Clusters, Gauges, Speedo & Odo meters (4 Viewers)

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All these circuits are powered from outside the cluster and have nothing to do with the gauges. In other words.... the indicator lights in the cluster are at the end of the line.
Your gauges are powered from the heater fuse. Check that fuse, the holding clips, clean them up, etc.

Rudi
Checked the Fuse and it looked ok but pulled to clean and tested the fuse and while you could not see that it was bad IT WAS , so i now have fuel , Oil and hand break light , but I still think I have fried the Amp meter , how do I test it ?
 
The Ammeter should tested less than 0 ohm, something like 0.03 ohm but your tester wont show that.
So..... if your tester reads 0 ohm your Ammeter should be fine. If your tester shows OL or ----- your Ammeter is toast.
If your Ammeter is OK..... check wiring from the fusible link to the 3pin connector on the back of the cluster, the 2x 5Amp fuses, etc, etc, etc.

Rudi
 
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Get a small reading then the tester thinks about it an goes OL one other issue looks lik the fuel gauge I reading full all time?
 
Get a small reading then the tester thinks about it an goes OL one other issue looks lik the fuel gauge I reading full all time?

1. You're Ammeter is toast. Find a new one.
2. Check the wire from the Fuel gauge to the Fuel sender for a short to ground.
Disconnect wire at Fuel sender. Reading still full?

Rudi
 
1. You're Ammeter is toast. Find a new one.
2. Check the wire from the Fuel gauge to the Fuel sender for a short to ground.
Disconnect wire at Fuel sender. Reading still full?

Rudi
Disconnected wire and fuel gauge stops working , filled the tank to full and the gauge goes way passed the full mark ? suggestions ?
 
Disconnected wire and fuel gauge stops working , filled the tank to full and the gauge goes way passed the full mark ? suggestions ?

1. The Fuel circuit works because you disconnected the sender wire and the gauge stopped working. Good!
2. How accurate is the gauge? What was the reading on the gauge and how much gas was in the tank before you filled her up?

FYI: on my '78 BJ40 the gauge was only accurate at 1/2 tank.
Full tank - needle pegged in the right corner.
3/4 tank - needle showed F
1/2 tank - needle showed 1/2
1/4 tank - needle showed E
Because we only have cheapo (bad quality) aftermarket senders here in CR I never changed my sender.

Rudi
 
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1. The Fuel circuit works because you disconnected the sender wire and the gauge stopped working. Good!
2. How accurate is the gauge? What was the reading on the gauge and how much gas was in the tank before you filled her up?

FYI: on my '78 BJ40 the gauge was only accurate at 1/2 tank.
Full tank - needle pegged in the right corner.
3/4 tank - needle showed F
1/2 tank - needle showed 1/2
1/4 tank - needle showed E
Because we only have cheapo (bad quality) aftermarket senders here in CR I never changed my sender.

Rudi
I put 27 liters into the tank to fill , before this the gauge was at full (or just under full) not sure of the total capacity (BJ40 Diesel ) I belive the car sat un-used for more the 12 months and it would be the first time in a long time that its has been filled to the top. Should I look to replace the sender unit ?
 
I put 27 liters into the tank to fill , before this the gauge was at full (or just under full) not sure of the total capacity (BJ40 Diesel ) I belive the car sat un-used for more the 12 months and it would be the first time in a long time that its has been filled to the top. Should I look to replace the sender unit ?

Capacity of the tank is 60 liters (I think) so it was more than half full and the gauge showed almost full, right?
Up to you to replace it or not. The problem is that BOTH the sender and the gauge are inaccurate so I don't say that your problem is solved with a new sender.

The most important question is.....
What does the gauge read when the tank is almost empty?

Rudi
 
Capacity of the tank is 60 liters (I think) so it was more than half full and the gauge showed almost full, right?
Up to you to replace it or not. The problem is that BOTH the sender and the gauge are inaccurate so I don't say that your problem is solved with a new sender.

The most important question is.....
What does the gauge read when the tank is almost empty?

Rudi
Good question I will wait till it starts to drop and use the stick dip method the guage how quick its dropping

2nd question temp gauge not working how do I test the temp sensor as I do have conductivity across the terminals for the gauge ?
 
2nd question temp gauge not working how do I test the temp sensor as I do have conductivity across the terminals for the gauge ?
The TEMP gauge works with a "wobbly" voltage from the FUEL gauge. This voltage varies between 0 and 12V but on average is 7V.
Method 1. Use a Voltmeter and check voltage on the sender wire. Your DMM (Digital Multi Meter) should show rolling numbers. If you have an "old style" analog meter (one with a needle) you should see the needle swing between 0 and 12V.

Method 2. Disconnect the sender wire. Turn your ignition key to the "on" position. Touch the sender wire to ground (bare metal) and see if the needle in the gauge moves. You'll need a helper for this. DON'T hold it too long to ground!!!!! As soon as the needle moves it tells you that the gauge works.

Method 3. Check resistance from the sender. Should be aprox. 100 ohm cold and 30 ohm when hot.

Method 4. As per the FSM. Use a 3 Watt light bulb. Hold the sender wire to the bulb and touch the other side of the bulb to ground. The bulb should dimly flash about 2 flashes per second.

Rudi
 
Here is another one. This from a 1982 BJ42 Canadian market.
Note that the range ends at 140 km/h compared to the pre 1980 which ends at 160 km/h.
View attachment 605397

Now for the tech's under us. Here are a few calibration numbers.
1978 BJ40 general market. 60kmh = 637 rpm
View attachment 605399

Unknown. 60mph = 1026 rpm
View attachment 605400

If any of you have additional info please post up.

Rudi

Hi Rudi, thanks for still monitoring the Mud site although your BJ is gone.
The top picture is the 1970 gauge cluster that came with my blue rig. As shown in the numerous other clusters, you can't see that piece of text hidden by the cover that tells you what rpm's = what speed. In the second two pictures are the unknown vintage cluster I bought on Ebay a few years ago. I fried the gas gauge with the wrong sending unit before I found this site. It shows 60 mph = 1000 rpm. The last picture is of the 1979 cluster that came in my red rig that I bought last September. The oil pressure gauge didn't work on it and I'm hoping the swap will work out. Anyway, it shows both mph and kph and the text is 60 mph = 1026 rpm. So 2.6% difference.

Now for my question/problem. I swapped the entire wiring harness and gauges from the '70 to my '79. The AutoMeter gauge is set for 60 mph = 1000 rpm. Should be just fine, yes? No. While I don't have speedometer test sections on the highway down here like we have all over the USA, we do have a number of construction zone radar units set up. And very consistently my 60 mph registers 77-78 kph. I should be around 96 kph. So I'm about 19% off. I was trying to figure out the options with the speedo gears, tires, gearing, etc. And then I saw this little piece of text and became very confused. I have 235/75R15 MT tires on the rig, they spec out 28.9" diameter as opposed to the OEM tires of 7.10-15 which are 27.7" diameter. So I should actually be going faster than indicated because of the larger tire, rather than slower. Any ideas on why this is?

And now that I am putting the '70 back together, and will be using the wiring harness from the '79, which is not in the best of condition, I will be asking for your help. Thanks again Rudi, hope all is well.

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Hi Lenny, There is more to this. There are different speedo gears. I have never studied this but I'm a hoarder so here is some material.
Image 1.jpg
speedo gears2 (Large).jpg

gears (Large).jpg


Rudi
 
Yes Rudi, I have all that information. It is still frustrating. I had bought a new unit like shown in your top attachment. It is the 6-18 and the part number was the same for the 4 spd and so they installed it along with the motor change and regasketing of the transmission and transfer case. To go with taller gearing requires changing the internal unit inside the transfer case, but knowing which one to go with is the aggravation. I hate guessing.

But on the topic of guessing. My 1979 wiring diagram shows a voltage regulator. However, I did not remove one from the '79 when I stripped out the harness. The alternator has the bump on top which indicates internal VR. I also have a Motorcraft Duraspark Ignition box in the bag of stuff I took off. It was mounted on the back side of the right front fender and services the standard canister coil. I am guessing that Toyota did not use Motorcraft equipment from the factory. Not a big deal for rewiring the '70 as I have pulled the electronic distributor and replaced it with a known good points unit. Not sure if I will use the electronic unit or not since I don't have all the stuff, like the vacuum control valve for sucking out the ozone from the distributor cap. But I won't be using the emissions control box, have no heater or a variety of other things shown on the '79 diagram. So it will be a challenge nonetheless. The wiring harness is, as usual, pretty heavily modified/butchered. I will have some challenges regarding the hi-low beam switch which will now be on the floor instead of the column but the turn signal stuff should be pretty simple.
 
like the vacuum control valve for sucking out the ozone from the distributor cap
It doesn't suck out the ozon, that's a side effect. It changes the spark moment at higher rpm's. I think it's called advanced timing.
Motorcraft is a brand name from Ford for parts.

Rudi
 
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Ah (did you see the light come on?), FJ40 Jim didn't mention that on another post regarding the electronic distributor. My confusion in that thread was the control valve which is no longer available. However, in that thread a person noted that a later model, I think FJ80, would interchange and it was available. Then it went into a lengthy discourse on the availability of them. So many people started ordering them that Toyota was scrambling to satisfy the demand, and they are expensive, something like $85. I went looking for a "distributor check valve" and found several items from $5.00 to $15.00. Jim pointed out that they were just one way valves and not vacuum control valves. Had me confused as the indications in the thread were that you wanted this valve to open when the motor was running and closed when not running so you didn't suck gas fumes back into the distributor where they would be fired the next time the motor started. He didn't say anything about vacuum advance. The reason I was asking was that many people convert points to electronic via the Pertronix unit, which just plugs into the points location. So the same cap is used, which doesn't have the two hose connections like the Toyota unit.

Yes, Motorcraft is or was a Ford subsidiary. I think maybe it still is and the Autolite went independent. My research indicated that this unit is popular for retrofitting older hot rods and went on about the coil that would be used with the item. So I suspect there was a problem with the unit supplied on the Toyota and a previous owner retrofitted part of a Motorcraft unit to the vehicle as it uses a conventional canister coil instead of the Motorcraft unit. Not sure that I will use this distributor down the line or not. There are a number of items I don't have, it is filthy and curiously the cap is available but not the rotor. It may be that another rotor will interchange, but I don't have the valve, don't understand the ignition module Motorcraft/Toyota thing either. I am a firm believer, especially with these old Land Cruisers, of the KISS principle.
 
Rudi, I have been looking at Lost Marbles thread on fusible links Ammeter/fusible-links ......late model 40-series. I don't have anything like that, pretty butchered up around the battery. Well, it is pretty butchered up in general.

From the alternator, the "mother" WL wire comes into a splice. I see this kind of splice in many places and feel that is the way Toyota does it when we see multiple wires running off the diagram. As you can see there is a LR wire spliced into the WL and it feeds a fuse, which is good. This LR wire runs to a connector which would connect to the cabin harness. Then there is a really goofy looking double connecter thing shown in the picture which does not to appear to have been used looking at the condition of things. Since the ammeter is shown wired separately from the other gauges I'm thinking this is not the fusible link, but I don't have a WL going to two 5 amp fuses either.

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So you have a '79 and later harness and a 4th gen. cluster with a 50-0-50 Ammeter. Right?
Looking at your 1st pic.... It's pretty butchered and some stuff is missing.
Time to rebuild that part of the harness. Also time to start a new thread to keep this thread cluster related.

Rudi
 
Oh, in the earlier posts will I find information on how to test my gauges prior to installation? I think I remember the 3.4V bolt test for the fuel gauge, how to check the sending unit with the ohmmeter. Is there information for the oil & temp gauges?
 
Oh, in the earlier posts will I find information on how to test my gauges prior to installation? I think I remember the 3.4V bolt test for the fuel gauge, how to check the sending unit with the ohmmeter. Is there information for the oil & temp gauges?
Yep, all test procedures are in the first 2 or 3 pages.
 

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