Bourbonblues

Hey ya'll, So this is my first post here and also my intro to the wide world of toyotas... and a troubling introduction it has been. I recently picked up a really good deal on a 95 4runner 6 cyl 3.0 5spd that was completely not running. The girl said everything was great until one day it shut off and didn't even get battery power. She had to get it off her mom's lawn and I was the first person to drive way out to where it had been sitting, but somebody was going to come with a trailer the next day. I hastily called for a tow put it in my driveway assuming it was a small electrical issue I could resolve NP. Quickly I found that the negative battery terminal was not making a good connection and the aftermarket sub woofer cable(that was connected to the battery and not connected to a sub!) was shorting out in the trunk. I fixed these issues and replaced some blown fuses (Mainly EFI) to get it to the point I'm at now. All of the accessories work, dash lights and gauges work, but no crank no start. I can hear the starter relay click under the hood and under the glovebox.


The strange: Windows roll up and down without key in the ignition, Reverse lights come on when I turn the key with tranny in Neutral, I can shift freely with the clutch out and the car off... and there's a mysterious hanging wire under the car near the transmission that comes off the main fuse box and a splits a few times to different components. the last thing is goes to after the hanging part is the 02 sensor I believe.

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated. I have enough base knowledge to get myself into this mess. Hopefully with some help I can get out of it.

wyoming9

iTrader: (1)

I hope by a good deal you meant you were paid to haul this home!!!!

Your first Toyota should run and drive at least some what.

You have checked that the clutch safety switch is closing like it should ??

Allowing it to turn over .

You must have super hearing and it must be real quiet were you are I have never heard the starter solenoid pull in . The circuit opening relay you can hear.

Make sure starter does indeed work. simple to check by energizing the solenoid from the positive cable.

Making sure the truck is out of gear!!!

The engine is not seized and can be turned by a breaker bar on the crank pulley . You might need to pull the plugs

***Your going to need a copy of the Toyota Electrical Wiring Diagrams to figure out the rest of the electrical mess.

Trying to do electrical work without it would be something like driving to work blindfolded.

You might get lucky and get there.


Some people do such strange electrical work then never document it any place.

Bourbonblues

It's true, it seemed like a better deal at the time... assumed it would be some small short on the plug wires or dirty terminals. Alas, hear I am chasing gremlins around I car I know nothing about.

Thanks for those suggestions, I'm spending the day on the rig and chasing down part cars for wiring harness. hopefully have an update later.

RAD4Runner

Got a volt-meter? You start with that and finding a schematic.
Then:
1) Make sure all wiring is restored to stock - we could not help you troubleshoot remotely if your wiring is not stock.
2) Make sure you have a battery that's tested to be good.
3) Make a clear list of what works and what does not.
Then, we'll talk

RJR

Best place to get really good wiring diagrams is from www.techinfo.toyota.com. This is an official Toyota site that has the factory service documentation for every vehicle they make back to about 1989. For $15 (I think) you can get a 48 hour subscription which will allow you to legally download (as .pdfs) and save as much of the factory service manual and wiring diagrams as you have patience for.

There are some independent websites that have the FSM on line for free (see the stickies at the top of this board), but I've never seen the actual wiring diagrams on an independent website. The Toyota ones are clear diagrams printed in full color and are extremely easy to read. You can download all of the wiring diagrams for your vehicle in 15-20 minutes, and if you have electrical issues, it will be the best 15 dollars you ever spent, along with $10 or so on a multimeter (mandatory). That combination will allow you to zero in on just about any electrical difficulty.

RAD4Runner

Then keep a copy in your smartphone so you always have it ready wherever u are.

AKHeathen

If the door jam switch on the driver door doesn't work right, the windows will still work for like 10 min. Check all the fuses and fuseable link with a meter. make sure the ground is good right next to the battery and to the bolt right behind the front engine lift hook. you can always use jumper cables to rule them out. Not sure if that year has the cancel switch to the left of the steering wheel, but that will bypass the clutch safety switch. After that, make sure there is power to the starter solenoid wire when you try to start it...... sometimes it's as simple as loose battery connection. sounds like you got a good deal to me. wish mine was manual, lol.

RAD4Runner

O.P.,
when you hear starter relay click, do you also hear the starter solenoid click?

Yes, here's a sample of "jumper cable" that will send battery power directly to starter solenoid coil. IF this cranks your truck, then suspect:
1) Ignition switch ST1 contacts bad,
2) Wiring from battery to Ignition switch ST1 contact bad,
3) Starter relay wiring to starter solenoid wiring bad,
4) Starter relay contacts bad (less probability than starter relay wiring issue)

AKHeathen

i highly recomend not using jumper cables to power strait to the starter. some trucks are okay to do it safely, but i can see this one leading to an accident. i just recomend using them to jumper where grounds should be to rule out bad ground.

RAD4Runner

As you can see from my post, this is a Special Service Tool for troubleshooting purposes. To eliminate all wiring from battery, to fuses, to ignition swith contacts, to starter relay to wiring to starter solenoid.

AKHeathen

if you are referring to bump switches, please refer to them as that, not jumper cables. fenagling a jumper cable to the starter can be quite dangerous on many vehicles. i have bump switches that are small guage and for the solenoid, not the starter motor. the motor itself can pull like 400 amps typical, which is actually quite low for a starter.

RAD4Runner

I believe you were the one who mentioned jumper cable first
So "Bump switch" then
If you read the post thoroughly, that "bump switch" is exactly what it is for; To energize "the solenoid coil, not the starter motor winding, and actuate the solenoid plunger with full power directly form the battery. No voltage drop from skinny wiring.

AKHeathen

jumper cable is to rule out grounds and many safe places to do so. jumper wires and bump switches are for lower current sources. the way you worded instructs that someone might use power on the jumper cables to fish into the starter, which is not safe, and can do a lot of damage. a little terminology can make a big difference. a battery can supply over 2k amps to a set of jumper cables, but wires can short to open more safely.

RAD4Runner

That's why there are pictures. Not it's called Special Service Tool (Read my post). It is to connect the positive side of the starter solenoid (not starter motor) to the battery directly trough the spade terminal- not the starter screw terminal.. It does not matter whether a thick jumper cable is used to connect 12V to the spade terminal or the 12AWG I specify on my post. All we need is for battery voltage to go directly to the spade terminal of the starter solenoid. This will eliminate doubt on questionable ignition switch, starter relay, wiring, etc.

AKHeathen

i didn't even click the link till now.... normally, dealing with factory stuff, "special service tool" is nothing "special" unless it has a specific plug... then the plug is special..... looks like speaker wire, female spade, and an alligator clip.... a pair of alligator clips on a run of 12-16ga wire does the same thing, but not a jumper cable at all.

tocrazey1987

Check all relays checking for bad soder will have to redo soder job your self easy fix or buy new relay. I had same problem checked all relays ended up being a relay under steering wheel. Re soderd good to go QUOTE=Bourbonblues;52287710]Hey ya'll, So this is my first post here and also my intro to the wide world of toyotas... and a troubling introduction it has been. I recently picked up a really good deal on a 95 4runner 6 cyl 3.0 5spd that was completely not running. The girl said everything was great until one day it shut off and didn't even get battery power. She had to get it off her mom's lawn and I was the first person to drive way out to where it had been sitting, but somebody was going to come with a trailer the next day. I hastily called for a tow put it in my driveway assuming it was a small electrical issue I could resolve NP. Quickly I found that the negative battery terminal was not making a good connection and the aftermarket sub woofer cable(that was connected to the battery and not connected to a sub!) was shorting out in the trunk. I fixed these issues and replaced some blown fuses (Mainly EFI) to get it to the point I'm at now. All of the accessories work, dash lights and gauges work, but no crank no start. I can hear the starter relay click under the hood and under the glovebox.


The strange: Windows roll up and down without key in the ignition, Reverse lights come on when I turn the key with tranny in Neutral, I can shift freely with the clutch out and the car off... and there's a mysterious hanging wire under the car near the transmission that comes off the main fuse box and a splits a few times to different components. the last thing is goes to after the hanging part is the 02 sensor I believe.

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated. I have enough base knowledge to get myself into this mess. Hopefully with some help I can get out of it.[/QUOTE]

neto1503

i tried usin the page to download the wire diagram and couldnt open the page,,got the same problem with my runner 88 v6 3.0....was working perfect,,,cleaned some of the wiring and it stop running,,,it cracks,,,but no sparks,,battery is good..

92ehatch

You should probably make a new thread with the pertinent information to your issue for better help.

these guys will need detailed info on what exactly you took off and cleaned. And exact symptoms of what is going on.

RAD4Runner

Like 92ehatch says above, because this thread is for NO crank, etc.
A problem well -stated is a problem almost solved. What have you done? You need to let us virtually see, hear, feel what you're dealing with. Also time to get a multi-meter if u plan to work on the truck yourself.

Thommo Thompson

if it goes click but makes absolutely no attempt at turning, then its the low current power supply to tge solenoid, which makes the solenoid click. a resistance in this line can make the solenoid move and the contacts come close but dont actually touch. sometime a quick repeated action of the key can overcome this.
if it clicks and goes "reow" (turns a bit) then the battery terminals or starter terminals or ground straps or ground to battery connections are loose or dirty.
if it cranks but no spark, then likely to be the connection from the starter positive on to the reat of the system or the ground straps.