I am having a charging/starting problem with my 1981 Toyota pickup 4x4. It will not start unless it gets a jump from another vehicle or hotbox. I do not have a volt meter to test, but the lights work without starting and the battery is a new Optima. My buddy at work suggested it could be the battery cables/terminals. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

Try cleaning the battery clamps. Also check the ground (probably on the fender beside the battery). Though if you're getting power through with jumpers it sounds likely it is just a bad connection between your battery clamps and battery terminals. I've seen this several times, a good enough connection to run your accessories, but nothing when you try to start it! That would be an easy fix, good luck, hope its not something more complicated!

 

check your ground cables , as well as where they attach to the block and body ..

but what is it doing ? turn the key and ?



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Thanks for the quick reply guys!! Slacker: It will give me the slow crank/bad battery syndrome like it's been sitting all night with the lights on. After a few attempts it stops all together, but the lights will work and seem bright.

 

yup .. check grounds


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If it jump starts it's not likely the grounds. The jumper cables attached to the battery would use the same grounds. Swap the battery into another vehicle with a cold motor and see if it does the same thing. If nothing else that eliminates the battery as the problem. Lights don't use nearly the juice as a starter so they shouldn't be used as a true indicator.

 

The battery is a brand new Optima which was purchased because I thought the original battery was bad. I'm gonna agree with the others and say it's with the terminals/cables. I'll let you know of my findings tomorrow.

 

Cleaning the battery wires makes the most since otherwise. If the jumper cables are attached to the wires it wouldn't be anything downstream of there. So if the battery is new and the jumper cables are sending power down the wires all that is left is the point where the terminals meet the post.

 

The cables are probably stock and over 30 years old. I just spend the $25 to run all new cables and terminals, both positive and negative. I was having a similar issue and over tightened and cracked the positive terminal on the old set. So i figured i would just redo them all at once and not have to worry.

 

Let us know how it works out. Good luck.

 

As of now, I cannot properly tighten the + terminal cable onto the Optima. When I put the old battery on I can get it to start much easier. The yellow top is a tad taller than the old battery, so my guess is it's not seating on the terminal all the way when I go to crank it down, and it's just plain old.


Do the parts stores sell heavy gauge cable to secure to the terminals? also, it doesn't look like the + terminal has a place for the fusible links going by the pic.

 

yeah if memory serves me correctly , the optima posts are slightly smaller diameter . seems to me I had the same problem when I did my red top , so I just replaced the battery clamps ... just a universal clamp


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Well, the new terminals didn't fix anything. It still has the same symptoms. What's annoying is when I put a jump on it the truck will start and it will continue to start after I run it for a while until I come out to start it the next day. I hate tracing electrical issues.


Could the starter be the culprit? I'm borrowing my buddy's volt meter tomorrow after work. Hopefully I can figure this out.

 

Put the meter on the battery. I know it's a new battery but sometimes new things don't work. If the jump is working the starter works, same with the path from the jumper cables to the starter. All that's left is the battery. I know its unlikely but swapping the battery out of another car only takes a few minutes and it's worth a try.

 

True. I'll give it a whirl one day this week if the temp gets above 25 degrees.


Here's the new project I grabbed on Saturday during a snow storm. It's an '86 Isuzu Trooper I grabbed off of CL for $400, and that's my fat, cold butt winching it onto the trailer.


I left my house at 8:00am and didn't arrive back until 10pm. Normally it would take me about three hours to do the entire trek under normal conditions/traffic. This pic about sums up my day.


I named her Elsa after the Frozen movie.

 

Crazy weather this winter. I'm an hour plus north of Seattle and it's been super mild this season. We had one week in November that got below freezing and has been in the 50's the better part since.

Score on the trooper. Those are a lot tougher than I would've expected.

 

Yeah, they are pretty stout. I have a solid axle out of an '81 toy I keep eyeballing for a potential future swap into the Trooper.

 

Try fussing with the cables but my thinking is starter solenoid.

 

If your battery cranks and starts your motor after the motor has run for awhile, but won't start the next day, maybe your gremlin is a light draw somewhere in your trucks wiring that discharges your battery overnight? Try disconnecting the battery terminals before parking for the night and try again?

 

Ok. I'll give that a whirl one day this week.