96runner4x4

Quick question for you guys. My 4runner on occasions wont start. It will turn over and idle for a second and then die. It will do it two or three times and then start up no problem. it drives fine after that. Any ideas on what could be happening? might i need a new battery , starter, connections maybe? any input would be great.

rdlsz24

If it starts and then dies it sounds like a fuel delivery problem. What year is your Runner? Do you have any sort of factory anti-theft?

Rob

96runner4x4

thanks for the quick reply. Its a 96 sr5 and i don't have a factory security system. although i do have an aftermarket remote starter if that's a factor by any chance. its been doing it for a while, but i have not really been to worried about it since i have not gotten stranded yet (knock on wood).

96runner4x4

anyone else?

wino$41

Same year same problem. Run a bunch of injector cleaner through it. Another problem I've heard with this issue has to do with the o2 sensor wire running along the engine and gets hot which causes a starting issue, I'm not sure how this is associated just somethng one mechanic told me about.

Swansen

hows the wiring on the remote start? There was a car in a friends shop of mine, was having the same issue. It was in the shop for a couple days trying to figure out what was going on, he was going through some various wiring, and got to the remote start and it was a mess, rats nest, anyways, removed it and put OE stuff back in and solved the problem. As Rob suggested, did you check fuel pressure and it was all right or ??

96runner4x4

sounds logical. I run injector cleaner through my 4runner every time i do my oil change so hopefully my injectors are clean. i haven't checked the fuel pressure yet, but the remote starter is always a culprit in certain situations from what i hear. off subject, i wonder if its the remote starter that has screwed up my rear window also. thanks for the replies, me and my mechanic are gonna take a look at some possible causes for this when hes not busy (i get to use one of the bays in the garage after hours at no charge )

wino$41

Nice. Let me know if you fix it. I still have the problem and I'm still looking for solutions. Right now I'm trying to research the o2 sensor thing which doesn't make sense to me yet.

Swansen

i have the convenience to, but my stepfasha used to own it, so used to have unlimited after hours use.... miss that stuff hardcore. Anyways, my vote goes to the remote start, and even if its not a mess, and even though it will be an ordeal, you should take it out and see if it makes a difference.

96runner4x4

ill keep you guys posted whenever i can. thanks again!

rdlsz24

I had this same problem on a '99 Cavalier that I had a remote start on. Sometimes when using the remote it would run for about 1 second and die. It would trip the PassLock (thinking it was somebody trying to hot wire it) and you had to wait 15 minutes before it would start. I quit using the remote start because it was making me late for school. Eventually I took it out.

Rob

96runner4x4

worked on the 4runner this past weekend and really couldn't find anything.
I had asked my mechanic about doing a fuel pressure test on the 4runner, but he said it would be hard to do just because the problem only happens once in a great while. Couldn't find any vacuum leaks anywhere and i cleaned up the MAF a bit. Filled up at the gas station today, went to start up the truck, and it did it again. I wanna test the remote starter theory but now that it is getting cold, i like having it knowing that i can get into my toasty warm 4runner first thing in the morning . Also my intake (K+N) has been rattling a bit inside the engine bay so i think I'm just gonna yank it out and put my stock air box back on. Wonder if that will make a difference? ill keep you guys posted on any updates.

wino$41

Like I said before, I have the same issue but I don't have the remote start. Fuel pressure test seems logical to me. It may pick up on a consistent problem that may only reveal itself sporatically.

97ltd4x4

If it will start and not want to idle unless you feather the throttle....Clean your IAC valve,located in throttle body.

96runner4x4

cool, thanks for the idea!

wino$41

Here's the post on it https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f123...ac-pics-92286/.

96runner4x4

UPDATE

well i decided to take out my k+n intake out and put my stock box back on to see if there is a change. well, there was a change and the start up issue went away. but another issue arose. i was on the way to my girlfriends when i noticed at a stop light my truck was shaking like it was about to shut off. at the next light, it shut off as soon as i hit the brake. and from there on, every time i hit the brake the truck would completely shut off. my idle was so low that the tiniest bit off the gas it would die. so to make it to her house i had to keep one foot on the gas and the other on the brake to keep it on. made it to her house and parked it. called my mechanic to come and check it out and when he gets there, its running completely fine (go figure).

i drove it to the garage from there to take a look at it. we adjusted the idle so it case it dropped, it wouldn't drop to low and shut the truck off. I made a suggestion that maybe the ecu might have adjusted to the intake and screwed something up. so to test my theory the next day i ordered an ecu cheap off eBay and installed it as soon as it came in. worked fine and the truck seemed to run good but the check engine light went on. i get the code pulled and from what i remember it was "manufacturer specific error". my mechanic told me it had to do something with a back up battery which i didn't understand. so i was like whatever, changed it out today and put my stock ecu back and its running fine so far (knock on wood). the lowest the idle has been at 600 rpm's in "Drive
" and about 750 -800 in park. this weekend I'm getting my timing belt done and having the 4runner looked at for any possible flaws. I'm going down to new york for thanksgiving and i need my 4runner to be reliable. man with all these little problems, i feel like giving up my truck and getting something else but Ive put to much work into it to just get rid of it. hopefully it all works out though. wish me luck guys.

Swansen

wait, timing belt, what engine do you have?? On that, all you have to do to reset whatever the ECU had "learned" would have been to just unplug the battery for a little bit or pull the EFI fuse, just for reference.

96runner4x4

sorry for the confusion, the timing belt is a separate issue (i have the 3.4). when the truck is in the shop getting the timing belt done, my mechanic is gonna look at every possible cause for the low idle. as for unplugging the battery, i needed a new battery so the ecu was disconnected for a while and after that, it was doing the same thing. im just gonna get it running good to at least last me through winter. after that depending on how much its pissed me off, im gonna get a new truck.

Swansen

well, first off, idle should be around 700 rpms, anything below that and it will be really rough, and might die, so the idle should be set accordingly. Secondly, i would check the throttle plate on the throttle body or the throttle body, if is dirty or gummed and stuck that may be a problem. Lastly, its more than likely that one of the various sensors is dieing, tps, coolant temp, ect. Ooo, just thought about it, but its possible that the IAC is malfunctioning, (idle air control valve). Other possibility is that there is a vacuum leak, but i think you would notice a vacuum leak, it would have an effect on performance.