Need some help with minor electrical issues

[DHC6twinotter]

Hey all,

So, on my new 3rd gen, I've got some minor electrical glitches I'm trying to get fixed.

When I bought the 4Runner a week ago, I noticed that the clock didn't work, the rear window switch didn't light up (but ran the window fine), the rear defrost switch back light didn't light up (but the orange light worked when activated), and my ash tray light didn't work.

So, I wanted to figure out why the clock didn't work. I took the dash apart, and, as I suspected, the clock wasn't even plugged in. I don't even know where the connector is, but I'm guessing whoever installed the aftermarket stereo used it to draw power.

Well, I figured I'd work on the clock another day, and after putting the dash back together, my rear window switch doesn't work. I pulled the dash apart again and double checked the connector. It's on tight. However, on my way home from the store tonight, the window switch light started working (which never worked at all). Still no control of the back window though. Two of the ports on the plug are getting around 11.5V. Now all of a sudden, neither of the lights on my defrost switch light up.

I don't know if the ash tray light is just burned out, or part of the problem too.

Also, is the "passenger seat belt" indicator supposed to have a back light too?

Anyways, I'm not the greatest at electrical stuff, so any help would be awesome.

Thanks,
Daniel

[4x4mike]

My defrost light is somewhat intermittent in working and it sounds like your rear window up and down is the same way. I don't mind it so I haven't looked into it. I'll have to check on my passenger side seat belt and get back to you. If you have anything over 30 pounds in the passenger side seat the red light turns on thinking there is a person in the seat. When I help people move that light turns on when it has crap on it. The ash try bulb is a little guy and you can access it when you have the dash bezel off. As for the rear window not opening, make sure you don't have the window lock on or the rear wipers on. The window lock button is a little guy on the door near the power window switches. If the rear wiper is on or on intermittent the window won't go down either.

[YotaFun]

Dan,
I have to book on the wiring diagram at home
(since I an doing the 99 conversion).
I will look up some stuff for you, though you said an aftermarket stereo was installed?

Does it looked like they spliced into the stock harness to adapt it to the radio one or did they actually use and adapter?
I am sure they got the stereo installed by a hack.

Once I get some diagrams for you, if you find that the connector for the clock is completely gone I can order you another one and you can get that fixed and then get that stereo wired up right too.

[DHC6twinotter]

My defrost light is somewhat intermittent in working and it sounds like your rear window up and down is the same way. I don't mind it so I haven't looked into it. I'll have to check on my passenger side seat belt and get back to you. If you have anything over 30 pounds in the passenger side seat the red light turns on thinking there is a person in the seat. When I help people move that light turns on when it has crap on it. The ash try bulb is a little guy and you can access it when you have the dash bezel off. As for the rear window not opening, make sure you don't have the window lock on or the rear wipers on. The window lock button is a little guy on the door near the power window switches. If the rear wiper is on or on intermittent the window won't go down either.


Thanks Mike! Turns out my window lock switch was in the locked position. Doh! I feel dumb. I must have bumped it while looking for another switch or something. I wouldn't have guessed it locks the rear window anyways. I'm not sure what I did to get the switch to light up, but as long as it works, I'm happy.

I'll play around with the defrost button a bit, but It's not as big a deal.

Mike, does your passenger seat belt have a backlight, or is it just the red light that blinks? My red light works, I just don't know if the part that says "passenger seat belt" is actually supposed to have a green back light or not.



Dan,
I have to book on the wiring diagram at home
(since I an doing the 99 conversion).
I will look up some stuff for you, though you said an aftermarket stereo was installed?

Does it looked like they spliced into the stock harness to adapt it to the radio one or did they actually use and adapter?
I am sure they got the stereo installed by a hack.

Once I get some diagrams for you, if you find that the connector for the clock is completely gone I can order you another one and you can get that fixed and then get that stereo wired up right too.


Thanks Avy! I'm not sure what they did to the clock harness. It has been pulled back out of the loom and tucked back behind the CD player. I can't even see it. I'm going to have to pull out the CD player before seeing how they butchered the clock plug. I don't have time to work on this today, but I'll try to get to it tomorrow.


Also, do the window switches light up? None of mine do except the driver's window switch. It seems like I remember Sean's window switches lighting up in the back, but maybe I'm thinking of somebody else s vehicle.

My glove box light works. :hillbill:

[Seanz0rz]

i believe only my driver's window switch lights up. shouldnt be different on the later models. maybe it is.

i am glad it was just the window lock switch. i forgot these vehicles even have one, i have never used mine!

[DHC6twinotter]

Cool...thanks Sean. Thanks for all the help last night too!

My 2nd gen 4runner has a window lock switch specifically for the back window. My new one doesn't, but I guess the switch that locks all the other windows also locks the rear window. Seems kinda pointless to me.

[4x4mike]

My passenger belt letters to do light up. Keep in mind the rear defrost has an auto shut off. I think it's 20 minutes or so but it'll turn off and you know it's off when the orange light goes out.

[DHC6twinotter]

Thanks Mike. My orange defrost light is working now. Not sure why, but oh well. :laugh:

So, looks like I've just got to figure out why the backlight for the defrost and passenger seat belt indicator doesn't work. I spent the afternoon trying to find new fog light ground screws, so I didn't get a chance to work on the clock and radio yet. If the rain holds off, I'll work on it for a bit in a few minutes.

I also have to change a bulb behind the AC controls.

[Bob98SR5]

dan,

sounds like you're on the right track. i know that two of the harnesses back behind the bezel use the same connectors. sounds like a botched stereo install.

have you tried doing a continuity test on the defrost switch itself? as for the passenger seat belt indicator, there should be a tiny ass white harness that comes from underneath the carpet and plugs right into a hanging female harness coming from the seat.

Bob

[DHC6twinotter]

Hey guys, sorry I didn't get around to working on this last weekend. I got sidetracked on other projects and reading that cool trip report on expo. Hopefully, I'll get to work on it some this weekend, along with replacing my fog light bulbs (waiting on new ground screws for those---the old ones were really stripped).

Thanks for the input Bob. I haven't done a continuity test on the defrost switch yet, but I'll do that, along with the seat belt light too. I agree about the botched stereo install too. I'm wondering if when they cut the loom to pull out the clock harness, they accidentally nicked some of the wires for the backlights.

My window switch backlight went out again too. :hillbill:

Anyways, I appreciate you all's help, and I'm sorry I'm being so slow at working on this.

[4x4mike]

Small incandescent bulbs have sturdy filaments. I'm wondering if yours are broken but once in a while the filament will catch and work, then pop out again and the light go out. If in doubt replace the bulb. You can check for power at the wire once you're in there just to make sure. I think the little orange light on the defrost button might be an LED so it has no filaments. My orange light always works but the back light for that button is off every once in a while. When it's not on I push the button kind of hard, ON-OFF-ON until it turns on. It'll stay on for a couple of months after that. Maybe that's why my defroster doesn't work?

[DHC6twinotter]

Cool, so the bulbs inside the switches are replaceable then?

[DHC6twinotter]

Nevermind, I just found some pics and diagrams that showed the bulbs in a circuit board behind there. I assumed the bulbs were actually inside each switch.

[4x4mike]

Cool, so the bulbs inside the switches are replaceable then?


Oh I don't know about the door. They might be surface mounted LED's which can be replaced but are harder to source and then require some intricate soldering.

[DHC6twinotter]

Sorry, I was referring to rear window switch, defrost switch, and passenger seat belt light. There is a circuit board behind the defrost switch, and another circuit board behind the seat belt light. From what I can tell, the bulbs just go into the circuit board next to the actual buttons. The window switch appears to be just a regular switch with a replaceable bulb, but not sure on that. [edit] The window switch is actually part of the circuit board as well. There is a bulb on the board for the window switch.

[DHC6twinotter]

Well, for snot covered horses, I got my clock to work. Turns out whoever did the stereo install put the clock plug into the fake plug next to the window/defrost plug (why is this even here???). So, I was wrong about installer(s) using the clock wires for the stereo. I switched the plug around and the clock works. :confused: On automatic models, the ECT and clock would use the same style plug, which is what Bob was referring to earlier. Or maybe the window would have its own plug with the ECT and defrost sharing the same style plug as the clock. Or maybe all functions share the same plug. I dunno. :headscratch: :hillbill:

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a256/DH6twinotter/4Runner/IMG_3288.jpg

So, now I've just got to figure out the backlights on the switches. It turns out my window switch/light and the defrost switch/light use the same plug. I'm going to go out and see if I can find some bulbs.

Here are the circuit boards I was referring too earlier.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a256/DH6twinotter/4Runner/IMG_3293.jpg

I noticed the plug for the passenger seat belt indicator only has two wires. If mine has a backlight, wouldn't I need 4 wires (two for the backlight and two for the red flashing light)? Orange plug in this picture.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a256/DH6twinotter/4Runner/IMG_3285.jpg

And the Stereo install doesn't look as bad as I had anticipated.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a256/DH6twinotter/4Runner/IMG_3284.jpg

The yellow and black wires with splices go down to power the satellite receiver (I guess that's what it is).

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a256/DH6twinotter/4Runner/IMG_3289.jpg

[DHC6twinotter]

Here is something else I'm trying to figure out:

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a256/DH6twinotter/4Runner/IMG_3297.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a256/DH6twinotter/4Runner/IMG_3295.jpg

I don't know what the LED on the left is supposed to do. At first I thought about it being the backlight for the "passenger" label. However, it doesn't really align with the sticker. The LED is about 3/4 inch too far to the left, and there doesn't appear to be any clear plastic to redirect the light.

I'm wondering if there is a generic circuit board that Toyota uses for various models, and this LED may not even work for my model. The female plug on the back of the circuit board has 6 prongs, but the male plug only has two prongs and two wires. Do other 4Runners have any other indicator next to the passenger seat belt light? Maybe an airbag or seat heater indicator? :headscratch:

[YotaFun]

Dan, the Passenger letters do not get back lit.
As long as I can remember stepdad's 02 never was back lit either.

I remember once seeing a passenger and security on that side, but I don't think that ran long, so that second LED could have been for when they had the security light there.

I don't know why they have that plug there that looks like the same plug for the Clock.

I have an Auto and the 99 Radio Bezel to accompany it, and mine is the same way.
The ECT works through the same plug for the window down and defrost, but you shouldn't need to worry about that.

[DHC6twinotter]

lol...I guess that fake plug is there just to confuse people. I'll have to go back and edit some posts. :confused:

An alarm indicator for that other LED makes sense too. I noticed some images with a small hole in the cover piece, but wasn't sure what it was for.

I guess I can cross off fixing the "passenger" light, since there isn't really one there.

So, left on my list, I still have to fix the window switch and defrost backlight. Also, I noticed my clutch start cancel switch light is out, so I'll add that to the list. :hillbill:

I'm thinking about changing all my dash lights to white LEDs since I'm having to replace so many bulbs as it is. My eyesight isn't the greatest in the dark, and I think the white light would be a bit better. So far, this dash seems way easier to tear apart then my 2nd gen.

Oh, and my climate control bulb on my 2nd gen decided to go out a couple days ago. After 10 years of never having to replace an interior bulb on my 2nd gen, it decides to go out while I'm working on the 3rd gen bulbs. :roll:

[Bob98SR5]

dan,

yup thats what i was referring to, but i couldnt remember there was a female unused harness plug. glad ou figured it out.

[paddlenbike]

The "passenger" lettering does not backlight. Limited models have a security light in that part of the cluster, that's probably the LED you're seeing.

[4x4mike]

Yep

http://consumerguideauto.howstuffworks.com/2002-toyota-4runner-4dr-limited-3.4l-auto-4wd-natl-photos.htm?photo=395643&perspective=interior]http://consumerguideauto.howstuffworks.com/2002-toyota-4runner-4dr-limited-3.4l-auto-4wd-natl-photos.htm?photo=395643&perspective=interior

[DHC6twinotter]

Thanks guys! Kinda interesting. I guess Toyota just used the same circuit board to save money.

So far, all my little electrical issues have been stupid fixes. Hopefully the others are the same way. I almost feel like a retard for even starting this thread. lol. :hillbill:

What do you all think about LED dash lights?

[YotaFun]

What do you all think about LED dash lights?


You have to get the right ones since the way it illuminates the dash is the light shines into a plastic piece and spreads like fiber-optics

I have been meaning to do it too, since I am so use to the Camry and the bright lights of it.

[paddlenbike]

I am really a fan of white gauge backlighting and bright red needles. But it has to be done right using current regulated superflux LEDs. If you use the 5mm LEDs you will just see the hotspots. I would consider doing it but there is so much that lights up in these trucks--window switches, clocks, etc., so I'll be leaving mine vintage green.

http://www.roadfly.com/new-cars/wp-content/uploads/gallery/2008-subaru-outback/subaru-outback-gauges.jpg

[DHC6twinotter]

Hey guys, sorry I'm so lousy about keeping you all updated, but I figured I'd go ahead and do an update.

I did get my clock and all the dash lights working a while ago. The lights behind the defrost button and ash tray were just burned out bulbs, and the other light behind the rear window switch seems to have been some loose wires. I did go ahead and replace the window switch bulb while I was at it though. So far, everything has been working perfectly. :thumbup:

I decided not to do the LED dash lights. I really like the white light look that Ken posted, but I couldn't find any LED bulbs that I liked. There seems to be some pretty good options for the older 3rd gens, but not much for mine.

BTW, my passenger window switch on the passenger door does have a backlight. :D

Thanks for the help guys!