MMA_Alex

I started the truck fine, drove a few minutes parked, and went into the bank. When I came back out it wont start. The relay clicks, and the starter sounds like its turning, but it doesen't seem to engage the flywheel at all.

any ideas?

could it be that the starter doesent have enough power to fully spin out and engage the flywheel? maybe the starter teeth are worn down and wont engage the flywheel anymore?

ozziesironmanoffroad

time for either a new starter or a rebuild kit. thats what it sounds like to me... does the starter work more in the morning when its cold, and stop working when it warms up? if so then theres somethin up with the starter.

denro

have someone tap the starter while the key is turned to start it. that will get ya going for now probably. good luck with it keep us posted on what worked for you to fix the problem.

MMA_Alex

could be. I haven't had any issues with it before, and it was a short drive (less than 5 minutes)

ozziesironmanoffroad

then bust out a voltage tester and test the power from the ignition to the starter relay, then from the relay to the starter. maybe its not getting enough power, who knows.

BC_4runner

Its either

1)The flywheel is missing teeth in that spot therefore cant engage

2)The plunger is not coming out of the starter and just spinning(my vote)

n4ynu1010

It could be as simple as a bad/dry connection at the cable connection on the starter solenoid lug , clean and lube the igntion key wire connection and + lug at solenoid (Di-electric Grease) , it could be dirty battery terminals on the post or at the wire connection if you have the aftermarket cable ends compared to OEM .
Typical of a Solenoid going bad though is what you are experiencing as well as what could be dead battery/bad connections .
I have seen the problem where someone had the aftermarket battery cable ends and the fuse pwr and starter cable were 2 separate wires , the smaller of the 2 for the fuse panel had a good electrical connection but the one going to starter had a bad connection - moral of the story is voltage was present at the connection but when it came time for the starter to get the high amps it couldn't - not a good enough connection - Voltage present and no current available ( at least for a starter ) .
Let us know what you find

If the gear is not connecting with flywheel then the solenoid is not working , hard to chew up teeth on a flywheel unless you constantly try to start with already running or you have a bad soleniod/Sticking and keep using it for a long time , there used to be a day we shimmed starters in (back in the old days) ahem.....The Old Days

fillsrunner4

I would have to agree with #2 thats most likely whats going on. you could and I would pull the starter which isnt to hard at all and test it about ten times. sometimes it will work right off the bat and other times it may take 2 or more tests to find a spot it wont engage and then you know you need a new starter. if it engages evertime then let us know. but thats what i would try

MMA_Alex

Alright, I push started it, and atleast got it out of the 4 hour limit parking spot it was in lol.

When i got it to where i parked it i tried restarting it a couple times. Started fine twice, and then just the relay click. Hooked up the jump box, and i got it to just spin, and not engage the flywheel, but much more regular this time.

I'm thinking i've got a dieing starter, and a dieing battery.

I purchased a remaned starter, and i'm gunna try putting it in tomorrow morning, and see what happens, as well as cleaning up the terminals before hooking the new one up.

I will keep everyone posted. Thanks everyone for the advice!

n4ynu1010

Sounds like a fried solenoid for sure as long as the batery is good that is

MMA_Alex

Heres the story:

I spent the morning pulling the old starter, and putting in the new one. When i got the new one in and all hooked up I have the same symptoms. I tried several times, and one of them it tried to start for a fraction of a second, and then nothing.

oh, when i had the cables off i cleaned em up too.

any other ideas? i cleaned the battery connections about a month and a half ago, and they still look fairly clean.

edit: I also hooked up my jump box again. the battery seems to be pretty discharged after this many attempts at starting, but I still had the same symptoms with the jump box on, just sounded like it was spinning faster.

isaac338

pull the starter and shine a light in there to check the flywheel teeth. see if any are gone.

n4ynu1010

If the solenoid is not working to engage the starter gear to the flywheel then replace that starter .
I am still confused because thru most of the threads you seem to indicate your battery is in bad shape also , if it is then the starter is not going to work so good (they don't work all that well with jump current because of cable length) , if you want to be sure............ which seems like you do ..............which I can't blame your for then charge your battery and re-check and yes you can check the flywheel for missing teeth but you will only see a small portion of the teeth clearly without rotating the motor at the crank pulley , as long as you havn't used the starter alot while malfunctioning then the chances you have damaged the flywheel is pretty slim , the Starter ring teeth on flywheel are rather hard and will eat up a starter gear generally .

MMA_Alex

Decided to check the battery connections before I pulled the starter. Cleaned em, and it started on the first try! Wow do I feel dumb. For some reason the positive cable seems to corrode really fast. I had just cleaned it in the end of August, and it had been working fine then, it just had a lot of corrosion, and I figured I'd clean it before I went off to school.

Unfortunately I don't have a battery charger available, and its not really convenient to go buy one, but after it started I let it run for 20 minutes to at least charge the battery somewhat.

I don't really like the design of the positive cable (i dont think its stock) and I will probably be replacing it next weekend.

I don't think the starter was in the best of shape either so I dont really regret replacing it, especially since the remaned one was only $60 after the core return.

Thanks to everyone for your suggestions, and help!

n4ynu1010

Cool you Got it fixed

longhungsilver

change that batt, its self-discharging... hence the corrosion