kayakthecoast Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 I have a short, replaced 5 fuses (same one) in one day in our recent ski trip in cascade mountains. I ran out of fuses and had to take the wiper blade off and roll down my window and by hand wipe the window! ( just part of the adventure of being a toyhome owner!). Probably a switch short? I heard an electrical short sound at column switch. Or short at motor? Anyone had this problem, thought I'd ask before diving in. I'll probably look at the switch on the steering column first. Easy to get at switch? Also what's the best mechanical manual for an 87 Toyota. Can it be downloaded? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WME Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 Plan A put a really big fuse in it and wait for the smoke to start Does it pop the fuse instantly?? this is a short. If the motor runs for a time and then the fuse pops, this points to a bad motor, dry gears or jammed linkage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kayakthecoast Posted December 30, 2013 Author Share Posted December 30, 2013 It's now pretty much instant so I'm guessing the switch shorted out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WME Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 Disconnect the wiper motor and see if the fuse still blows. Yes then switch wires are suspect If not, remove the wiper arms and run the motor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kayakthecoast Posted December 30, 2013 Author Share Posted December 30, 2013 Good idea. Why remove wiper arms? Less load on motor? I picked up a used wiper motor from a wrecker yard on the way home, just incase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WME Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 Less load, but if you have another motor just use it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 No one will take an electrical part back hope that fixes it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 Plan A put a really big fuse in it and wait for the smoke to start Does it pop the fuse instantly?? this is a short. If the motor runs for a time and then the fuse pops, this points to a bad motor, dry gears or jammed linkage We used to call that "tune to maximum smoke and replace all charred parts". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kayakthecoast Posted December 31, 2013 Author Share Posted December 31, 2013 Threw the used motor in, so far so good, I'm painting my rusty wiper blades. Wreckers part cost $44 bucks. Old part probably original and it lasted 93k miles so can't really complain. Can they be rebuilt? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WME Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 Any thing can be rebuilt, in the proper shop .Now is it cost efficitve? Rebuilds are $100 and you know what junk yard parts cost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanAatTheCape Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 Curious if you have anything tapped into the ww circuit. reason I ask is that on 92-93 Winnie Warriors/ Itasca Spirit the hotwire to activate the solenoid that provides 12v dc to charge the house battery when the ignition switch is "on". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kayakthecoast Posted December 31, 2013 Author Share Posted December 31, 2013 Good point I'll check, I didn't notice anything also not working when fuse was blown. Nor did I see any wiring tapped into the line but I'll double check and see if battery solenoid is tapped into it. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kayakthecoast Posted January 5, 2014 Author Share Posted January 5, 2014 Rats, the fuse blew again today after putting in a used wiper motor, worked fine for last 3 days - but I had my park lights on/off all day today replacing my running lights with LED. Guess I'll look at column switch/relay. BTW anyone need any red and orange original running light covers? I have 5 of each color all in great shape if yours are cracked I can mail them, free to a good home!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linda s Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 Rats, the fuse blew again today after putting in a used wiper motor, worked fine for last 3 days - but I had my park lights on/off all day today replacing my running lights with LED. Guess I'll look at column switch/relay. BTW anyone need any red and orange original running light covers? I have 5 of each color all in great shape if yours are cracked I can mail them, free to a good home!!Sorry I can't help you on the fuse but I would very much like your light covers. I will PM you with my address Linda S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kayakthecoast Posted January 7, 2014 Author Share Posted January 7, 2014 Ah ha, I think My solenoid is bad/shorting out. I'll need to test it. DanAatTheCape might be dead right!! The solenoid wires look pretty badly corroded. Wiper I think is wired ( thus reason wiper fuse is blowing) to it and I have been having trouble with charging my main starter lately. I recently had my running lights on all day testing/replacing them all with LEDs and my main starter went flat. I plugged camper into 110 to apply a charge to my house battery for 2 hours and correct me if I'm wrong it should also allow charging from house back to my dead starting battery via solenoid? Is this correct? My house battery charged But it did not charge my flat starter battery! Is my theory correct? Or perhaps I have alternator problems? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WME Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 The solenoid isolates the starter battery from the house battery. The only way around this is to jumper across it, then the house converter will charge the truck battery. If you do this DON'T forget to remove the jumper after the engine is running. Other wise you will have 2 dead batteries sometime soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanman Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 I put a 1 Amp fuse in line on the wire to the isolator. Nice to have added items fused separately. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kayakthecoast Posted January 17, 2014 Author Share Posted January 17, 2014 The new solenoid I just purchased is a continuous flow rv type and states it allows charging of both batteries, but yes it prevents discharging of the starter battery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 It will only allow both batteries to be charged if the solenoid/relay/isolator is energized. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kayakthecoast Posted January 17, 2014 Author Share Posted January 17, 2014 Define energized, Will plugging into 110 energize it? Or using a generator energize it? I'm assuming yes. I'll have to multi Meyer test it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linda s Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 Energized by the alternator. Don't think it works from the 110 hook up. If you could charge from that side you could drain too Linda S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kayakthecoast Posted January 17, 2014 Author Share Posted January 17, 2014 Today my wiper fuse popped again. For sure must be my wiper switch/relay, as it worked for a bit , first 20 mins. I'll take the steering column apart ( never done this) and hunt down a used replacement. Starter battery is no longer draining, so isolater is working. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kayakthecoast Posted January 18, 2014 Author Share Posted January 18, 2014 My local wreckers do not have a column wiper switch part #. 2. 177375 stamped on it. Anyone have a good online parts place I can get one from? I have my steering column apart. Looks like I need to take the steering wheel off too to get the switch out. For an 87 Toyota, manufacture date Aug 86. To dis amble: I already unscrewed the 2 small screws holding the switch in. Looks like I need to unscrew the 4 main screws ( 2 shown at red arrows) to get the yellow switch part out,to do this I'm going to have to pull the steering wheel. See pics, anyone done this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 The only online used parts link I have is http://car-part.com/cgi-bin/search.cgi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kayakthecoast Posted January 18, 2014 Author Share Posted January 18, 2014 Cheers I'll see if they have it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 Define energized, Will plugging into 110 energize it? Or using a generator energize it? I'm assuming yes. I'll have to multi Meyer test it Nope. The only way is via the key switch if it is going to do it's job The wiper circuit is a very commonplace to draw power from for the relay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 Now I'll admit to not being an electronics (or even electric) expert, but would a jumper with a diode not allow the starting battery to be charged from shore power but stop the starting battery from discharging while boondocking? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 Now I'll admit to not being an electronics (or even electric) expert, but would a jumper with a diode not allow the starting battery to be charged from shore power but stop the starting battery from discharging while boondocking? Yes but you still could end up with two dead batteries. It would have to be a pretty hefty diode with cooling. What I have used is a combiner. They are nothing more than a "smart" relay the relay looks just like any other isolator relay but is energized by electronics it reads battery voltage on both batteries allowing it to charge the truck battery when the coach battery is at higher voltage the same thing happens when the truck battery is at higher voltage. They also will not combine both batteries until the truck battery is around 13 volts thus reducing the load on the truck charging system. When the truck battery drops to 12.7 volts the combiner disconnects.They are about 65% more expensive that a common relay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kayakthecoast Posted January 19, 2014 Author Share Posted January 19, 2014 My wiper switch may be a secondary issue I just found a shorted wire coming from my main engine fuse box directly to the batteries! I'm going to inline splice a new wire and rewire my batteries and start from there. Thanks for all the advice. I drove it for an hour yesterday and when I used my turn signals, the engine battery and park brake flashed on and off on my dash! Think the culprit is the shorted exposed wire mentioned above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kayakthecoast Posted January 24, 2014 Author Share Posted January 24, 2014 Think I have everything fixed now, re wired everything from both batteries, found a nasty exposed wire half cut in a bad bend coming from one of the batteries to my main engine fuse box! Wiper fuse has not blown yet, need to take it for a good drive though. Probably didn't need to replace my wiper motor, I still have the old one. Focused back on my cab over build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WME Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 Welcome to the wonderful world of fixing problems caused by something that the P/O did or didn't do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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