Wiring help (1 Viewer)

[deliverance]

Getting ready to install a 78’ distributor in my 74’ cruiser to upgrade to vac advance. I purchased a coil/igniter off an FJ60, since I didn’t have the 78 parts.

The 40 was re-wired with a painless harness before I bought it. Can anyone point me to a diagram to wire the igniter/coil properly?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Ming89FJ62]

this is for a 75 FJ40...best I could do

 

[deliverance]

Thanks for the pic! I was hoping someone could lay out the wiring for me in layman’s terms since I don’t have the factory harness in the truck.

 

[workingdog]

We have no idea how a painless harness might be wired up to your coil. Can you post pictures? And even then we may not be able to help.

 

[deliverance]

Yeah, I’ll post pics when I get home.

 

[thebigredrocker]

I'm pretty sure FJ40Jim has written about this. I found a few related posts. If you search posted by member —>FJ40Jim you'll find a honey pot of 78-87 dissy/Coil/Ignitor facts.

All the 78-87 dissys and ignitors are compatible with each other. So a 79 dissy will trigger an 82 ignitor, or vice-versa.

The wiring from ignitor to truck body changes slightly, but the coil to dissy wiring and impedance is the same.

Which ignitor?

Larry,
Which type of ignitor?
75-77: use w/ points dissy
78-80: black box, use w/ lectronic dissy
81-87: aluminum finned box, use w/ electronic dissy

If it is the aluminum ignitor, wiring is ultra simple:
The wire that goes to the + terminal on coil, is the wire that gets +12V power.

The other wire goes directly to ignitor, that is tach output.

Ground is through the mounting feet, so make sure those are clean, and apply some grease when mounting, to prevent future corrosion.

How 'bout an 81-87 Cruiser coil & ignitor? It'll spark down below 10volts, so it's easy to start. Open the plug gaps to .045 and use metal wires and it'll make a hella spark. And it plugs into your current 78-80 dissy. And it only needs one 12V power wire.

 

[deliverance]

Here’s what I have.

 

[deliverance]

So, if I’m reading Jim’s post correct all I need to do is hook up the painless ignition wire (12v) to the positive on the coil and make sure I have a good ground.

What about the wires coming from the distributor? I’ve got 2 plugs: one with a red and white wire, the other with a single dingy white wire.

I assume the plug with two wires is for the distributor. Looks like the single wire may be the 12v source, since it’s connected to the coil +.

Just don’t want to fry anything.

 

[FJ40Jim]

The pictured distributor is a toyota early 70s points dissy. Not compatible with an electronic ignitor.

 

[deliverance]

The pictured distributor is a toyota early 70s points dissy. Not compatible with an electronic ignitor.

That’s correct, that’s why I’m replacing it with one from my parts 78’

 

[FJ40Jim]

Post a pic of the 78 dissy, showing all the wires.

 

[deliverance]

Post a pic of the 78 dissy, showing all the wires.

Jim, this is the best picture I have right now. Can get a better one when I get home. If you look close, you’ll see a red and white wire coming from the distributor that have been cut pretty short. I’ll obviously have to fix those.

Thanks for the help.

 

[emac]

This may or may not help. I am thinking you need to bypass the ignitor.....several threads on how to do that. Then, I would search for threads on wiring a Trollhole electronic dizzy, as I believe it is wired the same way as the one you have. I could be all wet, but some of those posts may get you started.

 

[FJ40Jim]

It is possible to bypass the 75-77 ignitor and let the distributor points do the work of firing the coil.
Not possible to bypass the 78-later ignitor and use the magnetic pickup to fire the coil.

To OP: yes, that is a 1978 dissy. It is vacuum advance & retard. Only connect vac to the advance fitting, which is the outer, horizontal fitting.
The red & white pickup wires will need repaired & extended to reach the pickup harness of the FJ60 ignitor. Keep the red & white wires lined up from dissy to ignitor harness. There are no other wires on a 78 dissy, just the paired pickup wires.
The coil&ignitor gets +12V ignition power applied to the coil + wire.
Done.

 

[deliverance]

It is possible to bypass the 75-77 ignitor and let the distributor points do the work of firing the coil.
Not possible to bypass the 78-later ignitor and use the magnetic pickup to fire the coil.

To OP: yes, that is a 1978 dissy. It is vacuum advance & retard. Only connect vac to the advance fitting, which is the outer, horizontal fitting.
The red & white pickup wires will need repaired & extended to reach the pickup harness of the FJ60 ignitor. Keep the red & white wires lined up from dissy to ignitor harness. There are no other wires on a 78 dissy, just the paired pickup wires.
The coil&ignitor gets +12V ignition power applied to the coil + wire.
Done.

Jim- Thank you, I appreciate your help!