[canadian_psyko]

My car has been giving me problems of late. First my deck got stolen, along with my air/fuel ratio gauge and a bunch of little things, like the light that goes in the center console holder.
Then my alternator died, instead of reading here first and rebuilding it, I just went and got a new one from NAPA, and now I'm about to take it back for the 3rd time because the voltage regulator isn't working.
Then a couple nights ago, my dash lights just cut out. All instrument, heater control lights, nothing. headlights still work. And, from what I can tell, the little light under the hood is dead too. Today I checked all the fuses, in the process discovering that there is no fuse for the dome light, hense its non-functioning state.
Any ideas? If possible, I want to avoid having to pull the dash apart and start poking around with a multimeter, but knowing how fast I'm going at night again would be nice.
So far the ideas I'm tossing around that it could be are: 1) the fried voltage regulator managed to let some wires get fried. 2) in ripping out my stereo they managed to cross/cut/pull enough wiring to mess things up.
Ideally I'm going to be starting to drive my Celica again soon, and the Supra will finally have some work starting on it.

Thanks

Cam

 

[CJSREDPRA]

2 places to look for dash light fuses.

Drivers side kickpanel (read the diagram on the cover).

Fusible breaker that is in the fusebox that's above the battery. Pop the cover & check one of the 3 round breakers that is at the bottom (should be the middle one). Sometimes they pop up a little bit, push it back down.

 

[canadian_psyko]

The fuses are all good. Other things, from what i can see and feel, good shape, and in place.
Oh well, hopefully I'll have a job soon and be able to get something done with it.

 

[MKII boy]

Then my alternator died, instead of reading here first and rebuilding it, I just went and got a new one from NAPA, and now I'm about to take it back for the 3rd time because the voltage regulator isn't working.

shiiiit. that's exactly what i did a few weeks ago -- maybe i should have had that stock alternator rebuilt :? although, i'm not having any problems (so far) with the new NAPA alternator; sometimes after cruising on the highway, the emergency brake light comes on while driving -- but other than that, everything seems to be fine.

-Evan

 

[DKJones96]

the dimmer switch. sounds stupid but it isn't a variable resistor there are all these little chips in it and stuff. take off the connector and i think the two wires right next to eachother can be wired together, won't have dimmer control but i don't either and i've done the same thing. i'm not sure what the 3rd pin at the top does tho. i checked every fuse i could and finally tried this and it worked. been like that for over a year.

 

[Dean]

Cam, do your taillights and side marker lights work? If not, check the Tail fuse in the engine compartment fuse box. They are on the same fuse as the dash lights.
There is a fuse for the dome light. It is in the drivers side kick panel fusebox, furthest to the left on the bottom row.

Dimmer switch is just a variable resistor for analog clusters. Different for digital clusters. Try playing with it and see if the lights flicker on and off.
DKJones, you must have a digital dash, right?

Evan,
If the E-brake light comes on, it could indicate one of these things...
1. Low brake fluid level.
2. E-brake handle isn't going all the way down to push the little switch, or maybe that switch is faulty.
3. Voltage regulator is on its way out.

If it is number 3, you should notice that your voltage is dropping. With car running at over 1000 rpms, get a voltmeter and check the voltage across your battery. Should be about 14.4 volts. Could be a bit less at idle, but should still be over 13 volts. If it's lower, your voltage reg is on it's last legs and you'll be going back to NAPA! Personally, I'd get the stock ND unit rebuilt.

 

[Marblehead]

Your dash light problem COULD be directly related to the alternator problem. The poor charging would contribute to no dash lights. The low output from the alternator is not enough to power all the accessories in addition to the neccessaries (fuel, spark).

The first car I owned had a similar event. Interior accessories (radio, dash lites) were dying until I replaced the alternator. No way to tell if this is the same thing that's going on with you until you replace the alternator....again. If after replacing the alternator you are still without dash lights then, obviously, there is another problem to remedy.

Boogers live here.
Scott

 

[scarletlizard]

I Knock on wood that I've never out of likely 20 ( not all Supras obiously) cars in my lifetime had an electrical situation. Worst I had was my kids, unbeknownst to me, were playing in my 84P 2 summers ago and turned the dimmer switch all the way to off. Boggled my mind for a bit I will admit. Checked it last cause when I found it I stopped looking :lol:
DJ

 

[MKII boy]

Evan,
If the E-brake light comes on, it could indicate one of these things...
1. Low brake fluid level.
2. E-brake handle isn't going all the way down to push the little switch, or maybe that switch is faulty.
3. Voltage regulator is on its way out.

If it is number 3, you should notice that your voltage is dropping. With car running at over 1000 rpms, get a voltmeter and check the voltage across your battery. Should be about 14.4 volts. Could be a bit less at idle, but should still be over 13 volts. If it's lower, your voltage reg is on it's last legs and you'll be going back to NAPA! Personally, I'd get the stock ND unit rebuilt.

Dean, i bought a NAPA alternator a few weeks ago and had my mechanic install it; i was looking for a quick fix -- my Soop' is my daily driver all year round, so i can't afford any downtime... so, i went to Reg Riemer's 'Mk2 Tech Notes' webpage, and it was pretty easy to diagnose that the voltage regulator was on it's way out. when i had both the foglights and headlights on, and defrost on full blast, my voltage dipped down real low, and both the charge warning light and brake warning light came on at the same time... i know the e-brake handle is going down all the way, and i just had a new alternator installed; i'm going to check the brake fluid level tomorrow, thanks for the suggestion. btw, with my new alternator, i've only had the e-brake light come on a couple of times in the past three weeks, that only happened when i was doing ~120kph.

with my new alternator, when my Supra is idling, the voltage gauge on the instrument cluster reads about 14 volts. with both front and rear defrost and all of the lights on, the voltage dips down to a little below 12 volts. maybe i should source a correct ND alternator and have that rebuilt/rewired for higher amps -- a project for next year :twisted:

on a side note, Dean, the AFM i received from you has helped some of the hesitation that my car was suffering from; it's still not totally fixed though. a good thing is, since the new AFM has the mod done to it, the car seems to rev longer now. i have 4.10 gears and a 5 speed, and before, the car would be at ~3400rpms at 110kph in 5th. now, it's at ~3000rpms at 110 in 5th.

-Evan

 

[DKJones96]

i STILL day check the dimmer switch. you had a new stereo put in and that's what killed my dimmer. just pop off the panel and bridge the two wires right next to eachother it'll take like 3 mins and might work.