Help me get my BJ42 roadworthy

[lwheat]

1981 BJ42 restoration

picked up a fun little BJ42 with a whole bunch of extra wiring in it. above the dash were three temp gauges (none of which worked on the way from the car yard to my house) a couple of switches and an oil gauge.

In my hasty dislike of this slapdash contraption i decided to pull it off. As I disconnected wires and bits and pieces (taking photos along the way) I tested whether the car would still turn over at each stage.

I got it back to just a couple of wires. Took it for a drive around the block and it still worked. Two days later I went to drive it to the mechanics for a RWC and it won't turn over. Checked the batteries - one at 12V the other at 6V. Tried to jump from another 12V battery onto the flat one. Didn't turn over.

Charged the flat battery last night and plugged it in this evening and it still won't turn over. There are two additional green pull knobs on the dash above the throttle knob. when pulled these now light up green. but no other lights on the dash come on when the key is turned to "on".

i'd like to strip it back to all the original electrics, but first i'd like to get it to turn over so i can get it to the mechanics. I'm open to suggestions of what to do next.

 

[84BJ42]

I thought Australian BJ42's were 12 volt, as opposed to our canadian 24 volt models. Arethe two batteries in series or parallel? Sounds like all of the extra wiring is causing a current draw when the vehicle isn't running.
Green pull knobs might be some sort of "wilson switch" (manual glow system)

Try crossing this post on the Diesel, 24 volt section of Mud, more diesel 42 people there.

 

[lwheat]

cool, thanks for that.

was fiddling around this evening and got the power to come back on. got it running and drove it round the block. hopefully it will still be running in the morning.

i'm really not sure if this one is 12V or 24V. thinking about taking one of the batteries off and trying to start it. see what happens.

it's gonna need new tires to start with, and maybe some work on the demister and the body. but other than that i hope she passes.

oh yeah, some pictures.

the oddball wiring

check out the crazy battery terminal!!!!

and the possibly scary rust spots

 

[amaurer]

Whoa thats crazy wiring. I also thought AUS cruisers were 12V. Maybe thats why the air cleaner ass'y is not the stock oneand the radiator overflow has been moved? (Although looking at it, the nipple for the radiator overflow line is on the left side of the vehicle... odd) Extra tail lights too.

 

[Volcano cruiser]

Overall a nice rig, congrats. x2 on posing these questions over in the diesel forum where alot of us BJ owners, 12v and 24v types, hang out.

 

[DanS HJ-45]

Have you budgeted to rewire it?

You need to.

I won't even start with what's wrong with all that. It will NEVER be reliable with that wiring "job." It very well may never be safe with that in there.

You can probably check the tag on the starter it should tell you if it's 12 or 24V. Take a look at the alternator and voltage regulator too--they could be easier than removing a battery.

I'd focus on the wiring before worrying about the rust. It will at least drive with rust. It looks great right now though (wiring excepted). It has some nice character right now.


Dan

 

[singletrackjunkie]

Dude, that is some crazy wiring. I'm not sure but I think the canadian ones were LHD and 24v where as the australian models were RHD and 12v. if you have a voltmeter you can see what you are getting at your alternator though and find out for sure. Not a great picture of the wiring but heres what my 24v looks like.

 

[lwheat]

Have you budgeted to rewire it?

You need to.

yep. step one is to start pulling all that crap out. so much of it isn't even plugged into stuff.

I won't even start with what's wrong with all that. It will NEVER be reliable with that wiring "job." It very well may never be safe with that in there.

You can probably check the tag on the starter it should tell you if it's 12 or 24V. Take a look at the alternator and voltage regulator too--they could be easier than removing a battery.

i'll have a look at it. seems like i pulled the key out in the ACC position on Sunday - hence why it wouldn't start on Tuesday.

I'd focus on the wiring before worrying about the rust. It will at least drive with rust. It looks great right now though (wiring excepted). It has some nice character right now.


Dan

it's got serious character. like the bastard child of some crazy electritian.

i find out on monday what needs to be done to get it road worthy - this is where i think the rust may let me down. will be spending the weekend ripping out wiring that's not connected to anything.

the ignition switch goes GLOW - OFF - ACC - ON - START, but won't roll back to glow. there are two green knobs above the trottle that are independent of the ignition (pull them and they light up even in the on position). I'm wondering if these are connected to the glow plugs. What's the best way to check this?

 

[Diesel42]

The rust can be fixed. No be HUGE deal. Explain the orientation of your battery cables. For example: Does the neg on both batteries go to the frame(ground)? Or Does one battery have a positive wire going to the other batteries neg post? The latter example would indicate a 24volt system.

 

[Josie'sLandCruiser]

Hi All:

I agree with the "crazy wiring" quote!

But, what the heck do you mean by:

"the air cleaner ass'y is not the stock one and the radiator overflow has been moved?"

Ah, this a BJ42 - 3B not a 2F. The upper radiator hose is in a different location, and the air filter housing is a different shape and location as well. If you compare the photos of the "lwheat" rig and "SingleTrackJunkie" truck one will note that the upper radiator hose and the air filter box seem to be the same, despite one vehicle being Aussie-spec and the other GWN-spec.

Regards,

Alan

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Whoa thats crazy wiring. I also thought AUS cruisers were 12V. Maybe thats why the air cleaner ass'y is not the stock oneand the radiator overflow has been moved? (Although looking at it, the nipple for the radiator overflow line is on the left side of the vehicle... odd) Extra tail lights too.

 

[grant5127]

I've seen more than a 1/2 dozen trucks from oz with the same wiring nightmare.....all you folks use the same automotive electrician??

 

[lostmarbles]

Whoa thats crazy wiring. I also thought AUS cruisers were 12V. Maybe thats why the air cleaner ass'y is not the stock oneand the radiator overflow has been moved? (Although looking at it, the nipple for the radiator overflow line is on the left side of the vehicle... odd) Extra tail lights too.

The importing of second-hand vehicles (mainly from Japan) means that 24V cruisers are no longer uncommon here in NZ. (But I still wouldn't expect to find many examples in "the forty-series".) I suspect a similar situation exists in Oz - So on this basis 24V is "just possible".

Edit 15 Aug. - Thinking about it more - There are a number of companies importing second-hand engines and 24 Volt Toyota diesels (including the 3B) are amongst them (and are sometimes seen for sale on "Trademe" which is New Zealand's version of "eBay"). So if a forty series cruiser here was to be 24 volt - I think an engine-transplant would be the most likely reason. And the engine would likely have been imported second-hand or come from a vehicle like a "Toyota Coaster" that was imported second-hand. ...................... Well that's my opinion anyway.

And the air cleaner does look different to me (which supports the theory that it could be a "used-import"). PS....- The air cleaner belonging to Singletrackjunkie is different Alan - That one DOES look standard.

But the tail lights look normal to me Drew. Didn't you get those "protruding red reflectors" on the rear corners of yours? (They're not "lights". --- If not - I think the PO removed them and perhaps you can see evidence of the mounting holes -when viewing that area from inside your wheel wells)

 

[lowenbrau]

Whoa thats crazy wiring. I also thought AUS cruisers were 12V. Maybe thats why the air cleaner ass'y is not the stock oneand the radiator overflow has been moved? (Although looking at it, the nipple for the radiator overflow line is on the left side of the vehicle... odd) Extra tail lights too.

Air cleaner = stock
overflow = moved
extra taillights (reflectors) = stock

 

[amaurer]

But, what the heck do you mean by:

"the air cleaner ass'y is not the stock one and the radiator overflow has been moved?"

Ah, this a BJ42 - 3B not a 2F. The upper radiator hose is in a different location, and the air filter housing is a different shape and location as well. If you compare the photos of the "lwheat" rig and "SingleTrackJunkie" truck one will note that the upper radiator hose and the air filter box seem to be the same, despite one vehicle being Aussie-spec and the other GWN-spec.

lostmarbles beat me to it, however:

The upper radiator hose is the same, yes, but thats not what I was talking about:

The overflow line - 1/4" hose - heads to the tank on the left side of the vehicle. On all of the 3Bs I know of, including mine, the overflow tank is on the right side.

Also the air cleaners are very different. lwheat's appears to have a can-like top that attaches to a flat bottom plate while SingleTrack's is a flat plate on top which attaches to a can-like bottom. My 3B air cleaner is like Singletrack's, I've never seen one like lwheat's on a 3B.

But the tail lights look normal to me Drew. Didn't you get those "protruding red reflectors" on the rear corners of yours? (They're not "lights". --- If not - I think the PO removed them and perhaps you can see evidence of the mounting holes -when viewing that area from inside your wheel wells)

I see that they are listed in the EPC, but no, I don't have them. I have a lot of bondo in the back, however, so I'm not terribly surprised.

 

[lowenbrau]

l
Also the air cleaners are very different. lwheat's appears to have a can-like top that attaches to a flat bottom plate while SingleTrack's is a flat plate on top which attaches to a can-like bottom. My 3B air cleaner is like Singletrack's, I've never seen one like lwheat's on a 3B.

Canadian spec BJ42s got them in 1982 only. They are cyclonic and spin the dust out. I don't know why Toyota didn't standardize on them everywhere.

 

[amaurer]

Air cleaner = stock
overflow = moved
extra taillights (reflectors) = stock

I checked the EPC. The air cleaner is not stock for an AUS vehicle.


EDIT: you beat me to it Anyway, its a very odd configuration for a vehicle in Australia...

 

[tasnolan]

Looks just like my 42. I would say 12V and air cleaner is stock (Aussie stock) as it's same as mine and history of mine is Aussie from new.

Good luck with all the wiring lwheat - Looks like you'll need it

 

[diso]

same as mine too and dual batterys are a very common mod here.

 

[lostmarbles]

Looks just like my 42. ........and air cleaner is stock (Aussie stock)

same as mine too.....

Sounds like both types of air cleaner are "stock" for BJ42s in this part of the world then.

Or perhaps it is a difference between Australia and New Zealand - which is quite possible I guess since New Zealand BJ42s were assembled in assembly plants here (rather than being imported from Japan as "fully assembled")..................... (and Amaurer's BJ42 comes from NZ)

 

[lwheat]

well i've got all the wiring out of where the additional dash is. there are three green wires that go through the floor (were connected to temp guages on top of dash) and the other ends go to bits under the frame.

they haven't been connected to anything the last two days it everything seems to work. not sure what would have been added to the parts under the car for them to plug into. i'll get some pictures up tomorrow. going to pull them out tomorrow.

there are heaps of extra fuse boxes and wiring and stuff that needs to go. will be looking at it tomorrow. got it booked in for a RWC on Monday. all i can think of to fix up are the tyres (getting some on saturday) and the driver's side park light doesn't work. everything else is in working order.