FJ 75/3F troop carrier short circuit?

[rat]

Hey guys,
Problem: when I turn on my ignition, my park/tail lights go on. The truck wiring is standard, apart from three sets of spotlights, and an extra electric radiator fan - all running through seperate 30 amp relays. I wired one set of spotlights to be triggered by the park light circuit... but it looks ok....
I know it's going to be a b*tch to find the fault... would appreciate any suggestions where / how to start looking.
The FJ75 is very similar to the FJ62, if that helps...
many thanks!

 

[roscoFJ73]

So your intention was to have two spotlights come on when the park lights come on?
If you disconnect the spotties does that fix it?

 

[crushers]

day time running lights?

 

[rat]

No sir, disconnecting the relay that feeds the two spotlights triggered by the park light circuit doesnt fix the problem...

Daytime running lights? yeah - out here many drive with head lights on in daytime, to improve visibility .... our road safety is real bad!

 

[roscoFJ73]

Well,we need more info. Did this coincide with the fitting of the spotlights or was it happening before?
Is it possible the previous owner wired the park lights to the ignition?

 

[rat]

Nope - this tail light screw-up happened suddenly. The only thing done lately with the truck is a run through a muddy river bed...

I bought the truck bog standard - I put all the extra lights on myself.

The reason I wired one set of spotties to the park light circuit is to give me more light on dipped beam.

Question: according to my Gregorys manual, there should be an OEM tail light relay under the dash, together with all the other relays like flasher, headlights etc - but I've looked and I dont see a tail light relay....

thanks for the responses

 

[roscoFJ73]

Nope - this tail light screw-up happened suddenly. The only thing done lately with the truck is a run through a muddy river bed...

I bought the truck bog standard - I put all the extra lights on myself.

The reason I wired one set of spotties to the park light circuit is to give me more light on dipped beam.

Question: according to my Gregorys manual, there should be an OEM tail light relay under the dash, together with all the other relays like flasher, headlights etc - but I've looked and I dont see a tail light relay....

thanks for the responses

Is that the one on page 192 and is the cable pictured the choke cable?
I have a FJ73 and when I turn the park lights on I can hear a relay click from that area so the relay should be where the pic says it is.
If there is no relay there,then someone has probably altered the electrical system.

Ill take a wild guess,The previous owner was sick of leaving his headlights on so he changed the wiring so it turned off when the ignition was turned off and your muddy water hole has affected it somehow.

Did your head/park lights stay on when you turned the ignition off before the muddy water hole like they are supposed to?

 

[rat]

This morning before work I pulled the aftermarket relays one by one - no help

The only sign of messin' by the previous owner is some disconnected radio wires - otherwise the wiring looks un touched...

The problem may have started just after I went wheeling in the river - but I only noticed it recently when I saw the battery monitor showing a current drain on the battery - when there were supposed to be no lights on... I use a high pressure washer to blast the mud off the truck after a bush run...

Will pull all the OEM relays tonight and see what happens.

 

[rat]

Reckon I got it. But not before thinking how I'd like to throw gas over the truck and set it on fire.... there's an orange and white plastic connection plug (not a relay!) - don't know what its proper name is - under the steering column. Fiddled with that - damned if the park lights didn't go out...