1985 Toyota LandCruiser BJ73 long-term update

The Cruiser sat idle through most of last winter with an electrical gremlin.

I parked it after a day out driving in the hills and when I went to start it again both batteries were dead. I fitted another battery and found that once running it was charging at 18.5 to 19 volts.

It had a new Terrain Tamer alternator fitted earlier in the year so that shouldn’t have been the problem. I went to the regulator and adjusted it to be charging at a more sensible 14 volts. It was all good for a week but then it started charging at more than 18 volts again, so I readjusted the regulator and it was good again… for a few days, before shooting back up again.

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The more I looked into the wiring in the engine bay the more I realised it needed a thorough tidy up and after removing 30 years worth of added accessory wiring that was now redundant, there was more work to do, as well as to find the source of the charging issue.

I handed the Cruiser over to Sam the auto electrician to fix the charging problem, tidy up all the engine bay wiring and fit a new solenoid pack for the winch, as it had been intermittently playing up as well.

Sam mounted a new Albright winch solenoid in the engine bay, replaced all the battery cables, earth straps and terminals, and gave the electrical system a good once over, but the irregular charging couldn’t be traced at first. It wasn’t until he was looking at something else that he found a bad connection that was shorting out on the chassis and causing the regulator to overcharge.
With that sorted, a couple of new batteries fitted and a tidier engine bay, I certainly enjoyed using the Cruiser over the summer months.

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After all the mundane new vehicles I get to drive there’s a lot to be said for getting behind the wheel of an old 4x4 like the BJ. You need to pay attention when driving a live axle, leaf sprung truck like this, as they are slow to react to steering input yet will be quick to throw you off the road if you’re not paying attention. It’s truly an interactive experience whenever I drive it and I love the analogue feel of being behind the wheel of the Cruiser.

I have added some modern accessories in recent times in the form of a new stereo with a Bluetooth connection, and while it might be loud, it still can’t overpower the roar of the 3.4-litre, four-cylinder turbo- diesel engine as it redlines at 3000rpm.

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The new ‘Beast’ LED driving lights from Lightforce are also pretty high tech compared to the Cruiser itself. They punch out a bright light that is still easy on the eyes over long drives, and having the ability to switch between wide and spot beams at the touch of a button is a nice luxury. Combined with the replacement LED headlights, they have certainly upgraded the night vision.

As much as I love the old Cruiser, I do concede that it can be better with the addition of a few modern upgrades.