hjkmotor

hey guys its been a while since iv been on here so that means my yota is running great..... cept for today lol

see if u cant help me out, my truck had been running just fine, i drove it to work in the morning and it started fine, started and drove it to lunch then back to work, then drove it home after it started fine again, then after i went to start the truck after i was home i got nothing. the battery is fine, i have a marine/rv cranking battery in my truck it doesn't die that quickly. i can clutch start my truck with one kick, not even a problem. but when i turn the key one click and nothing.

sooooo i took the starter off, and since all the autoparts stores r closed i tested it myself. when i test it the starter gear pops out but doesn't turn. so i busted out my spare starter.... same thing. so does anyone know what could be up with it? i really don't think both of my starters r bad but i don't know what else it could be. so let me know what u guys think cuz im tired of having to park on hills .

yotarob2005

You need to look into the hot shot starter mod.

xxxtreme22r

I know you said it wasn't the battery but, mine was doing this and it was a bad cell in the battery which was not charging. new battery solved my issue. Maybe all you need is new battery cables. or that hot shot starter mod isn't a bad idea either.

tried4x2signN

1millions times outta 10, the only thing that goes bad with Denso starters is the contacts...

Have you tried searching "starter", or "starter problems"?


I'm almost positive I've posted in 1 or a thousand...


And x2, on a cell dieing... Those things can have quirky effects..

That's why when they test a battery they put a load on it.

xxxtreme22r

assuming he was testing the other one correctly, what's the odds of having two at the same time do this though?

tried4x2signN

Bout a billion to 1...

I'd go buy a lotto ticket if it was me


Oh, and OP... While you got it out replace the contacts and you might as well flip over the miles it has on it now fore there'd be any more trouble out of it...

hjkmotor

thanks guys i appreciate the replies. i just came in from the garage and i haven't done anything that made a difference. i checked all fuses tested both starters again and swapped my battery for another i had sitting around. no difference. i suppose ill take both my starters to get tested tomorrow and possibly get a new one. if not ill clean the contacts

i did search the site for other starter problems but from what i found everyones problems are either the starters run bad or dont run at all. i just found it kinda strange that mine engages the starter gear but doesn't spin it.

anyway who has done the hot shot mod and how do they like it? my truck always takes a second to start but i thought that was just a 3vze thing. its probably putting some serious stress on my starter having to turn a couple extra times everytime i start my truck. will the hot shot mod help this?

tried4x2signN

Relays can hit and run too...

I know I've been told they don't, they're either working or they're not...

But I'm here to tell ya, that aint so...

They can go in and out.


Put everything back in, and remove the relay and try jumping the terminals...

I DO NOT KNOW WHICH terminals, but I do know you can start it that way...

See it if starts the next time it acts up.

chubbydude

You have classic voltage drop to the starter solenoid symptoms. Put in the hot shot relay (or simply any 30A relay) and your truck will start like its on viagra.

To run the truck without the ignition you need to power the solenoid wire direct from the battery using a jumper wire.

nmbwhntr

If you tested the starter at the control wire w/o the pos from the battery hooked up the starter will only extend the bendix and not rotate it. Hook the pos from the battery back to the starter, ground the starter, and jump from the pos on the starter to the control wire connection on the solenoid. See what you get. It should extend and rotate

swampfox

You can use a volt/ohm meter to check for a bad cable or connection. Just check the voltage at the starter, it should be the same as the battery voltage. while you watch the meter have someone try to crank it. If the voltage drops to zero and comes back up when the key is off, it is a good indicator of a bad cable or connection.

hteeth

curious about what happened here .....
same thing is happening in my 1st gen 4runner as well....
did OP figure out what was wrong ?

rustED

iTrader: (2)

Anyone have any incite into this problem? I hate to start a new thread since there are already so many, and the problem that the OP posted is the the closest I have found to mine. I have a 86' 4runner, 22re, 5spd mt. I just finished swapping an 85' 22r motor in and transfering all my EFI to the new motor. I am getting the infamous click when trying to start the engine. At first I was only hearing the relay click on the passenger side under the dash. After double checking my connections I was able to get the starter gear to kick out, but it doesn't spin. I removed the starter and hooked it directly to the battery (the main power cable to the + side of the battery &, jumpered to the ignition wire terminal) and the housing of the starter grounded to the (-) terminal of the battery and I get the same results- gear pops out but doesn't turn. So I tried my spare starter (it came with my 85' motor I just got don't know if it was good or not) and I got the same results = starter gear pops out but doesn't spin!

So I took my 85' starter down to auto zone had them bench test it. It passed altho he said the gear was kinda chattering in & out while spinning... so I went ahead and got a new one, but had him bench test it to make sure it was good before I left. I got home & hooked it up straight off the battery like before, with the same results! 3 different starters all 3 kick the gear out, but don't spin! I checked the contacts for the Solenoids on both starters, on the new starter they were surprisingly brand new & the washer on the plunges was also brand new. On my original starter the contacts showed very slight wear, I cleaned them & also the plunger & the contact/washer. I have checked all my conections, ohmed out my (-) battery cable to the engine block & also to the starter case & have continuity. I have checked & adjusted the clutch safety switch & made sure I'm getting power down to the starter on the ignition wire. I charged my battery & was getting 15.3v across the (+) & (-) under load (with the headlights on) I was getting 13.4v ... same results! I'm stumped! Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! I've owned this 4runner for 2 mths & haven't got to drive it yet, & this is driving me nuts! Thanks guys - Ed.

4Crawler

iTrader: (3)

Hook up a volt meter to the starter solenoid and see if it is getting a good solid connection:
- http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTri...shtml#EasyTest



You can have a starter that works perfectly in a bench test, but hook it up to bad wiring and it'll not work right.

rustED

iTrader: (2)

Thanks 4Crawler, I'll try that when I get home, at least I will know what voltage I'm getting to the starter while its under load. The thing I don't get is when I ran it directly off my battery, bypassing my wiring harness & I got the same results... but anyway, thanks, I'll try that & I may also get my battery tested tonight, I'll keep you all posted! thanks - ED

4Crawler

iTrader: (3)

So when it was bypassed, how was that done? What size cable did you run to the solenoid? That circuit pulls about 20 amps, so it needs to be a pretty solid connection.

And there are two sides to every circuit, the power side and the ground side. So maybe the block ground connection is causing trouble.

rustED

iTrader: (2)

4Crawler: when I bypassed the harness I had the starter out. I ran a 10ga wire from the battery directly to the main power terminal of the starter. I then ran a 16 ga wire directly from the + post pod the battery to the Solenoid terminal of the starter & grounded the starter case to the - post of the battery. The gear will kick out but not spin,, same as when it was installed in the truck.

rustED

iTrader: (2)

Small update: I returned my battery (which was 2 mths old & under warranty & rated at 550 cold cranking amps) and got a optima red top (rated at 720cca). I tried starting the engine, same thing! I hook up a connector like the one in the pic in 4Crawler's first post. I tested the voltage to the Solenoid while trying to start the engine, & I was only getting 8.3v! So then I tested across the top of the battery between the (+) and (-) while trying to start the engine & I got 9.3v
Does anyone know the minimal amount of voltage required at the starter to turn over the engine? Ant help is appreciated! I got to get this thing running!

4Crawler

iTrader: (3)

OK< I guess I misunderstood that the started worked when bypassed. That sounds like something is wrong mechanically with the starter. Figure out why the gear is not turning. Does the starter motor spin up when you test it out of the truck? Maybe the drive gear is stripped or maybe some dirt in there preventing it from engaging.

And on the voltage, that sounds a bit low, what you want to check is if that voltage is much lower than the battery voltage. So if you have 9.3 at the starter, do you have like 9.5v at the battery or 12.5v? Should see no more than about a 0.5 volt drop between the battery and the starter solenoid.

Blueman

I don't know that this is your issue, but I wanted to add to the knowledge base of starter issues. My '87 4Runner 22RE MT5 developed a problem in which when I turned the key to start, sometimes there would just be a click from under the hood, but nothing else. Nothing else until I waited. Sometimes several seconds, and then the starter would engage normally. Sometimes it would engage right away. As an engineer, I searched for correlation to anything, but it would happen hot or cold, summer or winter, dry or wet. In the end, I ended up replacing the starter to prevent a possible stranding, and it's been fine ever since.

Oh, and if you get a factory starter, note that there are ones for cold climates and ones for warm climates -- I say, always go for the one designed for harsh environments. So far I've found that my Iowa-truck calls out a different starter and different muffler than it's brothers sold in more southern climates.

Blueman

'87 4Runner, and '07 FJ (the first thing worthy of replacing the 4Runner)