I need serious help...

[Fcked94fj80]

Ok, so +1 - that is one leg of a 3-leg jack handle/spare tire wrench that runs the chain winch to drop the spare tire down from beneath the truck. Ping for more details if you use that spare tire carrier.

The two-wire lead with a bulb/socket on the end...that goes into the rear side marker, just ahead of the rear drivers side tail light. My truck had the issue where the jack came loose and smacked that socket right out of the marker lens housing, breaking the 90 degree twist mating surface of the lens housing. Ended up just RTV'ing the socket back into the lens housing. (that is once the jack was securely affixed in its mount, which is to say secured by something other than the factory 4" rubber tie-down - guessing yours is likely missing. Zip ties of sufficient length and girth work well)

The tail light connectors tho look as they should, with the foam wrap n' such.

Still recommend replacing at least the right side tail light harness such that there are no breaks in the wiring from the large connector to the housing. The harness also includes new bulb sockets which, in bad condition, can contribute to the dimness and such that you have now.

I'll have to pull drivers side apart again and fix that light then

 

[Fcked94fj80]

Check every ground wire you can find.
Check they are tight, clean, and not corroded.

There's a diagram of all the ground point locations in the EWDs which can be found in the Resources section

Yep, I've got it downloaded and I've been looking at it for 2 days now lol. I'm dumb w diagrams

 

[mudgudgeon]

Yep, I've got it downloaded and I've been looking at it for 2 days now lol. I'm dumb w diagrams

They take some making sense of for sure

 

[Fcked94fj80]

They take some making sense of wh

They take some making sense of for sure

What would cause something like this outta nowhere? Likeliest culprit? Relay? Ground? No check engine light. Only main ground I've checked is the back frame one in between tail lights? The other issues aren't as pressing and I've lived w the other issues for a couple months

 

[Fcked94fj80]

Did a check to see. Literally only light that doesn't work when headlights r on is pass brake. Every single other one works. Also didn't realize I had a brake light up top. What I might try and do is maybe wire it to that one if all else fails?

 

[LandLocked93]

Also didn't realize I had a brake light up top.

To what are you referring? The third brake light? USDM mandated in 1996.
Toyota added it; beginning in the 2nd gen 80 series , 08/92.

Also, what is this light?

It is not USDM AFAIK.
Recommend tracing the wire origin and disconnecting for the time being.

 

[Fcked94fj80]

To what are you referring? The third brake light? USDM mandated in 1996.
Toyota added it; beginning in the 2nd gen 80 series , 08/92.

Also, what is this light?
View attachment 3466836
It is not USDM AFAIK.
Recommend tracing the wire origin and disconnecting for the time being.

I'll have to look, I assumed it was stock

 

[LandLocked93]

I'll have to look, I assumed it was stock

Yeah.
No.

 

[SmokingRocks]

you have a 1994... I spent literally over 40 hours compiling the factory service manual into one easy-to-navigate PDF via the bookmarks, please for my sake, download it and use only it to help you work through this. (That means delete all other versions you may have, including the 96FSM)

There are tutorials on youtube detailing how to read EWD's, also in my most recent revision of the 93-94 FSM I added "How To Read EWD's" Section to it. When it comes to electrical work 80% of the time you'll spend will be in the FSM learning the layouts and planning tests to perform (like continuity between two points) the other 20% of time will be spent actually touching things with tools & multi-meters. If you try to go about it the other way around you will lose your gdam mind and end up frustrated with empty pockets.

Stop, put your tools down, step away from the vehicle and take the time to learn how to utilize the best resource you have available to you before going balls deep. Believe me, I'm speaking from painfully gained experience here.

Here is a direct link to Revision 5 of the 93-94 FSM

 

[SmokingRocks]

Do NOT just start adding wiring in a desperate attempt to get it to work. What I mean is, don't try to tap your third brake light and run a new wire to the passenger side taillight. If that's how you solve all the electrical issues then after a year you'll end up with 743 runs of whatever color wires pulled in every direction across your rig like a web spun by a crack spider and you won't have the slightest clue what each of them is for. It'll cause even more ghost problems and you'll end up offloading your rig to someone else for cheap because its ruined.

Electrical Wiring Diagrams are road maps of all the circuits in your car, they define the wires'; purpose, routing, color (main & stripe), routing, junctions (connectors, splices, terminals indicated by boxes usually), pin location of the wire in each of the junctions (at connectors & terminals). And at the end of each section, they give you a common test to perform to verify the pathways are intact.

Electrical work scares many people but shouldn't, it's fundamentally the same as how a city's water system works. Water systems work by having the following components:

1. Water Treatment Plant
2. Clean Water Storage Tanks
3. Pipelines
4. Valves
5. Manifolds / T's / Y's (Junctions)

12v Electrical Systems work on similar principles; instead of water molecules flowing through a pipe, you have electrons flowing through a wire. Let me draw the parallels:
1. Water Treatment Plant ------ Alternator
2. Water Tank ------------------- Battery
3. Pipelines --------------------- Wires
4. Valves ------------------------ Switches

The alternator produces higher voltage than what the battery rests at, so the flow of electrons (measured in amps) goes to the battery charging it up. Then when you turn on your headlights, you've opened the valve for electrons from the battery to flow through a circuit (pipeline) to the headlights.

---
Now water is delivered to your home under pressure, and when you open your faucet there is a maximum amount of flow that can come out of it based on the size of the pipe delivering the water. Parallels can be drawn again here

1. Water pressure ---------------------------------------------- Voltage
2. Water Flow -------------------------------------------------- Amperage
3. Resistance to Water Flow due to the size of the pipe --- Ohms

Understanding these basics of electrical design helps remove much of the mystery and confusion I think. Then once you learn how to read the EWD's road map it'll be pretty easy to track down your issues.

I'm more than happy to help you diagnose this issue correctly so you can complete an ASE mechanics level repair that will be just as reliable as it was when it was new, BUT you need to put yourself through some homeschooling to onboard some of this knowledge first. Unfortunately, when you start turning wrenches it's easy to want to hop to the last step and expect to find the easy fix only to realize that to do it right you really need to start at the base of the staircase and work your way up.

Feel free to PM me if you have specific questions on the FSM or need help with something.

 

[landcrshr]

I avoid the water analogy. I mean, if you cut a wire, do electrons spill out onto the floor?

 

[SmokingRocks]

I avoid the water analogy. I mean, if you cut a wire, do electrons spill out onto the floor?

ever heard of arc flash??

If the voltage is high enough they will spill out. Ever seen a transmission line break and arc to ground??

How do you think tasers work? Magic?

Ever cut a small 1/4 tube filled with water and see the water stay in the tube because there was no pressure behind it?

Yes they are analogous and that’s why they are taught to the industry as such, don’t come here throwing shade at something you don’t understand. I’m trying to help the kid out.

 

[Fcked94fj80]

Ok so I'm cleaning all the grounds after getting wire diagram printed. 2 questions. Where exactly is FL main 2.0l? And am I supposed to have something right here?

 

[SmokingRocks]

FL is a fusable link, the ones right off the battery positive. There are pages with diagrams showing where each component is, it will point you to its location. But those aren’t your problem. Because if those were blown they’d affect many more systems, just look at what’s down stream from them. All of those things would be inoperative.

I suspect your PO tried to wire in a trailer lighting harness and did a crap job. I’ll give you some more pointers when I get home

 

[SmokingRocks]

Pm sent, let’s hop on a screen share and I’ll give you some quick insights to understanding the FSM’s EWDs & test to do.

 

[SmokingRocks]

preform these test with a digital multi-meter on the connector at the rear passenger stoplight bulb.

 

[LandLocked93]

I avoid the water analogy. I mean, if you cut a wire, do electrons spill out onto the floor?

Minor segway...
Agreed. The water pressure/pipe analogy breaks down at a certain point.
But it does help to explain/understand the lions share of the theory.
Cute animations tho. Think I'll shoot a couple over to my recent instructors with whom I went 'round and 'round about the whole 'amperage' thing. Sheeze.
I asked them to produce anything other than the text book we were using to support their definition and use of that term which suggests there is current flow without voltage, when there isn't.
They could not.
Nor could I.
We agreed to disagree. lol And it's not really important to anything beyond component-level diag, which wasn't the focus of the course anyway.

 

[Fcked94fj80]

Update after some help. It ended up being the bulb socket ground was bad. I tried rigging it to other light just to get it home as a bandaid and it didn't work so I stuck the ground in from bulb end and it lit right up. I yanked the whole wire out, cut some and shoved remaining up and in. Bent it to stay put and she works a few days later. However in my quest, I found more gremlins. This hose can anyone identify? She looks ready to blow. Best I can find in fsm is a bypass hose. Also uhhhh I'm missing a cable. Oh and I don't have a fusible link lmao

 

[duece71]

That hose looks like the pesky heater hose (PHH) and yes, that needs attention ASAP. Not sure on the cable, I have an HDJ81 from Japan so not much comparison.

 

[Fcked94fj80]

That hose looks like the pesky heater hose (PHH) and yes, that needs attention ASAP. Not sure on the cable, I have an HDJ81 from Japan so not much comparison.

Like how urgent? As I'm driving it in 30 degree weather w heater on...