Tercel help!!!

[Bizzaro]

Hi new to the forums, it seems like there's quite a bit of knowledge on here that I could definitely use. Here's my situation.....I have a '94 tercel that has a few "issues", one being that the headlights will stay on after the headlamp switch is turned off as well as the engine, and while the car is off, if I press on the brake pedal, then the headlights go off, but when I let off the brake, they will come back on. This problem is only happening when it is either wet out or snowy, and the only way to keep the lights off is to remove the relay (I think it's the relay) from the box on the right side of the engine compartment. This would lead me to believe that there is a short, but was wondering if anyone here would have a more specific area I could watch out for.

the second issue (and this maybe related to the first) is that the headlamps are not very bright. I'm leaning toward the alternator being bad, but the battery hasn't run down or gone dead, which is usually the symptom of a bad alt.

3rd, any idea typically how much it is to get the rings/cylinders reworked? I bought the car used with around 85k on it, and I think whoever owned it previous forgot that gasoline engines need oil to operate correctly.....so she burns about a quart every 3-500 miles (ouch)

[Bizzaro]

Anyone????

[Tercel GTS]

As for the lights problem I'd check the grounds behind the dash and under the hood really close. You'd be really suprised what problems a bad/loose ground can cause.

[Nick fougere]

hey man my 91 tercel 3e-e also would burn that much oil then i drove it for 60,000 like that and now she's dead or on her way out soon but i would give it some extreme poundins now im going hopefully with a jdm 1.6 motor...........im waiting on a few details from these dudes on the form and maybe some parts to then i will have a supercharged tercel oooh ya cant wait

[tercelsuperfast]

most tercels burn oil through valve seals, check oil leaks too, could be less of a problem than you think, because i have 160,000 miles on a 96' and it needs a quart every other day, because of a combo of front and rear main seals, valve seals, oil pan and probably some other shit, poor thing...

[kene]

If i were in your shoes..i would look for a pick a part...and pay the 30$-40$ for a harness. and just take one off of a tercel from the same year era as yours. remmember that the era's are 91-92, 93-94, 95-97(very slight difference in wiring), and 98-99.


the huge difference in the tercel is between the 91-94, and the 95-99. they changed engines between these era's & the intereior and exterior styling also suspension was made a bit better.

[jeffs94]

The first problem sounds like you may have a cross-short either in the combination switch, brakelight switch or moisture in the fusebox and or in the relay itself. The second problem could be the alternator or something as simple as the negative terminal on the battery being corroded. I'd recommend testing the alternator with and without a load and testing at the output terminal on the alternator and at the battery. Have you done a voltage drop on the POS cable and the NEG cable? Have you checked for ANY kind of AC voltage at the battery? Corrosion is not a good thing in an electrical system and enough of it in several different places can give you lots of different problems.