*Urgent* electronics help needed by timbosaurus!

[timbosaurus]

Hi Guys,

I've tried a little searching for an RA28 wiring diagram on here but if someone can help me out finding one quicker than i can find it i'd be most appreciated. I'm on holidays and my car is playing silly buggers and i only have 20 mins net access to go!

Basically the car stopped charging before I left for a week at the snow/jindabyne. I replaced the alternator (with a second hand one) which didn't help, so replaced the regulator (with second hand one, thanks Zane!) which didn't help either. Getting desperate, I replaced the alternator with the original and also discovered that the "engine" fuse was blown so replaced it. After both of these, the car was charging again. (not sure whether the engine can run with a blown "engine" fuse )

But...

After a couple of days of driving to and from the snow the charge light was coming on intermittantly, but the multimeter showed that it was still charging. So i kept driving thinking it might a faulty diagnostic light connection or something. After another coupla days the indicators and wipers stopped working intermittantly as well. Then stopped altogether! Not good in these conditions

I wanted to drop it off at an auto electrician so i didn't have to work on it, but they are so busy even waving cash didn't tempt them! So looks like i'll have to take a day off from the snow to fix it with minimum tools.

If anyone can help me by posting a wiring diagram (i don't have one with me obviously) or if they can thing of anything that might cause the following symptoms i'd be most appreciative!

Things i have noticed:
- Indicators dont work
- Wipers dont work
- Dash gauges (fuel, temp, clock, diag lights etc) dont work
- Heater fan doesn't work
- Headlight DO work
- The "main" relay in the kickpanel doesn't seem to ever switch on, but manually switching it on (closing the contacts) makes the heater fan work and dash dials work again, but the wipers/indicators still dont work
- The car has stopped charging

This is really shitting me to the point of selling the celica as soon as i get back... or at least rip all the wiring/electrics out and put them back piece by piece) But, i still need some help to get back! It wouldn't worry me too much to have to come home early because of it, but others are relying on me for transport too.

Rep will ovbiously be genourously distributed to those able to help.

Timbosaurus.

[river]

Hi,

Well it looks like it's something common to most of your electrics.

Do the lights come on strong?

The cold affects the capacity of the battery. So I assume the battery is okay - but if it's not been charging well and shit like that then it could of been flattened too much and therefore won't hold a charge. If this is the case you'll need a new battery.

Failing that. remove the battery clamps and clean up the terminals and put the clmaps back on. Unplug, clean and reconnect the fusible link (comes off the +ve post of the battery).

Search for the big ground wire from the -ve clamps of the battery and see where it conencts to the chassis/engine. Unbolt it from this anchor point. clean up the area and bolt it back up. Hopefully that will get you out of trouble.

seeyuzz
river

[brett_celicacoupe]

one celica i got wasnt charging so i ran a new lead from the +ve bolt on the alternator to the battery and it immediately started charging. this would be something easy/cheap to try.

and yes - a new battery would help. for the sake of $35 from autobahn - its worth trying. you can always throw it away when you get home

[timbosaurus]

Thanks guys, i seem to be out of trouble for now. Who knows how long it will last though, it definately needs a complete electrical overhaul when i get back home as it seems to have problem after problem.

I will try to explain the problem...

The fuse box seems to be seperated into 3 sections, one powered directly from the batttery (runs tail light, stop light, lighter), one section powered by the "main" relay and controlled by the "accesories" (runs heater fan and defog) and one section controlled by the ignition and i am unsure as to what switches it (runs wipers, indicators).

I don't know why there was no power getting to the "ignition" or "accesories" sections, but by temporarily connecting both together and then to the battery via a switch (after removing the connnector which should bring power in of course) means at least all the indicators/wiper/fans run. I can sort out why they weren't gettting power in the first place when i get home.

That was half the problem fixed, but the other half was it not charging. By cutting off the alternator connector and crimping lugs onto the wires directly and plugging them back on, it charges again... so although the connector appeared to make contact and have all the wires connected, it mustn't have. Obvious i know, but all the wiggling and checks seemed to indicate this connector was ok!

whew, only one day wasted, and hopefully the car will last until the weekend!

Once again, toymods info saves the day (or week!)

Cheers
Timbo

[river]

Hi,

Good stuff. It seems like there's a problem with the proper supply getting to the relevant parts of your fuse box. It will be a bad conenction somewhere and I doubt you'll need to rip out all the wiring. Just trace the power wires and you'll find the problem.

While the connecting of the wires, via your switch, is an effective "field repair" job - it is, at best, a crude extemporization and I would only leave it connected while you use the vehicle. When parked and not in use I advise you to disconnect the switch to stop any drainage of the battery or other possible malfunctions (you don't want a short and a fire) while the car is unattended and not being used.

seeyuzz
river

[timbosaurus]

Hi,

Good stuff. It seems like there's a problem with the proper supply getting to the relevant parts of your fuse box. It will be a bad conenction somewhere and I doubt you'll need to rip out all the wiring. Just trace the power wires and you'll find the problem.

While the connecting of the wires, via your switch, is an effective "field repair" job - it is, at best, a crude extemporization and I would only leave it connected while you use the vehicle. When parked and not in use I advise you to disconnect the switch to stop any drainage of the battery or other possible malfunctions (you don't want a short and a fire) while the car is unattended and not being used.

seeyuzz
river

Thanks Mate. Yes... i know it was (very) crude, but i was able to disconnect it whenever the car was not running. The car did made it back thankfully.

Now that i'm home i've managed to fix the problems. There was a connector under the dash (coming from the ignition switch) that someone had dodgied previously. The dodginess came (discreetly) undone and that didn't allow accesories/ignition power to get to the main relay. Simple as that. Fixed that connector up properly which also made me realise that the dodginess allowed 12v to the ballast resistor all the time (rather than only on startup) so corrected that too. That would be why my points weren't lasting too long.

I dont know whether the regulator or the alternator was the cause of the intermitant charging problem, but JustenGT8/Zane were kind enough to donate an internally regulated bosch alternator they had spare. I hooked it up yesterday and that fixed that problem and gave me an 85amp alternator at the same time

So all going well now! thanks for the suggestions!

Timbo

[river]

Hi,

I was thinking of you when I posted this... http://www.toymods.net/forums/showthread.php?t=10482

seeyuzz
river