Welcome to the madness! if you find yourself on Ocracoke hit me up! we can talk cruiser nerd together! You are not too far from me!
Joining the FJ40 Crew
- Thread starter 2dub
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- #22
I haven't been to Ocracoke in years.... May have to take you up on that.
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- #23
Same, mine was desmogged by the PO. I did notice some unattached pigtails near the steering column I was going to try and identify. I would love to clean it up. Sunday is supposed to be rainy so that means good garage time after the obligatory mothers day stuff.
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- #24
Memorial day weekend was a washout, but I got to spend some quality time in the garage.
I just created another thread about some of my electrical woes.
But here's what I got done:
I bought a pair of cheap Amazon UTV lights to use as dome/reading lights. I wish I had known they were USB-B charging. I had to go but a separate cable. I assume everything is USB-C now-a-days.
New LED headlights, and turn signal lenses. - I'll get another set of lenses sooner than later. These are cheap knockoffs and the fit isn't perfect. Also just changing the lens made the signal go from working perfectly to when the lights come on the the turn light comes on too. I have no clue how that happened...
I removed the backseats. Which led to me removing the soft top. Unzipping the back released the tension enough the back became unhooked. Since I was planning on taking the top off soon anyhow, I just went with it.
I de-chromed almost everything. Until I ran out of paint. so the tailgate latches and hinges will be next week. The side mirror arms are half way done. But with more paint it will allow me to do some touch ups on the roll cage too. The hinges and latches were chrome and I touched up the doors too.
I just created another thread about some of my electrical woes.
But here's what I got done:
I bought a pair of cheap Amazon UTV lights to use as dome/reading lights. I wish I had known they were USB-B charging. I had to go but a separate cable. I assume everything is USB-C now-a-days.
New LED headlights, and turn signal lenses. - I'll get another set of lenses sooner than later. These are cheap knockoffs and the fit isn't perfect. Also just changing the lens made the signal go from working perfectly to when the lights come on the the turn light comes on too. I have no clue how that happened...
I removed the backseats. Which led to me removing the soft top. Unzipping the back released the tension enough the back became unhooked. Since I was planning on taking the top off soon anyhow, I just went with it.
I de-chromed almost everything. Until I ran out of paint. so the tailgate latches and hinges will be next week. The side mirror arms are half way done. But with more paint it will allow me to do some touch ups on the roll cage too. The hinges and latches were chrome and I touched up the doors too.
- Thread starter
- #25
Then just to get under the skin of purists (j/k) I released my not so inner nerd and made some Darth Maul vinyl decals for the kick vents. From the first time I saw it at the PO's house it made me think of Maul.
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- #26
Now I have the most beautiful FJ40 that's stuck in the garage 
Spent all weekend washing, clay barring, compounding ( the hood took 4 times to get some of the imperfections out), polishing and waxing.
Now I can't get it to start. I've run down the battery so am charging it back up. I wanted to take it for a quick spin this afternoon and nada. In the 2 months I've had it, it's always been a little diva to get started, but today it just won't turn over.
It's a shame because Tuesday I was going to take it to the local Land Cruiser club meet up. I really won't have time to toy around with it until next Saturday.
Spent all weekend washing, clay barring, compounding ( the hood took 4 times to get some of the imperfections out), polishing and waxing.
Now I can't get it to start. I've run down the battery so am charging it back up. I wanted to take it for a quick spin this afternoon and nada. In the 2 months I've had it, it's always been a little diva to get started, but today it just won't turn over.
It's a shame because Tuesday I was going to take it to the local Land Cruiser club meet up. I really won't have time to toy around with it until next Saturday.
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Sometimes, your LandCruiser communicates with you in mysterious ways.
Perhaps your rig does not care for your first try at a name. I might try pulling those kick vents off. An apology may be in order.
The right name will come, in the fullness of time, when you are ready.
And keep the battery charged.
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- Thread starter
- #28
With a little trial and error and help from Gemini, I think I've narrowed it down to the ignition coil. They're not terribly expensive so I was thinking to just replace the whole thing.
I'll looks like I must have an internal resistor. But I'm not sure about the igniter asst. That's on top. Should I replace it too, or is there something that is all in one?
I am going to remove it and test it tomorrow.
But I'm also still probably going to get a reduced gear starter.
I'll looks like I must have an internal resistor. But I'm not sure about the igniter asst. That's on top. Should I replace it too, or is there something that is all in one?
I am going to remove it and test it tomorrow.
But I'm also still probably going to get a reduced gear starter.
If you've already identified some potential electrical/wiring issues with your harness, before replacing components, I'd at a minimum, clean up any and all ignition connections and trace out your critical ignition circuit to carefully make sure you have proper voltages at key places (switch on only, then cranking at coil + at a minimum). If it was running well before, it's likely not a component issue keeping it from running now.
Having said that, I found the FSM very helpful in many aspects of getting my 79 running, including voltage verification mentioned above, and individual component tests (ignition switch, coil, igniter, distributor pickup, etc.).
Even before that, I would highly recommend doing searches on this site to get a feel for the the symptoms and systems you'll be investigating. That proved hugely useful in starting my journey. And, not sure I would follow too much advice from AI without confirming it here. Some of the FJ40's systems are unique and specific.
Oh, and as an FYI, if you're running a stock 79 electronic ignition as suggested by your pics, you may have a pink, inline resistor wire (Yazaki) between your ignition switch and coil that helps to drop the voltage at coil + to 7v when running down the road.
You may want to check out some of the discoveries found in a couple if my old threads while bringing to get my 79 back to life. First, correcting cobbled wiring (see @Coolerman wiring diagrams) and cleaning rusted grounds got me a baseline. Then, using the FSM, I was eventually able to verify a bad distributor pickup, a failing igniter and a sloppy distributor shaft. Once identified, I opted to upgrade to a FJ60 ignition system (igniter, coil, large-cap distributor, resistor wire delete).
But, before assuming you have bad components and start replacing them, please do some basic stuff first. The wiring diagrams and FSM are your friends. It may take a little while to absorb, but you'll have a much better understanding of your rig and the tools available to maintain it.
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I just replaced my ignition coil. My 40 did the same thing, no start, no crank, nothing. Replaced and started fine.
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- #31
@CruiserInProgress Thanks. I'm going to remove and bench test the ignition coil in the morning. I don't want to blindly replace parts. Hopefully that will yield some better answers.
Good idea.
Looking more closely at your coil, those terminals are pretty rusty and haven't been touched in awhile.
You might try cleaning them up first (pull apart, sand paper til shiny, and add a bit of electrical contact grease during assembly). And do the same with other connections and grounds having to do with the ignitor, including where the ignitor/coil bracket attaches to the fender. Mine looked as bad as yours and cleaning made a big difference.
Good luck!
For easier access to the fuses … unbolt it and move the top of the fuse block to the lower mounting hole… there should be enough slack
I’ve had my 74’ like that for 30 years … very easy to pull the ignition fuse so the truck don’t start … theft deterrent… I’m in NY and all
I’ve had my 74’ like that for 30 years … very easy to pull the ignition fuse so the truck don’t start … theft deterrent… I’m in NY and all
This is my identical experience even with the HFS lift and head liner
Ditto
Since you are not a purist, get a DUI distributor and bypass all the Toyota ignition coil stuff. One wire to distributor.
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- #37
Didn't get a change to do anything this weekend. Maybe test it on Wed when I get home.
I am considering the Terrain Tamer suspension. Especially as people have said it cures the lean. I just need to squirrel away a few extra bucks here and there for a while to make that happen. I'm willing to pay more for the comfort. I'm not getting any younger and my back already yells at me when I drive it over an hour or so.
@ceylonfj40nut do you think DUI is worth the cost? Someone else personally recommended the Pertronics Coil & Ignition kit. Which I found interesting. If this is the issue I was just for immediacy, I'll probably just go for the NGK OEM replacement, but wouldn't be opposed to upgrading later.
I am considering the Terrain Tamer suspension. Especially as people have said it cures the lean. I just need to squirrel away a few extra bucks here and there for a while to make that happen. I'm willing to pay more for the comfort. I'm not getting any younger and my back already yells at me when I drive it over an hour or so.
@ceylonfj40nut do you think DUI is worth the cost? Someone else personally recommended the Pertronics Coil & Ignition kit. Which I found interesting. If this is the issue I was just for immediacy, I'll probably just go for the NGK OEM replacement, but wouldn't be opposed to upgrading later.
I run a DUI. For me the flip side of long lasting reliable parts is availability. Had an ignition module go out on my DUI a while back (after seven years of trouble free use), it’s available in any parts store. Had it running in an hour. I have had no major issues with it otherwise. If you are getting one make sure it fits the 40 and seats well to latch on to the oil pump slot. Most of the later models do.
Had a DUI in my 40 when I bought it…frankly, I probably never should have changed it… between the Weber carb I had and the dui, something was lacking…and the answer really was: the timing was not set properly . While I am now using the Sniper EFI and the Mosley modified Holley Hyperspark ignition, I have ZERO complaints… it is damn near perfect. Starts summer and winter within 2 seconds and with all of my other updates, the only thing left is driving it (only in good weather though)
