Everything just went dead.

[86rader]

Started my Odyssey up a few minutes ago. It is a 90, V-6 auto. Everything appeared OK. No dash lights or weird sounds. After letting it warm up for a minute or two, I pulled forward and attempted to climb the hill from the yard up to the driveway. This is a fairly steep, but short section. As I got near the top it just quit. No warning, just flat up and died. And all the dash lights went dead as well. Is there some main fuse somewhere that handles all this stuff? I have no dash lights such as oil, alt, brake, etc. No radio, no gauges, no ventilation power. The headlights, flashers and horn work.

It basically acts as if the ignition switch is being left off. Do these things go out? Is there a fuse somewhere I am missing?

[Skydancer2992]

There is a main fuse (fusible link) in the fusebox under the hood. The dealer carries them but could not find one in an auto store. I discovered this when I accidentally crossed jumper wires once and my 85 4Runner entered the same state as you have described.

However, the fusible link should not blow unless there is a serious electrical issue.

For instance, you might have a loose or defective main relay.

Take a volt meter and begin taking measurements between ground and your positive source (battery termal, wires going to fuse box, fuse box). Attempt to isolate the problem.

[Maineah]

I think a 90 might have a body fuse pretty hefty one that's bolted into the fuse panel.

[86rader]

Well, I think I have found the culprit. The coach battery isolator wasn't bolted down very well, dropped, and the 12V terminal was laying up against the metal cover of a connector. This goes to the red wire on the alternator. I just need to figure out which fuse this is. I think it is the one labeled engine.

Maineah, the fusible links in the main fuse panel all seem to be good.

Thanks for the responses.

Pete

[zero]

Started my Odyssey up a few minutes ago. It is a 90, V-6 auto. Everything appeared OK. No dash lights or weird sounds. After letting it warm up for a minute or two, I pulled forward and attempted to climb the hill from the yard up to the driveway. This is a fairly steep, but short section. As I got near the top it just quit. No warning, just flat up and died. And all the dash lights went dead as well. Is there some main fuse somewhere that handles all this stuff? I have no dash lights such as oil, alt, brake, etc. No radio, no gauges, no ventilation power. The headlights, flashers and horn work.

It basically acts as if the ignition switch is being left off. Do these things go out? Is there a fuse somewhere I am missing?

There are probably 3 fuses in the power flow. The battery has a 60 amp fuse on many early 90s Toyota trucks. The alternator has an 80 amp fuse. They both connect to a 30 amp fuse that sends on power to the ignition. If it was running and died - and the battery fuse was blown -the alternator should keep it running. If the alternator fuse blew- the battery ought to keep it running. If the 30 amp fuse to the ignition blew - then it would die - BUT - if you put the key on

ACC position - other things should work since they have their own main fuse.;

[86rader]

Time to add to the list of Toyota superpowers.

Self healing.

Went out there this morning to figure this thing out. I popped the hood and decided to trace the 12V line from the battery to the alternator, which is where I suspected the problem was. I decided that doing this with the ignition in the on position would be helpful.

So, I turned the ignition key to the on position and the dash lit up like a christmas tree!

Hmmmmm, I thought to myself. Wonder if it'll start?

I turned the key to the start position. I got a faint click and everything went dead. OK, this looks like a dead battery. Dead battery I can deal with. So, I grabbed the jumper cables and gave it a jump. It started right up and purrs like a kitten. I am still a little leary about it and am going to get under the hood and yank on things for a while to try to recreate the problem. Hpoefully I won't.

The last thing I did a few days ago was check all the fuses. They were good. Maybe reseating a fuse did something? We are talking about nearly quarter century old connections and it is possible that the initial problem (a 12 volt short to ground) caused a high impedance on one of these fuse legs that had some oxidation on it. Reseating it could re-establish a good connection.

The only other explanation is good old PFM (pure ******' magic)!