.

FYI you have that burned wire at the fuse panel on the wrong side of the fuse panel. It is NOT fused the way you have it connected and that is exactly why it burned instead of blowing the fuse. You need to get a schematic and hook that wire up to the fuse panel correctly. There should only be two wires on that side of the fuse panel. The White/Blue wire which is constantly HOT +12V. This wire feeds the top three fuses. The second wire, depending on the year of your truck, should be a black, black/yellow or green wire that is key switched hot. That wire feeds the bottom three fuses and are only hot when the key is on.
All those black wires are NOT fused and are a fire waiting to happen. ( I do see that one of the black wires appears to be going to a circuit breaker which is OK)

I have been downloading and reading schematics for the last 3 hours and feel 100% more knowledgeable than I did last night! Thank you for the schematics off of your page specifically. Amazing how much less daunting (still really daunting) it seems after you studied it for a while...I'm guessing this is all childs play to you!

The VR was wired up correctly like you said above so still not sure why it burned up. W/G was on F and the Green (spliced to W/R) was on IG. The two W/B connected and on the other side E terminal. I drove it fine for about 5-6 miles after I changed out the VR before it started smoking so wondering if something else shorted out somehow? Luckily I was just pulling into the neighborhood. Looks like the Black/Yellow and Black /Red are also melted. Going to try and replace all of them today and see what happens.

This is all wired up the way I got it when I bought it so I've started the arduous task of trying to repair the burnt wires from the other day and also fix the issues with existing wiring. Part of the problem is there are a lot of splices and added things from PO so figuring out everything is tough. Some is really brittle too so might have to cut out some things and replace.

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White/Green goes to the terminal on the regulator labeled F ( this goes out to the alternator)
White/Black goes to the terminal on the regulator labeled E (This is the ground connection)
Green (Should be White/Red) goes to the terminal on the regulator labeled IG (This is the +12V connection)

If the GREEN wire is the one that burned up then Matt is correct you probably put it on the E terminal which created a dead short.

FYI you have that burned wire at the fuse panel on the wrong side of the fuse panel. It is NOT fused the way you have it connected and that is exactly why it burned instead of blowing the fuse. You need to get a schematic and hook that wire up to the fuse panel correctly. There should only be two wires on that side of the fuse panel. The White/Blue wire which is constantly HOT +12V. This wire feeds the top three fuses. The second wire, depending on the year of your truck, should be a black, black/yellow or green wire that is key switched hot. That wire feeds the bottom three fuses and are only hot when the key is on.
All those black wires are NOT fused and are a fire waiting to happen. ( I do see that one of the black wires appears to be going to a circuit breaker which is OK)
I have been downloading and reading schematics for the last 3 hours and feel 100% more knowledgeable than I did last night! Thank you for the schematics off of your page specifically. Amazing how much less daunting (still really daunting) it seems after you studied it for a while...I'm guessing this is all childs play to you!

The VR was wired up correctly like you said above so still not sure why it burned up. W/G was on F and the Green (spliced to W/R) was on IG. The two W/B connected and on the other side E terminal. I drove it fine for about 5-6 miles after I changed out the VR before it started smoking so wondering if something else shorted out somehow? Luckily I was just pulling into the neighborhood. Looks like the Black/Yellow and Black /Red are also melted. Going to try and replace all of them today and see what happens.

This is all wired up the way I got it when I bought it so I've started the arduous task of trying to repair the burnt wires from the other day and also fix the issues with existing wiring. Part of the problem is there are a lot of splices and added things from PO so figuring out everything is tough. Some is really brittle too so might have to cut out some things and replace.

wire burn.jpg
 
You have quite the mess on your hands! You may have to pull the harness from the truck and un-tape it to find the full extent of the damage!
What year is your truck?
FYI I sell the correct colored/striped wire in the correct sizes if you need it.
 
You have quite the mess on your hands! You may have to pull the harness from the truck and un-tape it to find the full extent of the damage!
What year is your truck?
FYI I sell the correct colored/striped wire in the correct sizes if you need it.
I think the damage is limited to between the VR/Switch and fuse panel...at least I'm hoping. Going to dive into again today and see what I find.

I did see the wire you have thank you.
 
I have been downloading and reading schematics for the last 3 hours and feel 100% more knowledgeable than I did last night! Thank you for the schematics off of your page specifically. Amazing how much less daunting (still really daunting) it seems after you studied it for a while...I'm guessing this is all childs play to you!

The VR was wired up correctly like you said above so still not sure why it burned up. W/G was on F and the Green (spliced to W/R) was on IG. The two W/B connected and on the other side E terminal. I drove it fine for about 5-6 miles after I changed out the VR before it started smoking so wondering if something else shorted out somehow? Luckily I was just pulling into the neighborhood. Looks like the Black/Yellow and Black /Red are also melted. Going to try and replace all of them today and see what happens.

This is all wired up the way I got it when I bought it so I've started the arduous task of trying to repair the burnt wires from the other day and also fix the issues with existing wiring. Part of the problem is there are a lot of splices and added things from PO so figuring out everything is tough. Some is really brittle too so might have to cut out some things and replace.

View attachment 2260032
You have quite the mess on your hands! You may have to pull the harness from the truck and un-tape it to find the full extent of the damage!
What year is your truck?
FYI I sell the correct colored/striped wire in the correct sizes if you need it.


hey there ,

you need to Consider you also Fried , 2 devises , the regulator for sure

and IGN switch too most likley


please see my reference photos below

and the Links attached too

use them as a road map to a planned and well thought repair strataghy

if u need any help regarding what i offer below , please send me a PM

thanks

matt





Take Note How My OEM TOYOTA Regulator has stamped and marked terminals


its plug ans play from here on out , once you repair your wires

@Coolerman is your best source for good OEM-Type quality

i ONLY use his wire ............PERIOD !




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DSCN1269.JPG
 
hey there ,

you need to Consider you also Fried , 2 devises , the regulator for sure

and IGN switch too most likley


please see my reference photos below

and the Links attached too

use them as a road map to a planned and well thought repair strataghy

if u need any help regarding what i offer below , please send me a PM

thanks

matt





Take Note How My OEM TOYOTA Regulator has stamped and marked terminals


its plug ans play from here on out , once you repair your wires

@Coolerman is your best source for good OEM-Type quality

i ONLY use his wire ............PERIOD !




View attachment 2260050View attachment 2260051View attachment 2260052View attachment 2260053
The aftermarket has it stamped on them also. I prefer oem also but wanted to get it back on the road.
Question for you guys... so the BLack/yellow wire from the coil splits to the fuse panel and ignition switch. Do you have to spilt it or can you connect both at the fuse? I’m assuming split up from the fuse mid wire since that’s the way it is now but just curious.
 
i believe it splits after the fuse box behind the dash ?

buy @Coolerman can verify better
 
You have quite the mess on your hands! You may have to pull the harness from the truck and un-tape it to find the full extent of the damage!
What year is your truck?
FYI I sell the correct colored/striped wire in the correct sizes if you need it.
1970
 
Good news got it wired back up and it started right up and seems to by ok...will see when I take it for a drive. Fingers crossed
 
Well, back at it. I think maybe when the wires melted last time the VR might have fried bc came out and won’t start and batt was fried. Replaced it for free luckily but now with a fresh batt its hard to start and when it does it just dies. Last time it did this when VR went out. I’m at a loss. On a brighter note it looks like maybe my gas gauge started working lol
 
Can anyone tell me anything about this alternator? I was told that the VR needs to match up with the alternator you have so maybe that’s at least part of my problem?

Quick recap...bought it and drove the truck for a couple months daily no prob, it had what I think was an aftermarket VR in it (pic below) that I think died and it fried batt...replaced VR and batt then had something short out and melt some wires between the VR/fuse panel/ign switch (yes it was wired correctly)...spliced in new wire...Replaced VR and batt again...electric fuel pump went out...replaced fuel pump...drove it to get VR tested and VR is dead...on drive home seems as though the fuel pump stopped working, towed it home. I’m at a loss and am close to just pulling the wiring harness out and trying to fix the mess behind there Since it’s been sliced into etc by PO. Coolerman is about 18 months out with harnesses and has been awesome to deal with but I can’t wait that long to drive it.
Last pic is the original VR...thought I kept it but it has since disappeared so can’t get a pic of the underside etc.

Thanks for any input in advance.
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