Toyota wires are thinner

micky · 2021-05-05T17:10:37+00:00

The wires in my Toyota are much thinner than the wires in any of my American cars were. I've had GM and Chryslers built from 1950 to 1995, and Toyotas from 2000 and 2005. I'm not saying they are too thin, just thinner. Do you know why? I see two poassible reasons. 1) Increased efforts to save money and help the environment, by using thinner and thus cheaper wire. Perhaps wires in American cars are thinnner now too?? 2) Japan and the Japanese domestic auto industry after WWII was short of money and had to economize any way it could. Thinner, cheaper wires were one way, and now, even though they are making plenty money, they see no reason to change. It matters only when I'm trying to splice wires, and I have to be more careful not to cut the wires while stripping the insulation. But the wires are so thin that there have been connections I don't try to make, because, where it's difficult to reach a wire, up under the dashboard, for example, that makes it even more likely I'll cut the wire and makes it harder to repair it.

May 05, 2021 31 Replies

Rate this thread:

williamwright 5 years ago

It wasn't me.

Bill

Vote

Michael Chare 5 years ago

The car is now 4 years old, but has only done a low mileage. It has been fine. I found out about the elecrics when I fitted a tow bar. There is a box in the boot for the tow bar electrics. The box has cables going towards the front to connect to the can bus and two thicker cables to connect to a fuse box at the front. If there is a problem with a trailer electrics a warning is shown on the panel infont of the driver.

Michael Chare

Vote

micky 5 years ago

But mine aren't leds. Nothing in the car is that except maybe a few dashpanel lights.

Very little is related to CAN BUS. I think 2 pages out of 70 or so in the wiring manual. (The wiring manual is about 300 pages. I'm estimating how much of that actually shows wiring. )

Vote

Tekkie© 5 years ago

On Thu, 6 May 2021 06:15:12 +0100, Andy Burns posted for all of us to digest...

The insulation is also soy based which ground rats, mice, etc find especially tasty.

Tekkie

Vote

Tekkie© 5 years ago

On Wed, 5 May 2021 21:55:50 -0600, rbowman posted for all of us to digest...

You should go to the U Haul guy. He will put a hitch on a non-existent bumper and crimp some thingamajigs to any wires available, stereo, lane detection, backup lights, what ever they find and you are good to go >>>>> 8-(

Tekkie

Vote

Aoli 5 years ago

Vote

rbowman 5 years ago

That would be scary.

formatting link

Not my video, but my Yaris was the same year, model, and color. I traded it in last year and never did use the hitch. I've got a little flatbed trailer but didn't need to haul anything.

I was going to accessorize it:

formatting link

The red ones, of course.

Vote

Xeno 5 years ago

3) lower current requirements of many of the devices on modern cars.

Xeno Nothing astonishes Noddy so much as common sense and plain dealing. (with apologies to Ralph Waldo Emerson)

Vote

On Fri, 7 May 2021 19:38:06 -0600, rbowman posted for all of us to digest...

I was behind a truck with them; with my wife. She snaps her head and says look at that and laughs. Remember the guy that got stopped for having a sticker that read eat beaver or something similar?

Tekkie

Vote

rbowman 5 years ago

Lot of bad jokes about Beaver UT...

Vote

Brian Gaff (Sofa) 5 years ago

I'd suppose though that longer runs must still be quite thick or the voltage drop across them would be too great. I know under the dashes of some fords they have no wires, its all ribbons like flexible pcbs like yyou get in the screen hinge of laptops. Brian

Vote

Brian Gaff (Sofa) 5 years ago

In addition to ribbons made of pcb stuff, I guess its the fact that modern cars use leds a lot more and hence more efficient. Brian

Vote

Join the Discussion

Have something to add? Share your thoughts — no account required.

Didn't find your answer?

Ask the community — no account required