Hey all! Seeing if I could get ya'll's expert opinions on this. I tried to start the 4runner the other day while I was on my way to leave for Mississisppi. I get in and all I hear is a bunch of clicking. I did eventually get it to start by jumping it (after about 20 tries), but now it won't start again.

I've looked around at the wires and found that both the positive and negative battery cables were frayed. The bare wires on each one may have been touching each other and grounding everything out. Looks like from rubbing against the power steering pulley. The positive wasn't too bad, and I just wrapped it with electrical tape. The negative side was pretty bad though. About 3/4 of the wire has been frayed through. Would this cause it not to strart or do you all think maybe there is some other problem?

All my lights still work, but it just won't start. Just a bunch of clicks.
Any ideas? Suggestions?

Thanks a bunch all.
Have fun all.
Daniel

 

sounds like its not getting a good connection to the battery

 

Replace those and you should be good for awhile. If you still have problems check the contacts on the starter. Finally, try adding a relay as described on 4Crawler's starter page.

 

If cleaning up the wiring does not help, then look at the copper contacts inside the starter solenoid. Clicking is often a sign that they need to be replaced:
- http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTricks/Starter.shtml

 

Thanks all for the help! I'm getting ready to go out and work on the 4runner in a few minutes. I'll pull out the starter and look at the contacts too. Great link there.

They don't allow people to work on thier cars in my appartment complex, so hopefully they won't say anything. The manager allready knows it wont start though.

Anyhow, thanks again for all the help!
Have fun all.
Daniel

 

Well, I patched up the negative wire by cutting out the bad section and splicing the two ends back together. I got it jumped yesterday and took a short drive for about 20 minutes (10 minutes at idle and 10 minutes just driving around). No problems. After I got back to my appartment, I tried to start it about 2 minutes later. No go. So, I tried to jump it this morning to go to church and it started on the second try. After I took the jumper cables off, the truck shut down about 10 seconds later. Now it won't start at all, even with a jump. It just clicked the first time, and now nothing. Not even my doors would lock. Ahhh...I hate electrical stuff.

I'm going to go check the starter selenoids, but I'm begining to think that isn't the problem.
Any thoughts/suggestions?

Thanks all.
Have fun.
Daniel

 

I would pull off some of the main power and ground cables, clean up the connections with a wire brush and also check the condition of the cables around the ends. Look for broken or corroded wire strands, etc. Then consider poking around with a voltmeter, checking voltages and compare those voltages when things are normal and when it won't start. For example, measure the voltage at the starter solenoid wire as noted on the web page:

- http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTri...shtml#EasyTest

 

How old's the battery? Have you had that tested (some parts stores will do it for free in hopes of selling you a new one). I know the alt is supposed to run the car after it's started but it's an easy thing to check.

 

Hey all, just another update:
I checked all the wires and cleaned them up a bit, and I got it jumped again. I ran fine this time and I took it down to AutoZone for them to test my system. The guy said everything looked ok except that the tester said there was nagative amperage on it. He had never seen that before and had no clue what was wrong. We pulled out the batter, had it charged, and the had it tested. Battery turned out good. We put it back in, and won't start. Well, a couple of Mexican guys looked at it in the parking lot and we tightened down the negative terminal and it starts now! I had tightened the snot out of it before, so I don't know why it works now.

Would a loose bettery connection on the negative side cause my truck to shut off after 10 seconds of running like mentioned in my earlier posts? Or cuase the tester at AutoZone to read negative amperage? Something else too--when I pulled into AutoZone, I pushed the unlock button (doors already unlocked) and my battery light and E-brake light flickered.

I hope a loose negative terminal caused all this, but I don't know. Some of it seems pretty odd. Any ideas?

Thanks all for the help.
Daniel

 

oh, bought the battery in June of '02.

 

There are critical two parts of any electrical circuit, the power supply line and the ground return line. If the ground connection is loose, no current can flow back to the battery so there is no difference in that or having the "+" terminal loose or having a dead battery. In all 3 cases; no current = no current = no current. And there is not just the ground clamp on the battery, you have it's connection to the fender and the cable from the fender to the frame and to the engine block, etc.

Always important on a battery clamp to make sure it is really tight, not just that the nut on the clamp is tight. I had a battery clamp once that seemed tight, but what had happened was that the clamp had deformed. Tightening the nut made the ends of the clamp come together nice and tight, but it was not clamping the battery post very good.

Not sure on the negative amperage reading.

 

Well, just another update here. Everything been working fine so far. I still don't know what caused the 4Runner to shut off that one time, or the negative amperage, or the flashing dash lights, but as long as everything is back to normal, I'm happy.

I may have to get new clamps soon.

Thanks for all the great help!

Daniel