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Nieuwendyk-25's thread reminded me about checking the wires at the rear door.
Result:1 broken wire and 3 cracked.
So now I have rear defrost and the light works when on 'door' again.
Also stuck the skids back on finally because I'm finished with the underneath for now.
...and then the a/c stopped working today, right after I said to my dear husband "Ok, no more replacing stuff- I am DONE with maintenance repairs!".
*sigh*
At least the compressor's working. No pressure on the low side while it's running, I don't have a gauge to measure the high side but we do know there's pressure. After the truck is shut off and it sits awhile we do get a pressure reading for the low side. I see liquid in the dryer....maybe blocked expansion valve? What else should I be looking at here?
Expansion block and receiver dryer ordered. Had the r134a sucked out so it's ready for parts replacing. Bleh.
I'm also putting a couple of lights up on top. After some research I've decided to go with KC Hilites 634 lights.
I didn't want the lights higher than the rack so I got a load bar off a junkyard yota a little while ago to use as a light bar, drilled holes for the lights and mounted it in front of the 96's other load bars. So far it looks pretty good.
I've got the relay done and the switch (though I might change it for a different switch, I don't really like the look or rocker style of the KC version).
Now I've gotta figure out how I'm going to route the wires for the lights themselves. I know I'm going to put a disconnect up top, and I have some super cheap 55w lights to use for back-up lights that I think I'm going to mount on the back of the rack (disconnect for them, too) and wire into the reverse lights once I figure out if the wiring can handle a vampire tap.....anyone???......so I'll either run the kc wiring with the reverse light wiring, then all the way back up to the front of the truck, or off the side and along the door frame, through the fender. I'm also trying to decide if I want to put a switch in for the back-up lights too.
hey hab
use the reverse vampire tap as a trigger for a relay and run the lights separate that way you can put a two way on-on switch in the circuit one side is on with the reverse lights and the other on without reverse lights so you can have some "work lights" out back for camping or what not... that switch you could mount inside near the rear gate somewhere. or you could use an on-off-on switch for times when you don't want to have all that light backing up...
You could use a couple of weathertite kellon plugs mounted in the roof and run the wiring internally... don't forget to use at least 14AWG size wire to get the best performance out of the lights and cooler operating temps.
have a nice day
avi
A/C update:
It was the expansion block. Got it done, took it in, have a/c again. It wasn't as hard as I feared, either. There was an awful lot of junk clogging up some of the evaporator.
The evaporator core and expansion valve is under the glove box. The a/c guy who did the r134a part for me said a lot of dirt like that is common when I told him about it. The accumulator is in front of the condenser, behind the grill. I just unclipped the grill for easy access. I used balloons to cap stuff to keep moisture out, being careful not to tear the balloon on the sharper aluminum parts. I also took the passenger seat out for lots of room to work (plus finally painted the fabbed brackets).
And here's the clutch I replaced. The throwout bearing is what actually failed, but once I got in there it was nice to see it was a good time to replace the other components as well.
Beautifully and in need of a good cleaning! I don't like the brake pads but I'm very happy with the wheels.
How are you doing?
I'm doing well, thanks. Doing some brake maintenance on the Cruiser and am waiting on parts. Ive not been able to drive it for a week and am missing it. :-)
Looks like you got another 4Runner. Which year do you like better?
Having your truck down does not rock, especially when you're stuck on parts.
I dunno which I like better. The 99 has better cup holders, snort hood which is kinda cool, a rear locker, better seats than mine used to have and only 164,000 miles. The 96 is my toy and I don't feel bad about drilling, banging, whatevering on it. It's also easy to find in the parking lot! My husband will tell you the 99, I'm sticking with my 96.
Reverse Lights! 3 choices..
1) Upper lights off
2) Upper lights automatic w/lower reverse lights
3) Upper and lower lights on together selectively
Did I mention lights? I still have to aim all of them....
Both sets of lights can be disconnected on the roof. The wiring goes in through the roof at the end caps. I drilled a hole in the cap and clipped off the bottom of the piece that fits into the existing hole and ran my wires through those. Silicone hopefully for the win. It's been pretty rainy so I'll find out soon enough.
I used a junkyard load bar or whatever that's called for my front lights. Just drilled a couple of holes in it to mount the lights.
The backup lights are attached to the basket, the wiring run through the back end cap.
The KC lights came with an unlikeable switch- that one will prolly disappear as soon as I find a switch I do like.
The backup Walmart $9 clearance specials I've wired to a Toyota 2 speed fan switch I found on the back of a center console in a junkyard 97.
The new accumulator sticks out like a sore thumb. The old one was black. Making this one black will be one of my next projects.
I didn't have to! Underneath each endcap is a hole with a vase-like plastic plug in it. Just cut off the end of the plug from the inside and you have a place that will hold 4 wires 'pending on the gauge. You do have to drill a hole in the end cap but I had a couple of spares from the junkyard.
I do have a problem with the back-up light switch and may have to use a different 3 pole switch. The light does not turn off if the switch is on "high" (it's a fan switch) and you shut off the truck and take the key out. I used a 4-pin relay and the switch is either off, low, or low-high. High doesn't run by itself. All you have to do is hit off and it turns off but it makes me wonder how it is drawing current with the key out when I've wired my fuse box to get power only when the key is on. I'm guessing it has something to do with the vampire tap to the reverse lights and the fact that the switch is not simply on off on, 'low' is still energized when 'high' is on. I welcome any input.
The good thing is that I would only use the always on 'high' backup lights in situations like needing light for setting up camp so would be very conscious of it being on. The 'low' side hooked up to run when the reverse lights are activated do shut off when the key is off and that's the way I am running it normally.
The KC lights have no issues using their 2 pole puny icky switch. If the junkyard ever gets another 3rd gen with a fog light switch I'm thinking that's what I'll use there.
05-28-2011, 12:20 PM
