My truck only has one battery not sure if it's supposedto be only one or if one has been removed any how the battery is new cranks the engine well and everything works good the only thing is that the battery and oil warning lights on ignition glow dim and not bright as you would expect could this be due to the single battery?
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Single battery - dim dash warning lights
- Thread starter Umar
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Some only have one battery from new mine being one of them , i will check tomorrow but i think my dash lights might be slightly illuminated all the time , not lit as they are when you turn on the ignition before starting the engine just a very slight red glow which allows you to see which is battery and which is oil .
BobMurphy
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I wouldn't think so. Mine has a single battery and the dash lights are fine.
Possible causes are:
Old bulbs - they discolour with age.
A bad earth connection to the instrument PCB.
Are the headlights OK ?? If there is a bad earth at the negative side of the battery it could be affecting everything else.
Its worth spending time cleaning-up the earth contacts as a preventative measure.
Bob.
Possible causes are:
Old bulbs - they discolour with age.
A bad earth connection to the instrument PCB.
Are the headlights OK ?? If there is a bad earth at the negative side of the battery it could be affecting everything else.
Its worth spending time cleaning-up the earth contacts as a preventative measure.
Bob.
Did they used to be ok Umar? Or have they been dim since you got the truck?
You can use a multimeter set to volts DC and test across any joints you suspect. You can even do this from the battery to help narrow it down. In other words of you have a bad contact on the + side you can test between + on the battery and either side of the contact and if you get a higher voltage (more than you would expect) one side than the other, that contact is worth looking at. Has to be done with load on the circuit. For example if it was the headlight then the headlight would need to be switched on and working albeit working poorly.
You can use a multimeter set to volts DC and test across any joints you suspect. You can even do this from the battery to help narrow it down. In other words of you have a bad contact on the + side you can test between + on the battery and either side of the contact and if you get a higher voltage (more than you would expect) one side than the other, that contact is worth looking at. Has to be done with load on the circuit. For example if it was the headlight then the headlight would need to be switched on and working albeit working poorly.
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Just a thought Umar your truck has been laid up as has mine so perhaps the battery needs charging and the glow your seeing reflects that . My battery is on charge in the kitchen and i'm hoping to clean up the terminals (first with coca cola and then with bicarb) at some point today if i can finish paperwork which always needs done when its not raining 
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If it's been like it from day one Umar, it could well be the wrong wattage (too low) or wrong voltage (too high) bulbs been replaced in your instrument cluster.
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You got a point there, I've changed the display colour from the yellowish to old skool toyota green and the bulbs are t5 I ordered some green ones which are 5w but when I took the original ones out they are 3w so went with green caps instead as the 5w ones would have drawn more current I'll check the warning lamp ones
I don't think I would be too worried about an additional 2w. As you say, it may be that they were supposed to be 5w but had 3w ones put in before you went to change them (I think that's what you meant). If you put green covers on them that would cut the light down too.
Personally I would be going with LEDs in there now but It would need a bit of trial and error to get the colour(s) right and not to boy racer-ish.
Personally I would be going with LEDs in there now but It would need a bit of trial and error to get the colour(s) right and not to boy racer-ish.
tim falce
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My 90 only has one battery but it has to be a bigger battery then the ones fitted to dual battery models. I've never had any issues with any lights glowing when they shouldn't, first thing to check is if it's charging properly, it should be over 14.5V on tickover once the glow plugs have gone out. Next thing is check all the earths including things like rear light and brake light earths, it's surprising how one fault will affect something else.
One problem I do have is the alarm seems to discharge the battery at an alarming rate if I don't use the car very often. I often lock it on the key so the alarm doesn't set in which case the battery doesn't drain at all.
One problem I do have is the alarm seems to discharge the battery at an alarming rate if I don't use the car very often. I often lock it on the key so the alarm doesn't set in which case the battery doesn't drain at all.
Tim, if you've got over 14.4 volts at any time then there is a charging problem most likely with the regulator and the batteries will soon be damaged. It's also worth a mention to check charging voltage at the alternator terminal as well as at the battery terminals as it will be higher particularly when the battery is low and taking lots of charge. It will be close to 14.4v at the alternator terminal and slightly lower at the battery. Some alternators have a direct volt sensing wire that goes to the battery so they monitor voltage at the battery terminal which is more accurate.
