2006 Toyota Land Cruiser - “Last Price” dossers in full swing

[Dobloseven]

Not much help,but reminds me of a VW T4 we owned many years ago with a 5 cylinder diesel engine.I'd taken it to a VW specialist to have the head gasket and timing belt changed.It was never "quite right" after all this work.At one point a big fuse blew.Checking,it was bigger than recommended as well.Fortunately,it was just a strip of metal with screw holes,so easy and cheap to change.Soon blew again.Traced the problem to a strip of metal that carried current to the glow plugs.It was a very convoluted shape to clear other engine parts and coated in plastic insulation where necessary.The garage had refitted it the wrong way round and it'd chafed against the engine, eventually rubbing the insulation away,causing a short.

[St.Jude]

1 hour ago, Mr Pastry said:

OP I appreciate your frustration, it looks a total nightmare, but you have to be methodical about electrics.

You also need a wiring diagram, and take the time to understand it.   If you haven't got one, why not?

So the alternator is tested and is OK. 

The fuse blew to protect the alternator, which is what it is there for. 

140 amps is a lot of juice, there must be a massive short somewhere. 

If you replace the fuse without finding the problem it will just blow again.

AIUI car will start and run, fuse does not blow immediately but a short time later.  Is that correct?

If so, what system is cutting in a short time later which is causing an overload?   

So Tuesday it ran for about half an hour, drove for 5 miles flawlessly. It was bone dry.

Wednesday it was hammering down with rain, went 300 yards and the wipers stopped and the dashboard lit up, sans battery light.

From yesterday I think it’s possible it got wet around where the cable attaches via a 10mm nut as the cover was loose. There was enough there to let water in.

The only thing that could possibly put a load on it right at the beginning is the auxiliary heater. I think that was on yesterday morning, but because I know coolant goes through it I was running that system on Tuesday too.

[goosey]

Could the wiper motor be siezing up and putting to much load on the system?

I maybe recall you had an issue with the wipers when you first bought the car ? 

[St.Jude]

22 minutes ago, goosey said:

Could the wiper motor be siezing up and putting to much load on the system?

I maybe recall you had an issue with the wipers when you first bought the car ? 

I'd be surprised as I lube it up in the summer to prevent it happening again. Although that time it was an awful screeching sound until it stopped. I did use the wipers on Tuesday to clean the windscreen.

[lesapandre]

Auxiliary heater? You mean interior heater?

These have, or at least mine does, a second heater matrix under the back seat with fan and pipework connection. The whole thing gets gummed up with fluff and disuse. Might be worth checking there. Wiper motor sounds a suspect. Try running them with the wipes off the screen and look at wiring.

Water ingress does sound a candidate.

[St.Jude]

54 minutes ago, lesapandre said:

Auxiliary heater? You mean interior heater?

These have, or at least mine does, a second heater matrix under the back seat with fan and pipework connection. The whole thing gets gummed up with fluff and disuse. Might be worth checking there. Wiper motor sounds a suspect. Try running them with the wipes off the screen and look at wiring.

Water ingress does sound a candidate.

Well it warms up the interior but it’s a pump on the engine with an electrical element in it connected to the cooling system. You put it on in the cold and warms everything up quicker.

New £10 fuse possibly allows for the removal of it easier than taking the fuse box apart.

anyway it’s in, I’ve got the heater on, I’ve got the wipers on, nothing is going bang yet.

Really do think it was the alternator getting wet inside the dust cap.

[St.Jude]

So I took it down the road to get a drop of diesel. Got there fine, filled up fine, drove home fine.

That's 3 power cycles it's done and nothing has gone pop yet.

[DeanH]

16 minutes ago, St.Jude said:

So I took it down the road to get a drop of diesel. Got there fine, filled up fine, drove home fine.

That's 3 power cycles it's done and nothing has gone pop yet.

Sell it quick!

[loserone]

£300 2nite mate 

 

(Could add a zero but I'd still not be there)

[loserone]

On 19/08/2021 at 19:47, St.Jude said:

Other than wipers that don't work, it's a fucking lovely car to drive. If it's dry.

This seems to be a consistent theme

[St.Jude]

6 minutes ago, loserone said:

This seems to be a consistent theme

It does doesn’t it.

[Zelandeth]

Hate to sound gloomy, but an alternator getting wet absolutely shouldn't cause a huge fuse like that to blow.  Alternators in cars get wet all the time without issues.  Blasting the thing with a pressure washer while the engine is running shouldn't cause anything to happen other than it maybe going off charge for a few seconds.

Yes water is conductive, but not enough to cause a massive bloody short like that at 12/24V.  

If there is something that's that sensitive to water that far down in the engine bay in a vehicle, never mind one that's supposed to handle off road situations where it's entirely likely to be getting dumped into deep water, the designers should be bloody ashamed of themselves.

[Dobloseven]

Will it make it to WBAC?

[Mr Pastry]

The wiring diagrams kindly posted don't show the 24 volt start thing, unfortunately.  They show a normal 12 volt start/charge system.  The 140 amp fuse is purely to protect the alternator and if it blew, everything should still work until the battery ran down.

I think I would be looking at the cable between the alternator and the battery/fuse box, if only to rule it out. 

[lesapandre]

Or a Chinesium fuse. 

I'd disconnect the auxiliary heater now the days are better.

Stress-test it at home - hose out (bonnet closed) and all the electrics on. See if you can reproduce the problem - in controlled conditions.

[Bear]

19 hours ago, Zelandeth said:

Hate to sound gloomy, but an alternator getting wet absolutely shouldn't cause a huge fuse like that to blow. 

No, but I think an alternator lead/bolt not done up fully could, and that was also mentioned - by effectively causing a huge resistance and load. The 140A on the wiring diagram is described in a similar way to the fusible link on many older cars, where it was part of the battery to starter circuit. A bad connection there, excess resistance/current draw, start it - it blows the fuse but runs because all the other circuits are intact (and it's a diesel) but is no longer charging the battery, depletes a 12V battery that normally feeds the conventional electrics and accessories...

[St.Jude]

Car is on AutoTrader now. Grab yourself an excuse to keep busy or to try depression medication.

[St.Jude]

When putting this on sale I knew I’d get interest from two groups of people. So far I’ve had 3 calls from one set.

1 was being a bit accusatory of me because I didn’t put my address in the advert (this is AutoTrader btw)

1 I think can’t afford it but said he’d like to see it in a week if it’s still there.

1 just now who wanted a direct number and I said no ring me through the advert. Asked me what the best price was and I told him it’s on the advert as it’s already cheap at that. Asks something else, then goes “what’s the bottom line with the price”. “Did I stutter mate? It’s on the advert”. Then hangs up.

Still that’s 3 more calls than last time 😂

[Lacquer Peel]

On 28/02/2025 at 14:36, Mr Pastry said:

The wiring diagrams kindly posted don't show the 24 volt start thing, unfortunately.  They show a normal 12 volt start/charge system.  The 140 amp fuse is purely to protect the alternator and if it blew, everything should still work until the battery ran down.

I think I would be looking at the cable between the alternator and the battery/fuse box, if only to rule it out. 

Two 12v batteries doesn't make a 24v system. Lots of older Japanese 4x4s have 12v systems and two batteries - for hard cold starts and accessories I think. They will start with one battery. 

Good luck with the sale St. Jude 

[St.Jude]

1 hour ago, Lacquer Peel said:

Two 12v batteries doesn't make a 24v system. Lots of older Japanese 4x4s have 12v systems and two batteries - for hard cold starts and accessories I think. They will start with one battery. 

Good luck with the sale St. Jude 

They’re hooked up in to 24v when it starts, after it reverts to 12v.

[RoverFolkUs]

What system does it have in place to switch the battery configuration from parallel to series when cranking?

As far as I know, the twin battery setup is equivalent to having a permanent jump pack attached, not to ramp it up in series to 24v 

[St.Jude]

3 minutes ago, RoverFolkUs said:

What system does it have in place to switch the battery configuration from parallel to series when cranking?

As far as I know, the twin battery setup is equivalent to having a permanent jump pack attached, not to ramp it up in series to 24v 

Not entirely sure. From memory I think there’s a relay that hooks the two batteries to become 24v. The starter itself is rated 24v.

A common modification people do is remove all of that bollocks. They’ll still run 2 batteries but change it to a 12v system, and use the other battery as a leisure thing for glamping.

[Mr Pastry]

2 hours ago, Lacquer Peel said:

Two 12v batteries doesn't make a 24v system. Lots of older Japanese 4x4s have 12v systems and two batteries - for hard cold starts and accessories I think. They will start with one battery. 

I get that, but my point was, it was not really the correct diagram for the car and so can't be entirely trusted for diagnosis.   

It might be connected quite differently with a 2 battery system, and it would be useful to see how that worked in case it was a factor in the fuse blowing. 

 

[St.Jude]

11 minutes ago, Mr Pastry said:

I get that, but my point was, it was not really the correct diagram for the car and so can't be entirely trusted for diagnosis.   

It might be connected quite differently with a 2 battery system, and it would be useful to see how that worked in case it was a factor in the fuse blowing. 

 

Welcome to Toyota Land Cruiser ownership.

Fuck all diagrams. Fuck all Haynes manuals. Just press blindly at the controls until someone lets you go.