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Got a bit of work done tonight. Got the push bar all wire wheeled down, acid primed, and then painted. Went to install it on the truck and, surprise surprise, it doesn't fit. Apparently there's something different between an 87 bumper and an 88. Anyways, had to take it back off and grind/cut/paint it, but it turned out great. The front still doesn't line up perfect so I'll need to make a spacer for those bolts, but its pretty sturdy with the 4 frame bolts holding it on.
I also dug out my old ProComp Explorer odfroad lights. they, apparently, spent some time living in rusty water. It's ok, I got them cleaned up and tried to test fit them, but they wouldn't fit. What did fit, however, was Doomy's old Baja Designs Stealth light bar. It didn't fit, but I think I'll be able to easily make a mount for it.
I think its come time for me to ask for help for a specific problem that ive been having. ive mentioned it before, but now i need to fix it.
there is an issue with my electrical somewhere. The issue goes as this...
if the headlights are off, torque converter lockup engages at 50mph like its supposed to, however, tapping or pressing the brakes causes all of the running lights(corner markers and tails) to come on and the dash lights to dim at the same time. no matter driving or idling. this even happens if the motor is off (the dash lights turn on if the motor is off).
if the headlights are turned to the on position(or running lights) the torque converter lockup does not engage at all.
i need help here because i want to start adding in some electronics, but i want to start with a sound electrical system. and i dont know where to begin at all. @RAD4Runner or anyone else, can you please provide me with a direction to start looking, or possibly tell me why this would be happening? i, for the life of me, cannot read wiring diagrams, ive tried and i cant make sense of them.
... if the headlights are off, torque converter lockup engages at 50mph like its supposed to,
... tapping or pressing the brakes causes all of the running lights(corner markers and tails) to come on and the dash lights to dim at the same time. no matter driving or idling. this even happens if the motor is off (the dash lights turn on if the motor is off).
if the headlights are turned to the on position(or running lights) the torque converter lockup does not engage at all.....
Sounds like problem with connections. I rarely say "Check grounds", and only grounds. but this seems like it.
When brake lights come on, current that would normally go to ground bleeds through the running lights through some unpredictable path back to negative of battery and lights them, although dimly.
Sorry, I have not looked at torque converter circuit, yet, but similarly, when headlight turns on and ground is poor, it may "lift" (make it closer to 12V than zero volt) ground for torque converter circuit.
I would start by checking brake light and all running lights housings, sockets, connectors and wiring. Physically trace all lights connection to ground. Also ground for torque converter circuit. Need to look at schematic where ground wire, usually white with blk stripe goes. (I don't have schematic handy right now), but I know there is one on inner right fender.
i recently replaced the battery to fender ground and the body to block ground with 4ga. it had some really crispy 12ga wiring on it. didnt make a change.
i will definitely check the lights tonight. possibly, if i have time, check for that TC ground. i have a feeling that the brake circuit is grounding or shorting out and backfeeding into the other systems.
Did a bit of work this weekend and got a little sidetracked at the same time. The LCE 140 amp "Direct replacement" alternator came in so i tasked Doomy with pulling that while i found something else to do. I, of course, completely forgot to check the light housings and proceeded to start wiring in my Blue sea fuse block. IDK how my brain works sometimes. Anyways, the so called direct replacement alternator is NOT a direct replacement alternator at all. we needed to grind down a part of the casing where it fits between the ears on the lower mount. Doomy fought that for about 20 minutes before we figured that out. After that we got it installed and we had to fight the adjuster bracket for a good few minutes to get that lined up correctly. Finally got it all hooked up and the belt is now too long. i guess i didnt read the fine print when it said that some applications needed a smaller belt because it had a smaller pulley on it.
so, while it works, its got a squeal because the belt is slipping. gonna take the belt off and go to the parts store tomorrow to see if i can get a smaller belt.
as for my side project, i ended up getting the Blue Sea Fuse Block installed on a piece of C channel scrap from my dads shop. we bolted it to the bracket for the valve for the factory boost gauge. i dont think it looks too bad. after that, since we were already going, we my Slag Factory light abr mounts installed along with the 41.5" Bully light bar. The bar is a little narrow and Doomy thinks we should ahve gone with a curved bar, but i think its gonna be okay for now. light output is amazing. The hardest part was figuring out how everything got wired to the relay and checking, double checking, and triple checking all of my wiring to make sure it is correct.
Tonight the plan is to get into the sockets to check things out. Irab, i think you may have a good point about the wiring in the rear. About the time all of these problems cropped up was the same time that we started having problems with the rear tail gate glass. We would have to wiggle the harness under the drivers side tail light in order for the window to work. Im willing to bet that there is a short under there somewhere.
Last edited by space-junk; 03-22-2021 at 07:27 AM.
Keep an eye on the fuse block, the #10 feed studs on the ends broke on mine. They're only held in by a crimp. I had to replace them with some bolts before replacing the whole box. I have a separate fuse/relay box to install sometime later.
(haha. hadn't used forum smileys in a while!)
03-16-2021, 09:36 PM
hahaha
