Hi all,

I turned the ignition on this morning and nothing happened. No click, nothing for a few turns. Then I removed the key and tried again. I heard a loud click, like something that was stuck was suddenly freed. The pop-like click was rather loud and then the truck started with no problem. I turned the engine off again and tried to reproduce the problem, but it's been fine since.

Any suggestions? Does it sound like a starter issue?

TIA

Troy

 

cheak your cables first make sure all the conections are clean

 

yea a lot of times befores staters go bad the wires get funky, check all the wires out if not than get it rebuilt

 

Wires look good visually. I'll take some sockets to them and check for looseness. Lots of oil from my once-leaky valve covers (just replaced them last Saturday). Lots of dirt too, from mudding in the last little while.

 

check all your connection good, I had a problem with a click click then maby another click and finall it would start. I thought it was the contacts in the solenoid but it turned out to be just dirty connections.

 

Often, the copper contacts inside the starter solenoid wear out and cause the exact symptoms you are describing. A relatively simple and inexpensive repair:

http://www.4Crawler.com/4x4/CheapTricks/Starter.shtml

 

Cimahar - Which connections are you referring to? Do I need to take the starter out in order to access them?

4Crawler - thanks for the link. I've only got 120k miles on the truck. I would be surprised to see it go out so soon.

 

it'll be the contacts. Remember, a toyota starter is only good for a million starts.

 

100K miles is not uncommon for the contacts to wear out. I have supplied contacts for 3rd gen 4Runners and Tacomas with 60K miles or less. Its not so much the # of miles but the # of starts that affects the contacts. Easy to see if that is the problem with the tests I mentioned or just pull out the starter and have a look inside.

 

I'll pull the starter this weekend and have a look at the contacts. Thanks again for all the help everyone! With this forum I've been able to change my valve cover gaskets, replace brushes in my alternator, flush out my coolant, and change bulbs in my instrument panel, all for under $100 in parts. I'm just smitten with my new-found skills... yah maaaan..

 

I million starts? I'm nowhere near that number.

I calculate that if I start the truck 10 times a day ( which in my case is excessive) for even 20 years, I'll only have started it 10 times/day x 365 days/year x 20 years = 73,000 starts.

I'm guessing that you mean if the starter contacts are replaced when needed, the starter will still last up to a million starts. That still seems like a huge number.

 

Finally took out the starter from my rig, cleaned the contacts with brake fluid and then hit it with CRC electronic cleaner. The contacts didn't look too worn down and the plunger was in pretty good shape also.

The whole thing from start to finish took about 2 hours. The hardest part was getting it out and back in through the access panel. I should have taken a few pics to illustrate. Oh well, maybe next time....

 

Did you try it out? Did it fix your problem? Just curious is all.

 

Check the switch on your clutch pedal. If its out of adjustment or loose this could cause your starting problem. My truck will not start unless the clutch is ALL the way to the floor.

 

Chris - The problem before the fix was intermittent and didn't seem to be recurring either. For example, about 2 weeks ago, the starter wouldn't turn over for the first few key turns. Then the key was removed completely, and I tried again. I heard a very loud pop-like click, metal on metal sound, and then it started without a hitch. I didn't have a problem starting it after that one particular failure. About a week ago, while turning the key to start, the starter momentarily kept on spinning, even though the key was not held in the start position.

 

So far, it's been starting just fine. It may be too early to tell because the problems that I was having were intermittent. If it continues to start successfully for the next few months, I think the fix may be permanent.

Tocomanator - Yup, I know that the switch on the clutch pedal has been adjusted properly because I was having these annoying clicking sounds almost every time the clutch pedal was depressed. After making adjustments to the push rod and checking the floor to pedal distance, the clicking was resolved. At that time, I checked out the clutch pedal switch.

 

While pulling out the starter this morning, I accidentally broke off the plastic receiver which provides a locking connection for the male end of the black ground wire located near the bottom of the starter. Although the male end of the ground wire still connected to the female end on the starter, it may jar loose after a while. I'll keep my eye on it. I was thinking about soldering on a short piece of wire to the starter and then installing a new connection.