Builds My LC 80 thread. (8 Viewers)

[NLXTACY]

Sheesh, months and months of posts but no responses?! Not even from me

I feel your frustration. It's like my over heating thread. But you are being diligent.

 

[NLXTACY]

Are you pulling voltage from a multi-meter or just trusting an IBS or ScanGauge or?

I've found my ScanGauge to be anywhere from .5 to 1.0v off.

 

[Dave 2000]

Sheesh, months and months of posts but no responses?! Not even from me

I feel your frustration. It's like my over heating thread. But you are being diligent.

Hi, I do not actually post in anticipation of replies so not particularly bothered but, I do keep up the thread for a number of reasons.

The first is that many look at it (60, 000 +) even if they do not reply it must interest some people right? I have seen my mods copied without a reference to this thread and know the people have got their information from it, fine by me but it does indicate at best a poor memory or at worst a lack of manners?

Second, I do believe that with the amount of years of experience (47) I have under the hood, that the thread offers personal and perhaps more importantly, factual experience of my findings, unfortunately this is often opposed with guesswork often gabbed out by others who TBH do not have a clue, and are still dealing with diaper rash. Having said that, there are some very savvy people here, I have often asked for their thoughts on a certain issue, and I am more than happy to have someone question my thoughts and findings, if I have made an error that they have seen, and they can offer constructive thoughts on a remedy, I would be 'all ears', I am after all only human, but I do not suffer fools gladly.

And perhaps the most important for me (and why I give Woody a few dollars each year ), is the thread has become my service history, my modification history, and of course a log of my personal journey with this great vehicle.

regards

Dave

 

[Dave 2000]

Are you pulling voltage from a multi-meter or just trusting an IBS or ScanGauge or?

I've found my ScanGauge to be anywhere from .5 to 1.0v off.

I use a 'Fluke' MM to test other monitors, I hate ambiguity in particular when offering up your numbers/modifications for others to read about, I would hate to give someone a bum steer if they were following or copying my mods. TBH the National Luna monitor is very accurate thus far, I do not use the NL switching gear just the monitor.

regards

Dave

 

[Dave 2000]

NLXTACY said: ↑
>Are you pulling voltage from a multi-meter or just trusting an IBS or ScanGauge or?

I've found my ScanGauge to be anywhere from .5 to 1.0v off.<



I had heard the SC was good? If the voltage is off by that amount it may affect the OBD figures it provides? This is only a thought as a lot of people swear by them?

regards

Dave

 

[Dave 2000]

So I busted an ankle last week, stupid accident but it gives me a bit of time to do.....well nothing. I decided I would put my current (no pun intended) wiring plans to paper....well keyboard.

The main wiring from battery to battery is done, I had to order a new crimper as my 70mm2 did not fit the 70mm2 terminals! The email discussion that followed with the supplier has resulted in a note added to the terminal picture, it just states you need a bigger crimper as the crimp body can be soldered as well, this makes it a little larger and unable to fit the crimp machine. No big deal, I purchased a bigger crimper and can cover pretty much everything I am likely to encounter in this life.........and the next!

This is a basic as it gets for a reliable and bullet proof system, even the VSR can be operated manually. There is minimum voltage drop using heavy cables, yes a little more expensive and a little more difficult to install but, they will be there long after I have shed my mortal coil. Running such heavy hardware also allows for a winch if need be, this could draw current from either battery or both.

This close up of the fuse boxes shows the overall systems are protected by the 150 amp mega fuses, there is also the set of midi fuses protecting the various circuits. I kept the OE systems box separate from the added components to help with fault finding if need be.

The choice of fuses has yet to be decided but need to find out the various system draws, so they are open to debate.

EDIT: The fuses have been modified a little after finding out the correct amperage of the glow plugs and other OE systems demands. One note, the 150 amp fuse is fuse box 1 is now a 250 amp. This allows for total load across all fuses that will see load at the same time, for example. If the fan is on (50 amps) then it is unlikely the glow plugs are going to be on. Also note that the fuse rating is NOT the rate at which they blow, this used to be the case in the UK, later for whatever reason the UK used the American system of around 2 to 1 blow, this does prevent 'nuisance blows' during the odd occasional spike.

regards

Dave

 

[Dave 2000]

The 80 headlight relays are known to give problems as the vehicle wiring ages, if you are lucky you will simply replace the relays (there are two, one brown and one black), if not so lucky then the relay sockets will be burnt, mine is about to have it's third relay set, the sockets not too bad but will not take much more abuse. TBH this should have been done the first time it happened but hey you know how it is.

So I am now looking to insert my modded piece of loom. The idea is to use the OE connections that go to the actual bulbs, this will trigger the relays which only need a fraction of the power needed to make the bulb work. This will take not only load off the OE loom but also off the OE changeover relays, the result should be not only the aforementioned aging parts living longer, but also the lights will actually be brighter. I personally think the 80 lights are great on main beam however, the dipped beam is pretty poor on unlit roads. My headlights are not the original, they were replaced about five years back to suit driving on the 'wrong' side of the road in Spain, so this mod will get the best out of them.

If you decide to use the 'off road use only bulbs' 100/85 watt main/dip, and the 100 watt for the spots, all of which fit straight in the stock holders (570 WATTS = 48 amps if using the PINK OPTION) then this system will handle them with ease, although you should increase the earth cable size from the bulb holders, TBH why not do it anyway? Remember the virtual double wattage of the stock bulbs does not double the distance they reach or light up, that is the job of the reflector, you will however gain some additional distance but more importantly the lit area will be more crisper and defined so easier on the eyes. Running the stock alternator (80 amps) you might find this is a bit too much when running other gear, HRW, heater fan, decent stereo, and so forth, if your alternator is stock then you might want to just put the higher wattage bulbs in the spotlights only?

This diagram is pretty much fool proof, assuming I have it right in the first place , it uses the wiring already fused by Toyota right up to the headlamp. The 'norm' is to wire the relays to a fuse block and then double out via a fuse to each light, this way you never lose both dipped beams or both mains at the same time unless the OE relay fails WHICH IT WILL if you do not do the mod! By using the OE fused wiring it cuts down on 'dodgy' wiring that may be installed un-fused, and of course keeps fault finding as per OE. This method of wiring to the relays (standard 4 pin type) is a single fuse for each pair (one main/one dip), it is heavier than OE and assuming the wires are run correctly i.e. no chafing then there will not be a problem. The chance of a bulb blowing and taking out the heavy fuse extremely unlikely, having said that, if you wanted to then you could of course fuse each #30 connection, in the real world not necessary. This method will allow a fuse to blow and still retain one side dip and the other main. Note D1 and D2 diodes (typical 1N4001) are to be fitted as a precaution, the supply from the opposite side main beam will travel back up the loom and in theory to an open circuit. If you are a bit savvy then you can check with a MM, if not sure then fit them anyway. It can do no harm whatsoever but, as this forum is read by different consumers throughout the world there may be wiring differences so it pays to be a little cautious here.

I have also added the PINK OPTIONAL wires with diodes, this will mean when the main beam is selected you get four OE main beams PLUS the two dip beams, the light output is pretty good lighting up the foreground and the sides around winding unlit lanes. Note this will draw around 28 amps, which is around 10 more than stock using standard wattage bulbs.

I am taking some great pain killing meds at the moment....................man, so if any hawk eye's see anything looking 'iffy' let me know asap and I will post up a modded version..........when the sky turns from green and yellow dots with floating orange cows, back to blue

regards

Dave

 

[Dave 2000]

So, the ankle gets the all clear! And I got to do a bit more on the 80, need to start moving around and guarding the ankle but all in all pretty good. During the down time my hydraulic crimper arrived, something made me think it was a 20 ton unit but no it is a 'mere' 16 tons. The 70mm earth terminals mentioned earlier that did not fit in the 70mm crimper I had, now have been fitted using the new toy. As the hydraulic ram retracts and allows plenty of room for the 70mm crimp it looked as if it would squash it out of shape. So, I selected the jaws to suit 95mm cable, crimped the terminals on, and then hit them a second time with the 70mm jaws, looks great, I am a crimp and shrink tube and not a solder person so went that route. Of note, the OE earth cable on the engine block is crimped with no solder, and the fact it still worked after 21 years does bode well for the crimp camp IMO. So the battery to block earths are done, just need to fit the starter/alternator and fuse box cables.

Something else, during my enforced rest period, I was doing some retail therapy, (basically buying stuff I don't really need and wasting money), I saw a boiler temperature gauge, the type that is held on the pipe by a spring. I have a couple in the garage somewhere but thought, as they are cheap I would buy another set, and as we know these things side by side are rarely super accurate, so I bought FOUR! Laid them out, took photos, then put all four on the same pipe and checked again. TBH I was surprised that despite the price, all four were close in the temps they showed, two however were spot on. They were duly marked and one each was put on the top and bottom hoses of the LC radiator, I have already done the temperature sensor readings in the past but, for the record I noticed something else. At idle the engine would gain 4 - 5 degrees when the AC was on, nothing new there but, it is not from the condenser hot air passing through the engine radiator, (remember I have an electric engine fan), the rise in temperature is simply the workload applied by the AC compressor. We knew this from my previous readings when you are actually driving, i.e. air from condenser being forced through the engine cooling radiator and lifting the temps, but now we know the increase would show also (and accurately) at idle, sad that I (we) now know this but hey, what the hell.

regards

Dave

 

[Dave 2000]

Quick update. Factual fusible link ratings still have not been found, and I was determined to get rid of the 'pony' looking cables hanging off the positive battery terminal so I took another route.

Exiting the fusible link connector box are two wires, I thought they were different sizes but, one had an additional sheath so, the cables (one white the other black) are the same size. I was going to decide on fuse size based on cable size but cannot do that. The reason being that despite the cables being the same size the fusible links are not. The connecting terminals inside the box are also different to prevent the cables being put on the wrong fuse. This normally means that somewhere in the loom is a cable of less capacity. So, I removed one glow plug and tested it with an ammeter in line, and it pulled 7.8 amps @ 12.68 volts, within a few seconds the amperage drawn started to fall, and settled at around 6.8 amps, so with 6 glow plugs then we have a draw of around 41 amps, if the surge amperage across all six plugs is the same as the one tested, then overall surge should be ITR of 47 amps. We know the fuse will blow immediately at a dead short, as will a fusible link but FL's were used as they can 'hold' a higher amperage for longer than a fuse. Nowadays most fuses are built in with a surge protection of around double the rating.

After bolting the fuse box on the side of the auxiliary battery enclosure, I have chosen a 60 amp fuse for the main glow plug wire, this is the black one BTW, and a 50 for the other slightly smaller FL, if I have the FSM right, this feeds the timer and relays etc. I am open to suggestions to lower those two ratings if there is a strong enough argument? I am thinking drop a 40 amp in there for the lighter FL?

To the ignition FL, we know the main AM1 FL is 50 amps as per FSM, this is coloured black with a blue tracer, so a 50 amp in there. The other wire (red) I am still unsure about that one, so I have gone with 40 amps, this is the lowest Midi fuse I had, I will order up a 30 next week, judging by the cable thickness that would be more suitable.

FWIW, midi fuses will take a surge close to double the rating, so keep that in mind if you plan on offering any thoughts on fuse choice.

I fitted the second fuse box on the R/H inner wing, I then run a new 50mm cable from the alternator to the fuse box, I did order a 150 amp mega fuse but, I noticed the guy has given me a 125 amp, something else for next weeks order! I also fitted the 'cube' fuses on the main positive terminals, these are 250 amp versions, these will protect the cables in the event of a front end shunt, I did start the engine a number of times from the axillary battery on it's own, in effect simulating a flat starter battery, all was good.

Just a note for those who still have the small black box that Mr T offered as OE for accessories? The lower portion of the box is like a small 1/2 deep tray, and it is perfect for collecting water run off from the gutters! Mine was wet inside from a car wash a couple of days back, there is no drain, and I could clearly see there was some corrosion in progress on the terminals inside, so this is a possible failure point of the box is indeed being used.

regards

Dave

 

[Dave 2000]

For my info and other if need be. I can now confirm my #1 fuse box has fuses from left to right:

60 Amp for the glow plugs
50 Amp for the control circuit
50 Amp for 'AM 1' as per FSM
30 Amp replaces the other FL which has no rating, and is not listed in FSM, amperage based on cable size exiting the FL plug which is quite small, and I doubt there would be anything lighter in the loom given that Toyota felt it needed an FL in the first place.


#2 fuse box has from left to right:

50 Amp for electric engine cooling fan
50 Amp for power cable to rear (fridge, shower, camping lighting), the individual circuits in the rear have resettable circuit breakers.
40 Amp to be used for headlight power (dip/main)
40 Amp to be used for headlight power (dip/main)

Using a single fuse for opposite dip/main means a blown fuse will not leave one side of the car in darkness.


I have finally ordered a 12 volt starter, no it's true!! Yes I know that followers of this thread will recall I converted an old and cruddy 100 series unit about FOUR years ago for testing, and I was going to test 'for a short while'. Well we all know it works, and in fact many have copied which is cool. So now I will install the 'proper' 12v unit when it arrives sometime next week, the cable from the VSR down to the starter will also be replaced, that completes my comprehensive overall of the heavy cabling for start/charge/dual batteries/VSR/camping/solar charging.

All heavy cabling choice has been calculated to ensure voltage drop not only falls in the acceptable range' of 3 -4 %, (for 12v systems) but at present is actually 2.3 %. The worse case scenario is the need to pull power from the R/H battery to the starter, this is a run of about 2.3 metres of cabling. My present 3,000 watt starter can pull 250 amps, so the voltage drop is as per the 2.3 % mentioned, once the new starter goes in then the voltage drop will fall to under 2%.

Overkill? Of course it is......for some. For me it is all about being done 'for good', I hope to never have to address this area again during my lifetime, and of course if the 80 is no longer with me (no present reason to see that happening) then the next owner will have an easy time, and will have hopefully have this thread to follow.

When the starter is fitted I will update accordingly.

regards

Dave

 

[Dave 2000]

OK this is not exactly a revelation. I am going to fit 'Tanque' with some new boots and will be going up on size. I do pretty moderate off roading these days so just looking for a little extra.

I am going from stock to 285/75/16...WOW, I hear you say! Yes but you do not live in Spain right?

I am going to give a real time blow by blow account of exactly what has to be done to accommodate this huge size increase.

Today an email has gone to the translator, unless you are absolutely fluent then anything to do with legality/medical get one!

I am told this is the only way to do it legally, a couple of things I have found in the Murcia province (unsure about others), is that each modification is part of the project, you can do all the mods at once or one at a time, and you can also present the car for the modifications to be approved at any time of the year. Apparently it could only be done in November years back, something to do with less vehicle registrations during this time and thus the inspection stations were quieter?

21/05/2016:

Letter sent to translator, letter requests that she contacts an approved College of Spain qualified engineer to create a 'project', this is to be presented to the ITV (Inspection) station. The project requires a suitability confirmation that the fitment of a tyre with the size 285/75/16 will not render the vehicle unsafe, will not render the insurance null and void, and will be accepted throughout all provinces within Spain.

Keep you updated as and when

regards

Dave

 

[Mdej3]

You are doing and have done a wonderful work on your 80 sir.

Thank you for the time to share and thank you for the ideas.

 

[Dave 2000]

Dave 2000: do you have some photos you could post up?

You are doing and have done a wonderful work on your 80 sir.

Thank you for the time to share and thank you for the ideas.

Many thanks for your thoughts.

regards

Dave

 

[Dave 2000]

At last my starter has arrived from Oz....well actually it is in Spain but I have not seen it yet.

Today I received a letter informing me my starter was ready for delivery...............but:

I need to email the supplier for a 'factura' or receipt for the goods actual value.
They then send me the receipt via email.
I have to register with ADT postal
I send a copy of the bill to their website
Then a scan and copy of my tax number
Then a scan of the signed letter they sent me.
Then I have to fill out another letter, to answer the question, "what is the starter motor for?" I simply wrote "To start the engine in my car!"

In between all this I have had to input a shedload of data....that is already on the form they sent me!!

They calculate the import duty.
They email me the bill of duty.
I print off said bill of duty.
I go to the bank and pay the bill of duty.
I scan the receipt I get from the bank.
I send scan to back to the website
They inform Madrid by parcel can be sent to the local office so they can deliver it to me. r.

The letter I received informing me of this 'easy five step process' came with a big red stamp marked..............URGENT!! WTF???

This BS is done to discourage EU members from purchasing from places outside of the EU, and recently Obama was in the UK, telling the Brits how good it is for them to stay in the EU, does he not know that I get the same BS listed above when purchasing goods from the USA?

regards

Dave

 

[Dave 2000]

Well that did not go to well!!

I requested an invoice with no delivery charge on it, just the invoice for the starter. The company sent me two BOTH with delivery charge!

I then go on the Spanish website, and I have to register for parcels outside of the EU!

I register and then they want a copy of my tax form, so I scan that in.

Then enter the various numbers from the document they sent me.

The it wants a document that indicates what the parcel contents are, then where it is going WTF!! They know where it is going because it has the destination on the box, the same place they sent the letter for the import duty!!!

So I wrote a letter explain the starter motor will be used to start my engine and the destination is the same as original.

The turns out not to be acceptable, I have to download THEIR letter of use and destination, print it off and sign it, scan it and send it back!!

At this point I was about to throw the f*king laptop in the sea!

My Spanish is passable.......just. So I guessed it was ME that was finding it hard because of the language barrier, so I showed it to my American born ex partner, she is a language teacher here and owns her own school. She speaks (apart from the dodgy American English ), and is fluent in, Spanish, Italian, French, German, and not so fluent but passable Russian and some Chinese, AND EVEN SHE DID NOT UNDERSTAND THE DOCUMENT!

So we have politely requested help.

regards

Dave

 

[Dave 2000]

Update.

Finally got the roof rack painting finished, and the brackets I had fabbed up are now holding the RTT in place. Also changed the oil yesterday so 26/05/2016 @ 245,514 miles. And when looking back it seems I changed it just over two months ago, so only have covered 1,521 miles!

Damn my memory is getting worse.....but I do have a really clean engine! !

Still waiting on the Oz starter, held up by Spanish BS at customs, it has been sitting at Madrid for over two weeks now! I have never seen such a ridiculous system for parcel deliveries.............EVER!

Have a good weekend all.

regards

Dave

 

[Dave 2000]

Update time. So, I have applied for the tyre size to be altered from the stock 275/70/16 and increasing up to 285/75/16.

The engineer has confirmed it is a feasible modification, I have to send him the vehicle data information and the tyre specification? I am a bit confused by this, surely I should tell him the tyre size I want, and he specifies the rating?

I also need to send him around 220 euros( $245.00) as of today's currency exchange.

So moving on until I spoke to the insurance people, they advise they may not insure me as the modification could affect my policy conditions, waiting on the insurance company to get to the underwriters and see if they will approve the modification. The same procedure has to be gone through for fitting a snorkel!!!

And to the starter motor. I just know you are dying to find out if I got the starter from Oz yet...................NO NO NO !!!

I can confirm all of the hoops have been jumped through, just waiting for customs to release it. This is so farcical, I have written up the 'easy five step procedure'. I will post it up outside the local post office and see what they think of it? And so we know where I am on this 'easy five step procedure', it is step...................22!

regards

Dave

 

[Dave 2000]

Update, the starter motor finally made it's way to me, the 'new' import system absolutely sucks! 15 days from Oz to Spain 10,000 + miles, Madrid Spain to my home 19 days (circa 240 miles), using the new easy five step system, at last count there were 24 steps to get the starter! I will get around to fitting the starter later in the week if I get the time.

Also whilst in the garage, I decided the Isotherm fridge which I purchased second hand over four years ago, (I got it for the euro equivalent of $73.00!), I decided to give her a good check over before continuing with the drawer plans. I took it apart and there was some minor rust inside the motor housing but no apparent leaks. I gave the inside of the motor housing a coat of Hammerite paint, the outside as good as when I purchased. I also took out the old rotary thermostat and replaced it with a digital version.

Just got to get it all assembled up, going to run a relay from the new digital thermostat and controller, and down to the motor control.

The dashboard in/out temperature gauge is nearly finished, I have been promised a number of times that the proofs for my dashboard icons will be ready soon, but I have been waiting as patiently as I can for some time now. When it is ready I will do the two modifications at the same time.

regards

Dave

 

[Dave 2000]

The fridge is now back together, works brilliant, the new digital sensor seems to be accurate to within 1 degree. So that is another one of those jobs I am always 'going to get around to do' that has been sorted. No time for the starter install. so that is next week.

Re my additional dashboard indicator insert. My earlier attempts to have some LED's behind icons indicating what the cooling fan was dong and other 'stuff' just was not right. It looked as cheap and nasty as it sounds, I decided to call in some professional help, and after some delays, I yesterday got some really good news, the centre piece of 'dead fronted' material I have had designed has made great progress. and here is the first proof. The thin grey lines around the icons are normally there as boarders for the gear selected letters and illuminate when switching on, they will not be seen in the final product and were used for centering purposes only, so will keep it all nice and neat.

This replaces the 'gear selected' insert on the auto versions, on the manual it is a dead spot just waiting to be used.

So what does what?

Whenever any of the three red symbols are flashing Low oil pressure, engine (close to) overheating, and low radiator coolant, there is also a buzzer sounding.

The instant starting of the 80 diesel means the buzzer is only heard for a few seconds whilst the oil pressure builds. Although the stock 80 does not have an oil pressure switch, I fitted one way back but it was just to a flashing LED. Normal oil light switches tend to activate when the oil pressure is around 5psi or less, my switch is adjustable and is set at 20 psi, so the buzzer is sounding and the light is on for around 3-4 seconds when starting from cold and perhaps a 1 -2 seconds when hot, certainly not enough to bother you. Anyone who has held a truck licence would recognise the sound as the air pressure builds after standing overnight, so not an issue.

If you were doing work which needed the ignition on but engine off, the buzzer would drive you bonkers, so there is a switch on the centre console with a cover guard so the buzzer cannot be switched off accidently, when activated the buzzer is silent and the very top amber icon flashes, the other red lights will also continue to flash.

Next amber icon is the 'fan disabled' warning. If wading, then I can switch off the electric engine cooling fan (again with a guarded switch), the icon continues flashing until the fan is re-enabled.

The red icons I have mentioned but are self explanatory anyway.

The remaining two icons are indictors as to what the electric engine cooling fan is doing. It is a two speed unit, green for slow and amber indicates fast. TBH under normal conditions I have never seen the fan go into the second speed, such is the efficiency of the slow speed even when in traffic and 45 C. But, to ensure I have seriously cool AC, the second speed of the fan is switched on when the AC trinary switch calls for it.

Some good progress now, just working out if I can get the in/out temp indicator in the same spot as the OE clock?

regards

Dave

 

[Dave 2000]

Finally the Oz starter was installed today! I also run a new 70mm cable to the VSR, crimped the ends on, added heat shrink tubing, finalised by sliding down convoluted plastic cable armour.

Twisted the key and she fired up with no fuss, the 12 volt starter I modified to fit, still works fine, and will make a good spare, another one knocked off the list.

regards

Dave