Starter relay on mid-1986 to 1988's was wired wrong at the factory. 1990-1995 schematic shows that it had been corrected. We trust the Japanese techs and engineers but let's verify.
bcraj1, please probe pin 5 of the starter relay to verify that there is always 12Volts there even if IGN is off. (Starter relay should be in or near one of the fuse blocks in engine compartment).

 

RAD4Runner. Remember mine is a 1988 4x4 pickup with 3.0 V6. Does this still hold ,12v on pin 5 of the starter with IGN off? (Working on the signature thing)

 

starter relay that is.

 

Sorry, can't remember because this is a long thread entitled "95 3VZE Cold Start Problem" and active members like us are trying to help fellow members on different threads with trucks from different years, with different engines, transmission and trims. So, the solution is ______________ .

I do not have schematic for a 1988 V6. However, No matter what truck you have, IF it has a starter relay, there should be ONE, AND ONLY ONE, pin that always has 12Volts even if ignition is off. That is the power supply pin for the contact. To make it simpler, remove the relay and probe the pins in the socket for with positive probe. Negative probe to bare shiny metal body ground.
There should be:
1) THAT ONE PIN , AND ONLY ONE PIN, that always has 12Volts even if ignition is off
2) One pin that only gets 12V when Ign switch is in the Start position.
3) One pin that has several OHMS resistance to ground (that's the resistance of starter solenoid coil)
4) On pin that will have very low resistance to ground ONLY if clutch were pressed OR clutch safety cancel is on.

 

Thank you

 

Just an update. I finally got my truck to fail at a shop and even though I had replaced the starter two years ago it turned out that when hot the resistance in the starter increased significantly. Cool the starter down and it worked. Repeated this several times with the same results. I replaced the starter and have not had a reoccurrence since even with temperatures in the 90's and going up.

Thank you you for all your assistance!