eric1bss

I just bought an 01 tacoma reg cab, 75k, 5 speed, 4x4 (obviously), sr5, and the truck is in great shape aside from a few small dents in the roof, and the clutch start cancel doesn't work. I put the key in, turn it to acc, push the button, but the light doesn't come on and it doesn't fire up. I'm hoping this is just a fuse? Help me out here.

Thanks,
Eric

ewarnerusa

gotta turn the key all the way to "ON" before pushing the button. that's how my '03 is.

slyang1012

yep.. same with my tundra.... turn the key all the way and hit the button.. then the engine shouldstart.

dexter

i love this feature

eric1bss

I tried that and it didn't work. I have used this feature on other tacomas, and it has worked just fine. I'm confident that mine has a problem, I was just wondering if it is simply a fuse, or if it's deeper than that. Possibly the switch itself?

Thanks

89macrunner

your not suposed to use it all the time. It says in the manual to only use it if you really have to. Its not good for the engine or something...Im sure someone whill chime in with what i am missing but really, if your too lazy to push in the clutch when you start it than why are you driving a stick anyways? If your using that your starting it in 1st most likely unless you park in neutral which would be weird. Anyways you have to push the clutch in to move so whats the point of this unless its an emergency?"

ewarnerusa

I don't see how it could be bad for the engine. It seems to me that it is just a safety feature so you can't crank the starter while the gears are engaged. If you are cranking while engaged, then that seems like it would be hard on components. But if you're in neutral I think it is fine to do it as much as you want.
I have only used it to start the truck on cold mornings where I don't want to drag in extra snow or when I'm wearing snowboard boots which make it hard to work the pedals. Then the truck has those couple of minutes to warm up while I change my boots.

Buki

If you want to bypass the switch all together unplug the plug from the clutch switch and short the two wires together, it should start like you were pressing the switch. I imagine that it might be the same if you short the 2(?) wires behind the switch also. I have never checked so be careful when doing this.
Someone could chime in if they know different about the switch.

Yota4runner

I park my truck in neutral..whats so weird about that?

89macrunner

well, I was always taught, and i always belive that your better off parking in gear. gives you more protection against rolling..I think i mostly do this now is because i drove for about 2 months with no e-brake

firemedic

It won't hurt anything to use the clutch cancel. Nice to use to start in neutral to warm up the truck, don't have to get in, just push the button and start it, go back inside for some hot chocolate while you wait

Back to the question, first thing I would do is pop out the switch and make sure it is plugged in to the harness.

eric1bss

Excuse my ignorance, but how would I pop out the switch?

Thanks for the patience with a Noob

firemedic

Not sure with the '01, but on the older generation you can either pop it out from behind by reaching under/behind the dash and pushing it out, or you can take a flat blade and work it under the edge of the switch assembly (from the front) and carefully pry it out, be careful not to scratch the dash or switch. They are basically "friction" fit, they are not screwed in or anything like that, but not sure if your model is the same. Once it is out you can disconnect/reconect the wire harness from the back of the switch.

eric1bss

OK, I finally got around to checking this thing out. I pulled the fuse cover off and checked up under the dash and found that the CTC switch was not plugged in. So I pulled off the lower dash cover to hunt for a wire, but there was no wire that matched up with the CTC switch. There were 2 other connectors, though, that were not being used. Possibly one of these needs another wire plugged into it which then plugs into the CTC switch? I'm guessing one connector is for the electronic rear diff lock, which I wouldn't mind having, and the other is for my clutch start cancel switch. What do you think?

eric1bss

Well, after much more searching I found the proper wireing harness. She plugged right in and now works fine. What a pain though, I really had to tear the dash apart. And the harness I needed was taped around a bunch of other wires way back in the dash. Oh well, it's done now.

My last question is what could the other 2 connectors be for? One is black and has 2 female plugs, and one is white and has about 5 female plugs. I'm pretty sure one is for the diff lock, and maybe the other is for the ect/pwr button w/ auto trans?