francr

I am not really sure where to post this question. I installed a Yellow Top Optima on my '97 4runner. I installed a + battery cable extension using 2 gauge wire from Autozone. I bolted it with the oem cable and heat shrink wrap it with a heavy duty shrink wrap kit from Lowe's. I then attached a brass battery post from Autozone (it was a tight fit). I replaced the ground wire with a longer 10 gauge wire and bolted it to the original spot on the frame. After dressing everything up with cable protector and zip ties, it looked good and clean. The truck started right-off, I shut it down and went to bed. This morning the truck started no problem and drove it to work. Parked it all day and drove it home with no problem.

This evening, I wanted to get a multi attachment battery post from WalMart. I didn't really find what I was looking for, so we decided to just go home and call it a day when the weird thing happened.

The Truck started normally, but when I tried to back out of the parking space, I noticed that the Brake Light was on eventhough the brake lever was depressed all the way down. Furthermore, when I put it on reverse, the truck felt like something was holding it down and having problems moving. I also heard rambling noise under the truck that I never heard before. Kind of like shaking a loose pan. I tried enabling and disabling the brake light by engaging and disengaging the lever, but no luck. We drove slowly, but the problem persisted. So, I stopped the truck and went looking for my flashlight (the flashlight battery was dead!!!), but no useful flashlight, so we just decided to go home. I put it in park and then shut the engine off, but it wouldn't shut off! It kept trying to restart even though I turned the key ignition off! When I cranked the ignition, the motor ran normally, but with noises coming from the under the truck. How weird, It sounded like a badly out of tune truck!

We drove slowly home and the problem resolved itself. The Brake Light came off and the truck drove fine the rest of the way home.

okay, so can anyone tell me what could be happening?
Could it be that the new Optima was not fully charged or defective?
Could it be my alternator?
Could it be that the ground wire I used as replacement is not the right gauge?
Why would it run fine and suddenly have hiccups?

i should mention that I recently installed a Lightforce 170. It is wired directly to the battery and the switch is wired to an aux fuse box.

Anyone can shed a light to what is happening to my truck is greatly appreciated.

Thanks

NorCalVP

Sounds like your starter is on it's last leg... This happened to a few people I know

"I put it in park and then shut the engine off, but it wouldn't shut off! It kept trying to restart even though I turned the key ignition off! When I cranked the ignition, the motor ran normally"

A friend i have (not so smart) kept driving with it like that, and the starter finally gave out and caught fire... You can replace the contacts in the starter pretty easy, or just replace the whole thing.

Steve

francr

How much would that thing cost and how hard would it be to install or should I just have the stealership install it? Thanks. I am pulling the stubbs on my head trying to figure out what is wrong with it.

NorCalVP

Check out Roger's website.
http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTri...html#Update-II

and here
https://www.yotatech.com/~corey/tech...r/haveblue.htm

If you are pretty handy with a wrench then go for it! you could also just replace the whole starter. it would be much less involved, but quite a bit more spendy! Taking it to the dealer would be the easiest, but also the most expensive.

francr

Question. So, it will be easier to replace the whole starter than replace the contacts? How so?

NorCalVP

The hard part is actually removing the starter from the truck. Once it's out, changing the contacts is fairly easy. Just have to have the time, and resources that it takes to do it. I myself have yet to replace the contacts, but have removed the starter on both my 4runner and Tacoma.

superjoe83

i would get whole new starter, usually when they stick on they overheat and loose most of their life

francr

I took the truck to the local stealership, Frank's Toyota of National City, CA. I went to the same lady who treated me really well and dropped my truck off. They checked the electrical and they found nothing wrong. They tried to replicate what happened, but it seemed the "Gremlin" didn't show up. Now, I am a little paranoid. They wanted $289 for a rebuilt starter and $165 for labor. But they said that they will not touch it unless they found something wrong or i can decide on whether to replace it or not. They tried several times to see if the starter will get stuck, but never materialized.

I have long trip to AZ coming up for Thanksgiving and we are going to be about 20 miles into the desert from a nearest highway. i don't want to get stuck and hump 20 miles to get a tow truck. I am also planning to take a trip to Loreto, BCS, Mexico in December. Should I just be prudent and replace it? Is there another explanation?

I looked at 1sttoyotaparts.com's list for starter for the '97 4Runner SR5 4WD and it listed several part number with different kw rating. It seems that the lower the kw, the more expensive it is. Can anyone explain that to me? I thought, the more kw it can handle, the better it is?

What is the different between 1.4kw and 1.8kw?

francr

So, I've been monitoring my trucks starting behaviour. So far, it starts right up with no problem. I also ordered 4Crawlers' contacts. I ordered (2) sets of ABCD since I don't really want to mess around looking to see what contacts I am supposed to use. I figured, with 4Crawlers' return policy, I couldn't go wrong.

Yesterday, my wife and I went to the local junk yard and looked for parts for her '93 MX-3. Found a seatbelt module that the dealer said it will cost $500.00 to install to include parts. We got one from a newer model for $20.00. Took me less than 10 min to install. For ลลลล and giggles, I asked the junk yard dogs for a starter for a '97 4Runner. They have a '98 with a starter sitting on the empty engine bay. I got it for $35.00. We tested it before we left and it was good. I just need to clean it.
Is it the same starter? I haven't look. My FSM will not here until next week, so I guess, I can wait. In the meantime, I will clean it and install 4Crawler's contacts on there if they are worn and it will be my backup for our trip to baja California. if not, I can offer it to the board for what I paid for it + shipping.