1984 Toyota Camry / Vista with 1.8l turbo diesel 1C (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter Mike NXP
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- Thread starter
- #262
The wires are super stiff, the wrap sort of looks original but not sure...They dive down into a larger harness with no access... I could remove the battery to get some more access and then cut back the wires to inspect....
If you remove the battery you should be able to get to the split loom lower down and open it up, there should be a connection between the fusible link about 3-4" from the ring terminals.
@Mike NXP I'd be glad to loan you my battery mounted blade switch. I'll send you a PM and we can find a time/place to meet up and get that to you.
- Thread starter
- #265
Thanks Snowversion, will chat with you on messages.
Today's update, looking for help from the Mud world on what's next
Today's update, looking for help from the Mud world on what's next
- Removed battery and cut back the sleeve on these two little fusible link wires. They weren't the colors shown in the wiring diagram so maybe these have been replaced before....
- I'm not even sure this is a fusible link, rather just a piece of wire? I don't know how to tell.
- Unfortunately, I didn't see what I was sorta hoping for. I was thinking they would be melted / burnt up or something like that
- My suspect crimp job has been working fine for a few months now but needless to say, I need to clean it up..... but I really don't see it relating to issues with draining battery and all the other s*** I've got going on.
- Thread starter
- #266
Ah ,here we go. I had to peel back a bit more to see what we've got going on.
- So how do you test this? The blue wire looks good so focusing on the white wire
- I checked for continuity from the terminal to the exposed wired on the other side of the link and it has continuity
- I checked for Ohms from the terminal to the other side of link and it read like .6
- Hopefully this is the source of my problems but honestly I'm not convinced it is
- Will check at auto parts store to see if they sell fusible links and / or try to repair this setup
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That's definitely your charge problem. Regarding fusible links, those aren't fusible links and it looks to me like a previous owner removed the original fusible links and just connected the harness directly to the battery. That would explain why the harness is so short there. You can get standard AWG sizes of fusible link wire, it is supposed to be sized 4 wire gauges smaller than the harness it connects to (12AWG harness would use a 16AWG fusible link). Using that you could fairly easily make a new pair of fusible links for those two wires. The only issue is that length is important too, that would have to be guesstimated unless you can find specs for the originals.
- Thread starter
- #268
Yeah hopefully we're on to something here but I'm always skeptical...
- OK so right now this isn't fused and is just hardwired in. I've got continuity but it's definitely a s***ty connection so it needs to be fixed either way
- I've got some experience rigging up wires but then again, could I hit the easy button and get something like the pre-fabbed wire seen below ( with the proper amp rating / awg wire )
- Better yet, why am I going so old school, shouldn't I just wire in a proper fuse? It guess it would be an 80amp for the larger gauge blue wire and a 60amp for the smaller white wire .
- I wonder if I could just cut these ends and rig up a quick connection to see if all my dash lights come back on but might as well just fix it right and be done with it
- OK so right now this isn't fused and is just hardwired in. I've got continuity but it's definitely a s***ty connection so it needs to be fixed either way
- I've got some experience rigging up wires but then again, could I hit the easy button and get something like the pre-fabbed wire seen below ( with the proper amp rating / awg wire )
- Better yet, why am I going so old school, shouldn't I just wire in a proper fuse? It guess it would be an 80amp for the larger gauge blue wire and a 60amp for the smaller white wire .
- I wonder if I could just cut these ends and rig up a quick connection to see if all my dash lights come back on but might as well just fix it right and be done with it
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For testing purposes I would absolutely put a new terminal with a good connection on to see if that fixes at least some of the problems.
Fusible links don't behave the same as regular blade fuses, they will withstand significant overcurrent for a certain period of time before finally blowing. This allows short duration high loads without issue, but will protect the main harness from melting down (or catching fire) in the event of a short circuit. Generally electrical loads downstream of the fusible link are separately fused in addition: the fusible link protects the run from the battery to the fuse panel.
You can get slow blow fuses that behave similarly to fusible links, that is what is generally used in modern vehicles. I am planning on switching over to this system in my Prado since I have a combination of Toyota fusible links and VW high current blade fuses to deal with.
Fusible links don't behave the same as regular blade fuses, they will withstand significant overcurrent for a certain period of time before finally blowing. This allows short duration high loads without issue, but will protect the main harness from melting down (or catching fire) in the event of a short circuit. Generally electrical loads downstream of the fusible link are separately fused in addition: the fusible link protects the run from the battery to the fuse panel.
You can get slow blow fuses that behave similarly to fusible links, that is what is generally used in modern vehicles. I am planning on switching over to this system in my Prado since I have a combination of Toyota fusible links and VW high current blade fuses to deal with.
- Thread starter
- #270
Roger that, thanks for the info.
I guess my next step will be to; clean up the connections, crimp new terminals on to each wire, and just connect it back to the battery to see what happens
- Thread starter
- #271
As expected, the wires are just a few inches too short to reach the battery terminal.
What would be the easiest / least ghetto way to get this done.
>>Even though AirHead mentioned a traditional fuse doesn't work like a fusible link, maybe I could just wire in a fuse holder like this on each wire, with 80amp fuses for now...... It's cheap and easy and bridges the gap to the battery........It can't be any worse than the way it's been and at least i've got a fuse inline
Also, the more I think about it I'm glad these wires weren't all melted up cuz that would maybe mean a short or something else worse happening down the line... Fingers crossed the weak connection was the problem but not getting my hopes up yet
What would be the easiest / least ghetto way to get this done.
>>Even though AirHead mentioned a traditional fuse doesn't work like a fusible link, maybe I could just wire in a fuse holder like this on each wire, with 80amp fuses for now...... It's cheap and easy and bridges the gap to the battery........It can't be any worse than the way it's been and at least i've got a fuse inline
Also, the more I think about it I'm glad these wires weren't all melted up cuz that would maybe mean a short or something else worse happening down the line... Fingers crossed the weak connection was the problem but not getting my hopes up yet
- Thread starter
- #273
OK got it. Yeah good point, it's probably been running around with this twisted up connection for quite some time...Will need to hit auto parts store tomorrow and pick up some cable
If you can get inline Maxi fuse holders then you can upgrade to time delay fuses at some point.
Also, some really good information here:
Also, if you can get the gremlins sorted out you should join us on the 31st of May for the Great Divide Rally: Great Divide Rally - https://noncours.wordpress.com/great-divide-rally/
- Thread starter
- #276
Ah OK, those are good resources. I was having trouble finding a source for those time delay maxi fuses. Going to hit the auto parts store today to see what I can find. Worst case I'll just wire it direct to battery for now to diagnose further.
That run on the 31st sounds fun lol I can just imagine all the old vehicles chugging along...thanks for the info...Fingers crossed the old girl is up and running again soon.
It's funny, I have a few different cars in the driveway but the old Camry is my favorite and makes me happy everytime it fires up....
- Thread starter
- #277
Charging / Dash Light Failure Update\
I called a few auto parts stores and checked online, as expected the part is no longer available. I managed to find a local rebuilder who is willing to take a look and can try to rebuild it.....
Is there any other ideas / things for me to check before going this route?
Also, just from an educational standpoint, why the hell is there a vacuum pump on my alternator?
- I wired up two new 8AWG wires with 60amp maxi fuses to bridge the gap from the wires to the battery
- I got everything hooked up and immediately watched my battery voltage drop from 12.55 to 12.3 and got sad again
- After a few attempts to turn the engine over without glow plugs it fired up. Voltage was reading 11.8 with engine running
- I decided to check for voltage at the alternator again and to my surprise, but maybe relief, the alternator was only putting out 11.8 now too
I called a few auto parts stores and checked online, as expected the part is no longer available. I managed to find a local rebuilder who is willing to take a look and can try to rebuild it.....
Is there any other ideas / things for me to check before going this route?
Also, just from an educational standpoint, why the hell is there a vacuum pump on my alternator?
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I would say there is an issue with the alternator. If it's the original Nippon Denso unit, I strongly recommend not to replace it with a no name unit or remanufacured (by who and with what parts?) unit. It should be easy to replace the brushes or voltge regulator, or find a new rectifier if the old diodes have gone bad.
Well, good that you were able to isolate and confirm at least two problems. There used to be a guy who ran an automotive electrical repair shop in downtown Kalispell, not sure if he’s there anymore but it sounds like you have at least one option.
Vacuum pump piggybacked off the alternator is common on Toyota diesels of that era.
Vacuum pump piggybacked off the alternator is common on Toyota diesels of that era.
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Vac pump is for brake assist - Diesels don't make vacuum like a gas/petrol engine does so need a vacuum pump
