****. More Battery terminal problems with my '88 PU 4x4 EFI. Need quick help.

Hi,

I experienced the EXACT same problem with an '87 pickup. Which, by the way, was a GREAT vehicle except for the electrical system. By the time I had traded it (11 years of good service) for a new 4Runner, half of the dash light were gone and there was some sort of slow draw on the battery. I tend to think that some Toyotas from that era have chronic problems with the electrical system.

Anyhoo, in regards to the problem, you cannot get that one specific wire from Toyota. You have to buy the entire wiring harness which was about $400

6 years ago. Instead I had a mechanic build a new wire to the proper specs and it worked beautifully. I still had to clean it quite often due to the slow draw from the battery but I never had that problem again. I think any capable mechanic can build that piece and it should work fine. However it just makes sense to monitor the electrical system on your truck from here on out.

Hope this helps,

Phil

Thank you SO MUCH! Like I said, I had problems with this wire before and I was able to get it to hold together with electrical tape, but that was a temp sollution apparently. My friend is a welder and is good with wires so that's good.

Can you tell me exactly what the mechanic did? Do you have any suggestions on cleaning the wires to get rid of the corrosion? Thanks.

Do you have MSN or AIM?

Mine broke because I was too lazy to install new battery hold downs (which I have doen since). I simply cut the wire back to where I found clean copper then used a butt-splicer and added a length of #8 stranded copper wire. I left it a little longer than stock in case the battery decides to move... :>))

I cripmed on a ring terminal that was sized for a 1/4" bolt, and placed it under the clamp bolt on the battery clamp. Haven't had any problems since...

Tom - Vista, CA

Baking Soda works wonders for cleaning the corrosion off your battery terminals :)

Do you have any

Thanks guys. My friend also suggested Coke to wash the corrosion.

hey,

The mechanic literally made a new wire using the old connector that attaches to the engine block fusebox. Note that the fusebox connector is a WEIRD shape. Then he simply took a generic connecter that would attach to the battery end and voila. That's it. In fact, I remember that this guy didn't even charge me a penny for that part. The way I look at it was that it was a $400 savings!

For the corrosion, just use a water and baking soda solution. It's also a good idea to use some battery terminal felts after you get it good and clean.

Regards,

Phil

Phil The felt washers work good but will dry out and lose their effectiveness. Keep an eye on them and when they start to look dry and/or shrunken replace or just use a heavy grease like wheel bearing lube around the bottom of the post where it comes through the plastic battery top. The grease will seal the opening and keep the gasses from coming through the microscopic openings.