I have an '89 Toyota 4X4 V-6, and driving down the road, the thing kills just like it was pole axed. I mean, driving fine one second, dead as a hammer the next second. OK, so I am no mechanic whatsoever, but I was gonna scratch and grab a bit and see if I could figure out what's wrong before sending it somewhere, with a bit of help from a Chilton's Guide and a Hayne's Guide.

Well, with the help of my father, we "went through" the ignition system as good as we could with the aid of a Chilton's and Haynes manuals....this was extensive, with us looking at everything several times. Well, long story short, it turned out to be a fuse under the hood labeled "EFI"....I looked at the thing on the road during the original problem, but without glassesI simply overlooked it. I told my Dad that the fuses were fine, but he found it when he was poking around with a multimeter. Changing the fuse fixed the thing, and it cranked right up. I changed the distributor, coil, rotor, etc., while I was doing all the looking around, and I looked everywhere in the wiring that I could for any sort of short. I mean, I knew that the fuse blew for a reason, but I never found anything and just hoped that it was a fluke with the fuse..

Well, that was about two or three months ago, and it had been running fine since then. Yesterday, going down the interstate I started to smell plastic burning, but since I am right in the middle of all the Katrina aftermath, I just attributed it to some other thing, thinking that the smell was in the air and not in my truck. Exiting the interstate and stopping at a red light, the truck died and wouldn't start. I popped the hood and smelled burning plastic strong, and I popped the fuse box cover to check that fuse, and it was completely melted, and when I say completely, I mean COMPLETELY. The plastic of the fuse body (the little flat fuses) was a melted blue blob, and the slot that the fuse fit in was totally melted, finally breaking contact. Why in the world the fuse did not blow I have no idea, but it melted it, melted the fuse box, and several inches of all the wires going to it. This was, as I said, the same fuse that gave me problems before...it is in the fuse box under the hood, and it is labeled "EFI".

Anyway, I am hoping that it did not burn up one or more components, and that it killed simply because the fuse finally broke contact after melting away. As hot as it got, though, who knows....this was a fuse ONLY. No stupidity involved with tin foil or anything AT ALL like that. Just a brand new fuse the same sise as the one I removed (I am pretty sure it was 15 A).

Obviously, it will be extremely hard for anyone to tell me anything about this problem going by this post alone, but I posted it on the off chance that someone may have had this same problem and may be able to steer me toward something to check into. Any help would be greatly appreciated, I can assure you!

Thanks!!

I don't have an answer for the problem but please always use the correct fuse. I should have blown not burned up and may have been defective. There's still a problem - but fuses don't normally do that! Stay safe,
Tom Greenleaf - MetroWest Boston - USA
http://www.acsource.com/

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http://www.autoacsystems.com/tomgreenleaf/

Tom,

Thanks....What I did do was "re-wired" that portion with an in-line fuse holder, and plan to use the other type of fuse, the little glass cylindrical one instead of the flat type, only because the flat "holder" was melted away. It should make no difference that I use this type of fuse as long as it is the same amperage, right? I mean, 15A through a flat fuse is the same as 15A through the other type.

Obviously, that other fuse I put in had to have been bad. It was bizarre, with the thing just totally melting thefuse and the fuse panel! I am really hoping that I did not fry the ignition, but who knows. As I said I re-wired the new inline fuse holder, but that was all...I have no intention of replacing ANY fuse until I find out what was wrong. Ofcourse, I am at a loss right now, reduced to scanning every inch of wire that I could see to look for a direct short through bad insulation, but so far no go.

Thanks again, and any other help is greatly apreciated!!

Stay safe buddy. It doesn't matter whether the glass or flat type fuse - but they are Supposed to blow if there's a problem. The amps are amps no matter how they do it. That other fuse the melted had to be defective - I've never seen that in 40 years of dealing with vehicles in general.

Wouldn't hurt to check if there was some recall for that for your vehicle. # should be in owner's manual, and have you VIN at the ready. Tom
Tom Greenleaf - MetroWest Boston - USA
http://www.acsource.com/

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http://www.autoacsystems.com/tomgreenleaf/

Hey, thanks a bunch...I am at a loss as to how the darned fuse did that, but I do know that there was no metal lodged in there that could have kept current flow up. The fuse came out of a cheapie "electrical kit" that I bought from one of these bulk tool sales, so it leads one to wonder of the quality of the fuses. A "bad" fuse, one would assume, would blow at less than or greater than the attested amperage (hopefully the former). I would NEVER think that it would hold up enough to TOTALLY melt the entire fuse body and the fuse panel, plus a good bit of insulation from associated wiring!

Now, as I explained, I "fixed" the fuse problem by replacing that fuse with an in-line fuse holder for the small glass cylindrical fuses, but I neither put a fuse in the holder nor did I try to crank the vehicle. Obviously, thre is a significant problem, and I need to get that fixed first. Although I am not a total moron, I am no mechanic nor electrician, by far, but I am gonna scratch and grab around a bit to see if I can see anyting that resembles a short. I need to take it to someone who knows what is what, but things are still upside down around here....I live about 50 miles north of New Orleans and about 10 miles south of the Mississippi line, and the fellow that I want to take it to is, well, I have no idea where he is right now. It's just hard to do anything around here now, so I am gonna try my hand at it for a while to see if I can come up with anything at all. We'll see, and if anyone at all can think of anything at all that may help me out here, and I do mean anything, please do drop a note here.

Thanks again!!!

Just keep things fused. The wiring was never meant to handle more than the fuse required. I know you have trouble with pro help right now but hang in there. Stay well, Hope some stuff gets back to normal soon, and all of it as soon as possible.
Tom Greenleaf - MetroWest Boston - USA
http://www.acsource.com/

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http://www.autoacsystems.com/tomgreenleaf/