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I will try to be as specific as I can as I know how frustrating chasing electrical problems can be. I own a 1997 2 wheel drive, 4 cylinder.
I feel this may be unrelated and a coincidence but a few days ago I was trying to figure out why my brake light was always on. I have an extra 4Runner for some parts so I changed out the switch thinking that it was the problem. It wasn't. Come to find out the brake fluid was a little low so I added more and the brake light went out. I also changed out my cruse control switch as it operates intermittently. I didn't tear into any wiring, I just unplugged and plugged things in. My truck never had fuse blowing issues before this.
I have not done any other wiring to my truck in over 2 years. The last time I did any wiring was when I put in my stereo.
But about 1-2 days later my "gauge" 10A fuse blew shortly after I started and was driving knocking out my dash, AC (fan) and after about 30 seconds, my power windows. Now I have torn into the truck looking for any pinched wires, brown areas/melted wires and can't find anything. It is so random. Sometimes it blows the moment I start the truck, other times a day or two later. It doesn't matter if the AC is on or off, the fan is on or off, radio is on or off... etc...
I have even unplugged the new brake switch and cruse switch and it still randomly blows the fuse at random times... My 4Runner has almost 392,000 miles
Anyone heard of this before? I'm stumped!
Thanks a million to anyone who thinks they can help.
I'm not sure what you mean by the "whole stalk". I replaced the switch w/ the wiring (4-5' long) that plugs into a spot right next to the driver's side airbag. Nick wiring? Very unlikely, I would have had to really "Blutto" the plastic console cover in place to rip through all of the factory electrical tape and wire insulation. It went in very easy.
Try and get schematic to start. For the fan, windows etc, that you lost, I would try and disconnect them one at a time, the other thing to check is every single ground in the truck, that can create real mayhem, maybe start with the grounds first I had a problem with battery overcharging and it was one of the grounds bolted to the chassis, it looked mint but was not good. You never know until these things pop-up.
I'm not sure what unplugging these systems will do exactly. I only say this because the fuse blows regardless if I'm using these systems or not. The fuse blows if the fan is on and/or off. The fuse blows if the AC if on and/or off. I have never had the fuse blow while rolling the windows down. The switches prevent power from going to these systems so unplugging them is useless at this point as I don't have any reference to what's going on to cause the problem. I appreciate the advice but this is a random problem.
It's to try and isolate which one of them may be causing a short whether they are powered on or not, one at a time. You may find none of them are causing the issue after that, but it should help to narrow it down, especially if you don't have a wiring schematic.
I cant figure out how to post anywhere else on this site so forgive me for butting in. My 1999 4gen 4runner (6banger). Continues to have efi fuse blow, had some shotty mechanic "install a new fuse box" since it was blowing so much caused alot of corrosion and melted alot of the spots to separate the wire hookups. So long story short not sure how but this guy fried my computer - i took to a real mechanic and even with a new fuse box efi fuse still pops!! Any ideas? And would a 1500 - 2000 $ quote sound right to you? I mean a computer is like 200$ im lost and need help! Any takers?! Thx all
Each fuse is designed to isolate part of the overall electrical signal to protect them using smaller amperage fuse sizes and it helps make troubleshooting easier. There should be no need to disconnect the windows (although pulling the window fuse will in-effect do just that) or parts of systems unrelated to your fuse. I would suspect it’s somewhere behind the dash or in the steering column, maybe a pinched wire or something, since that’s the area you were working that most affects this signal. I haven’t been in the wiring for the back hatch, but if there’s a harness, try disconnecting it and that should isolate that part for troubleshooting. If you’re still blowing fuses with it disconnected, then it isn’t it.
05-06-2020, 02:20 PM
