I screwed up my 90 fj-62

[gfoz]

hallelujah!!!! my pride and joy is running again.

and the award goes to everyone that kept hammering on me to check the simple stuff like the grounds!!!! Not sure how things like lights and starter etc. can work with a bad body ground but apparently they do.

after checking all the computer terminals I hooked a jumper cable from the negative terminal of the battery to a good spot on the body....low and behold it fired right up!!

So bad assumption on my part...I figured if the battery to engine had a good ground the body would too.. apparently not. I had hooked a jumper from the battery to the engine. Maybe someone can explain to me how the body and engine aren't connected ground wise.


So the good news, which I'm sure you all are happy that there is some.....I found this website through this problem, I now know the EFI inside and out, I know that there is some sort of difference between a body ground and engine ground (not sure what yet), and I have a coil, cap and rotor in my spare parts bin!

I want to thank you all for your input I truly hope some day I can be of help to some other landcruiser owner.

gary

 

[torfab]

a ground can be interrupted by a short, breaking the connection. Usually you can move the wire, re-tighten the 12mm bolt by your battery to the fender, and be good to go again.

The engine has ground straps to the body, but they may all have been interrupted by the shorting battery


Nice job getting this done though, you just saved yourself hundreds at an auto mechanic

 

[gfoz]

a ground can be interrupted by a short, breaking the connection. Usually you can move the wire, re-tighten the 12mm bolt by your battery to the fender, and be good to go again.

The engine has ground straps to the body, but they may all have been interrupted by the shorting battery


Nice job getting this done though, you just saved yourself hundreds at an auto mechanic

Thanks Tor, like I said I learned a ton. I ended up just running a new ground wire direct to the fender.

I'm up on Whidbey. One of these days I need to talk to you about some modifications I'd like done. I think maybe starting with the exhaust if you do that.

 

[Joe_E]

I've been following your thread but just didn't want to throw out a random guess. Glad it was something simple like the ground.

 

[1tontoy]

Good deal. Glad you stayed at it and got it running.

This thread will inevitably help someone else in the future.

(I'll take partial credit....) There have been numerous times when I've beat my head against the wall, only to figure out it was a ground. Now, I check the grounds, first, when there are weird electrical issues

 

[torfab]

Thanks Tor, like I said I learned a ton. I ended up just running a new ground wire direct to the fender.

I'm up on Whidbey. One of these days I need to talk to you about some modifications I'd like done. I think maybe starting with the exhaust if you do that.

I can get exhaust done for you, it's pretty easy on the fj62

 

[lubedude]

Not rub salt into any wounds, because i try to use every potential problem as a learning experience myself. Lord knows I have enough of those to have at least several degrees by now, but it only makes sense that the body ground strap would be damaged since the battery welded to the hood, also part of the body. I would have checked that first. Sorry, not trying to be a dick, but something I learnt a long time ago, is the simplest things can be the hardest things to find, because they are to obvious, "it can't be that simple, can it?"

I had a similar situation on my 60 when I first got it. the guy I bought it from was not that mechanically inclined and he didn't have the battery bolted down at all. It did bounce, caught the hood and stopped me dead. My saving grace was the ground strap was so bad it melted right off at the mounting bolt on the body, right there were you could see it and everything! I changed it out with a new one and right back up and running.