No Power at all

[mbplace]

77 fj40 — cruiser has been super reliable for the past couple years, replaced the starter about 6 months and it hasn’t missed a beat.

With that being said, went out to drive it today and zero power whatsoever. Drove it last week, cold start cranked right up and now nothing. Not even electrical accessories working when I try to crank

Checked all the fuses, everything seems to be in order. Been raining a lot but I keep it covered, little bit of water pools on the drivers side but nothing crazy.

Question here — what are the odds the rain shorted something out? Is it possible that the starter switch just went bad? How can I find the source of this electrical issue? Battery has a full charge and I haven’t touched anything since the last time I drove it. Checked all connections I can and can’t find anything that looks out of place

 

[JohnnyC]

fuseable link off the battery … checked that yet?

 

[69FJ40NJ]

Mine did that and it was a neutral safety switch. I jumped it and it started right up.
Just a thought.

 

[mbplace]

fuseable link off the battery … checked that yet?

I don’t even see a disable link off the battery, how would I be able to identify that?

 

[mbplace]

I don’t even see a disable link off the battery, how would I be able to identify that?

Is this it coming off the starter solenoid? Bottom red wire

 

[Mark W]

Have you confirmed that the battery has is not dead? Have you checked your battery terminals. Checked then closely?

Mark...

 

[charliemeyer007]

That looks like corrosion on the connection you referenced. I would pull the battery connection and clean the terminals. Inspect the wire at the connection, corrosion can crawl under the insulation. Inspect and clean every connection. Ignition switch could be bad, I have had that happen.

 

[JohnnyC]

Fusible Links

'78 Fusible link........really?

So recently I cleaned up my battery cables and connections and noticed that what appears to be my "fusible link" has no fuse! A friend said his old Nissan "fusible link" was nothing more than a short run of a different type of wire designed to fail if overloaded. Is this what Toyota does also...

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[Aloha Jen]

Fusible link comes right off the positive battery post. The photo below shows two on the bottom left.

If it’s not a fried fusible link, you might want to do a thorough check of all your grounds.

 

[sggoat]

that link failure could cause what you are reporting

 

[mbplace]

Thanks for all the input — looks like I’m missing a ground from the starter to the frame so will install today. Also going to replace the automatic reset circuit (looks like I have that instead of a fusable link) while I’m at it.

What are the odds I fried the starter without having it properly grounded? Last one didn’t have it so I overlooked

 

[mbplace]

Have you confirmed that the battery has is not dead? Have you checked your battery terminals. Checked then closely?

Mark...

Checking all of this in the process. Can confirm a full charge

 

[Mark W]

What are the odds I fried the starter without having it properly grounded? Last one didn’t have it so I overlooked

zero

Mark...

 

[mbplace]

Gave it a whirl — still nothing. Decided to try a jump with my daily and it fired right up for a minute then died — now still no crank without jumpers but it turns over when jumpers are hooked up.

At this point is it a bad battery or bad starter? Battery has charge so strange it doesn’t fire when I turn the ignition

 

[mbplace]

Gave it a whirl — still nothing. Decided to try a jump with my daily and it fired right up for a minute then died — now still no crank without jumpers but it turns over when jumpers are hooked up.

At this point is it a bad battery or bad starter? Battery has charge so strange it doesn’t fire when I turn the ignition

By starter I mean ignition switch

 

[Mark W]

How are you determining that the battery has a charge? How did you verify that the connections at the battery terminals are good?

Mark...

 

[charliemeyer007]

You need to have the battery load tested - It might have full voltage but no amps. The battery can go bad at any time without warning. If your battery terminals are clean and tight, then the little extra force from the jumper cables isn't making any difference in the connection. Same goes for you IGN switch - it works when the jumper battery is connected - means your battery is bad.

 

[Mark W]

You need to have the battery load tested - It might have full voltage but no amps. The battery can go bad at any time without warning. If your battery terminals are clean and tight, then the little extra force from the jumper cables isn't making any difference in the connection. Same goes for you IGN switch - it works when the jumper battery is connected - means your battery is bad.

It's not that simple. And it is not a matter of the jumper cable clamping the battery terminals tighter or not. Jumper cables bypass the connection between the battery posts and the cable ends. The jump start is providing power from the other battery. A corroded or dirty or oxidized post to terminal interface can prevent a good battery from being able to get the electricity into the battery cables. This too can happen with little prior indication if you are not very much attuned to the quirks of your vehicle and savvy as to what the itty bitty little signs are telling you.


Mark...

 

[mbplace]

How are you determining that the battery has a charge? How did you verify that the connections at the battery terminals are good?

Mark...

My jumper cables have a volt meter on them and it showed the same for my cruiser as my daily at 12.5

Cleaned them up with a tooth brush and paper towel the reattached so I don’t see how that could be the case.

Will get the battery checked tomorrow.

Thanks for the input! Good to know my electrical isn’t fried after getting it to turn over today

 

[Mark W]

You need to have the battery load tested - It might have full voltage but no amps. The battery can go bad at any time without warning. If your battery terminals are clean and tight, then the little extra force from the jumper cables isn't making any difference in the connection. Same goes for you IGN switch - it works when the jumper battery is connected - means your battery is bad.

Note also that he says that he has zero electrical power. A completely dead battery might do this, but a weak battery... one that shows 12V but just can't kick out the amps... will not fail to power anything and everything at all.

The battery does absolutely need to be load tested. But his reported symptoms to this point do not definitely point to this as the problem.

Mark...