1st time owner, WTF are these:

S

StaticShot

New member
Switch #3 controls an extra set of fog lamps up front and has a blue LED on the switch. Switches 1/2/4 I have no clue, but they all are still hooked to power as their LED's turn on when toggled.

Suppose I need to trace them, but if one is to disable/enable the TRAC/VSC do you have any guess as to how I can verify that without running the wires?

Also, what's this additional cooler in front of the AC + Radiator. There doesn't appear to be anything connected to it.

I know these are probably noob questions, but please be gentle. I've driven ricers my whole life so this is my first 4WD vehicle. Hopefully I can make it out to a local 4runner meetup sometime and get schooled on the ways of the offroader and familiarize myself with some of the lingo. In the mean time though, the resources on these site have been invaluable.
 

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If I were you I would try a d get in touch with the previous owner. They would probably be the most knowledgeable.
 
Previous owner bought it at auction, so has no clue. The original owner had it from 2002 until 2013 when he traded it in. The guy I bought it from knew very little about 4runners and cars in general (you should have seen him freak out when I was checking the spark plugs).
 
Your guess is as good as mine on the switches. None of those you mention look factory. As for the cooler, it looks like a transmission cooler was put in to avoid the "pink milkshake" issue. Does the cooler have two hoses connected to it that you can follow? Maybe someone else can chime in and correct me?

Edit: Looking at the picture again, it looks like it is not hooked up to anything.
 
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All of the switches you asked about are aftermarket. The only way to know what they do is to trace the wires.
 
Traced what I could of the wires, they kinda go into a rats nest right next to the firewall so it's hard to say. Gonna need a friend's help and a volt detector most likely (one flips while the other tests). Also, for some reason the stock fog projector wires are cut right next to the mounts. Not sure why he would have done that, maybe there wasn't enough voltage on the line he was stealing? No clue. That's honestly probably going to be the biggest issue with this rig, is fixing all the wiring and getting the lights working properly.
 
As far as the cooler goes, it looks like he had intended to bypass the stock radiator-mounted transmission cooler, but never finished it. I would say get some braces, nuts, and bolts, and mount that thing flush against the a/c condensor. Then get some transmission hose and bypass the stock cooler.

As far as the switches go... who knows, lol.
 
Don't know 100% but a friend had all of these crazy LED lights in and underneath his Monte Carlo and those switches looks a lot like the switches that was on his dash.

Maybe the owner took the LEDS but left the switches so the dash wouldn't look hacked up.
 
I bet the one by the center diff lock allows you to use the center diff lock in 4hi or 4lo.
The other ones are probably aux lights, or maybe a locker ? I think you'd know if you had an aftermarket locker or not though, as you'd see the ARB compressor.
 
If you are wondering if one is a vsc/trac off switch, you would know almost right away when flipping the switch. There are lights on your dash that will light up and inform you that it is turned off. If you don't see these than the switch is most likely not for vsc/trac off.
 
Hm, then there's another problem I'll have to look into.

The VSC/TRAC lights aren't working at all, when I put the key in aux position and test the dash lights I see no TRAC/VSC like in the image below:
http://mike-thomson.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/wait-vsc-off.jpg

Checked the service records and found this:
DTC#P0171 (SYSTEM LEAN) AND P0420 FOR CATALYST SYSTEM BELOW THRESHOLD, BANK 1) ~|~CHECK ENGINE AND VSC LIGHTS ARE ON.

Check engine light isn't on anymore and the catalyst issue is already fixed. Could they have just full on disabled TRAC/VSC and the lights for them? In fact, of the 4 switches the only one that doesn't light up is the one right above the center-dif lock.

I put it in 4H, engaged 4WD and enabled the center-dif lock and neither the TRAC nor the VSC light came on. When I watched a video online the VSC light came on when the center-dif lock was enabled.

I hate electrical problems. =(
 
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I found this disconnected right behind the VSC control unit (back left corner of the engine bay).

What's this for and why would it be disconnected?
 

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StaticShot said:
I found this disconnected right behind the VSC control unit (back left corner of the engine bay).

What's this for and why would it be disconnected?
Click to expand...

It's the wireless buzzer which makes a noise when a button is pressed on the key fob.

Why is it disconnected?, who knows why people do some of the things they do.
 
Just because lights on the dash don't work doesn't necessarily mean VSC/TRAC is or is not working. Could be bulbs are burned out or missing. Especially if the Check Engine light isnt on anymore. Could be out too.

Is that an electrical wire going into that external cooler?
 
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