Headlight gremlins just emerged - any advice? (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Apr 2, 2023
Threads
2
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Location
Scituate, MA
New owner to an 86 FJ60. Up to this point no issues with lights in general so looking for a situational analysis from the pro's on here.

Drove to son's little league game and was raining so here in MA law states you drive with lights on. Fairly certain they were on to the game but even if not they were working days ago. Got out and like someone who hasn't driven an older car in a while left them on. Wife showed to game and told me lights were so ran back more concerned that battery would be dead but fired right up. Didn't notice at the time if headlights were on or out. Finished game fired it up and then noticed headlights did not come on. All other lights were on/working (dash, marker, turn signals worked, brakes).

So I jumped in here last night and found a few quite helpful threads. This being one. Thanks @slcfj62

Here's what I've done thus far.
1. Checked fuses. All good
2. Moved on to the head light Relay but honestly turned around a bit as to exact location compared to what's in the factory manual. So ran the part number and shows the Headlight relay which does in fact click when the light switch is turned at the wheel. Attached pic for ref. Its show's to red/white and red/yellow wires to check for 12v but again was turned around by the location.
3. Checked one bulb even though realize that both going out at once is a lightning strike. Had new one in package and still nothing.

New relay is on the way just in case but my next thought based on the info from the thread above is to clean the combination switch? One note that may or may not help is that the dashboard high beam light DOES go on both when flashing the brights but also at the switch.

Am I on the right track or are there other suggestions?

Thanks in advance for any guidance. Since buying this thing it's been hard to stay in my home office doing actual work vs obsessing like I am 16 again.

Relay.jpeg
 
Yes, I would try to clean up your switch.

Here’s another thought…not certain the headlight relay is compatible with any of the other relays in the dash, but take a look see and if so, borrow one for a test just to see if your relay is bad.


I’ve borrowed a relay for a test in the past…but I don’t remember exactly which vehicle. Worth a try.
 
No one has mentioned checking the fusible link - but it if it was the FL I think you'd notice other problems as well. It would be the one leading to the white wire in the engine bay.

My guess is that you have a bad ground. I'm more familiar with the FJ62, but I believe that the 60s are similar in that the headlights are ground switched, which means that when you turn on your headlights, you're closing the circuit by grounding it. So if the ground point is dirty or loose, or if the ground wire is broken, etc., you will not get 12v on that circuit, which means neither the relay nor the lights will work. So I while I think it wouldn't hurt to clean out your combination switch as @John McVicker suggested above, while you have the steering wheel and/or clamshell off, follow the white/black wire from the combo switch all the way to wherever it ties into the body. I would bet money that you'll find broken or damaged wire, contaminated ground point, or something along those lines.

The actual ground point is likely to be somewhere under the dash, and there may be multiple grounds tied in to one point.

1682453721542.png
 
Mystery solved for now but new questions arise. Thanks @John McVicker and @diesellibrarian both really helpful as I started to track things down. Found the A pillar grounds and both looked good. So decided to just pop the hood and take another look at following the wiring around. And then I noticed this.
Unknown-1.jpeg


Fried fuse from that oddly placed red wire to batt to relays left of battery which guessing are some rig from a previous owner. I looked in the FSM and didn't see anything resembling this so while happy my head lights are back just waiting on pins and needles for the next issue to arise. I'll be back for sure because I am the furthest thing from a wiring expert.
Thx

Unknown.jpeg
 
@199thJ60

Looks like you got some bakyard enjineer’d wiring additions to your truck. It will eventually be helpful to trace them and find out if you can eliminate them. As soon as you said “I checked the bulbs” I knew this is what we’d find. The original headlights were sealed beams, you couldn’t remove the bulb, you just replace the entire glass unit when they go bad.

I would strongly recommend a Koito headlight kit. This is an OEM upgrade made by Toyota with high quality materials. Install is dead simple and takes about half an hour tops. It does have it’s own wiring, but it’s already set up for you to work correctly by Toyota. Zero guesswork. It will remove a lot of future questions or failure points to get rid of that questionable extra headlight wiring you have and go with something that’s known to work right out of the box.

To be clear I have bias - I sell that kit. But you can get it from many other retailers or straight from Toyota. I really do think it’s a worthwhile move for you, whether you get it from me or not! Gotta have safe, reliable headlights after all.
 
@199thJ60

Looks like you got some bakyard enjineer’d wiring additions to your truck. It will eventually be helpful to trace them and find out if you can eliminate them. As soon as you said “I checked the bulbs” I knew this is what we’d find. The original headlights were sealed beams, you couldn’t remove the bulb, you just replace the entire glass unit when they go bad.

I would strongly recommend a Koito headlight kit. This is an OEM upgrade made by Toyota with high quality materials. Install is dead simple and takes about half an hour tops. It does have it’s own wiring, but it’s already set up for you to work correctly by Toyota. Zero guesswork. It will remove a lot of future questions or failure points to get rid of that questionable extra headlight wiring you have and go with something that’s known to work right out of the box.

To be clear I have bias - I sell that kit. But you can get it from many other retailers or straight from Toyota. I really do think it’s a worthwhile move for you, whether you get it from me or not! Gotta have safe, reliable headlights after all.
@CruiserTrash thanks and yeah...kinda worried about what else I'm in store for. Def will check that kit out.
 
I bought a label maker that can do wire flags, wire wraps and heat shrink, and I've been labeling every non toyota wire, as i figure them out.
(I have alot, I'm sure some future owner will be cursing me, but I like adding stuff)
 

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