My 1985 Toyota has recently become flakey at starting in the morning. Sometimes I get nothing but a click, or it turns over really slow. When it does start the rest of the day it runs great and starts easy. It just seems like when it's 40 degrees or lower outside the problem crops up after sitting overnight. The last two weeks we have had temps in the high 20's overnight.

I have replaced the battery cables with extra heavy duty 2 gauge that I had custom made. The battery is about 54 months old. Any ideas? I would hate to toss out the battery and find out it was something else.

 

find a good battery you can borrow and see if that works

 

got a battery charger? hook that up in the morning see if hit helps, but it sounds like your battery's about to die on u.

 

New battery... take yours in and have it tested, but I can almost guarentee the battery is loosing its charge overnight....

 

When batteries get cold, they lose cranking amps as well as with age. Might be yours is just weak enough from age that the cold temps are pushing it past where it can crank the starter motor over. To check, try this simple voltage test, both in the cold morning and later when it warms up:
- http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTri...shtml#EasyTest

See if there is a significant change in voltage between the two tests. If so, it is the battery going down in the cold after sitting all night.

 

Sounds like your battery is getting a weak cell. Cold weather will find a weak cell faster than anything. Try a different battery.

 

Ahhg... Havin the same exact problem. But my battery is only a little over a year old. Oh well, at lease a dying battery is easier to replace than if it was something else takin a crap on us, eh? Though I bet leavin my amp on all night aint help... Just haven't gotten round to tappin into an accessory wire stead of straight to the battery lol...

 

Ok put in a new battery, no dea,l same thing no start click. So it's either the starter or the ignition switch at this point. What should I gamble on My volt meter is dead.

 

check to make sure the terminals are tight

 

I would spring for a new volt meter first before throwing more money at parts, here is one for $2.99:
- http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=90899

Then a simple voltage check at the starter would say that it or the wiring between it and the ignition switch are at fault.

 

I would clean or check the contacts on the starter. Takes less than an hour and costs nothing.

 

I removed the starter and found this as shown in my picture. The contacts on the big cable side were smoked they were damn near paper thin with a chunk missing while the other side was nice and thick. I looked for a new starter solenoid contacts, but could not wait the few days to get them.

Put in a rebuilt Napa starter so will see what happens

 

I do offer overnight shipping:
- http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTri...hippingOptions

You may want to replace the contacts in the original starter and keep it for a spare. Not sure of the quality of the Napa rebuilts, but you may find it acting up within a year or so.

 

when i did my clutch in my 22re it trashed the stock starter had to get a rebuilt napa starter had it for a few months with no probs but the motor in the truck went bad so i sold it

 

I would keep the starter, but I rather have my $30 core money back. The biggest reason I swapped it out instead of replacing the contacts is because:

One week of school left > Finals weeks > no start = boned

I'm not taking a math class over again because my truck died.