Wiring improvements for Open Door warning, and for radio, etc.

[robgagnon]

The issue is that sometimes I drain the battery forgetting to depress the little button above the key, or forgetting to close a door all the way.

I feel that a warning that a door is open would be appropriate to have if the car is running, for safety reasons.

And that it would be nice to be able to play the radio without the car running.

I am familiar in general with reading schematics, and I have the wiring schematics. But so I do not have to reinvent what someone such as Tim has already considered, does anyone have any good ideas on how to acheive all this?

I would be willing to give up the dome light coming on when a door is opened...

Seems like first of all cutting the wire from the accessory on the ignition switch would be in order. Then I could install a rocker switch somewhere to run the accessory from an always hot source. And seems like I could rewire the van so the open door circuit is only powered from a switched source.

Looking at the schematics, I see the accessory powers the radio and also a "Magnetic Clutch". What is that and why would Toyota have powered such a thing in accessory mode?

Thanks!

[timsrv]

The easy way would be to pull #5 fuse (Dome 7.5 A), then put a couple of wires with spade connectors in the fuse's conductor slots. Now put an inline fuse of the same value and a switch on these wires. When the switch is off the dome light will not work. When the switch is on it will. The only question I have (without looking it up in the schematics) is what else is powered up by this circuit? Cutting power here may disable something else you may need when the switch is off. To test this, simply pull that fuse and leave it out until you can check things and you're satisfied this will work for you. FYI, pulling/reinstalling the fuse will give the same result as flipping the switch on/off (just easier flipping a switch). Tim

PS: If the problem is you not making sure the key is in the correct position before pulling it out, then you'll either need tie a string around your finger or replace the ignition tumbler. The ignition tumbler is not supposed to let you remove the key until it's in the "off" position. However, when these get old and worn this feature fails. Putting in a new tumbler will solve the issue. Tim

[llamavan]

I'm pretty sure the clock is on the same fuse as the dome light (going by memory here).

Gwen

[timsrv]

I just checked the schematics and see you're right. So if you have a clock and you want it to keep time, you could switch the memory wire (red) over to another circuit that's always on. Lots of places in this area to grab power from. You could even put it on the hot side of the new switch you're installing. Tim

[Bangchong]

Isn't there anyway to just remove the bulb which illuminates on the dash cluster when the door is open?

[robgagnon]

I could remove the lights on the doors (I have an LE) and the warning light, but I would still have the the cigarette lighter draw (with my USB charger), and the radio. Plus I want these items to work when the car is running. I when I have some time I think I will disconnect the accessory circuit from the key, and rewire it to regular ignition circuit. The main question I have remaining is that is this "magnetic clutch" that is driven off the accessory line? Why did Toyota wire it this way? What will I be screwing up?

[craftech]

When I work on my 84, I remove the dome light fuse if I am leaving the battery connected.

John