I just got into my 4runner and turned the key and the power just died. No lights, no power door locks, nothing. Tried to disconnect the battery and let it sit, and nothing. I have no idea whats wrong with it. Has anyone seen this or have any idea what it could be? I'm kind of at a loss for words to describe it. I wonder if it was the starter shorting out.

Any ideas would be really helpful

 

Wiggled the large main power cables running from the battery and the power came back on. I suppose the corrosion has gotten through to the wires, since the 4runner is at 181k now. If anyone else experiences this problem, check the quality of your battery contacts, and then check for corrosion in the main lines first.

whew that was quite the scare.

 

Yeah I had the exact same thing happen to me a while ago. Over time the battery coroded the terminals and ended up doing enough damage that the terminals were not making good contact with the battery anymore, and ended up draining the battery. One trip to the auto parts store to buy a new battery and 2 new batter terminals fixed that problem pretty easily. If you install new terminals, spends a couple dollars to buy some anticorrosion spray, gel, etc. for your batter terminals, it will go a long way and prevent the same thing from happening again