Hi All,

for some reason, some times my car doesn't feel like turning over. the battery has been tested fine and lights come on and it doesn'tfeel like the battery i weak.

when i turn the key, i an hear clicks and the fuel pump but the starter wont go.

if we boost the car with another car or put in a freshly charged battery, the car will start. Drive around and it will go away.

it usually happens if it sits to long.

could it be the starter or bad wires causing the wierd electrical issue?

 

Your 4Runner is probably just peeved that you keep calling it a car.

So... jumping it with another vehicle's battery makes the starter turn... is that right?

 

Where was it "tested"? Sounds like you have a dead cell in the battery, or bad cables.

 

we've tried 2 batteries... the battery that was initially in the TRUCK was bought within the last 6 months.

I took the battery from my dad's maxima and put it in the truck now and it's been working since ( 2 months now ) and it carried over the same symptoms as the first battery.

After a night full of charging the maxima has been running on my battery for 2 months after we swapped batteries.


Yesterday, during a cold start, the car would power on but would not turn over. I hear the starter clicking (i believe is a starter) and i hear the fuel pump but it will not turn over. I boosted the TRUCK with another car (integra) and it started up. drove around for a bit, took the battery out, and connected it to a battery charger. It said full but i had it trickle charge for about 8 hours just to make sure. Put the battery back in and it's started up fine.

Today the truck is in the garage. I just started it up and it turned on fine. I'll see if i can park outside in the cold weather to see if it'll come up with the same symptoms.

 

when it does that crap and you have time. pull your 4runner batt and put it in the maxima and see what happens. if it wont start the maxima then for sure it is the batt. maybe a first sign of it grounding out or messing up inside. but i would try it in the maxima that sould give you a better idea. good luck!

same crap happens to my 80 when it is cold it struggles to start in cold mornings but if it runs for a bit then i shut it off it will start fine. batt might need to have some more ions added to it to hold the charge for the cold starts.

 

Check your ground to frame connection, then your engine to frame ground connection, also check your positive connection to the starter. if all of those are fine, you need a new starter, or just a starter solenoid..

 

One time when i turned off the truck, i had to turn it back on so i can move up a little bit. I cranked the engine... sounded like it started so i let go of the key and the car died. i pulled out the key and the car kept clicking. I had to pull the battery to stop the clicking.

We're suspecting the starter solenoid too but we replaced the starter in 2004. hrm.....

 

Check out the starter and solenoid contacts. Same issues with my 98...after 10 years those contacts get trashed, starter itself is still fine. Replaced those and now it starts flawlessly every go.

 

Did you check the output voltage and current draw on the alternator? According to the Toyota FSM, the alternator should be outputting (at 2000 RPM) 14v - 15v at 77 Deg F, 13.5v - 14.3v at 239 Deg F. Standard current draw is 10A or less, just make sure all your aftermarket and auxiliary electrical devices are not running when you test this since that spec is for factory draw.

That would be the first thing that I would test. If your reading is lower than spec, the battery is not being fully charged and you will have problems starting the truck. If the current draw is much higher than 10A, that would lead me to think that you have an open ground in the circuit somewhere that is draining your battery.

Another test to do (as per the FSM) is to turn on your hi beams and heater fan control switch to hi. At 2000 RPM, your current draw should be 30A or higher. If you get a reading lower than 30A, the FSM suggests that the alternator should be repaired.