truck is an 85 toyota pickup. 22re (fuel injected)
tonight on my way home from work my stero and dash died all of a sudden.
so i pulled over and shut the truck off thinking my headlights were out as well.
headlights do work though. headlights and hazards work.
dashlights, gauges, signals, cab lights, and starter all got nothing.
checked the battery, and its fine.
pushstarted the truck and it fired up, so i started going again seeing as my headlights still worked.
all of a sudden everything came back on for about 5 seconds and then died again.
truck ran fine all the way home, about another 20 minutes.
checked all the fuses in the fuse box under the hood and in the cab by the drivers feet and they are all fine.
any ideas?
i cant figure out why the headlights work and hazards, but the signals and everything else dont.

im clueless.
thanks
Joe

 

i had the same problem. mine was an easy fix. the owner before me had the truck setup to tow so he wired into the tail lights and the wires were shorting. quick snip and that was fixed. might be time to fallow all your wring for some shorts

 

truck worked great for 2 and a half weeks, but i dont have anything else to try so ill give it a shot.

 

sounds like when my alt went out. does your charge light come on?

headlights are running straight off battery juice, thats why they still work

 

i second alternator. my truck used to do this alot, with loose wiring connection on the alternator... once it was started it was fine, but nothing but the head lights would work, dash lights were very dim, wouldn't start when I stopped because the headlights drained the battery.

 

well its fixed.
ground wasnt the problem, i tried jumping the battery straight to the block and fender. i knew it wasnt the alternator cause the battery had full charge, and when an alternator dies you notice the drain slowly, not all of a sudden, and then comes back for a minute and then die again. and the charge light was not on. lol none of the lights were on.
it was a fuse of sorts, but the reason i didnt catch it at first was it was missing!
the 80amp main fuse wasnt there, (im a hotdog for not noticing this at first, but this is my first fuel injected vehicle) and thats why i couldnt check it.
previous owner had jumped it with a paper clip.
replaced it with the proper fuse, hit a speed bump and it blew.
so started tracing wires.
there was a wire grounding out on the driver side fender on the inside. didnt check to see what it went to, but there was a plastic wrap aound it where it conected that was broken.
also taped up a few wires that might have been grounding out on the frame.
popped in a new fuse and it has worked all today, so i figure i got it fixed.

i can only guess that the fuse blew a couple times on the previous owner and he got lazy and jumped the fuse with the paper clip.

on another note, i figured out why it was hard to start when cold. the water temp sensor was unplugged!
haha the things you find when you buy a used vehicle.
thanks for the help guys.
Joe

 

Can the alternator also be the cause of this issue? I was driving home the other day and wile i was on the freeway boom nothing no gages no lights no heater. Everything stopped working engine was still running so I got it home, but now I'm just scratching my head...

Thanks

 

no u have a fuse that has gone out or a wire that has gone bad.

 

yep it's the 80 A fuse. but how the hell am i supposed to get it out? i tried pulling it but it just broke.

Thanks

 

might just have to bust it out the rest of the way. i thought u just pull it out but guess not. i dont think has a screw or bolt holding it in. but i could be wrong,

 

I had the same problem with mine..I didn't disconnect the battery when I put in a new alternator and grounded it out..Blew the main fuse, pulled and broke it off and just stuck a wire in there to get it around for a while. I eventually fixed it, I used the old 100amp fuse block I had left over from the system I had..works great and its easier to change out if needed.

 

hey all. I just replaced the 80A and still having the same problem. Ive also replaced the ground wire and it just dies in the middle of running fine. After sitting for a bit (or a while, a few times as im moving) it starts to work again...? I have been leaving the key in the on position in order to hear (lovely buzzer) when its magically ready to work again. I also by passed the ignition switch. So, head lights and horn work but ignition/warning lights are terribly intermittent. Any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks

 

After messing with it some more today I'm still having the same problem. Nothing looks out of order with the ignition switch wires and for the heck of it I ran a new ground to the fire wall. I'm not the best with electrical issues but I'm really bad at taking my car to an unknown mechanic. Thanks, stephen

 

Also I timed the run time at 4.5 mins (just idling) and it took 14 mins for the electrical to turn on again.

 

Just realized this was a 84/85 specific forum. Sorry for my lack of straight axle 

 

I kinda had the same problem in my 85 EFI

The truck runs fine after starting, then (usually going down the highway and in the most inopportune place like Houston rush hour traffic) the truck dies completely. The voltmeter shows a higher charge on the dash guage when running. I have checked all the grounds, replaced power wires to the main fuse box and all the usual suspects. I dont have any extra electrical add-ons wired to the electrical system, though it is planned in the future. I want this figured out before I do so.

The strange thing is once I jump off the truck with a battery pack or booster cables, It runs fine and no more probs.

The positive terminal has a little slack in it on the battery. Its not between the battery clamp and terminal but the terminal itself is loose ( about 1/16th of an inch play or so)

I recently picked up a new 120 amp alt and new Optima red top.

Just wanted to see if there was anything I might have overlooked.