dead in a parking lot (no start no lights)

[joegri]

well everything has been good with my van till this afternoon. i went into a store and went to start the primer van and ....nothin but a faint but a faint hummm/buzz under the dash? after closer inspection i found a ground cable loose i mean spin on the post loose!i called my pal with a vanagon that i have helped in the past for a jump but still not much of a difference. so i removed the battery and brought it home n put it on the charger.iguess i,ll go ahead n git the van to my house some how and go over every connection first and and try some trouble shooting to see why she just gave up the ghost. cover me i,m going in!! i,ll post back later when i have a better idea whats going on.i just dont get it ... it started fine in my yard then no start at the store. it,s quite possible that it was running on battery power for the 10 minutes. also there was no christmas tree lights so thats encouraging! wish nme luck.

[timsrv]

Take a look at this thread: http://www.toyotavantech.com/forum/showthread.php?126-Ignition-switch-question.

[joegri]

thanx for posting that thread tim. i got the van back in my yard n started performing every check and test i could think of. i started with the easy stuff first thuroly cleaned and inspected the battery cables and body ground wires. checked the fuses inspected the fuseable link.all seemed clean and in good working order. how coould this van start fine a few minutes ago and be dead in ten minutes so i started hunting around the wires. well i found the fuse block that is mounted on the fire wall had rattled loose. well thinking back yesterday i had yacked out some schrubbery/stumps!!! well i,m thinkin that the work i did with it yesterday must have shakin loose the block. i did check under the colum that was in really nice shape too. so i cleaned and remounted the block touched the key and swoshhhhh she fired right off as if nothing had happened. so all is well and cuz of the stuff you can read here on tvt i was able to know what to look for and diagnose and repair it!! i should,nt speak so soon cuz it could do the samething tomorrow!!! but as of this moment i think i got it.

[timsrv]

I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for you :wnk:.

[joegri]

thanx for the good juju tim!!! you can uncross yer fingers now. the van started fine and ran good all day so, i,m more than sure that i fixed it. i also wanted to post a few pics of what i looked for and worked on so if any of the other folk ran into this it,s kind of a good starting point. besides if you,re like me I LIKE PICS !!! and i also want to make sure the come up.looking back 24 hours if i had to guess it was a combo of a loosely fitting ground wire and a major power fuse block that got rattled off. even though i,ve had this van for 7 or so years i only started driving it in august when the silver was just to far gone to fix. smart money went into this 1 and has been a good soldier but i,m sure some things will show soon enough. if you guyz are like me i try to read the posts that are really important to keeping the vans running.check that they all are imporant!!

[ingmire]

Just pulled up to the beach and now 30 mins later I turn the key on my van and there is no sign of power at all. No dash lights / no light on my phone charger (cigarette lighter). No wipers. Turn the key nothing happens. Seems like the batt isn't engaged at all. But the headlights turn on? Even when the batt is super low the dash lights turn on.

I just installed a new battery last week and everything has been working fine (until now).

I also have these wires exposed in the steering colum. Maybe I snagged something there? But not that I'm aware of

'Reading up on the fusible link threads'

checked behind the front passanger seats. All fuses seem to be intact.
5304

Visually inspected belattery box. Unscrewed leads off positive terminal, inspected ingoing and outgoing connections. Everything looks to be 'securely' connected.

Havent checked the fusible on the outside of the battery box yet. It's raining and I'm parked in a mud puddle...

i did hit a large bump on my last commute.
and got stuck in the sand, which appears to have deposited some sand on top of the battery.
New tires may have forcefully shot sand against the fuse on the exterior of batt box

looks like I've located the problem. 1.25 fusible link (I think it's called). On the exterior of batt box. One wire was disconnected (broken) and I broke the other jostling it around a bit. Now just to see about reattaching with only a razor knife and some electrical tape. Which will hopefully be enough to get me to the store to buy some of those 'eyelet' connectors.

53055306

yup that did the trick :) back on the road!!! Thanks so much to everyone's advice here on the forum
5312

thank you!!

[daverave64]

did it start? hopefully so

[zak99b5]

I hope you didn't hit that bike in front of you!!

[okstraw]

So. I have a 1987 4x4 5-spd Van and I was traveling home for the holidays and I stopped for about 15 mins to drop off something. Then I went to the gas station just miles down the road and got gas. After I got gas the van would not start up again. I assumed it was the starter because once before we had had this issue at a gas station and we had smacked the starter a few times and we were rolling again in no time. I tried that but still nothing. I felt like I might have heard the classic click sound of a bad starter a few times during this ordeal, but now I think I may have imagined it. I hailed a helper and tried a jump start and still nothing. A friend showed up with a tow strap and pulled the van - I tried to pull start it twice and still absolutely nothing. My dome light inside the van wouldn’t even turn on.

We pulled it in third gear (downhill) back to the heated garage and I went and ate dinner with them and when I came back I noticed the dome light was on! What?! Did the pulling charge it? So I tried the headlights and I got a little buzz, but no lights. I tried a quick start, but nothing. I put a trickle charger on the battery overnight, but it still didn’t start in the morning. Then I tested the battery voltage and it’s reading a solid 12.99v and it’s a good True Start battery. The connections look fine and not corroded.

The only wild card factor is that I had an inverter on the battery (I have it wired in with a breaker that I trip when I leave the van), which I did not remember to trip for that 15 minute stop or that brief gas stop. Other factors: it’s cold, but it’s been starting up just great after much colder -5 degree nights until this.

I have a new starter motor in my possession, but it doesn’t seem like that’s the issue. Ignition switch? How do I rule the alternator out? There was formerly a power steering leak, but I put in a whole new pump recently and it’s been fine since then. Why no lights at all? Why wouldn’t it push start?! Need help so I can get home.

[VanCo]

Check all of the fuses, fusible links, and grounds per the instruction in this thread and others like it.

[okstraw]

I have checked all the fuses and they are fine. The battery ground seems a little corroded so I’ll try cleaning that up first, but it seems like an unlikely culprit.

[okstraw]

I am no electrical expert but I unplugged the ignition switch, took the negative off the battery, and put the key in the ignition. Then I used my multimeter to test resistance/continuity of the terminals of the ignition switch in accordance with the ‘87 service manual chart. In no combination of terminals did I read 0 resistance. The multimeter stayed steady at infinite. Does this mean it is the problem or is there another link in the chain that I am missing here?

[VanCo]

The headlights do not run through the ignition switch. If your headlights are not turning on then you have a main power supply problem. You said you checked the fuses. Did you check the fuses under the dash, and in the engine compartment? Also, it is imperative that you check the fusible links.

[okstraw]

Ah, good point. Can you help me find all the links I need to check? I can’t find many clear instructions of where to look to make sure I’m not missing anything.

[VanCo]

Start here:

https://www.toyotavantech.com/forum/showthread.php?136-The-fusible-link-thread

[okstraw]

Ok so I think I’ve solved it with the fusible links. The 2.0L fusible link was completely disconnected. It took a while to locate it. I’ve put it all back together with a 10-12 gage eyelet and now everything works... except my turn signals. Odd but not undrivable.

[boogieman]

haha oh YOU solved it! VanCo says youre welcome...

[okstraw]

Yes, I did. Vanco helped point me to vital information that helped me locate the issue, which I then physically solved. The snark seems unwarranted. And yes, thank you to all at TVT. I’m new here.

[VanCo]

Happy to have helped! I am glad you got it figured out.

For the blinkers, check the plug and wiring under the steering column. You mentioned unplugging the ignition switch. It is possible there is an issue with the plug.

[okstraw]

Thanks Vanco. Well the van drove from MN to GA without a hiccup after that last fix and now, sitting in front of the house it won’t start again. The dome light works, but the thing won’t start. I tapped the starter and still nothing. Ugh.