Hello all and thanks for reading.

I have had a '94 4runner (v6 4wd) for several years but it is used intermittently. It has had a starting 'quirk' since I bought it - about 75% of the time it starts normally. About 25% of the time when I turn the key, nothing happens for a few seconds and then the starter will kick in but not always at 'full strength.' When this happens and it fails to start, I usually just have to turn the key back to off and retry to start it and repeat until it starts. Sometimes it will have the issue on the first start of the day and then not at all, most times it starts fine when cold and then the issue rears its head on restarts when warm. I have tried a few repairs, including the starter relay, a replacement ground wire, replacement battery terminals, a new battery and I got the kit to replace the copper points on the starter itself. I paid attention and sometimes these 'repairs' seemed to reduce the frequency of the issue, but on the whole it has been pretty consistent in the inconsistency of the appearance of the issue. Then late this summer it had two instance where, when hot after a good 20-30 minute trip, it failed entirely to restart. Both times it started fine when it cooled off (the 2nd time it only took ~90 minutes between the failure to start and it starting fine, luckily this 'breakdown' was in an area with a restaurant and we grabbed dinner to test my theory that it would start once it had a chance to rest/cool).

I am mostly convinced that the next thing to 'attack' is any places where there could be a short, and what I am hoping for is someone to give me an idea exactly what part of the wiring harness might be the most likely culprit, and how best to approach the area, since I really don't want to have to rip out half of the passenger side of the engine compartment to get at things (if I can avoid it). I am not so convinced that I am not open to other suggestions as to what the problem could be.

Thanks for reading and thanks in advance for suggestions.
DMR

 

Bring a small hammer with you so you can tap on the starter next time the problem occurs. I had a starter I believe had a dead spot on the windings. For years it would occasionally fail to turn over, a few taps with the hammer would get it going again. At some point I replaced the brushes, made a little difference for a short time. I replaced the starter, the problem went away. The windings may not be your problem, but tapping the starter with a hammer is probably worth a shot before you go down the rabbit hole.

 

What did you do with the starter relay?
Which ground wire?
We can help better if you put us at your truck. Let us see what you are dealing with.
What you see, hear feel.
What does your starter relay look like?
Where is it?
What color wires go to it?
Got schematic?
A picture paints a thousand words.