A search only turned up a few scraps so i will ask my question, as i bet it isn't a unique problem.
I went this morning to pick up my truck, and had a nice battle with getting it to start.
turn key, clicks like a dead battery.
so I put a battery in i know for sure is mostly new and was in one of my other cars, its a good battery.
click click, like the battery is dead.
hooked up the jumper cables...
click click.

I know they have a safety switch on the clutch (I found it) so you have to push the clutch IN to start it.. after a few minutes, I reached under there and pushed it in with my finger to me SURE and had someone turn the key.
click click.

so we tied it to a jeep and pulled it down the road and I popped it in 2nd gear, let out the clutch and vroom, it started right up. Idles nice and quiet, drove @6 miles home with no issues (well a few I'll get to those soon enough).

in the driveway, turned it off, then tried to start it... clutch all the way down to the floor, and click click click.

one click per turn of the key, it doesn't sit there and click its self repeatedly, one turn one click.

I am doubting its the clutch safety switch, BUT if this is what it does when it goes bad how do "fix it". (read; rewire it so it doesn't need it)
nope the "clutch safety off" button doesn't make it work...

what do you think is the problem?
I'm thinking a bad/shorted out starter or a bad ground somewhere.

anyone had a similar problem?? I didn't bargain on having to yank a starter out, but I will if I have to.
well.... the kid next door will if I feed him and pay him.

I'll TRY to... first. it cant be that hard... right?

 

Sounds like either the starter silonoid or the ignition switch. Hopefully someone else can tell you how to test out each one. Hope that helps!

 

yep...sounds like the contacts in the solenoid are worn out. they cost abouit $10 and it takes about an hour to replace them.

check out http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTricks/Starter.shtml for a great write-up on replacing the contacts and testing the starter in general.

by the way...it's not hard at all to take the starter out...there is an access panel in the wheel well and then it's just two bolts and a couple of electircal connections (make sure you disconect the battery first...it's all explained in detail in the write-up)...it's not even hard to repalce the contacts...the whole job takes little more mechanical aptitude than changing your oil.

 

You also may want to check the altenator. Place a amp meter on it when it's running at idle and see if it's charging the battery . If it's not putting out enough amps or none at all then it's a good bet that it's bad.Mike

 

thanks!
the old owner said they replaced the starter last yr.
A friend of mine was just over and took a look at it, and while he had his arms in there he was all trippy over how easy it was to reach, and in about 5 minutes had it out. He also advised me to go have it tested at advance auto down the road.

I looked it over real well, it looks very clean and the contacts are nice and clean too.
I watched him take it out, looks pretty easy. If I cant get it back in he can do it tomorrow eve when I get back from the parts store.
I'm going to try putting it in myself... if he took it out in 5 min I bet I can put it back in about 3 hours...

 

this would have nothign to do with the alternator. the truck wont even start, and he put a battery he knows is good in there. plus the alternator doesnt do anything until the engine is running

 

I see you're a bit more mechanically inclined than I! 3 hours isn't too bad It's definately NOT the clutch switch. When that's disengaged, it won't even click. Nothing at all. Like the key wasn't even turned. Definately sounds like the solenoid to me too. As long as it's out, you can get it checked easy. I don't think it's the alternator, but I could be wrong. If it were the alternator, the new (known good, anyway) battery would have started it, and you'd probably have other indications, like the "charge" & "brake" idiot lights on. Aptly named in my case, for sure!
As long as you're looking around, make sure the ground wires from the battery to the body and engine are in good shape and clean, and that that little ground wire from the back of the head, drivers side, to teh fire wall is in good shape and clean as well. It won't really affect teh operation of the truck, but it will keep your head from turning to powder due to electrolosys.

 

just beware that sometimes starters can test out OK at the store, but still be bad.

makes tracking down problems a real pain, somtimes. if it tests out Ok at the store, i would til take the solenoid apart and check out the contacts inside of it. it's only two more screws to take it off...

the write-up i posted the link for shows exactly how and what to look for.

if it looks good, and you put it back on and still have problems, check out the section of the write-up that talks about how to trouble shoot starting problems.

 

Maybe you didn't understand what I ws saying. The altenator can everything to do with it under some circumstances. If the vehical will start when you give it a tow and run for a while then it could be that the altenator is not charging the battery right while it's running. "That's why I said to check the output while she has it running".
A new battery does not always mean it's a good battery, been there several times. I'm guessing that it's the starter but right now it's just a process of elimination and testing all the possiabilties before she starts buying parts is not a bad thing in my book. Just trying to help by offering suggestions from things that have happened to me over the years. Mike

 

I've had starter problems like that before. It was on an advance auto starter, It would click and then nothing. So ,I would get out, grab a hammer and smack the thing once, then get back in and it would fire right up! That trick got old though, so I took the starter back and had it replaced (4 timeswithin a year) still had the same problem. I finally came to realize that the starters that I was getting were not completely rebuilt. I took the last one in and asked for a refund and then went to the local car quest and bought a new one. havent had a problem since!!!!

 

"he put a battery he knows is good"
she, actually.

while it was running, the charge light was NOT on, and everything else has full power otherwise.

its stamped "remanufactured" on the starter, so there is a good chance its a cheapo half re done junk.

Ive done the cheapo parts thing before in other cars, it always makes problems later on. :cry:

 

Most massive aplologies for the gender confusion. Not paying attention to the left side of the page, and making the assumption that because most here are male...

I never claimed to be the brightest bulb in the string

 

thats ok..
I don't know why more women don't work on their own cars... its fun.

(but I do use latex gloves....greasy fingernails just isn't very attractive)

 

After working for a little bit on either of my trucks, I don't have any fingernails left to get greasy.
But I do keep a large supply of Lava soap around. Crawling around under the trucks in the dirt (I am a definate shadetree mechanic!) I need Lava ALL over my fat ol' bod

 

Ahhhh the click click blues....all signs point towards starter. I never bought a crappy remanufactured one when mine clicked...just replaced the contacts in the old nippon denso and now it cranks faster than it did when i bought it over a year ago! If you can...and if your wallet....excuse me...purse can afford it...go with a Toyota starter. PM Strap22 and he will hook you up on almost any Toyota part you want and he is not overly priced like all of the other Toyota parts dealers! Heres their website....http://www.trademotion.com/partlocat...d=214074...but I'd recommend pming him because he can work wonders sometimes

 

Well, now I know that reading Allyia's threads can be bad carma ! Just kidding Allyia,Lol
Went out to start my 01 4x4 Tacoma this morning and all I got was "click", tried it four time with nothing but "click". It started on the fifth click as if nothing was wrong. Turned it off and tried a few more times and it started great. Then after a few more starts it went back to "Click" and after a few tries it started again. Drove it around a while and shut it off and had the same thing happen.
I tried it with my lights on and it would relly pull the power down so bad that they would go dim but it still started. Guess I have some checking to do now. The battery is the original but the "green eye" is still glowing dark green. Mike

 

I had the same thing Mike...sometimes I would click it like 20 times before it would hit and start. Sometimes on the 1st try...I redone my contacts and ordered them from Phil (Strap22) for like $10...maybe less.... he is really a great guy to work with and won't give ya the bs routine some dealers do....but the easiest thing to do is check the wires first man....I'm sure you know all of this but if all else fails...rip the starter off and check the contacts in the solenoid. Its an inexpensive fix...and once it seems like its starting every time...it will only get worse! Yeh...bad karma...i'd say!

 

After talking to my wife she reminded me that this happened the other day also but only on the first start in the morning like today. After driving it a while it starts just as fast as it should.....let it sit all night and it just clicks a few times and draws down the lights and then starts.
I have a feeling that it's the battery this time. Checked the altinator while it's running and it's charging just as it should. The wires on the battery and starter are tight. It seems to me that after sitting all night the battery is running down just a little but after it's started and run a while the altinator is charging it enough that it's fine for the rest of the day. If it sits over night it loses some of it's charge or wont hold the charge and we start all over again.
Checked my manual and it says that if the little green eye in this battery is dark green and small then it needs charged or checked. It looks just like the picture in the book so I think we may have a winner. Mike

 

Very possibly could be...how long have you had this battery? You know...I had these same symptoms when my starter contacts were fried....I could start it when it was warm but when it sat overnight it would be hard as hell to start in the mornings....does it crank slow when it does start? If so...might as well bite the bullet and go get ya an optima thats what I'm doing when this battery goes...which should be a few years because its brand new!

 

Callmej75, I'm guessing that the battery was put in on the assembly line in late 00. At least the door sticker says that's when it was built in Calif. and it's an 01 Tacoma 4x4 exten. cab SR5 auto 2.7 .Everything points to the battery. It doesn't crank as easy as it should in the morning and when I turn on the lights just to see how bad they dim it's clear that starting power is a problem.
Don't know if I want to spend the money on an optma when a good Die-hard or interstate can last for years, Mike