electrical gremlins... (1 Viewer)

[sethro]

Hello there,

Electrical problems are no fun. Here's the deal;

Truck- 1993 FZJ80

Problem- Radio no worky(not getting power), static-ey whine coming from the speakers that varies with the engine RPM's, turning headlamps on results in a downright BUZZ coming through the speakers, and my hazard switch has become a kill switch.

Possible causes?

• Had the windshield replaced this last summer, and guy didn't glue it in. Had a leak at either lower corner this whole winter. Been lazy, and haven't called the guy back out to fix it. Gonna work on that immediately. Tomorrow, in fact. Water could have gotten into the mass of wires and harnesses in either kick panel, causing a short.

• 5 years ago,made a joke about a buddy's old triumph motorcycle's constant electrical gremlins, and now karma is pooping on my head.

Suggestions?

Thanks in advance,

seth


PS- Did I mention that I hate electrical problems?!

 

[DRTDuck]

Well, I'm not going to help much on the specifics here, but will give your thread a bump.

Radio - no power at all? check fuses, pull radio, test power lead with volt meter, probably easier to run a dedicated power line than track down the cause of the current one not working.

Speakers/Headlights - so they are buzzing with no power to the headunit? don't really know how to go about checking it, but this definately sounds like a grounding issue

Hazars Switch - so when you turn on the hazards it kills your motor?

I hope you are able to track these down, but I have a weird feeling that you water issues may have buggered some wires.

 

[IdahoDoug]

Wow, this some sort of self-punishment? You drive a vehicle around for 9 months with known leaking behind your dashboard from an improperly installed windshield? Whatever leaks you could see are likely about a third of the water total that's going back there. Me thinks you've done serious damage to your truck. Toyota puts about 80% of the electronics behind the dash specifically because that is the highest and best protected spot from water and dust in the entire truck.

DougM

 

[sethro]

I know, I'm a bad person! Kept looking at that small leak and thinking- gotta get on that!
I recently sold my FJ55 with a Vortec conversion, partially because it was improperly installed (by Wardens Auto Repair) and I spent the better part of 3 years nickel and dime'ing' that thing to death. Finally got ALL of the bugs worked out and sold it. My heart wasn't in it anymore. I have been relishing in the idea of stock toyota stuff ever since dealing with that vortec nightmare.
I think that I have been in denial of the whole water leak thing causing any problems. And now, it's biting me in the ass.
Rightfully so, too.

That being said, I plan on working my way through each and every little connection/junction/plug/etc. under the dash and in behind each kick panel. I am going to disconnect each one, blow them out with compressed air, spray the connections with wd-40 to displace water, and reconnect them. It is punishment for my negligence!

If anyone has any ideas and or suggestions, let 'em rip. In case you haven't noticed, I've got the whole self-depricating thing down to a science, so let's try to focus on the positive here.

Cool,

seth

 

[sethro]

Well, made some progress today. Pulled the drivers kick panel, pulled a few junction plugs, and sprayed w/ wd-40. Lo and behold the static 'ey', RPM variable whining went away. Headlight noise is gone as well. Radio still doesn't work, but I discovered something. The stereo guys at best buy (free installation when I bought my stereo) ran the antenna wire for my XM radio through the windshield gasket, and up to the middle of the top of the windshield. Been trying some experimental water pouring to see how much water is actually coming in this way as well. Looks as if it lets a fair amount of water in, which ends up in either lower corner. Hmm. Gonna take it back to best buy tomorrow and see what they'll do, considering their installation of the XM system caused some water to enter the truck.

In an effort to avoid being yelled at for asking an archive searchable question, I'll search the archives for 'XM' and 'satellite radio' for some ideas on where to re-mount the antenna.

Let this be a lesson to all you new 80 series owners...insist that your windshield is glued in!

Cool,

seth

 

[PHAEDRUS]

sethro,
make sure the brilliant minds at best buy didnt "tie off" the antannae output line form the roiginal harness. sounds like you have a dead ground (hence the rpm noise change) I would make sure the geek squad knew what the hell they were doing as there were some problems with the remote antannae leads on am head units being hooked up to the antannae on earlier models. this is a problem since as I recall the lead went into the switch for antannae raise and lower on the dash and shorted out there.
Dave

 

[sethro]

PHAEDRUS,

What do you mean by "tie off"? I thought that they had some adapter thingie that enabled them to plug the Kenwood stereo directly into the Toyota harness. I was under the impression that this enabled them to use existing connections for power, illumination, etc.

What is an AM head unit? Like just an AM radio?

Sorry, I'm not too bright.

Please explain!


seth

 

[CDN_Cruiser]

I think you are starting to do the right thing. I too had a windshield leak that eventually led to a short in the harness.

First, I would look under the dash for water stains and rust damage to get a sense of where the water has been. Have a very good look inside the DS kick panel as there are lots of connections and relays in this area that may need attention.

Pay special attention to poor grounds - IIRC there is a body ground inside the kick panel and mine needed to be cleaned off. Also look for damage inside the connections (as you are doing). Hopefully you have the FSM and wiring diagram as these came in quite helpful in tracking problems (e.g, my initial problem was with the sunroof and I was able to walk through the diagnostic and track down the problems with the connections and grounds).

To me the radio stuff sounds somewhat unrelated to the other problems you have (although it could be a ground issue). As others have mentioned, look for how the wiring is routed along other cables, ground points and strong connections.

Good luck.

Cheers, Hugh

 

[sethro]

Thanks Hugh! I'm gonna try the ground thing right away. The water looks to have been running directly over it. There is what looks to be a stainless steel 'strut' that supports the dash directly above that area. It has surface rust in a 'waterfall' pattern. Gonna clean and wd everything.

Thanks again!

cool,

seth