I had the same problem on my 88 and put in a "hot shot" relay to take the load from the ignition switch. It never gave me another problem.

 

Don't the 88's till have the starter relay? If so then the ignition switch problem is not a problem. The hotshot also bypasses that relay. The newer trucks don't have this relay which is why sometimes the ignition switch is the problem as it takes all the current that the relay would in the older trucks.

 

I had the exact problem on my 1992 4runner 3.0
The positive wire was just dirty, disconnect battery and clean that connection good, then try turning it over

 

wrong link.....red wire to fuse box loose. http://sn114w.snt114.mail.live.com/#...37de3e436&fv=1

 

So I just put in a new motor, KB high compression long block. All of a sudden I started having the same "click" starter problem. The new motor has 400 miles on it, so I was scared to death it had seized up. 5 seconds later a 19mm on the crank (thankfully) proved that was -not- the issue. Battery went on the trickle charger, alternator and starter came off and went on the the tester. _EVERYTHING_ came back good!

I went on to good ol' yota tech and learned about the jumper cable trick. Put my ol' lady in the driver seat, hooked up a jumper cable on the + battery terminal and put the other end of the cable on the starter solenoid. Started right up. Now I need to determine what is fried...Mine is a 91 and it sounds like its either the ignition or possible a relay.

 

Pretty sure the 91 doesn't have the starter relay.

 

Yes they do; but power still goes through the ignition switch. remember that switch is 20 plus years old and has countless number of twists.

 

Ran a line from the + to the starter. Problem solved.

 

I fought an intermittent, random, never-wants-to-start-when-you-realy-need-it-to problem for a long time. I whacked it, and sometimes that worked, I would charge up the battery and sometimes that worked, I fiddled with grounds, and swapped out the starter at least 3 times, each time thinking that was the issue that was going to solve the problem... it didnt

The final solution was adding a relay to send battery power directly to the starter, using the actual starter wire as the trigger for the realy.

The test that confirmed my issue was done by using a volt-meter, conect one end of the voltmeter to the battery ground, and plug the other into the starter wire with it still attached to the starter (that way it is still hooked up to the "load" during the test). When I turned the key, and read the voltage on the meter, it showed only 8-9 volts, even with the batter at 12-13 volts. over time the wiring degrades and builds up resistance which drops the voltage on its round-about path to the actual starter.

With the relay installed, the 8-9 volts coming from the starter wire is more than enough to switch on the relay which then fires a solid 12 volts to the starter. starts every time now.

 

i had the same problem...turned out to s***y wiring from the + battery terminal to the 80 amp fuse in the fuse box right next to the battery...threw on a nice big wire in place of the PO's Frankenstein wiring...no problem since!

*edit...this only fixed my problem for a few days...almost got stranded in the middle of no where today...thankfully i have a manual and can push start! haha but now there's NO CLICK...what does this mean? something between the ignition and the starter relay? if thats even correct...

 

So I finally go the time to look for the source of the single click. It's coming from a relay behind the passenger side dash speaker (I assumed it was the starter relay everyone has been taking about). When I went to the dealer today they told me the starter relay was in the engine bay. I didn't have the part number with me so I'll have to call or go back another time. O'ya they said it was $178 bucks. I think I'll just try to bypass it.

 

If the relay is clicking, chances are it's not that. That's normal. Take starter out and check contacts.

 

Its actually on the passenger side fenderwell under the lip. but that is not your problem.

Just run a wire from the battery with a fuze! to a switch and then back out to the starter solenoid terminal. Works everytime. There is another fix to use a relay to route +B to the terminal using the ignition key to operate the relay. There is another where +B is routed to that relay on the fenderwell that replaces ignition key power which is now "high resistance" and cannot operate the solenoid anymore.

As these trucks get older more and more people are experiencing this failure. its just a poor design choice to run the starter solenoid power through the ignition switch.

 

And all that work will be for not, if the starter contacts are bad. I thought the ones without the starter relay were the ones that ran the solenoid power though the switch, not these older ones. The newer ones didn't have that relay on the fenderwell. That's how I understood it anyway. In these older one, the only power that goes through it is the power to trip the relay not to trip the solenoid. And if that solenoid is clicking, then he's got enough power going through the switch. And now that I think about it, it could still be the switch if it's not tripping the starter solenoid. You won't know that unless you know you have +12v at the little wire that goes onto the starter.

Test first replace second.

Do yourself a favor, don't listen to any of us and read this before buying any parts. http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTricks/Starter.shtml

This is what the older trucks Starter Solenoid looks like. Passenger side fenderwell.

 

First, READ THIS THREAD https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...rite-up-33526/

It is one of the real head scratchers about the original eletricals in these trucks. Terrible design and prone to corrosion and then failure to carry high currents.

Once you replace the fusible link (or eliminate it completely, as redundant as it is), then check the starter solenoid.

 

(Just came across this post while searching for threads on "replacement starter relay" for 1986 4Runner)
Correction: What's pictured here is the starter Relay, not solenoid.

The starter solenoid is piggybacked on the starter itself. Functionally the starter solenoid is both:
1) A heavy duty relay - power from starter relay energizes coil in the solenoid. Energized coil (electromagnet) in the solenoid makes the plunger move. Plunger closes solenoid contacts (like relay contacts close) and sends battery power to starter through those very thick wires.
2) A mechanical actuator - plunger also moves a gear (Bendix?) that links the starter gear with the flywheel gear.

 

Your right, I kept calling it the relay up until that point. Thanks.

 

My '86 doesn't have a relay either. Well, it does now, but it doesn't have a FACTORY relay I should say.

+1 for installing a hotshot. I fought that *click* for almost a year - I finally broke down and put a Ford relay on the fender, and haven't had any trouble since. If jumping the battery to the starter solenoid reliably starts the truck, then stick a relay in there and forget about it!

 

Excellent description of the starter solenoid.

 

my '95 4Runner began having starting issues. one morning on my way to work i attempted to start it and alls i got was a loud "CLICK" from under the hood on the right side. after 2-3 turns of the key it fired up. the problem progressively worsened to now when i turn the key 20-25 times i got the click and eventually, and sluggishly started. if i go to the store sometimes it will fire right up and others it wont.
what could be the problem? from looking on yotatech at similar situations i saw people having i narrowed it down to possible solenoid contacts being worn out to bad connection. the ground wire on the passenger side connected to the frame is frayed but i secured the ends to the other negative wire connected to the battery. should i start with these wires? i am looking to save as much money as possible. any suggestions will help.