2000 Limited, 4x4, auto, 154k.

Battery dead this morning. Figured dome light got left on over night. Hook up battery charger, turn it over, slow turn over, then clicks. Gonna let it charge some more. Turn key off, remove key, key in ignition bell continues to ding. I tried every combo of turning on and off. Finally stops. Removed battery ends, cleaned posts and ends. Put the ends on the battery and there is clicking going on in the engine bay. The key in the ignition bell is dinging. Mind you, the key is in my pocket. Then the engine turns over. Remove the battery cable end and here I am.

Faulty ignition switch?

Your help would be much appreciated.

Maybe try putting a little lock cylinder lube in there. They sell lube specifically made for locks at hardware or parts store. It sounds like it might be stuck, worth a try.

Are one of those people with 5lbs of crap hanging off their keychain? I've heard of that screwing up the ignition on other brands of vehicle. I think GM had to do a massive recall because it actually killed a few people.

Engine turnover without the key in ignition?

Have you pressure washed the engine recently? Any moisture inside the fuse box?

If not, then remove the steering column covers and remove the wire switch unit at the end of the ignition key (held by one Phillips screw). Have the key off during this removal. see the condition of the electrical switch unit. You can turn the switch with a screwdriver (engine will start when it is turned to the furthest). Steering wheel will stay locked. If you suspect this unit, replace it. These switches hardly fail. Non of my toy's switches ever failed. If someone pull too much power from this switch into their accessories, then it can melt the wire pins inside the switch, otherwise, these are life time.

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I trashed my ignition like that. Learned a good lesson that day when I had to do some work to the wafers inside the tumbler.

A little bit of graphite in the lock cylinder will lube that.


I have had the connector on the back of the ignition wear out with no extra accessories. They can especially after 250k miles...

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Update:
Each step began by disconnecting the negative side of the battery. Performed each step, then connected the negative cable to see if problem persisted.

First I did a little squirt of WD40 I'm the key cylinder. In and out, on and off, every way possible. Did NOT fix the problem.

Second, pulled the lower dash panel, unplugged the electrical connector from the actual ignition switch. Attached negative cable, did not fix problem. This has removed the key and ignition switch from the equation.

Third, went under the hood, to the fuse/relay box on inner fender driver side. Noticed that the cover on the "starter relay" was damaged. Ah ha! That must be the problem. Removed it. Negative cable on the battery. Did NOT solve the problem.

Fourth, I now have to isolate the circuit causing the issue. I talked to my Mr. Goodwrench cousin and he says, start with the relays, then move to the fuses. So, one by one, I remove each relay. When I pull the relay "HEAD", problem stops. Now we know it's in the headlight circuit. I have a spare 4runner, so I pull the relay from that one, poke it in this 4runner, and, viola!, it's fixed.

So, after consulting with my cousin, and I may not have this exactly right, but you'll get the point. That relay is designed to turn one side on and one side off. The side that was to be shut off, was NOT, causing electricity to flow where it shouldn't. Hence, starter when it wasn't suppose to, key dinger, heater, etc. Crazy. Hopefully this is resolved.

Great job. Relay failure. Glad you got it working.

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