The Quick/Small/(Stupid?) Question Thread.

[Esteban]

Why do the wipers have a second ground and why does it connect to the dash light ground?

I always wondered about it, specially after one day that I was doing some drilling I accidentally damaged the live cable inside the frame and had to switch it for the ground one, and then just use the frame as ground. My only guess is that the engineers tried to make sure that the wipers will always have a correct ground, since at some point the electrical connection will end up being the hinges.

After you see modern cars that are full of grounding wires everywhere, you'll think that those guys were ahead of their times.

[mtnPatrol]

Makes a lot of sense. But why connected to the dash light?

[Esteban]

Makes a lot of sense. But why connected to the dash light?

I checked the wiring diagram, and it doesn't make too much sense what they did. The ground for the dash light is coming through the cable from the wiper motor, which in turn is grounded at the windshield frame next to the wiper motor. Looks like a lot of cable to just ground the the dash lamp, instead of a short cable to the body nearby.

I guess they were not ahead of their times after all...

[mtnPatrol]

I'm sure they had a good reason. As to what that was I'm at a loss. I have the same analysis as you.

[mtnPatrol]

How were the rear heaters wired? Was there a separate switch or did the wiring hook up to the front heater switch? Anyone have a diagram?

[RiverPatrol]

A rear heater would be an aftermarket installation, the Patrol never came with one.

[mtnPatrol]

Would dealers have done the install? If I didn't know better I would guess the heater was factory installed. It even has the same paint as the interior.

[RiverPatrol]

I guess a dealer could have installed it. There wasn't a standard option for one though.

[Esteban]

Pictures, please!

[Esteban]

The old Toyota Land Cruisers had a rear heater as an option. This is a picture of one. Does yours look similar to it?