Today while out camping I left my head lights on and when I noticed I turned the head lights off it had been 20 or 30 mins and then my 4Runner wouldn’t start.

Jumper cables to a diesel truck and multiple
Starter boxes and nothing when I would turn the ignition to on. Lights, indicator lights on dash, horn, starter relay all Functioning. Figured I killed the starter some how.

New starter and the rig fired up right away. Idled 5 mins, turned off fired up again. Put tools
Away and tried to start the 4Runner and nothing same issue. Lights, horn electrical all
Works just nothing when I turn the key.

Getting it towed Home as I have AAA but I’m
Stumped what could be happening. I’ll probably go
exchange the starter again if I can’t get it to start. Also thinking maybe the plug On the starter with the two tiny wires may be an issue.

Any tips or ideas?

Thanks,
Gregg


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The issue is most likely not your starter. You can't damage a starter by draining your battery down or leaving your key on.

Have your battery state of health checked, check/clean your grounds, and verify your starter connections are tight. If there was no click and your battery/connections check out good then I would start to diagnose the ignition switch. The ignition switch contacts can wear down over time and not send a signal to start the engine.

Check the 7.5 sta fuse also.

It can be the ground, starter relay, park neutral switch, or as in my case water getting in the electronics. Pull the starter fuse and see if you can jump it, that will narrow down the possibilities. Some info here;
No Power To Starter Relay

Here's a good reference for testing some of the potential issues with the starter. I suspect it's something in the wiring to the starter:

Toyota/Chrysler/Mitsubishi - Nippon Denso Starter Solenoid Repair