88FarmRunners

Hello everyone,
I have a 1988 Toyota 4Runner, 22RE with a 5 Speed. I am requesting some support with an electrical issue I have been having with my headlights.

My issue is that I have no headlights at all, no low beams or high beams. When we initially noticed this issue, we would be driving down the road with the low beams on and all of a sudden they would shut off. We would flip the switch repeatedly and the low beams would come back on. Also when we attempted at activate the high beams, we had no power to the headlights at all and they would shut off completely. As this issue persisted with repeated switching of the dial, no headlights would come on.

So far, I have checked the fuses and the relays and everything seems to be working. You can hear the headlight relay clicking in the engine bay when you flip the switch. I have used a multimeter to test voltage on the relay and I got roughly 12 volts. On the fuses I got 7. I also checked the voltage on the low beams when the low beams did not come on and I got 0.

Please keep in mind I am still a novice auto mechanic and I am still learning. I have tried reading wiring diagrams and I somewhat understand but I am not sure. I know there are other forums on here and I have tried to read through them but I've been having no luck I have heard that toyotas use this thing called switched grounds, not really sure if that is my issue. Also I have heard that toyota headlight harnesses use a double ground? Any advice would be appreciated!

2ToyGuy

Switched ground just means that Toyota electrical engineers would put a switch in the circuit that would apply ground to a circuit, rather than applying the power to the circuit, like Americans tend to do. IE: The switch will apply ground to a circuit that has voltage on it to complete the circuit. Turn on the lights, activate the radio, and so forth.

Sounds like your problem may well be the light switch. Open up the steering column and LOOK at it, and the contacts that are right out in the open for the switch. They tend to build up a corrosion layer on the contacts. Try using a piece of real fine grit sand paper, or Ruby cloth, and clean them back to bare metal. Another thing that works, if the corrosion is real thick, is a small dental pick. You can get them at Harbor Freight. Just be careful not to gouge the contacts. A dental pick can chip off the corrosion. Then use the sand paper to finish cleaning them off.

Good luck!
Pat☺