Christmas dash (dash lights stay on; dash lights come on while driving)

So this one is kicking my butt. (I guess most problems with these vans do:?:). Started off with the Christmas lights. Drove van for about 20 min after Christmas lights and it dies. Ok, replaced alternator and charged battery at O'reilly. They said battery was fine. Then drive about 20 minutes (No christmas lights), van dies, then won't turn over at all. Do nothing but let it sit for several hours, it starts and runs fine for about 5 minutes, then dies again. Charge battery overnight, replace fusible link - the one outside the battery cage. Drives (again no christmas lights) for about 20 minutes and dies again. Let cool off. Starts for a test no problem, but no time for a test drive. Come back to do more diagnostic attempts and battery is dead. (Door had been left open for a while so this is unrelated except that I don't think the battery would have been dead if it had started on a full charge.)

So take battery to Autozone. It tests ok after charge. Take alternator to autozone and have it bench tested. Its good. Go back to van and install everything, van runs for 30 minutes, seems to be exhibiting some signs that the battery is getting low, i.e. the radio starts to make a weird whining sound, and then christmas lights again:(:!

It almost seems to me like something is pulling way too much juice and the alternator just can't keep up. But how to trouble shoot?

Thanks for any suggestions.

If at all possible, I'd start by trying a different battery. "Tests good" and IS good are two different things (as I found out the last time). Also check the wiring from the alternator (the harness and the junction at the "plus box" are vulnerable). But the battery is still where I'd start. If the battery isn't really charging and the alternator gets stressed as a result, the van will "Christmas dash" even though the alternator itself is fine.

Gwen

Yes, I forgot to mention that my last attempt was with a different battery, from my car, which worked fine in my car both before and after the attempt on the van. So it sounds like a new alternator wiring harness to eliminate that as a possibility would be my best bet. Unless there are any other suggestions of something else I should try first, I'll do that and let you know the results.

Solved. So I did something really stupid. I didn't disconnect the battery when I installed my first alternator, and in the process I shorted it out. So it finally tested bad, and they gave me another one, and everything is great now. Thanks for your input.

I've been having the christmas lights again! It's been an ongoing thing with this van, and to date I've replaced the alternator, alternator wiring harness, and the fusible link. Interestingly, my battery tests at 12.5V when the van is off, and at 14.7 with the van at idle, indicating that the alternator is charging the battery. Where do I go from here? The only other thing that looks a little iffy is the negative battery terminal cable that runs under the van. It's a little corroded in the usual blue/green copper corrosion way. Could this cause the christmas lights issue by itself? If not, what else to check? I'm in the middle of moving right now too, so half my tools are at my new place, while my laid-up van is sitting at my old place! Not the best situation, but I need to try and get this figured today so I can get back to moving couches!
Any ideas?

thanks!
-Sam

I think that negative battery cable is just the ground right? You do want to make sure that it is good, but according to your readings it seems like it would be charging. Have you had the battery tested to make sure it is taking a full charge? Has the van left you stranded yet? If I were you, I would have the battery tested as that is easy. After that, you could have the alternator bench tested. Auto parts stores should do both of those tests for free. If neither of those things reveal anything, I would just drive it. I was having christmas lights for a while, and for me it was resolved when the alternator went completely bad and I was able to have it bench tested where I bought it and got another one for free. Sorry I couldn't be more help. Good Luck!

Do you have the drippy power steering pump syndrome? Getting ATF inside your alternator gums up the brushes and can cause them to intermittently make contact.

I had just this problem and tried to take a logical approach - which worked!:

1. Check charge fuse in the fusebox under the dash
2. Check all other fuses or relays/circuit breakers under the dash, in same fuse box/relay/circuit breaker board, reset circuit breakers if necessary
3. Check all fuses/fusible links on the bulkhead/panel behind driver's seat
4. Run the engine and tap the alternator while watching for the alarm/warning lights going off (if brushes are really worn, this can sometimes jar them into a charging position temporarily)
5. Find the fusible link near the battery - I think it is part of the cable - check for full voltage at the circuit braekers/heavy fuses behind driver's seat (UK side drivers seat)
6. Check (SEE BELOW) the regulator behind the glovebox, if my Townace does not have an integral regulator in the alternator
7. If none of these work, remove alternator and test on the bench by spinning with a drill, with a small battery to excite it into action and a load with an ammeter and voltmeter.
8. If alternator is dead, strip and replace brushes/clean up commutator, check diode pack etc.

I found the answer to the above question on AceAnswers, I checked everything on my list and then connected a wire from the F terminal on the regulator (with the regulator plugged in, by slipping a wire into the multiplug) and earthed this wire (this is as per instructions in the Toyota manual). I tried it through a bulb first but it needed to earth directly. This competes the circuit in the alternator and makes it charge fully if it can. The alarm sound went off, the warning lights went out and stayed that way when I removed the wire! I guess the regulator is on the way out and I have tricked it into lasting a bit longer.

Hey everybody!!

I'm new to the site and sure am glad I found you all!! I got an 88 4x4 last year and am in love with my van, I got the fold down bed, Thule box on top and a set of BF All Terrains, this thing is unstopable. What I need to know about is that my dash warning lights are all blinking very sporadically on and off?? I'm about to tear into it but wanted to confront the VanWagon Army first!! Anything helps

:pissed: Hot Howard

Hello and welcome to the site! You posted in the correct spot, but I moved your thread to main Van technical forum because your problem is not 4wd specific (your problem is common to all vans 84-89). The search terms that will bring you the best results are "christmas dash" or "alternator brushes". The information you find should address the fix. To address the cause (and prevent it from happening again right away), use search terms "power steering leak".

Here are a few links to good threads that should help you get the problem resolved. Tim

http://www.toyotavantech.com/forum/s...christmas+dash

http://www.toyotavantech.com/forum/s...lternator-woes

http://www.toyotavantech.com/forum/s...rnator-harness

http://www.toyotavantech.com/forum/s...christmas+dash

http://www.toyotavantech.com/forum/s...-Steering-Leak

Have fun and be sure to let us know your solution :wnk:. Tim

My 87 cargo van has had intermittently blinking cluster lights for about a year now and I have not yet succeeded in fixing the problem. Everybody seems to agree this is a common problem and indicates a fault in the charging system. This makes sense and seems to be right nearly all of the time but I have been unable to fix the problem despite having gone through the charging system quite thoroughly. I see another thread suggesting that this condition can also be caused by a faulty oil level sensor. Seems odd, I know, but I'm suspicious that this may be the case with my van. First time I had this problem was after I had the oil level sensor out while I was rebuilding the engine and I decided to clean the sensor up a a bit. I sprayed it with some electrical contact cleaner then reinstalled it. Right after that, the oil light came on very briefly a few times when I hit a bump in the road. Oil level was fine and I assume pressure was good ( engine was not hot at all). Then the entire Christmas display started coming on for a second or so - again only when I hit a bump. Figured I would just replace the oil level sensor switch to rule this possibility out but the little thing is quite expensive so now I just put up with the lights coming on for a very brief moment when I hit a bump in the road. It'll go for a few months never coming on at all then it'll start up again - always when hitting a bump. I am assuming the sloshing of the oil around in the pan is related to a faulty oil level switch.
Does this seem like a reasonable possibility or am I barking up the wrong tree here?

At one point I too have experienced "long term intermittent Christmas lights" (went on for over a year). That alternator eventually failed, and when I replaced it the problem was gone. In my case the problem was most likely due to "sticky brushes" caused by a leaky power steering pump or perhaps a faulty voltage regulator. Another possible cause could be a failing harness. The round plug on the back of the alternator with 3 small wires going into it is a stress point for the wires. They wiggle back and forth here and over time (about 20 years or 150k miles) the strands inside begin to break. When all the strands have fractured the result can be intermittent "Christmas dash". If your van has over 150k miles on it and your harness is original, then I'd probably consider replacing it as "preventive maintenance".

If your PS pump is (or has been) dripping fluid on the alternator, then I'd be more suspicious of contaminated brushes. Voltage regulators fail too but in my experience these are pretty tough. I'm not sure what to think about the oil level sensor causing this. My gut tells me no, but I've seen stranger things. Tim

Thanks, I'll have a look at that harness . Blinking warning lights are not something I even want to try and get used to seeing. Every time they blink it bugs me.

I would suspect the alternator. Mine went out in Glacier Park last summer after a minor accident with a lawyer from Helena, He backed up as I was pulling into a parking spot (at maybe 20 mph) and my bumper caught his, it was quite a jolt. When I restarted and started up to Logan pass we got a nasty electrcal/plastic burning smell in the cabin, I thought it was the plastic cap to an oil bottle I lost in the engine compartment earlier but the alternator fried shortly thereafter.

These rebuilt alternators must have some component that is susceptible to nasty jolts and causes a short (Internal voltage regulator?), your correlation with bumps makes sense to me. I would at least make sure to carry a spare alternator on long trips.:redvan:

Greetings,

I have posted on TVP forum but trust the experience here now a days.
See http://www.toyotavanpeople.com/forum...hp?f=8&t=10094

My Christmas lights are on, the battery is charged yet I believe the alternator is not charging battery once van is running (remains in 12s on volt meter). ALT has been bench tested and is OK. The catch is that when the RPMs go above 2800-3000, the lights go off until RPMs drop below. Could a fusible link or cable be loose? Any thoughts would be helpful. Thanks again to this great community for keeping Stanly running. :bluevan:

Usually the symptoms you describe mean a failed alternator. When you had it bench tested was it done by a seasoned tech or a pimply faced counter person? Assuming the alternator is actually good, then the next most likely problem is a bad alternator wiring harness. These harnesses tend to fail right where the small wires go into the round plastic plug. The wires fatigue & break inside the insulation (so it may pass a visual inspection but still be bad).

There are plenty of threads on this site that contain the information you are looking for. Here's one to get you started: http://www.toyotavantech.com/forum/s...rnator+harness. Good luck. Tim

PS: Your issue doesn't sound to me like a bad fusible link, but it's never a bad idea to inspect them from time to time. Here's a thread that shows locations and describes function: http://www.toyotavantech.com/forum/s...t=fusible+link

I had a family emergency today and had to drive the van hard. Starting out from a light when switching from 2 to 3rd the tranny oil temp light, battery charge, and radiator lights went on (but not check engine). I had to drive for another half hour to get home ( didn't want to shut it down and get stuck) , pulled it in the garage, turned it off and on but lights are still on. Fluids are fine. Do I have to do a code reset? Seems fine now, no weird smells etc. Thanks in advance for any helpful suggestions.

It sounds like a failed alternator. Check the battery voltage while it's running. There should be 13.5 - 14.8 volts. Anything outside of that range indicates an issue with the alternator, a fusible link, or faulty wiring. By far alternator failures are the most common. If the alternator is covered in ATF (from the power steering pump) then you should fix that leak before repair/replacement of the alternator or you'll be facing the same issue again in the near future. Tim

Thanks Tim, I will test it in the morning.

Right again Tim, no power coming from the alternator. I have a rebuilt on the way and a power steering pump too. Gonna change them both on Thursday. Thanks again.