95 4runnerr with strange electrical issues

[Tori]

My computer illiterate boyfriend purchased a 95 4Runner in July. We live in San Antonio Tx, where it has been extremely warm. Had a cold front come up in late September, with temps dropping no lower than 60 degrees, and his SUV won't start, the transmission is locked and won't go into nuetral. The car buzzes if the key is in the ignition and the lights in the door come on when the door is opened. But he also can not get the rear window to open. Next day, Weather is in the 80's and the thing runs fine. Next cool front comes in and the same thing happens again. When it warms up, everything is running fine. Well a cold front came in on Friday, it is much cooler, with temps around 56 degrees. He was sorta prepared, made sure he could get his other car out of the driveway in case the 4Runner wouldn't start up, but he thought the rear window was closed and it wasn't. And it is raining. The weather won't get warmer until Tuesday and he really could use help soon. He did check the grounding wires, and will be checking the fuse box. If someone has a suggestion I could pass on..... I would appreciate it.

Thank you
Tori

 

[94Beast4Runner]

Sounds like moisture in the rear window motor. Its making it freeze up.

As for the trans is it auto or standard?
Explain more of what you have tryed and hasn't worked?

 

[Tori]

Thank you for your response and I apologize for not being more concise with my explanation.

When the weather cools down, the entire electrical system quits working. The only thing that does work are the door lights and the buzzing that lets you know that the driver side door is open while the key is in the ignition. None of the windows work, the radio will not come on, and the starter will not turn. The SUV has an automatic transmission and this locks up when the power cuts out. I think it is some sort of anti-theft device. The weather hasn't gotten really cold, the temp dropped below 70 degrees F when the problem first manifested. It has not gone below 55 degrees here yet.

He has replaced both battery terminals and checked the ground wire from the negative battery terminal.

Thank you
Tori

 

[s2kpuddydad]

Sounds like a fuse link maybe....

 

[Tori]

He is suppose to check the fuses, but I do not know if he has and the results. I did read him the suggstion of checking all the wires as well.

Thank you
Tori

 

[94Beast4Runner]

Hey no prob tori.

No power to anything when cold temps. except door buzzer and interior lights.
Do the gauges come on? Has to be something with fuses. Check for moisture in all fuse panels.
Does it have an aftermarket alarm system?

 

[Tori]

The guages do not come on. If there was an aftermarket alarm, it was disabled before he purchased it. There are some wires that hang from the driver's side sun visor. We believe it was some sort of speaker/mic for a cell phone. Wires ended in the back of the SUV. They do not seem to be attached to anything anymore.

I will update the thread if something new occurs.

Thanks
Tori

 

[94Beast4Runner]

When i first purchased me truck i removed all unknown aftermarket wiring and repair where they had been spliced. Chasing electrical issues suck.

Keep us updated on your progress.

 

[Tori]

So far, no luck in figuring out the problem. Yesterday, temps got to the low to mid 70's and it would not start. Today, temps reached mid 80's, the 4Runner started, got the rear window up and the SUV out of the way. The next two days should be no problem since the temps should be in the 90's. He should be working on the thing this weekend, so I will have more info.

Tori

 

[Tori]

Update

Well, My boyfriend had to go out of town on business on Friday the 16th, should be back tonight sometime. I went over to his house Saturday (24th) morning and tried to start his car. It was a beautiful 62 degrees F. The dash board was dead, but the door lights and buzzing (since the key was in the ignition) was working, and it would not start, not even a clicking noise. About 2 hours later, when the temp rose to about 73 degrees, everything came on, the SUV turned over and I was able to use his vehicle to handle my daughter's 10th bday party. He told me he replaced the battery terminal clamps, checked the connections on all the fuses (dried the moisture that was in one of the fuse boxes) and basically nothing he has tried has worked. Any other suggestions?

Thank you
Tori :redbrick:

 

[the_dingman]

Metal in wires expand and contract when temperatures change. I don't know anything about the '95 wiring system, but I do know how to troubleshoot a problem...

You're getting power to some systems, but not all. The first step is to trace the wiring in the system back to where the parts that always work, and the parts that stop working connect, both on the positive side and the negative. I would start by picking something that does not work in the cold, and test continuity with the ground of the part with the negative terminal of the battery.

From there, it's an issue of finding where the disconnection is. At some point every electrical component connects to the positive terminal of the battery, and to the ground (the body, which in turn is wired to the negative terminal) of the truck. My guess is that something somewhere is getting a bad ground.

 

[MikesToy]

That sux! Tell your boyfriend to trade it in and buy a better one. Unless you want to pour some money into it and who knows what's gonna happen next?

 

[03vrod]

Tell him to check the voltage on the battery when this happens and let us know.I think someone already mentioned it but the ground wires from battery to chassis and ground wire from engine to chassis.

 

[Savage]

Sounds like a short/ground issue to me. Are you sure that the weather is actually a factor or just a straw we are grasping at? I agree on starting with anything that is not OEM. This is a great place for problems to creep in. Also any electrical components that have been repaired. Look for signs of a fire or any melting of plastic/wires in the engine compartment...