Here's the deal: My friend's 1999 2.7 4banger Tacoma won't start. At first he thought it was a dead battery, so I tried jump starting with with my 4Runner.

No go. We tried starting it 3 or 4 times.

It makes the turning over starting sound for a second then there's a loud, fast clicking sound.

Any ideas?

 

chuck,

sounds like the same problem I had a few yrs ago. cause?

old battery

bob

 

still sounds like a weak battery make sure all the connections are clean from the battery to the starter

 

Take out the battery, take it to a local chain like AutoZone, have them test it, if it is bad, then you are good to go with a new one, if the battery is good, then you got other problems such as the starter, alternator, etc. Maybe even a loose connection somewhere...but start w/ testing the battery as it is free.

 

he says he's never had a problem with the battery before. it's the original 99 one tho. if it were just a case of an old battery, wouldn't it give him a few starting problems before going completely bad?

 

No, not necessarily.

....that is definately a battery.

 

Definately get the battery checked out at autozone or somplace like that. Also, check the battery cable clamps and clean off any green or white fuzzy stuff with baking soda and water. You might also want to check the connections at the starter motor to see if they are corroded.

 

thanks guys for the help. you're fast
we're gonna take in the battery tomorrow and get it checked out.

 

chuck,

i'd say his 5-6 year old battery lived a pretty dang good life. put the ol' warhorse to rest. instead of going to the shop to get it tested, i think it would be best to find out where you can buy a nice optima or other gel cell battery tomorrow

bob

 

Uh, if it is indeed dead he is STILL going to have to take it somewhere to get it disposed of...my local Advanced Auto tests for free AND sells Optimas...

 

brian,

of course

bob

 

That definitely sounds like a dead battery,but something similar happened on my brothers tacoma and it ended up being the starter contacts

http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/maintenance/starter/

 

yeah bob, figured it's dead but thought i should take it in to verify. turns out it was mighty dead. plus i wanted them to take it off my hands for disposal.

we went to sears and got whatever diehard battery they recommended. why such an optima-inferior alternative you ask? he's thinking he'll sell this taco soon anyway and get a nice 04 4wd, so why invest too much now ya know.
anyway i helped him install it, and it started like a champ. another yotatech success story!

 

That is good to hear!