Alright guys I have been dealing with this for about 5 days now had an earlier post and it was stated that I buy a new starter so after 3 starters from Oreilly Autoparts. I went to Toyota and purchased a Factory original and still the same problem new battery and all and still just a single click. But if I hook up another vehical with jumper cables or use the jump option on the battery charger it fires up with the twist of the key just like new. This is a dd so please help any suggestions.

 

Starter Relay. Go into your relay/fuse box under the hood, take the cover off, and bridge it with a screwdriver. I bet it starts right up.

 

You'd better tell him WHAT to bridge; he'll fry his ECU!

 

Do this simple test:
- http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTri...shtml#EasyTest

It'll help you isolate the source of the problem so you can fix it properly.

 

or try an alternator

 

Theres only one thing to bridge on the starter relay...

 

Thats Great if I could do that but there is no starter relay that I can find that was the second area I was looking for called Toyota in Conroe Texas and they told me in that year model there ws not a relay. if you can tell me exactly where it is with pics that would help.

And for the Test from the other site tried it already and have good voltage to the starter on both wires but still need a jump with the new starter.

 

Voltage don't crank the starter, you'll need good amperage for that. I would check and clean the battery cables/connections. If adding another battery helps, then that seems like an obvious clue as to where the problem lies.

 

Go back there after I guide you to the starter relay and put it in their face and tell them they are a bunch of idiots. The starter relay has been the problem of me and my friends cases of RTSS (retarded toyota starter sydrom) and both times either bridging it with a screwdriver or replacing it has worked. My friend started his 01 Tacoma for a week from under the hood briding the relay when he didnt have money for a new one.

I cant find a picture of it right this second. I'll try more a little later but the entire underhood fuse/relay box is on the passenger side, hugging the fender. Its probably 5in by 10in and the top has all diagrams of which relays and fuses are which on the cover. Take that cover off, find your starter relay, pull the like inch by inch cover off the starter relay. Then look for the contact in the mess of copper in there. Bridge that and she'll start right up as long as you have a charged battery and good starter.

 

Check The Batterey Cables!

 

Okay after all the testing finally broke down and took the 4runner to the mechanic after 1and 3/4 days and him changing out different things and doing electrical test. The problem was the ignition on the dash the ignition switch was bad and not letting the power go all the way through to the starter since on the 91 4runner auto 3.0 has no relay on the fuse block it is built into the ignition where the key goes. thanks for all the help.

 

anyone with a little more general toyota experience? I refuse to beleive this truck has no starter relay...

 

Just chiming in here with a similar problem...

Seems like I went through all of the same issues with my 91 3.0. Three rebuilt starters, $80 starter relay - no help. Then a Toyota mechanic said rebuild it with Toyota Contacts in the starter solenoid. The chinese made contacts are not flat and not not make 100% contact with the plunger - did not solve the problem, but did improve the situation to where I had to bypas the thing only about once a day.

The interesting thing is that the voltage meter usually dropped excessively during crankng. Checked all the wiring, had replaced the battery, used high-temp aircraft cabling on the starter and engine grounds (melted the vinyl stuf during the 113 degree hot spell last summer), fixed the factor splices between the battery and the power dist box...no help.

I replaced the starter switch this weekend and the problems has not happened since!

I also read somewhere that even though the truck has a starter relay, power to activate the relay and power to operate the starter solenoild ultimatly pass through the starter switch. I'm going to check the factory wiring diagrams tonight to see if this is true.

 

FYI:

The quickie bypass to get the thing started is a wire from the +battery terminal to the switched side of the cold-start injector connector (I used a wire with an alligator clip on one end and a volt-meter probe on the other end).

This cold-start wire (I believe it is the top wire in the connector) goes directly to the starter solenoid and even the worse performing starter would crank when bypassed in this fashion. I was seriously contemplating installing a switch or relay to supply current directly from the battery to the starter...

 

It is true, I'll save you the trouble of digging out the diagram:


That is why re-wiring the circuit or adding a "real" starter relay works so well:
http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTri...l#OtherOptions