1987 Toyota Starlet Wiring Diagram

[Sympol]

Hello,

Recently renovated my 1987 Starlet (left hand drive model as I'm in Sweden). Passed rego checks etc. drove it for around 100km and seemed OK but suddenly it's now dead

Started OK yesterday morning, idled for a couple of minutes then I switched it off. On attempting to restart after 5 minutes, no warning lights on dash panel - except for performance light (linked to a vacuum sensor on the inlet manifold) and the radio, but no lights, horn, starter motor etc. The strange thing was that the electric cooling fan in the engine bay was running as soon as I turned the ignition key, although the engine was pretty well cool. Thought maybe the Battery had died, so recharged it - same result. Tried with a different Battery, same result.

Initial thoughts now are that a relay somewhere has died, cutting off almost all electrical supply, but I am unable to find a wiring diagram - the workshop manual I have (pretty useless Chilton version) does not contain any wiring diagrams or information on fuses etc. and the owners handbook just lists the fuses in the engine compartment and drivers door pillar - no mention of a couple of relays that sit in the engine bay fuse box.

Does anyone have a wiring diagram for this model - or any useful tips on what I should check first?

Any advice most welcome!

[mickburkesnr]

If it were me I'd get myself a multimeter (you get these fairly cheap now) and you can use these to check relays/fuses etc to see if they're working. 

You can also try and get hold of a Haynes manual for your car. They're fairly good and contain wiring diagrams. But I would be checking relays with the multimeter to see if any of them are dead. The fuses are easy enough to diagnose as you can just look at them and see if the wire is bust or not.

[Sympol]

Thanks for the response - I do have a multimeter and will try to narrow down the problem. There doesn't appear to be a Haynes manual for that model that I can find - the Chilton was the closest I could find...

Had another quick look just now and discovered that the problem appears to be limited to the engine ignition system - no warning lights come on, or headlamps, when I turn on the ignition (the headlamps normally do on this Swedish version automatically). However, all lights, stop lights, indicators, horn, wipers etc. do seem to work as normal. It's just that nothing happens when I turn the ignition key - no warning lamps glow (apart from the economy warning light) and there is no activity from the starter motor. As the horn, indicators etc. are controlled from the steering column, I'm assuming that power is getting that far. So it's back to the multimeter and checking from the ignition switch back to the engine....

[mickburkesnr]

Have you checked the fuses first? Might be just as simple as something blown. But it's a good sign that there is some power going around the car.

[Sympol]

Yes - all the fuses look OK When I turn the ignition switch I can hear a relay under the bonnet click, but nothing else happens - there are 2 similar relays in the fuse box in the engine bay which I switched over, but that made no difference - I can still hear the click whichever way round the relays are, so I'm assuming they are both OK. Getting dark and blowing a gale now so I'll leave it until tomorrow - it's my spare car so there's no pressure to get it going again, luckily!

Thanks for your comments

[Sympol]

Just an update on this. After faffing around with the wiring harness, ignition switch and starter motor, I have finally found the problem - a poor connection on the engine block earthing strap. Removed, cleaned and replaced the strap and now everything is fine again.....

[toyotawaichibankuruma]

Sorry for bringing this thread back from the dead, but I'm also in Sweden and my 87 starlet does the same when it's cold. Where was that earthing strap located?

[Sympol]

On my Starlet the earth cable from the Battery negative terminal runs to a bolt connection on the body close to the Battery tray. From there another cable runs down to the engine mounting bracket under the Battery tray. It was this latter cable which I replaced after cleaning the mounting point. I found the fault finally by connecting one of my jump start cables between the battery negative terminal and the engine block as a temporary fault finding measure. Hope this helps!