Electrical - What did I miss?

[bkg]

Victim - 2004 Tacoma D-cab... ~165k, mods, accidents... owned it for about 3 years.

Last night I resealed the roof rack rails on the ARE topper as part of trying to figure out why the thing isn't water tight. Also worked on the seal between the topper and box, so the cap was a bit loose for a bit. During this time, I disconnected the brake light harness on the topper.

Get done, park truck to wash out the box (had been carrying concrete bags earlier)... Go to start and can't shift out of park. Scratch head.... Use the override and park the truck.

Get it into the shop this morning... blowing brake fuse after brake fuse. Checked the brake switch and seemed okay, but replaced it anyway... fuses popping the moment the brake pedal is touched. Pull topper light harness, rear lights, disconnect trailer harness... same... Get the boss to come out and help me take the ARE off the truck so I can get to the 3rd brake light... pull the lights and no more blown fuses.

hmmm.... odd....

Looks like there was a bit of moisture in the 3rd brake light, so I air it out, seal/adjust the gasket and make sure the drain is not obstructed... put bulbs back in and fuse is okay... Return tail lights to their designated spot... fuse seems okay.

I have a hard time believing that the last 3 hours were the result of a bit of moisture. This truck is never garaged and we've had one of the wettest summers I can remember here in Mid-TN....

So what am I missing?

 

[Clutch]

Ahhh electrical...almost as bad as house plumbing...

Mine did the same, found a bare wire where the trailer light harness connects to the taillights. It was rubbing on part of the bed.

Could leave the 3rd brake light disconnected for a bit and see if that was indeed the source.

 

[JLee]

Definitely sounds like a short in the 3rd brake light assembly. Water could cause that.

 

[bkg]

Definitely sounds like a short in the 3rd brake light assembly. Water could cause that.

Thanks, Gents…

That triggered a memory. Battery was dead on Saturday after sitting for about a week. I assumed it was a Scangauge issue, for some reason, and yanked that out (anyone have an ashtray and bracket they want to part with?)… but never put 2x2 together re: the short.

Topper is still off the truck while I wait for the new seal to arrive... looks kinda weird after over 2 years with the topper on. I think I'll drive it for a while like this while I track down a bad vibration in the 4Runner....

 

[bkg]

Side note... does anyone other than SCS and Toyota make hub-centric wheels?

 

[JLee]

Side note... does anyone other than SCS and Toyota make hub-centric wheels?

FN! I love my F(x) Pro's.

 

[bkg]

FN! I love my F(x) Pro's.

Thanks! I was looking at their website last night, but I didn't see anything that stated hub centric... good to know. Unfortunately, I can't get my head wrapped around spending that much. I'm trying to "be good" and only spend money on the 4Runner that is earned through parting ways with stuff I no longer need... it's my craigslist build.

Currently running FJC wheels... love the 16x7.5 size... but require spacers to clear the upper a-arm. Been fine on the Tacoma, but get a weird vibration on the 4Runner... so I want to eliminate the spacers...

 

[JLee]

Thanks! I was looking at their website last night, but I didn't see anything that stated hub centric... good to know. Unfortunately, I can't get my head wrapped around spending that much. I'm trying to "be good" and only spend money on the 4Runner that is earned through parting ways with stuff I no longer need... it's my craigslist build.

Currently running FJC wheels... love the 16x8 size... but require spacers to clear the upper a-arm. Been fine on the Tacoma, but get a weird vibration on the 4Runner... so I want to eliminate the spacers...

Call Dustin - they have a fair amount of wheels that are not on their website, and AFAIK they are all hubcentric. I paid about $800 shipped for a set of four.

 

[bkg]

Call Dustin - they have a fair amount of wheels that are not on their website, and AFAIK they are all hubcentric. I paid about $800 shipped for a set of four.

Thanks to you I spent a good portion of the afternoon asking “sorry, could you repeat that?” on conference calls. ??

I gotta figure out what backspacing I need before I make any calls. The FJC wheels are 4.75” BS. I think I can get away with 4.0” backspacing... not sure if I can do more with the 285’s...

 

[JLee]

Thanks to you I spent a good portion of the afternoon asking “sorry, could you repeat that?” on conference calls. ??

I gotta figure out what backspacing I need before I make any calls. The FJC wheels are 4.75” BS. I think I can get away with 4.0” backspacing... not sure if I can do more with the 285’s...

Keep in mind that wheel width is a factor in your calculations: https://www.1010tires.com/Tools/Wheel-Offset-Calculator

 

[bkg]

Keep in mind that wheel width is a factor in your calculations: https://www.1010tires.com/Tools/Wheel-Offset-Calculator

yup. Absolutely.