So I have a 1975 RHD HJ45 fitted with the 2F engine. Everything ran good till last weekend. My brother drove it the other night. He noticed a couple things: one tail light, I think right rear, is always on when the engine runs regardless of the light switch pisition, wipers does not work and the dashgauges backlit was low in his opinion. After few miles the headlights cut out. Few miles later the engine cut out. With jumper cables it started right up again. BTW it has a new battery. Dash has the old ampmeter gauge but with the lights out he could not see if the gauge was reading low or jumping around or not. My thought is it could be as simple as a bad/loose ground somewhere, or loose battery or bad terminal, but being a 40+ year old truck it could be any of the connectors or wires. Dont have a wiring diagram, and where the truck is located we dont have a toyota experienced auto electrician nearby that could help quickly pinpoint where the problem might be. So my questions is why spend time searching for problems, patching an old wire system, as oppose to right away just put an entirely new wiring harness in? I've seen FJ40 wire kit for sale, does anyone on this forum know if the kit sold in the US will work for a '75 RHD pickup truck? The seller states the kit does not come with the ends. Is there a vendor that sell a bundle of all the likely end connectors I will need for this truck? I dont want to solder old connectors to a new wire, just get new connectors and be done with it. The kit comes with a new fuse box. I want the truck to be bulletproof reliable when it comes to ignition, wiring and electrical charge system. It is already like new in most all other aspects, reconditioned, for all mechanical components: engine drivetrain incl hubs bearings axles diffs, steering box, suspension shocks/springs/shackles/bushings, brakes, glass, body, paint, and most of the trim. There are only a few switches on the dash: wipers, lights, hazard and choke. It has no heater or fan or radio or spot lights, so I think the wiring installations should be relatively straight forward - maybe a couple of hours work to connect the front and rear lights, turn indicators, ignition switch, coil, dash gauges and the few dash switched I mentioned. The coil is new, the alternator is new or recently reconditioned, but I am not sure of the type/condition of the voltage regulator. May just replace the VR while doing the wiring. I think it is the older style mechanical switch regulator. Is there a recommended VR to use? A mechanic also told me the older trucks with the ampmeter in the dash had issues and would recommend disconnect the ampmeter or replace it with a voltmeter. Is it advisable to disconnect the ampmeter just in case that may cause an issue? Another option, though expensive, might be to install one if the new dash clusters, loos fancy but I noticed it had a voltmeter built in. That dash also comes with the compatible sensors for temp/oil/fuel etc
