Poppie51

HI, I have a 1988 Toyota 4runner that was running great until it blew a head gasket. After replacing the gasket the engine will not do anything. When attempting to crank the engine there is a clicking coming from under the passenger side dash. An also a very low hum coming from around the engine. Not having anyone,at this time, to try to crank the engine while I listen, it is difficult to determine the exact location of the hum. The starter doesn't attempt to turn the engine over and the solenoid doesn't make any sound. It has a new battery that was purchased yesterday with 12.65 volts. I think the problem would have to be in the wiring since it ran great before replacing the head gasket. I have two ground cables coming from the battery. One is connected to the body and the other I connected to the engine block using one of the motor mount bolts. Is this the proper locations for these ground cables? I also connected the ground from the firewall to the bolt connecting the lifting lug to the head. Also there was another wire that I think was a ground that I connected to the intake manifold bolt. Are these ground placed in the proper locations? Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks `

Charchee

That should work. Body ground and engine/frame ground from the negative post. Why don't you try and roll that baby over by hand before you get too carried away. If for some reason the engine were to be locked, your starter would spin the sprocket out, engage the flywheel and attempt to turn it. If it could not, a hum would be an expected sound from an electric motor that cannot turn. Several times I have seen the starter gear/sprocket hit a locked up flywheel and become jammed in it. If this were to be the case you would hear no sound from the starter other than a hum. You might try giving the starter a few little taps. Don't get carried away and break something though.

Terrys87

iTrader: (1)

The hum I suspect is your Circuit Opening Relay, located behind the passenger speaker. It is in the fuel system circuit. I have experienced it myself. Check that you are making good contact with your battery.

Charchee

Why did you replace the battery yesterday? Same issue as you have now? Have you tested the voltage at the starter? You are going to have a smaller wire going down to the starter that will signal the starter solenoid to close and engage the starter motor. You can test for voltage here while someone tries to crank it to make sure you are sending the signal to start down to the starter. Turn your key to the run position and then take a jumper wire and jump from the positive lug on the starter to where the signal wire is attached and see if it won't start then. I keep forgetting what engine we're dealing with. It's kind of tight down in there. On second thought, you can take a little longer jumper wire, attach it to where the signal wire is attached and then from a safe distance, touch it to the battery to supply signal voltage to the solenoid. If it cranks, then the issue is between the key switch and the starter and is a relatively easy circuit to troubleshoot.

Poppie51

Charchee, A few days ago I rolled the engine over using a socket on the pulley bolt on the front of the engine while setting the timing and it seemed to be free but I will try to rotate the engine again just to be sure it hasn't locked up since then. I had my old battery tested at two different places and they both said it tested bad so I purchased a new one. I'm having doubts about the condition of the old battery. I'm not completely convinced now that the old battery was bad although it was about 5 years old. The only place I've tested the voltage so far is at the battery itself and it has 12.65 volts.The signal wire is the small wire connecting to the solenoid, correct? So all I have to do is run a wire from where the small wire connects to the solenoid, to the battery while the key is in the "run" position? ( that is, after I make sure the engine isn't locked up) The small wire doesn't have to be connected when the jumper wire is being used, correct? Terrys87, i'll check the circuit opening relay and the connections to the battery. Thank you both for responding. As you can tell i'm not a mechanic but I need to get the vehicle back on the road asap.

Charchee

If it would turn after you finished the head work and timing, you are probably ok. I don't know if you're truck will actually start up and run on its own when you Hotwire the starter so don't be surprised if it won't run. The starter actually gives some feedback to the computer and if you have a wiring issue it may turn over and not start. We're just testing the starter and its power supply with this trick.

Poppie51

Terrys87, I haven;t found the circuit opening relay yet but will keep looking. Not exactly sure what it looks like but i'm trying to turn the ignition key myself while searching for the clicking sound. Not an easy task but i'll find it. Charchee, I turned the engine over using a socket on the front of the engine with no problem. I also connected a wire to the positive battery post and touched it to the connection on the solenoid where the small wire attaches. The solenoid clicked but the starter didn't do anything. Would this indicate a bad starter? I also tapped on the starter with no results.

Poppie51

Just pulled the starter off the vehicle. Connected the starter to a fully charged battery. The starter makes a low "poof" sound as the gear eases forward. I have never heard this sound from a starter before. Normally the gear snaps forward but this one is easing forward slowly but not turning when it engages. II disconnected the battery from the starter and turned the gear easily with a pair of pliers so it's not froze up.There is another small wire coming from the opposite side of the starter from where the solenoid wire is connected that wasn't connected to anything. I don't see another wire nearby that it would connect to and I have no idea what this wire is for. All starters i've dealt with before only had the battery cable and the solenoid wire. Does anyone know what this extra wire would be for and where it should be connected? Also,would this extra wire not being connected have any effect on the starter not turning after it engages? I don't know how long this wire has been disconnected so i'm not sure if it was connected before the vehicle broke down. Could it be that the flat washer that makes connection inside the solenoid be corroded causing the starter to be getting low voltage?

Charchee

You probably have bad contacts inside your starter. You can rebuild it. Do a search on starter contacts. The other wire is likely the signal wire to the ecm that tells it that the truck is trying to start. I know that the starter sends an ecm signal. I'm betting that's it. There should be a mating connector coming out of your engine harness for it.

Poppie51

Thanks Charchee,i"ll open the starter up tomorrow and take a look at the contacts. I looked for the mating wire and did not find it but it has to be there somewhere. Thanks again for the help.

Poppie51

Just opened the starter and cleaned the contacts. They look to be in good shape,just a little dirty. After cleaning them I can touch the positive battery cable to where the small wire connects to the starter and the gear moves forward like it is suppose to. I can touch the positive battery cable to the cable coming from the solenoid to the starter and the gear spins but i'm not sure how to get the gear to move forward and spin at the same time. Is there something internal on the starter that may be bad?

Poppie51

Finally got the starter working properly after cleaning all contacts and connections. Now that the engine is turning over it doesn't start. I think I have the timing set wrong. It sounds like it's going to start but something is a little off. I set the #1 piston at TDC, aligned the timing marks and set the rotor where it was pointing at #1 . There are several timing marks and i'm guessing I aligned it with the wrong mark. Could someone tell me the proper steps for setting the timing? It seems to be an easy process but i'm new to this and must be overlooking something important. Thanks