Loserkid83 Posted August 12, 2008 Share Posted August 12, 2008 Hey Everyone! Just bought my first RV, 1979 Toyota Dolphin!!! I am looking for a manual on the camper and/or the 20R engine. The only problem that I have with it now is that the brake lights and horn do not work. Once those are fixed, she will be on the road!! Any help would be much appreciated!!!! Thanks, Ryan Simetkosky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shandamac Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 Hey Ryan, Welcome to the forum! Our wonderful toy gurus try to answer all our questions, but they also spend a lot of time in their toys. You're always welcome to pop a question in "General Discussion" too. Most of us keep that thread hot with this or that, (even the tech stuff.) I found reading all the past posts really informative too. My best friends have been my 1. Toyota Truck 79-95 Haynes Repair Manual, 2. Toyota Truck Chilton's 70-86 Repair and Tune-up guide, and 3. Bob Livingston's RV Repair and Maintenance Manual (2002 Edition) . All 3 I found on amazon.com. Break Lights and Horn....Might be just a fuse thing. I'd check that first. Wishing you the best. shandamac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turtle Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 Chasing electric issues can be a pain. #1 check the fuses (even replace them with a known good one). For the brake lights after checking fuses, check the bulbs to make sure they are not corroded (jiggle them around or replace them with known good ones). If you have good fuses and good bulbs you will have to start tracing the wiring. There is a brake switch relay. Check the wiring connections at that point (usually under the dash behind the brake peddle actuation arm). Move the peddle and see if the button moves in and out as the peddle arm moves down. You can check that switch with a vom to make sure it is functioning if it is not, replace it. If fuses, bulbs and switch are all OK you have a problem in the wiring harness. Check under the coach body or inside a rear compartment where the rear lights are located. More than likely there are a number of splices in the line. Make sure the splices are all making contact. If you have a wire probe you can poke the break wire and see if you are getting 12v there (when the brake peddle is depressed and the key is switched to ignition position... motor does not need to be running but the key must be on to the "run" position... ie the dash warning bulbs light up). The horn runs off of a relay in the engine compartment. Check the connections (after checking the fuse). Jiggle the connections around (they are just spade lug connectors). Check the connections on the horn (you will have to remove the grill to get at the horn). If the horn still does not work you can use a vom to check to see if you have 12V at the horn connection. If you do the horn itself is DOA if you don't have 12v then go back to the relay and check for 12v there. If you do not have any 12v at all you have a problem in the wiring harness that brings power to the relay if you do have 12v check for continuity on the trigger leads (the ones from the horn button). If you do not have continuity then pull the horn button off the steering wheel and check to make sure the spade lugs are connected to the wires. If that does not fix then you have a problem in the wiring harness going from the horn button to the relay. Pray that you do not have any wiring harness problems as they can be fatal as the cost to replace a harness is a LOT. You can run separate wires and wire tie them to the existing harness (where it is visible) as a fix. When chasing extremely annoying electric issues a specialized tool can be used to find where the short is located. This is what I own to do this job but it might be a little pricey for a single use of it. http://www.powerprobe.com/ect_2000.html As far as a repair manual on the truck you can't beat the factory service manual. I have a factory service manual on every car I own (all 8 of them). If you keep your eye on ebay and search diligent you can find one for your year truck at a reasonable price. New from Toyota they are astronomical. Run the VIN to make sure you have a 1979 year truck. You can find the appliance manuals almost everywhere in pdf format. Finding a dolphin owners manual for your year coach may take a little longer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loserkid83 Posted August 19, 2008 Author Share Posted August 19, 2008 Hey guys! I appreciate all the help. The break light issue was solved and she is street legal again!! $7 bucks for a new brake switch and $0.79 for some new bulbs and the break lights are back in action! Thanks for all of the other tips, a lot of good knowledge here and looking forward to chatting some more! Ryan Simetkosky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.