Strange static coming from dash on morning start up - Toyota 4Runner Forum

timbird1219 · 05-08-2024, 10:40 AM

I recently replaced my negative terminal connector and since on morning start ups I hear a static and my 03 t4r will have all gauges goto zero. No idea what’s causing this but this morning it happened and now my outside temperature and ac temperature is reading in Celsius and not Fahrenheit and my range is in km and not miles now. Does anyone know how to fix this? Or do I just need to get a new dash and crap.

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beautifulbrick · 05-08-2024, 01:33 PM

Changing Outside Temp from F to C On Display

Don't know if that's helpful or not as there doesn't seem to be a concrete answer. It seems towards the end of that thread there may be a ground that switches the display from miles/km and f/c. Perhaps this was triggered when you replaced the terminal?

Others seem to suggest disconnecting the battery for an hour can reset it?

Sounds like you may have a bad ground somewhere.

ArthurKotb · 05-08-2024, 03:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by timbird1219

I recently replaced my negative terminal connector and since on morning start ups I hear a static and my 03 t4r will have all gauges goto zero. No idea what’s causing this but this morning it happened and now my outside temperature and ac temperature is reading in Celsius and not Fahrenheit and my range is in km and not miles now. Does anyone know how to fix this? Or do I just need to get a new dash and crap.

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Sounds like a bad ground connection. Maybe there's an issue with the new clamp or even the other end of that cable. It's possibly corroded under the connector/washer/cable. That static noise is possibly arcing from the bad connection. Since you haven't done work on any of the other areas, that's where my suspicions would be. Check both ends of that cable and the new terminal.

BTW, you put grease only on the outside of the connectors, not between the battery terminal and new connector, right? No dielectric grease, right? :-)

timbird1219 · 05-08-2024, 06:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beautifulbrick

Changing Outside Temp from F to C On Display

Don't know if that's helpful or not as there doesn't seem to be a concrete answer. It seems towards the end of that thread there may be a ground that switches the display from miles/km and f/c. Perhaps this was triggered when you replaced the terminal?

Others seem to suggest disconnecting the battery for an hour can reset it?

Sounds like you may have a bad ground somewhere.

So unhooking the battery for a hour seemed to do the trick with switching it back to Merican units but ya I’m gonna get a different connector because it probably is arcing a bit

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timbird1219 · 05-15-2024, 09:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ArthurKotb

Sounds like a bad ground connection. Maybe there's an issue with the new clamp or even the other end of that cable. It's possibly corroded under the connector/washer/cable. That static noise is possibly arcing from the bad connection. Since you haven't done work on any of the other areas, that's where my suspicions would be. Check both ends of that cable and the new terminal.

BTW, you put grease only on the outside of the connectors, not between the battery terminal and new connector, right? No dielectric grease, right? :-)

So I replaced the clamp, didn’t change anything, replaced the ground cable to the battery, that kinda helped but not all the way. Btw I just had the engine replaced so maybe a ground isn’t on all the way. Does anyone know where all the ground locations are? It’s a V6 also

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timbird1219 · 05-15-2024, 09:24 PM

So I replaced the clamp, didn’t change anything, replaced the ground cable to the battery, that kinda helped but not all the way. Btw I just had the engine replaced so maybe a ground isn’t on all the way. Does anyone know where all the ground locations are? It’s a V6 also

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ArthurKotb · 05-16-2024, 10:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by timbird1219

So I replaced the clamp, didn’t change anything, replaced the ground cable to the battery, that kinda helped but not all the way. Btw I just had the engine replaced so maybe a ground isn’t on all the way. Does anyone know where all the ground locations are? It’s a V6 also

In my 2004 with V8 there's a "Y" connection on the negative post. One cable goes to the body, about 6" next to the negative post, then the other part of the cable goes into a bundle and down on the port/left side of the engine. If you have that short negative connection you should take the body bolt out and check underneath that connector for corrosion. It really sounds like a poor negative connection between the battery negative and the body. That's the one thing that's common to everything electrical in the car.

weberlukas74 · 05-17-2024, 11:48 PM

I'd recommend taking a look at the ground connections related to the new engine you installed. If swapping out the ground cable helped a bit, there might still be some resistance in the electrical path. Make sure those connections are clean and snug, and maybe use a multimeter to check for any voltage drop across them.
Since you're experiencing static and gauge fluctuations, inspect the wiring harnesses around the dash too.
Plus, I'd check the cluster itself for any faults or loose connections.

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