Ambush - Build me up!

[ambush]

Hello Family

I am back! It has been too long and I hate I made the mistake almost 6 years ago by selling my 2000 Limited. Well I just came across a 1999 Limited with 166k miles (2wd) and would not pass it up. So I would like to start my build thread if that is ok?

As I begin, I am having SLIGHT buyer's remorse as I am discovering the previous owner did not disclose everything about this rig. Maybe that is why I got it so cheap? I don't know. Well, as I post, I could really use some pointers on how to resolve certain issues. As of now, I was trying to concentrate on cosmetics BUT I have stumbled on something else really serious about 1 hour as I was trying to fix another issue. Sorry for the rant so let me break down the Pros and the Cons:

Pros:
1999 Toyota 4runner Limited Color Silver
166k miles
Timing done at 102k miles (according to paperwork in glove box)
Power steering pump done at 115k miles (according to paperwork)
Tires with 60k miles

Cons:
Front leather seats worn
Dirty carpet (YUK!!)
Cracked woodgrain bezels
Missing cargo cover
Door locks/windows/sunroof do not work
Dented hood (dont think it is OEM)
Dented front end a little bit
*Burned wires under dash (YES just found this out 1 hour ago!!!)

Whew so here we go. I found a junction box from a 2002 Limited that thought would work. Swapped it out that is when I found out the wires are BURNED in some places. Apparently they must have touched the wires just enough it would start but not it DOES NOT ANYMORE at all. UHUG!!! Help!!

--Ambush

 

[ambush]

Update

Just checked all fuses in the junction box:
STA - 7.5A
IGN - 10A

Replaced those fuses and now it starts. Thanks!

 

[gamefreakgc]

Oh goodness, what did he do to those wires? Any bare wires need to be wrapped or have heat shrink tubing (only possible if you can get the end of the wires out of the connectors) or it will short circuit and blow your fuses again. Then the whole bundle needs to be wound up with tape and tucked securely away.

The other cosmetic stuff can be fixed.

 

[phattyduck]

That dead-end connector with the metal tab (with all the white-black wires) needs to be bolted down to the body - it is a ground connection.

Check all those burned wires carefully and get them fixed up...

Interior can be cleaned... it just needs to get taken apart to do so.

-Charlie

 

[ambush]

Charlie:

Yes I plan to make my way to the salvage yard immediately to find another 3rd GEN to possibly take all of the wires out and transfer. The previous owner did a number. I really feel it was wrecked and/or someone tried to install a radio/alarm and just went coo coo.

Your carpet looks great! What solution(s) did you use to remove those stubborn stains? I moved the seats back to check (no power to them either) and found some small visitors there. Unfortunately we will not get any hot weather (above 80 degrees F) to really let the carpet dry. I may just rent a carpet steamer. I will put that on the end of the list after I get this wiring done.

Thank you!

That dead-end connector with the metal tab (with all the white-black wires) needs to be bolted down to the body - it is a ground connection.

Check all those burned wires carefully and get them fixed up...

Interior can be cleaned... it just needs to get taken apart to do so.

-Charlie

 

[ambush]

gamefreakgc:

No idea what they attempted and failed to do. There is a bundle that is burned with no color and a pin out with wire cut and burned. Prob why the doors, windows, and sunroof dont work. A trip to salvage to rip out existing one may do the trick since replacing junction box did not. I plan to make it neat as soon as this storm passes (well attempt to make it neat LOL).

Oh goodness, what did he do to those wires? Any bare wires need to be wrapped or have heat shrink tubing (only possible if you can get the end of the wires out of the connectors) or it will short circuit and blow your fuses again. Then the whole bundle needs to be wound up with tape and tucked securely away.

The other cosmetic stuff can be fixed.

 

[phattyduck]

Charlie:

Your carpet looks great! What solution(s) did you use to remove those stubborn stains? I moved the seats back to check (no power to them either) and found some small visitors there. Unfortunately we will not get any hot weather (above 80 degrees F) to really let the carpet dry. I may just rent a carpet steamer. I will put that on the end of the list after I get this wiring done.

Thank you!

I can't even remember what solution. Expect some elbow grease to be needed. I borrowed a friends mini steam/carpet cleaner thing for this one since I did the seats... But even simple green and a hose and brush can work wonders:

The 4Runner carpet isn't too thick, so it should dry reasonably fast, even without hot temps... (I did that Camry carpet I just showed in February - but it was 90*F and 8% humidity that day! It had crazy thick almost velour carpet)

-Charlie

 

[ambush]

The plot thickens....

Well now that the storm has passed, I took a moment to fiddle with the 4runner.
Went out and got more fuses just for the hell of it. Replaced each fuse on the newer J/B box I got from salvage following the service manual. MAN the person did not do anything correctly!!! Fuse sizes WRONG is prob what started the wire fire and putting in fuses where they dont belong!!!
Removed cluster (as there were NO screws holding it in) and looked behind. Low and behold, burned wires!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I think I am have made a mistake. I just tried calling this joker but no answer. What if this is a gauge cluster swap? The Carfax was good. All dealer work (oil changes, power steering pump, timing belt, etc.) is listed with mileage in glove box. At this point I am not MAD just frustrated as I have more work to do and the this guy was not being honest with me. UGUHG!!!!!!!

 

[phattyduck]

Did you remove the harness from the attachments under the dash? If not, *somebody* knew this was a lemon.

Hopefully somebody on here is parting out a truck (get same year and trim) and you can get the harness... And hopefully you can get to the bottom of where all this started in the first place.

-Charlie

 

[ambush]

Did you remove the harness from the attachments under the dash? If not, *somebody* knew this was a lemon.

Hopefully somebody on here is parting out a truck (get same year and trim) and you can get the harness... And hopefully you can get to the bottom of where all this started in the first place.

-Charlie

You talking about the bundle of mess under the dash? There was nothing protecting. I just removed the J/B box and that rats next is what I saw.

 

[phattyduck]

You talking about the bundle of mess under the dash? There was nothing protecting. I just removed the J/B box and that rats next is what I saw.

Yeah. A single layer of electrical tape is normal - but it has been removed from its mounting locations. There are some good pics in this thread:

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/124887-heater-core-removal.html

-Charlie

 

[Wedgy]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Driver-Bot...97-1998-2000-2001-Toyota-4Runner/332062861937

 

[4Runner fun]

salvage

there is more than one guy that is parting out a 3rd gen on here, if you look you might be able to cut a deal with members.

 

[ambush]

Yeah. A single layer of electrical tape is normal - but it has been removed from its mounting locations. There are some good pics in this thread:

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/124887-heater-core-removal.html

-Charlie

YAHTZEE!!! Thank you!!! Look at that!

 

[ambush]

there is more than one guy that is parting out a 3rd gen on here, if you look you might be able to cut a deal with members.

i will check...thank you so much..just did not want to aggravate them with something like this and try to ship.

 

[ambush]

Team

Today was a mini Salvage yard scavenger hunt for the most important issue with the 4runner, the body wire harness or dash wire harness (all of the wiring behind the dash). The good: I found 2 3rd Gen limited 4runners!
The bad: 1 was a 4wd (different harness coming around the pigtail where junction box goes) The other one was in fact a 99 Limited 2wd like mine but some BOZO CUT the pigtail/wire I needed the most. Sitting there splicing and butt connecting would kill me if there is something else missing. I traced everything going to the ECU all the way over to junction. It even has wires going under the seat wow2:
I have checked ebay but the pix only show a little bit of what I need.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Rayford]

I went through a very similar experience with my 97 SR5. All it takes is ONE wire to short and heat up, and it melts through its neighbors, and the process replicates. The wires are especially susceptible to overheating when they are bundled tightly together and wrapped in tape. I was astounded by the number of wires under the dash!

Mine is a manual transmission and I could not find an identical enough harness, so I had to undo the entire harness, pull apart all of the meted wires, and splice in about 20 new wires. A few things that would have sped the process up for me:
- Just bite the bullet and pull the entire dash, steering wheel, etc. off. Everything.
- Buy a really nice wire stripper and crimper. Get a crimper with the crimping pliers in front of the hinge, not on the same side as your hand. Easier to get into tight spaces.
- Test every crimp with a really solid tug. And then do a continuity test.
- It is helpful to have a wiring diagram, but in the end, I just replaced every charred wire so it was not much help. Don't get hung up on the wiring diagram.
- When replacing sections of wire, only cut one wire at a time. Repair that wire before moving onto the next one.

Two other areas to check, which I discovered later, are 1) the wires running toward the rear, under the driver's side trim strip, and 2) the wires running into the rear door, esp. inside the rubber boot between the body and the door.

Not counting learning how to disassemble the dashboard parts, it took me about 1 long day (8-10 hours) to do the electrical fix for the dash harness. Another 4-5 hours for the wires under the door trim piece. And now that I am good at it, about 3 hours to fix the 18 wires that were fried going into the rear door.

I cannot understand how there can be so many burned wires, like all the insulation burned off and nearby wires melted, and no fuses blow!

 

[ambush]

Holy smokes! You are officially a pro. Yeah dont understand why the fuses wont blow first instead of just melting the dern wires!!!
Makes a huge headache. BUT I feel better as I took 2 - 3 hours and traced from the burned section down to junction box. It is not that bad. I will be cutting under the driver's seat and splicing and MAYBE 1 other place. I have not decided yet. I have the wires sectioned off so I can really see them.
From the passenger side it is all through the BODY itself. MAN O MAN.
So i may take a few days. We will see.

I went through a very similar experience with my 97 SR5. All it takes is ONE wire to short and heat up, and it melts through its neighbors, and the process replicates. The wires are especially susceptible to overheating when they are bundled tightly together and wrapped in tape. I was astounded by the number of wires under the dash!

Mine is a manual transmission and I could not find an identical enough harness, so I had to undo the entire harness, pull apart all of the meted wires, and splice in about 20 new wires. A few things that would have sped the process up for me:
- Just bite the bullet and pull the entire dash, steering wheel, etc. off. Everything.
- Buy a really nice wire stripper and crimper. Get a crimper with the crimping pliers in front of the hinge, not on the same side as your hand. Easier to get into tight spaces.
- Test every crimp with a really solid tug. And then do a continuity test.
- It is helpful to have a wiring diagram, but in the end, I just replaced every charred wire so it was not much help. Don't get hung up on the wiring diagram.
- When replacing sections of wire, only cut one wire at a time. Repair that wire before moving onto the next one.

Two other areas to check, which I discovered later, are 1) the wires running toward the rear, under the driver's side trim strip, and 2) the wires running into the rear door, esp. inside the rubber boot between the body and the door.

Not counting learning how to disassemble the dashboard parts, it took me about 1 long day (8-10 hours) to do the electrical fix for the dash harness. Another 4-5 hours for the wires under the door trim piece. And now that I am good at it, about 3 hours to fix the 18 wires that were fried going into the rear door.

I cannot understand how there can be so many burned wires, like all the insulation burned off and nearby wires melted, and no fuses blow!

 

[ambush]

10-22-2018 Wire chasing

Here is the state of the new project. DASH OFF and other things to chase the body wire harness.....The driver's side is pretty simple...the PASSENGER SIDE ummm well...I will have to study a few things...we will see
P.S. if you notice on the passenger side bottom right antenna plug is somewhat spliced! The previous owner allowed Firestone to remove the POWER ANTENNA and install the Tacoma whip and the wires are all jacked up!!! OMG I will have to rewire that or just get another powered one. FRUSTRATING! I just want to drive it!

 

[ambush]

Found a harness from a 2001 LIMITED 2wd

TSIA: I hope this one works. I did however CUT it ahead of where it is burned on my truck. It seemed to be almost 100 or wires I will have to cut and solder (possible heat shrink) and then put the OEM tape on it. Not sure when I will get started as I am still going to look for a 99 just in case.