Just bought a 2000 echo

[Valkie2]

Wiring in additional lights to the echo is quite easy.

You just have to get over the damn stupid reverse wiring setup.

Il do a diagram when i get the chance and post it for you.

The heater controls look good with the blue LEDs, but I also had to add a few LEDs as the LEDs are very directional and tend to point ratehr than spread.

It was as simple job of finding the positive and negative feeds on the flexable PCB and then soldering a feed to them.

Then I glued in some additional LEDS. Ill take a picture of the back when I get the chance.

It even lights up in daylight now, looks cool.

As for the paintwork, yeah, mine is a mess.

I plan to give it a respray sometime in the future as I hate blotchy paint.

Apparently it has something to do with the early water based (cacogenic) paint.

It deteriorates quickly , so they put a thick coat of clear, but any small flaws in the clear coat allow air to get under it and deteriorate the paint.

The clear then peels off and you get the dreaded toyota scurvy.

They are getting better now, but give me good old acrylic any day.

Forgot to mention;

I hooked up the trailer and did a trip to the tip yesterday.

Surprisingly, the old ECHO towed it quite easily, and even braked quite satisfactorily and safely.

I towed without the overdrive engaged and I'm not sure about fuel usage, but it didn't notice the trailer all that much.

This little car surprises me more and more. 

 

 

Edited June 4, 2020 by Valkie2

[Nafis Malik]

That would be really helpful if you could do a wiring diagram.

I found these Narva Compac 100 driving lights at Repco (www.repco.com.au/en/globes-batteries-electrical/globes-lighting/driving-lights-accessories/narva-halogen-driving-light-round-12v-combo-beam-kit/p/A8760739). They come with a wiring harness and diagram, which I thought were quite good, though it would be good to hear your thoughts on them too.

Those blue lights are looking really good in the center console!

Yeah the early 2000’s Toyota paint didn’t fare too well against the Australian climate. The bumpers and door handles on my Echo are all faded, though in certain angles and lighting you can’t tell they are. The rest of the body, however, is in decent condition, apart from some of the panels, which have some deep scratches that are the result of automatic car washes.

This video on YouTube seemed like a good method to touch up some of the panels (www.youtube.com/watch?v=4f9zqVbcZDQ&list=WL&index=47&t=0s), though the bumpers and door handles are definitely going to need a respray.

Never thought that the Echo could cope with towing! Is your Echo an automatic?

[Valkie2]

17 hours ago, Nafis Malik said:

That would be really helpful if you could do a wiring diagram.

I found these Narva Compac 100 driving lights at Repco (www.repco.com.au/en/globes-batteries-electrical/globes-lighting/driving-lights-accessories/narva-halogen-driving-light-round-12v-combo-beam-kit/p/A8760739). They come with a wiring harness and diagram, which I thought were quite good, though it would be good to hear your thoughts on them too.

Those blue lights are looking really good in the center console!

Yeah the early 2000’s Toyota paint didn’t fare too well against the Australian climate. The bumpers and door handles on my Echo are all faded, though in certain angles and lighting you can’t tell they are. The rest of the body, however, is in decent condition, apart from some of the panels, which have some deep scratches that are the result of automatic car washes.

This video on YouTube seemed like a good method to touch up some of the panels (www.youtube.com/watch?v=4f9zqVbcZDQ&list=WL&index=47&t=0s), though the bumpers and door handles are definitely going to need a respray.

Never thought that the Echo could cope with towing! Is your Echo an automatic?

I had them on my old X Trail.

With the standard incandescent halogen lights the Narva were more than adequate, give a good distance.

I have also put a set on my daughters Yaris, perfect for her and she is amazed at the penetration the lights give

But  when I got my MUX, they were yellow in comparison to the standard LED lights on the car, so I had to go brighter.

.

You can do it cheaper using LED light bars or LED spots, it all depends on what you want the lights for.

In my case, I often drive home very late at night down unlit country roads where Kangas like to wander.

The spots I have on my MUX could burn their eyes out at 2 klm, but I didn't need that for most driving.

So on the Echo I went down a bit and bought the cheap lightbar off fleabay for $28.00.

The wiring is minimal and a few metres of wire, a switch, a relay and a fuse is all you need.

all up, using quality parts, it cost me $65.00 to wire up the light bar.

The light bar is nowhere near the powerful as the MUX spots, but the spray beam catches anything on the side of the road and the spots give me about 1 klm up the road ahead.

unless you plan to do some extensive off road or long distance driving, Id suggest the cheap LEDs

The Light bar completely wipes out the high beam of the echo, cant even see high beam when they are on, but with that much light, who cares?

This Echo is my run around car, so I like to do everything on the cheap, but good brakes and lighting is a must in my books.

 

Ill be back home on Thursday, Ill do up a wiring diagram then and give you some tips to assemble.

Its really quite easy and the improvement in lighting is amazing.

 

As for towing, Id prefer to use the MUX, it has a 3 ton towing capacity.

But for a lark , and the fact that I have a tow bar on the Echo, I thought Id give it a go.

My Echo is an auto, so I turned off the O/D, but overall it didnt seem too worried.

Wouldnt like to tow anything serious though.

 

Cheers

[Nafis Malik]

6 hours ago, Valkie2 said:

I had them on my old X Trail.

With the standard incandescent halogen lights the Narva were more than adequate, give a good distance.

I have also put a set on my daughters Yaris, perfect for her and she is amazed at the penetration the lights give

But  when I got my MUX, they were yellow in comparison to the standard LED lights on the car, so I had to go brighter.

.

You can do it cheaper using LED light bars or LED spots, it all depends on what you want the lights for.

In my case, I often drive home very late at night down unlit country roads where Kangas like to wander.

The spots I have on my MUX could burn their eyes out at 2 klm, but I didn't need that for most driving.

So on the Echo I went down a bit and bought the cheap lightbar off fleabay for $28.00.

The wiring is minimal and a few metres of wire, a switch, a relay and a fuse is all you need.

all up, using quality parts, it cost me $65.00 to wire up the light bar.

The light bar is nowhere near the powerful as the MUX spots, but the spray beam catches anything on the side of the road and the spots give me about 1 klm up the road ahead.

unless you plan to do some extensive off road or long distance driving, Id suggest the cheap LEDs

The Light bar completely wipes out the high beam of the echo, cant even see high beam when they are on, but with that much light, who cares?

This Echo is my run around car, so I like to do everything on the cheap, but good brakes and lighting is a must in my books.

 

Ill be back home on Thursday, Ill do up a wiring diagram then and give you some tips to assemble.

Its really quite easy and the improvement in lighting is amazing.

 

As for towing, Id prefer to use the MUX, it has a 3 ton towing capacity.

But for a lark , and the fact that I have a tow bar on the Echo, I thought Id give it a go.

My Echo is an auto, so I turned off the O/D, but overall it didnt seem too worried.

Wouldnt like to tow anything serious though.

 

Cheers

Yeah I have been able to find cheaper light bars and spot lights than the Narvas, though I wasn't quite sure if I needed the power of a light bar or if I could make a quality wiring setup either. I am more than happy to do the work myself, just don't have any experience. It would be really good if I could get it done in under $75, as the Narvas are quite expensive for me.

I've been having issues with my door locks, where if I lock or unlock the Echo with the key from the driver's door, all doors except the front passenger door will lock or unlock. Whereas if I lock or unlock the Echo with the key from the front passenger's door, all doors will lock or unlock. I am not sure what the problem is, though I think it may be the driver's door as sometimes it doesn't lock or unlock properly. I have found a few wreckers that have Toyota Echo sedans, and am planning on going as there are a few other bits and pieces the Echo needs replacing.

You are very right on good brakes and lighting, though I would add tires to that list as well.

It would be really great if you could provide some tips, I found a video where ChrisFix did a light bar install a while back (www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8GY69Ci7l4). I will probably end up installing a pair of spot lights rather than a light bar, to give the Echo a more rally look!

As for towing, I don't plan on any with the Echo, though a set of roof racks is probably something I'd look into in the future.

Hope you stay well and safe in these odd times!

[Valkie2]

OK, as with all things electric you have diagnosed your problem yourself.

If all doors except the passenger open from the drivers door.

And all doors open when opened from the passenger door.

The problem is the passenger actuator.

You will probably find either a rusty or clagged actuator in the passenger side.

It wont move when opened from another door, but when it is forced from the passenger side it actuates the other doors.

I had that same problem with another car a few years ago, it was water getting into the little electric motor which rusted it up and stopped it from working.

But when forced, it set the other doors off.

you can either replace or clean out the damaged one and all should be good.

[Valkie2]

I have made up a simple diagram of wiring for driving lights.

 

This is for toyota echos 2000 models.

Most toyotas are the same, negative switching makes it a little different from normal cars.

Cheers

 

Wiring diagram for driving lights in a Toyota ECHO 2000.pdf

[Nafis Malik]

On 6/12/2020 at 8:53 AM, Valkie2 said:

OK, as with all things electric you have diagnosed your problem yourself.

If all doors except the passenger open from the drivers door.

And all doors open when opened from the passenger door.

The problem is the passenger actuator.

You will probably find either a rusty or clagged actuator in the passenger side.

It wont move when opened from another door, but when it is forced from the passenger side it actuates the other doors.

I had that same problem with another car a few years ago, it was water getting into the little electric motor which rusted it up and stopped it from working.

But when forced, it set the other doors off.

you can either replace or clean out the damaged one and all should be good.

Thank you for the advice Glen, I will have a look at the passenger side door actuator. I am planning on going to the wreckers in a few weeks time as some of the other plastic and rubber parts on my Echo are quite worn or broken. I will try and get the actuators at the wreckers if I can as well. I will ptobably end up opening the driver side door too, as it sometimes doesn't work either.

On 6/12/2020 at 9:51 AM, Valkie2 said:

I have made up a simple diagram of wiring for driving lights.

 

This is for toyota echos 2000 models.

Most toyotas are the same, negative switching makes it a little different from normal cars.

Cheers

 

Wiring diagram for driving lights in a Toyota ECHO 2000.pdf 95.86 kB · 1 download

Thank you once again Glen for the wiring diagram! I am planning on wiring in a light bar or a pair of spotlights on my Echo soon, hopefully after I have had a visit from the wreckers for some of the plastic and rubber parts. Your wiring diagram will be a great help! 

[Valkie2]

Life has just turned to ******* with my little echo.

well, not quite that bad, but I'm an unhappy chappy.

I was asked to tow a trailer (empty) for a mat who had bought it sight unseen.

I picked it up and drove home to park up overnight.

The next morning, I could not get the car out of park.

This was because the brake light fuse had blown. 

Replace fuse back on the road.

Towed the trailer, no problem, but arrived sans brake light fuse, blown again.

This was Monday.

Tuesday, car no start, flat battery.

Check battery, no water. Dry as a brickworks kiln.

Nearly a liter of water later I had a nasty looking mess inside the battery, (all black and yucky) charged it up and went on my way

Then the radio stopped working (aftermarket unit Kenwood) Reset it and its ok, but all stations deleted.

Flat battery again this morning, getting a new one at lunch time.

But every time I start the car I have to reset the radio.

Im hoping the battery change will fix this, if not Ill have to pull the damn radio out and find out whats going on.

All because a mate asked for a favor.......................never again.

 

PS, A trailer on the ECHO only affects the drivability going up hill.

It tows very well, but dies on hills, You have to turn off the overdrive and then its all go go go

but my milage was sadly affected.

Such is life.

[campbeam]

1 hour ago, Valkie2 said:

All because a mate asked for a favor.......................never again.

Time to have a beer and get a grip of yourself.

Go find a mirror and have a look at the chump who did not check the water level in the battery. I know,, my sympathetic attitude [or lack thereof] is showing.

Another hard lesson re learnt. Guess we can overlook things with maintenance frees batteries.

New battery will sort this mess out. At least it happened at home and not halfway down the highway. Maybe towing that trailer was a bit of a blessing in disguise.

Good reminder lesson for all of us to regularly check thoroughly under the hood before KARMA comes along and bites us in the posterior when we least want it.

[Nafis Malik]

Oh dear! That's really got to be a pain.

Electrical issues are always the most annoying.

I hope it all works out for you Glen!

[Valkie2]

yep, sillly of me to not check the battery, but in honesty I think it would have been too late even then.

The new battery starts the beast like a jet taking off, great.

As for the radio.......binned.

I got a newer one from the wreckers, same brand, later model.

Works a treat, but it has RED back lighting, I think I can change it will see tonight.

Talk about easy, its a 20 min job to get the old radio out and the new one in.

But my dash now looks like a xmas tree.

 

[campbeam]

48 minutes ago, Valkie2 said:

But my dash now looks like a xmas tree.

 It looks very colourful. Red backlighting on the radio certainly is different.

After the weekend, I now have to get the CTEK onto a battery and fix the connections on a set of starter cables.

[Valkie2]

The best thing about the Echo is that I fear nothing.

I can pull anything apart without worry, if it breaks, Ill get another from the wreckers.

If someone bangs their door into it, who cares

other drivers fear me becuase they see a bomb, they just know I dont care (I do but they dont know that)

So when I push in, they always let me, and If I stop someone from pushing in, they never try to bluff me, one look at the guard and they just know I dont care.

I can test wiring up things and never be concerned.

In my $50k 4x4 Im terrified to even touch it for fear of damaging something.

and, of course, everything is expensive.

a $10.00 part for the Echo

is worth $700.00 for the 4x4.

But , all said and done, I really enjoying this little buzz box.

Its a great car, great milage and even after 20 years, everything works.

Bet my 4x4 wont be able to say that.

 

[campbeam]

It is a big advantage of having an older vehicle which is a popular make and model.

Plenty of parts availability both new and used.

[Nafis Malik]

The Echo is a great car to learn in, It has taught me quite a lot. It is old enough to be simple, yet new enough to still be reliable.

[Valkie2]

On 6/26/2020 at 1:00 AM, Nafis Malik said:

The Echo is a great car to learn in, It has taught me quite a lot. It is old enough to be simple, yet new enough to still be reliable.

Yeah, the first car I bought my daughter was an old Nissan Pulsar.

It looked pretty good, but mechanically it was just so-so.

I spent a bit of time working to it to keep in running until I fixed all the issues.

It ended up lasting 4 years with her and then I gave it to a friends daughter to learn on.

Then, when their car broke down it became their day car, lasted another 4 years before it finally died.

This little echo is the opposite, the body is crap, no rust, just dings and crappy paint.

But mechanically its fine, not perfect, but good enough that Id have no hesitation in driving it to Queensland and back any time.

In the last two months Ive done 10000k freeway driving at 110, not even so much as a backfire.

The battery issue isnt the cars fault, its mine, so all good.

Ill probably give this one away to someone who needs it eventually.

But it will look better when im done with it.