Yesterday I purchased a '99 Runner Highlander in great shape. Only 83K miles. Test drove well and restarted in the parking lot and at the sellers home with no problem. When I returned home and let the truck sit for about 3 hours and tried to restart, nothing. You can hear the celeniod click but no starting action.

THe seller said that he washed the engine the night before and that it might be wet / hydrolocked, and I'm thinking this might be the case. ALso, there is a dealer installed security system that has two buttons, and after I played with the buttons a bit, the car turned over and started with out hesitations, about 8 hours after I brought it home. I teried the ame thing and it started, but then every attempt after that, the car just would not start.

Am I hydro-locked, is it the security system, or a starter issue. At this point, the later it sat, the better chance I had to start, but very intermitant...about 1 in every 10 trys.??? Your thoughts?

I will take to a mechanic on Monday, but wanted to drive it today with-out stranding myself somewhere remote.

 

Sounds like your security system is faulty or your starter is going out.

Rob

 

I would say it is the security system.. If you hydrolock your engine then you would be really screwed. The water may have affected the system some how.

 

First off the engine is NOT hydrolocked, you would have never been able to drive it home.

Ok, now for the problem at hand......

It is definately in the starting system, not security related. What your experiencing sounds like the contacts in the starter are burned and need of replacement. If you bring it to a mechanic they will replace the whole starter assembly, but if you have any mechanical knowledge, simply remove the starter and dissassemble the solenoid and replace the 2 copper contacts.

 

I am able to get this to fire up intermitantly...would this still be the starter? It started right up three times in a row, and then nothing at all for about 11-12 trys. I am paranoid about getting stuck somehwere in Colorado and the rig won't start...don't want my frozed body to be found in the spring,,plus I have an 8 month old baby, so I need it to work each time. Thats why I got up early and tried to fire it up. Nothing for about 5-6 times, just the celeniod clicking.

I am mechanically inclined, but this is my first Runner. What would a replacement starter run, and how difficult is it to replace the connections? From the post I would assume they are just bad and it wuld be an easy fix to bolt new ones on or cripm them. Am I correct?

I haven't even looked at the rig for the starter, but is this under the engine behind a skid that you would access from the bottom, or are the starters easy to get to?

 

This one hasd the dealer installed "US security systems" with a clocker to unlock the door, and one to do something else. The owner did not seem to think it was connected or involved with the starter, however, it seems like I have better luck clicking the little button and then starting...of course not every time, and maybe it is coincidence. This may be a diabler...? Maybe I can track the wires to the starter / to the security system and see if there is a relay or something??

 

the remote start wire is under the dash. I have not put one in a Toyota , but the wire for my Tahoe was like a 4g wire (?) and pink. they would have basically put the alarm in line of this wire so it could interrupt the starting circuit for security issues and start the car with the remote. Crawl under the dash and find the "Brain Module" for the alarm. it will most likely be a little larger than a cig pack black and have some relays by it. it might be easier to trace it by finding the shock sensor they most likely mounted on the steering column and trace the wires back to the Brain from it.

Get the make and model # off the brain and Google for info. The factory doesn't really put these in, the dealerships contract outside installers to put in the current systems, my brother use to be an installer that did this.

if you find the brain and cant find any info, and still think its alarm based let me know (pm) and i will talk to my brother tomorrow at work about it and get back to you.

Good luck.

and also for your starter T/S
http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTri...eresTheStarter

 

did the previous owner have any problems? how long has the alarm been installed? I would not think the alarm would suddenly go bad. Does it still have the orig battery? Take it to a Kragen, Pepboys or Autozone they'll do a free battery-starter test for you.

 

PO says that there were no problems, he he really hasn't driven the rig in a while. It does have a brand new battery and plenty of juice. There is no remote start to the vehicle, probably just a "hit this button" to enable the start function...maybe it doesn't work this way but just a thought.

I will take it to Pep Boys it I can get it to start ( after looking at tall the connections). Maybe there is water somewhere if the relay is from the ignition to the security system to the starter, maybe the connect is bad as mentioned in a previous post.

 

I have to agree with BruceTS because if it was the security system, the relays are all under the dash for the remote start so hitting the engine with water shouldn't affect it at all (although it is possible that it may still be wiring going into the engine compartment associated with the security system or may be shorting or making poor contact.....hard to say). I would pull the starter and have it inspected/rebuilt at an Auto-Electric shop and then if the issue continues, start looking at the security wiring. You could try and bypass the security wiring for a while to see if the same thing happens with just the starter, but this may be above your mechanical abilities (I have no idea).

 

Somedays inserting the key and driving is above my mechanical ability, others I may rebuild a Bronco with no extra parts left over! Depends on the day. Thanks for the advice.

 

The reason why I came to the conclusion that the security system has nothing to do with your problem is due to the fact that your hearing the soleniod click when you turn the key. Aftermarket systems prevents the soleniod from even getting power at all. It is total coincidence that your hitting the button and the truck starting.

The contacts are burned go here for more info http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTricks/Starter.shtml

Burning the contacts out is a very common problem, sometimes it'll start just fine 5 times in a row then other times it won't 5 times in a row.

 

This is my vote. I say starter contacts.

If you can hear the solenoid click then the system has power which would be the job of the security system to stop from happening. The engine wash may/may not have had something to do with it, but I say it's a coincidence. If the issue was that something got wet, then given that it's run a couple of times since you picked it up, it'd be well dried out by now.

As a Toyota owner with potential starter issues, Roger Brown will be a guy to get to know:

http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTricks/Starter.shtml


(update: heh... bruce and I are channeling one-another!)

 

That sounds most probable as the cause. Also just wanted to add that a good resource for anyone buying a used vehicle that has an alarm, remote starter, or aftermarket stereo is a website called www.the12volt.com. There is a lot of information about these systems, installing them, and there are many links to wiring diagrams for installation / troubleshooting purposes.

 

Replaced the starter and this was it! Thanks for all the feedback, it was very helpfull!

 

Wow, glad to hear it's running, but... I hope you got a good deal on a starter. $5 for contacts probably would have done it for you.

 

I am 100% agree? Toyotas starter will outlast the truck it was only needed a new contacts.