Six months ago, I replaced my battery after I got constant clicking noises when turning the key. Today the problem is reoccuring on my new battery. I'm sure replacing the battery will solve the problem for now, but I want to find the cause of the problem to prevent this from happening again. I read somewhere that a bad starter relay could drain the battery, but I'm not clear on how to go about diagnosing the problem. I figure that I'll start with the cheapest option and work my way up - I can't keeping buying $50 batteries. Any ideas?

 

go to an autostore..like advanceauto parts or autozone. They can test your starter, alternator and battery to find out the cuplrit....and best of all..its FREE!

 

ya they will but you also have to remove them to have them tested
last time i was having problems i went to sears automotive and payed 20$ for them to run a test it was not the alt or starter i came to find that i had to clean all the contacts and then i had no more problems.
is your batt low?

 

I dont think you have to remove the alternator for them to test it. THe start maybe.

 

try replacing the starter contacts and see if that helps and check all the wires and grounds

 

no, you do not have to remove them. They can test all 3 components still in the vehicle. Sears ripped you off, Schucks will do it for free.

 

autozone will test starters and alt for free but you have to remove them

Try cleaning all the connections from the battery to the starter

How many miles on vehicle it could be the contacts

 

If there is a clicking sound I would start by cleaning the starter contacts as mentioned above.

 

First, check your battery voltage with a digital multimeter. If you have over 12.3V then you should have enough to start the truck and the problem is likely with the starter or battery cable contacts. If your battery is near 12.0V or less, then you need to charge it overnight on a battery charger, then reinstall it the next day and see if the truck fires up. If it does, now check the voltage again and it should be at or above 14.0V with the engine running at about 2500-3000 RPM. This should at least get you going in the right direction.

 

Thanks, guys. I'm in school away from home so I can't charge the battery. I can't even turn on a light, so the battery is toast. I'll replace it and the starter contacts, then I'll get everything tested.

 

Even at school you should be able to get a DMM and a battery charger and bring the battery inside to charge it in the house. You might not even need to replace the starter contacts at all if this is an issue with the battery/alternator.

 

Rather than replace the battery, I brought it to AutoZone and it tested fine. So I dropped it back in to see what would happen after a day without use. In accessory, the stereo turned on and I let it play for 20 seconds or so. But rather than let it drain the battery, I tried to start, heard a pop (probably from the stereo), and everything shut off.

Now I can't get any power from the battery once again. The only evidence of electricity is the blinking security light on the dash - although it blinks less brightly and less often than usual. Once the key goes in, it stops blinking, and nothing powers up.

I wish I didn't have to look under the hood of my 4Runner in 90+ degree, surrounded by a huge parking lot a mile from my dorm room, without any useful tools. So if the battery is good, what's the problem?

 

Kev, you really need to beg borrow or steal a DMM for testing.....they are dirt cheap and available almost anywhere (walmart etc). If you say the battery is fine then clean the posts thoroughly to make sure that isn't the issue. Next you may be looking at a starter problem (probably the contacts).

 

Sounds like now you have a connection problem. Try rotating the terminals to get a better tighter connection. Sounds like they are worn out, or the cable is bad.

 

The terminals were extremely worn/corroded. A can of coke and a piece of notebook paper cleaned them off well enough to start. Sometimes the most obvious solution works. This was right after my mechanically inclined friend said, "I doubt it's just the terminals."

I'll never make that mistake again. And I'll be buying a DMM, starter contact kit, and a cheap metric socket set to keep in my car...just in case something really goes wrong.