1997 TOYOTA T100 Owners Manual

Part 7Checking battery conditionÐ ÐPrecautions
181
DO-IT-YOURSELF MAINTENANCEÐ
Chapter 7-3 Electrical components
Checking battery condition
Battery recharging precautions
Checking and replacing fuses
Adding washer fluid
Replacing light bulbs
BATTERY PRECAUTIONS
The battery produces flammable
and explosive hydrogen gas.
Do not cause a spark from the bat-
tery with tools.
Do not smoke or light a match near
the battery.
The electrolyte contains poisonous
and corrosive sulfuric acid. Avoid contact with eyes, skin or clothes.
Never ingest electrolyte.
Wear protective safety glasses
when working near the battery.
Keep children away from the bat-
tery.
EMERGENCY MEASURES If electrolyte gets in your eyes,
flush your eyes with clean water
for 15 minutes and get immediate
medical attention. If possible, con-
tinue to apply water with a sponge
or cloth while en route to the medi-cal office. CAUTION
!
If electrolyte gets on your skin,
thoroughly wash the contact area.
If you feel pain or burning, get
medical attention immediately.
If electrolyte gets on your clothes,
there is a possibility of its soaking
through to your skin, so immedi- ately take off the exposed clothing
and follow the procedure above, if
necessary.
If you happen to swallow electro-
lyte, drink a large quantity of water
or milk. Follow with milk of mag-
nesia, beaten raw egg or vegetable
oil. Then go immediately for emer-
gency help.

182
Check the battery for corroded or
loose terminal connections, cracks, or
loose hold-down clamp.
a. If the battery is corroded, wash it offwith a solution of warm water and bak-
ing soda. Coat the outside of the termi- nals with grease to prevent further cor-rosion.
b. If the terminal connections are loose, tighten their clamp nuts±but do notovertighten.
c. Tighten the hold-down clamp only enough to keep the battery firmly inplace. Overtightening may damage the battery case.
NOTICE
Be sure the engine and all acces-
sories are off before performing
maintenance.
When checking the battery, re-move the ground cable from the
negative terminal (-º mark) first
and reinstall it last.
Take care no solution gets into thebattery when washing it.
Be careful not to cause a short cir-cuit with tools.
There are two types of batteries: Main-
tenance type and non-maintenance type. A non-maintenance battery has MAIN-
TENANCE FREE BATTERYº on its top. A
maintenance type battery does not havesuch indication. Maintenance type batteryÐ Check the fluid condition by the fluid level
lines on the side of the battery. Or if the
battery has a hydrometer on its top, you
can also check the hydrometer. Non-maintenance batteryÐ
Check the battery condition by the
hydrometer on the top of the battery.
ÐChecking battery exterior
ÐChecking battery fluid

183
CHECKING BY THE FLUID LEVEL
LINES (MAINTENANCE TYPE BAT-
TERY ONLY)
The fluid (electrolyte) level must be be-
tween the upper and lower lines.
When checking the fluid level, look at all six cells, not just one or two.
If the level is lower than the lower line, add
distilled water. (See ADDING DIS-
TILLED WATERº.)CHECKING BY THE HYDROMETER Check the battery condition by the
hydrometer color. Maintenance type batteryHydrometer color
ConditionType AType BCondition
GREENBLUEGood
DARKWHITECharging necessary. Have battery checked
by your Toyota dealer.
CLEAR or LIGHT YELLOWREDAdd distilled water*
*: See ADDING DISTILLED WATERº. Non-maintenance battery
Hydrometer color
ConditionType AType BCondition
GREENBLUEGood
DARKWHITECharging necessary. Have battery checked
by your Toyota dealer.
CLEAR or LIGHT YELLOWREDHave battery checked
by your Toyota dealer.
NOTICE
Do not refill the battery with water.

184
ADDING DISTILLED WATER (MAINTE-
NANCE TYPE BATTERY ONLY)
1. Remove the vent plugs.
2. Add distilled water to cells needingfluid.
If the side of your battery is covered,
check the water level by looking down di-
rectly above the cell as illustrated above.
3. Retighten the vent plugs securely.
NOTICE
Do not overfill the cells. Excess electrolyte could squirt out of the
battery during heavy charging,causing corrosion or damage.During recharging, the battery is pro-
ducing hydrogen gas. Therefore, before recharging:
1. Maintenance type batteriesÐRemove the vent plugs.
2. If recharging with the battery installed on the vehicle, be sure to disconnect the ground cable.
3. Be sure the power switch on the re- charger is off when connecting the
charger cables to the battery and
when disconnecting them.
Always charge the battery in an
unconfined area. Do not charge
the battery in a garage or closed
room where there is not sufficient ventilation.
Non-maintenance batteries: Only
do a slow charge (5A or less).
Charging at a quicker rate is dan-
gerous. The battery may explode,
causing personal injuries.
Maintenance type batteries: Be sure to remove the vent plugs be-fore recharging. CAUTION
!
Battery recharging precautions

185
NOTICE
Never recharge the battery while the
engine is running. Also, be sure all
accessories are turned off.
If the headlights or other electrical
components do not work, check the
fuses. If any of the fuses are blown,
they must be replaced.
See Fuse locationsº in Chapter 7-1 for
locations of the fuses.
Turn the ignition switch and inopera-
tive component off. Pull a suspected
fuse straight out and check it.
Determine wh ich fuse may be causing the
problem. The lid of the fuse box shows the name of the circuit for each fuse. See Part 8 of this manual for the functions con-
trolled by each circuit.
Type A fuses can be pulled out by the pull-
out tool.
Checking and replacing fuses

186If you are not sure whether the fuse has
blown, try replacing the suspected fuse with one that you know is good.
If the fuse has blown, push a new fuse
into the clip.
Only install a fuse with the amperage rat-
ing designated on the fuse box lid.
If you do not have a spare fuse, in an
emergency you can pull out the CIGº,
RADIOº, DOMEº or A/Cº fuse, whichmay be dispensable for normal driving, and use it if its amperage rating is the same.
If you cannot use one of the same amper-
age, use one that is lower, but as close as
possible to the rating. If the amperage is
lower than that specified, the fuse might
blow out again but this does not indicate
anything
wrong. Be sure to get the correct
fuse as soon as possible and return the
substitute to its original clip.
It is a good idea to purchase a set of spare
fuses and keep them in your vehicle for emergencies.
If the new fuse immediately blows out, there is a problem with the electrical sys-
tem. Have your Toyota dealer correct it as
soon as possible.
Never use a fuse with a higher am-
perage rating, or any other object, in
place of a fuse. This may cause ex-
tensive damage and possibly a fire. CAUTION
!
If any washer does not work, the wash-
er tank may be empty. Add washer fluid.
You may use plain water as washer fluid.
However, in cold areas where tempera-
tures range below freezing point, use
washer fluid containing antifreeze. This
product is available at your Toyota dealer
and most auto parts stores. Follow the
manufacturer 's directions for how much
to mix with water.
NOTICE
Do not use engine antifreeze or any other substitute because it may
damage your vehicle's paint.
Adding washer fluid

187
NOTICE
5VZ-FE engine vehicles for Canada:
When adding washer fluid, be careful not to spill the fluid over thedaytime running light resistor.
The following illustrations show how to
gain access to the bulbs. When replacing a bulb make sure the ignition swithc and
light switch are off. Use bulbs with the wattage ratings given in the table.
Halogen bulbs have pressurized
gas inside and require special han-
dling. They can burst or shatter ifscratched or dropped. Hold a bulb
only by its plastic or metal case. Do
not touch the glass part of a bulb
with bare hands. CAUTION
!
NOTICE
Only use a bulb of the listed type.
Light bulbsBulb
No.WType
Headlights900360/55A
Parking lights1685C
Front turn signal lights115627B
Rear turn signal lights115627B
Stop and tail lights115727/8B
Back-up lights115627B
High mounted stop- light1685C
License plate lights1685C
Interior lightÐ8D
Personal lightsÐ5D
Glovebox lightÐ5C
Step lightsÐ5C
A: HB2 halogen bulbs B: Single end bulbs
C: Wedge base bulbsD: Double end bulbs
Replacing light bulbsÐ

188
1. Open the hood. Unplug the con-nector. Remove the rubber cover.
If the connector is tight, wiggle it.2. Remove the rubber cover.3. Release the bulb retaining spring and remove the bulb. Install a new
bulb and the bulb retaining spring.
To install a bulb, align the tabs of the bulb with the cutouts of the mounting hole.
ÐHeadlights