Fj62 elec. gurus please, WIERD issue! (1 Viewer)

[motoloco]

I just installed a brand new optima batt. in my 88' fj62. This trucks wiring harness is completely clean/unmolested in any way. A few days after install (first time driven with headlights needed), when the headlights are tuned on EVERYTHING else elec goes dead and the headlights are not on. When lights are tuned off, all elec. seems to work. The cruiser turns over very fast, the batt is not weak by any means and all the fuseable links at the batt are good. Another wierd thing, when the lights are tuned on, the turn signal indicaters and hi-beam indicator light up!? I know these cruisers are known for bad headlight harness's. I am checking the relay next, Any input would be greatly appriciated!

 

[motoloco]

I just read about most headlight issues being related to dirty ground contacts in the switch its self. I can remove and service that switch no problem, but the whole everything else elec going dead when headlights are tuned on makes me wonder if that is the culprit.

 

[shotgun12321]

Might just want to make sure everything is connected up right still (tedious probably...) but something might have gotten jarred when the battery went in.

I know this is unlikely, but I honestly have no idea what would be causing that.

 

[motoloco]

Well, I removed the turn sig switch from the colum, it was super clean, cleaned the hi/low beam ground contacts anyway. It did not help. Here is the kicker!, I am getting power to ALL the terminals on the backs of all the headlights? No grounds! just power. The one that is supposed to be ground is getting less power than the one that is supposed to be power, but, none the less, thats a problem.

 

[Michael Hanson]

Switch. 2 cents MIke

 

[motoloco]

I am going to try and grab a switch off a donor truck tomorrow and try it. It just does not make sence that everything else in the truck would go dead when the lights are turned on if it was the switch. Anyone know if the FJ60 and 62 switch is the same?

 

[RockDoc]

Headlights should receive power to the common terminal when the headlights are turned on, with the other lead(s) being switched ground to control high-low. If you are seeing power to all the leads, and turning on your lights kills other circuits, I'd start looking either for a short to the wiring between the lights and the switch, a bad switch, or possibly a bad relay?

What has been done along with the battery install? If nothing, I'd start by checking to see if the wiring has been disturbed at the passenger side lights by the battery...... Do you get power to the headlight terminals when the lights are "turned off"?

 

[motoloco]

RockDoc, thanks for the reply, I have it narrowed down to the switch, relay, or wiring to the head lights too. Not very narrow LOL. Thats a good idea about checking for pwr at the sockets when the lights are switched off. I have checked all the wiring around the batt and a few feet down stream of the power and ground cables, everything seems solid there.

 

[RedfishBluegrass]

Well, I removed the turn sig switch from the colum, it was super clean, cleaned the hi/low beam ground contacts anyway. It did not help. Here is the kicker!, I am getting power to ALL the terminals on the backs of all the headlights? No grounds! just power. The one that is supposed to be ground is getting less power than the one that is supposed to be power, but, none the less, thats a problem.

That should be where your dead short is, IMO. If you can look at a diagram and find out which ones should be hot take your meter and and see which ones got the short. Then you get chase it from there! At least you'll know which wires to chase! Good luck.

 

[billmc]

After you get through checking everything else, you may find that you need to take apart the dash and check a small orange connector that is taped to the outside of the wire harness behind and to the right of the steering column. Good chance your short is there.

Bill

 

[motoloco]

88' FJ62 CRAZY elec. issue!? WTF

***EDIT**** This no longer has to do with the headlights or batt. This trucks wiring harness is completely clean/unmolested in any way. With the loom plugged or unplugged on the steering colum that goes to the turn sig, wiper,light tree, I have the same symptoms. If you put the elec antenna up/dn, the dash lights come on as do the signal indicaters and rear defrost!!!! The blower motor kills pwr to anything else but works, 1/2 the fuse block gets its 12v while the othe 1/2 has like .6v but it wont blow any fuses, melt any wires, or pop any fuseable links!? I am getting power to what should be grounds in the headlight sockets, the e-flashers and all other exterior lights work fine. Truck starts and runs completely unaffected. Unplugged all the accessories one by one in the dash (defrost, antenna, rear wiper, colum tree etc... ) and it still does the same thing, when one accessory is powered it powers 3 other systems that are turned OFF!

 

[RockDoc]

Disconnected ground somewhere? (like to the body on the pass fender right near the battery) Although it doesn't seem obvious that that would give you low readings at the fuse panel, since it should affect the ground side of the circuits rather than the hot side.

 

[motoloco]

Solid ground on the pass fender, it contiues down to the frame and engine block. Going to try a different ingnition switch

BillMC, I will look for the orange connector, thanks

 

[FarmerTed]

Are you certain the battery leads are not reversed? You've got reversed polarity somewhere. Do you have the old battery and will it hold a charge? If so, I would put it back in and see what you get.

 

[motoloco]

They are not reversed, drove the truck with no issues for a week or so with the new batt installed. There are no engine starting or running issues. Somehow I am getting voltage in negative/ground circuts that are causing all kinds of crazy things to happen but not blowing fuses or fuseable links.

 

[motoloco]

Put ground to the cigarette lighter housing ground wire rivit, PROBLEM SOLVED! Well, not solved yet but, everything works fine, just need to find where the ground is interrupted and fix it. Seems all the gorunds (wht wires with black stripe) run into one larger guage wht/blk wire under the dash by the fuse block, and it must go to chassie or body ground. I have to find that grounding point. Thanks for all the help.

 

[FarmerTed]

Cool!

 

[slcfj62]

There is a ground point on the drivers side under the dash. If you open the door and look between the end of the dash and the door pillar, you can see two bolts that fasten the dash. If I am going to remove the ground bolt under the dash, I have to take out the bottom bolt at the end of the dash. Does that make sense? Where the bolt at the end of the dash goes through the metal bracket, on the other side up under the dash is where the ground point is. I moved the ground lug to a more convenient bolt where I could easily scrape off some paint to ensure a good ground connection.

 

[motoloco]

Your right, all the small wht/blk wires go to a grounding block under the drivers side of the dash behind the fuse block. From the grounding block one larger dia. wht/blk wire runs over to the upper door hinge bolt where everthing on the driver side of the dash is grounded. I was getting ground there, behind the cluster and at the cigar lighter housing on all the wht/blk wires, BUT it still required an additional ground over to the center dash switches (ie.. rear wiper, rr derfost, pwr ant. or cig lighter) to work damest thing I have seen in a long time, I though ground was ground. I learned somtimes you need "more" ground. I put it to the cigar lighter just because it was the easiest wire to add an additional ground. But, just adding a ground anywhere to any of the wht/blk wires in that area will make everything work. Just remeber for your next elec project, just because it shows ground, does not mean it has enough ground for the voltage draw.

 

[rmag757]

I am having the same problem. I tried the ground off of the cig. lighter, and it worked for about a week and then the same thiing started happening again.

Anyone else have further luck with this problem?

I could use some guidence.