Unknown Control!

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

F

fjlh

Joined
May 28, 2026
Threads
1
Messages
4
Location
UK
Hi there,

I am posting to find out about a control, on a buddy's FJ62 that he's recently bought. We've looked everywhere, and can't find what on earth it does! Doesn't seem to do a thing!

Under the steering wheel and to the right, on a RHD FJ62, there is a brown plastic panel/housing, with a circular orange faced pull handle. Next to it is the bonnet release. The housing looks very OEM, which makes me think it's not some aftermarket addition, but the manual has zero reference to this pull knob!

There's a snakes wedding of wiring behind this panel, all connected to various relays, and whilst I have a multimeter, I haven't a clue how I could start testing this to narrow down where it leads to, without pulling all sorts of fascias. So I thought it better to just ask on here in case someone has the same knob.

I've attached an image of the aforementioned knob. Thanks in advance!

IMG_1117.webp
 
On a LHD 60 series, that location would hold the hand throttle knob. If it was still a hand throttle, there would be a simple wire cable leading from the back of the knob to the top of the accelerator pedal mechanism. I'm sure you would have seen that right away, so my guess is that the hand throttle was removed by a previous owner and replaced with some other type of knob for some other purpose. What that purpose might be is anybody's guess.
 
if you mean the orange painted knob, on my hj61 that is the fuel door release. If you mean the electrical connection to the left of the hand throttle, I have no idea, my hj61 didn't have anything in that spot, just a blank hole about 5/8" wide.
 
I'm a little confused, am I seeing a choke knob and a glow plug indicator light on the same vehicle? If so, is this a gasser or a diesel?
 
It’s a diesel, but it’s carbureted!

The manual does indicate a fuel door release in that location, but this knob is more “binary” - not a cable under tension, but two positions it clicks between: in or out. And electrical connections behind. And the fuel door has a keyhole to be manually operated anyway so not sure how a release lever would work with that!
 
US LHD 62s have a dash lights dimmer and rear mirror control between steering and driver door. Could it be either of these? The fuse panel is also on this side with the door facing forward
 
If it’s an FJ62, it’s not a diesel (unless swapped) .

If it’s a diesel, it’s not carbureted.

North American FJ62 fuel doors have both key and cable release: it can be done! Haha.
 
You’ll have to bear with me, I’m new to this Land Cruiser business, so if I say anything incorrect then I apologise!

As far as I’m aware, it’s never been swapped. It’s definitely definitely diesel, and it’s definitely carbureted (as it has a choke). G reg, meaning it’s first registered between August ‘89 and July ‘90. And it’s got the rectangular front lights, not the round lights of an FJ60. And the interior is very much FJ62 rather than 60. 2H engine, 6cyl 4.0L diesel. I’m told it’s an FJ60RG.

I am aware though, that a carbureted diesel is a contradiction in terms. I’d not really questioned that till you’ve now mentioned it!
 
fjlh said:
You’ll have to bear with me, I’m new to this Land Cruiser business, so if I say anything incorrect then I apologise!

As far as I’m aware, it’s never been swapped. It’s definitely definitely diesel, and it’s definitely carbureted (as it has a choke). G reg, meaning it’s first registered between August ‘89 and July ‘90. And it’s got the rectangular front lights, not the round lights of an FJ60. And the interior is very much FJ62 rather than 60. 2H engine, 6cyl 4.0L diesel. I’m told it’s an FJ60RG.

I am aware though, that a carbureted diesel is a contradiction in terms. I’d not really questioned that till you’ve now mentioned it!
Click to expand...
It's definitely not carbureted if it's diesel. Someone may have fitted a butterfly valve in the intake as an emergency shutdown, but it definitely doesn't (or should not) have a carb attached to it.

Why don't you take a picture of the engine?
 
The confusion might be due to you saying “FJ62”. The ‘F’ refers to the petrol engine. What you have here sounds like an HJ60. If it was an HJ60RG, that would be Asia/Australia/Middle East spec, but I’m assuming Japanese import based on the fact it’s 24V and RHD.

When you say it has a choke, are you referring to the hand throttle that’s above the fuse panel? That was standard on diesels, I believe.

I’ve never seen an Australian HJ60 with that extra panel under the fuse cover. They all look like mine, with the bonnet release latch underneath:

IMG_1525.webp
 
Okay, I've done a bit more digging looking at parts diagrams for various configurations.

What you have appears to be the 'England Spec' for the HJ60RG-MNW, manufactured from 08/87 until the end of 60 series production in 1990. The 'protector, control knob' and 'cover sub-assy, instrument panel under' which are in your photo (and I've not seen anywhere else) show up on the parts diagram here. Unfortunately, this just lists part 55477A as 'bezel, cigarette lighter hole' which seems to be a re-used part to blank it, and I can't find what would actually go in that spot

1780185170076.webp



As for the PO-installed orange knob, my guesses would be a manual way to control the glow system, a control for some other accessory like spotlights, or a poorly-concealed killswitch (or maybe it's a decoy for a very well-concealed killswitch).
 
Last edited:
As you are in the UK, if it's a UK delivered vehicle, it can only be an HJ60, as that was the only model supplied.

The orange knob is an aftermarket addition, so you'll have to investigate yourself.

Diesels do not have a carburettor. They do not actively mix/meter air and fuel. The knob which shows a throttle and looks like a choke (and Toyota owe us an explanation for this, as diesels of that era do not have a throttle) is a 'hand throttle' for locking the accelarator pedal in position to raise idle, or for control when driving on very rough tracks.
 
All, this is incredible!

Thank you very much for the info and sleuthing, as diesellibrarian so well put it!

To me, that colour of knob just screams fog light. My suspicion is that someone has previously fitted auxiliary lights, and has since removed the lights, but not bothered to remove the control. Meaning my task now is to trace the wiring, follow it, and see if I'm right!

I'll let this thread know when I have a more conclusive answer.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Back
Top Bottom