compression test

[ndnihart]

Hi all,
I have an 88 4wd le van, which I'm trying to do a compression test on. To prep, I removed the spark plugs, the EFI fuse, and disconnected the connections to the distributor (both the green connectors). However, it wouldn't crank. Looking at the electrical diagram for the distributor, it looked like the bottom green connector didn't need to be disconnected, so I reconnected that (only the top one that runs from the fusible link still disconnected), but it still won't crank). It trips something when I try, to where the battery terminals have to be removed and reconnected to restore power. Is there a different process for disabling the distributor for a compression test, or did I read the electrical diagram wrong and should only disconnect the bottom green connector?

12584

[Ian R.]

Sounds like you are doing it right. Double check that you are removing the efi fuse and not the starter system fuse (the fuse below the efi fuse). Here is a link to the fuse diagram https://www.toyotavantech.com/forum/showthread.php?706-fuse-panel-layout

[ndnihart]

Thanks! Yeah, I'm pulling the 15a efi fuse.

When I was putting things back together after giving up for the day, I forgot to plug the distributor connector back together (the efi fuse and spark plugs were back in) before trying to start it, and it turned over just fine, making me think that it's something about the efi fuse being out that causes something to trip? There's a click that sounds like it is coming from the fusible link right when everything dies and I have to remove/reconnect the battery. So would that mean there's a short in the system before the fuse - bad relay? ground wire chewed through by a mouse? Been trying to wrap my mind around electrical systems, but it's taking a while.

(tried to upload images of the wiring diagrams here, but they weren't readable w/ the 19.5kb file size limit, so linked out to uploads on imgur instead):

http://imgur.com/a/2RiPeCV
https://imgur.com/a/5NBKnI3 (http://imgur.com/a/2RiPeCV)
https://imgur.com/a/Snq03F7