Alright so sometimes (not always) my 4runner will decide it doesn't want to start. It hapens about 35% of the time I go to start it. When I go to start it all the lights on the dash are bright and the little buzzer thing is loud. WHen I turn the key there is one individual click and thats it. I tried hitting the starter with a tire iron to try and knock the bristles loose (friends advice) and it worked 1 time, but not the 10 other times this has happened to me. If I get a JUMP from another car, the yota starts up perfectly, but I do not believe the battery is dead because the lights, radio, etc all work great. Basically, how can I test the starter to tell if it works so that I can move on to the next step. I have a multimeter.

 

Here is a simple test you can do:
- http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTri...shtml#EasyTest

 

As a thought, it sounds like your battery terminals are tight enough or have some corrosion built up. Check the terminals for any build-up of white or whitish blue deposits and for tightness. Even if they feel tight, take a wrench to them and snug them up even tighter.

If you have something that looks like salt, put on rubber gloves, eye and breathing protection, and use a solution of baking soda and water to clean them. Coat them with battery terminal goop or something similar.

If it boosts fine, this leads me to believe it's a loose terminal.

 

also check the connections on your starter.

 

excellent link, way better than what the Haynes manual says. I bookmarked that for future reference, but hopefully I won't need to look at it
So THATS why the previous owner gave me that battery terminal protection spray when he sold it to me. I did this and it starts up strong now. Fires really quick and feels like the starter is getting 100% juice.

 

It's been my experience that when the lights and everything else works, but all you get is a click from the starter occassionally, it's usually a loose terminal.

Glad that's what it was in your case. It's a cheap, simple fix.

 

If your connections turn out to be good, you can also have a dead spot or bad bus bar on the commutator, the brush contact point of the amature.

This is what it should look like.

 

i had the same problem i just cleaned the main connector cable on the starter and it would fire right up but now my starter is totally shot so you might need to get a new one in a few months if it continues