99 - V6 with 180,000 miles. I can hear the starter solenoid click but thats it. Checked out the battery and its fine. Maybe a starter?

Starter contacts, it's not as bad as you think.

likely the starter contacts-internal within the starter body.

Easy fix is new starter but less expensive is simply replacing the contacts inside

4crawler.com covers this issue but search "starter contacts" on this forum or YOTA TECH for more discussion.

Don't rule out a simple connection. No corrosion at the battery posts?

You have power for accessories and so on?

Yup, cleaned the battery posts and accessories work fine. I read the write up on the starter solenoid contacts before I posted. Just wanted to see if there was something else I should look for. It came out of nowhere without warning. Thanks guys.

Well, the battery wasn't fine. I had it checked out at the local Advance Auto Parts and they said it was good but I was suspicious of it when I got back home and decided to put it on the charger. It took a full charge and fired right up. Drove it for about a half an hour and after it sat over night wouldn't start the next morning. Now I'm thinking alternator or a short somewhere. I plan on taking it up to a different shop and have them test the alternator.

Does it do the same thing as before, just clicks when you try to start it? That's a symptom of bad starter contacts. If you have a multimeter, you can test the battery yourself, if your accesories still work, then it's not a problem with the battery or charging system.

The "click" is a result of a dead spot in the starter, there, the contacts need replaced.

Toyota starter contacts are a common and known problem... The good news is that they are easy to fix and will cost less than $10 in parts (the OE parts are two chucks of copper, horseshoe shaped about slightly smaller than a penny)... Once done the starter will last another 100K-150K miles

The hardest part of this project will be extracting the starter from the truck... On my limited third gen there was all kinds of skid plates and "stuff" in the way.

Most of this project is snaking the starter out of the truck.

Thanks guys, I've read the threads on the starter contacts. I really don't think that's the problem here. As I said the battery was dead and took a full charge now it's dead again. I would have thought there would be an idiot light or something if the alternator was going though. I didn't have time to check it out this morning but will look into it further when I get home. Luckily, I have another vehicle I can drive.

You said previously that when the truck wouldn't start, the accesories still worked, so the battery couldn't have been dead. You said the battery was tested and checked out fine, so that again says the battery wasn't dead. Is there info missing here, or am I being thick?

A battery can still take a charge when it isn't dead, I top mine up on a charger a couple times a year, sometimes city driving just doesn't get the job done, lots of cranking with short drive times, etc.

Accessories still came on and yes I said the battery checked out ok at Advance Auto Parts. When connected to a battery charger it showed the battery was dead. I'm not saying it's not the starter contacts I'm just saying I'm going to look into a couple of other things before I start a project of that magnitude that may not be necessary. By the way I've read in recent posts the starter contacts are $10-$12. I called 4 Toyota Dealerships in the area and they all told me the contacts are $22 each.

The price dealers will charge for the contacts varies wildly, but worst case scenario, $50 for new contacts is way less than an alternator you don't need. Your battery may be on it's last legs, but it doesn't sound like it's the cause of this no start issue.

Try giving the starter housing a couple taps with something, and try starting again. If that works, you KNOW the problem is the starter.

Sounds like a problem with either the battery or charging system. If you can jump it, then it's not the starter. If you charge the battery and it starts, then it's not the starter. (assuming a normal start)

I would be more concerned with an open circuit somewhere. If you can charge the battery, then start it and turn it off multiple times ok? But then when you leave it overnight it wont start. Sounds like it's losing charge from something. How old is the battery? It should have a manufacture date on it. If it's over 3 years old I would be suspicious of it as well. Your not leaving a light on overnight or anything right?

P.S. Just because it can hold a charge to power accessories doesn't mean the battery is good.

Did he say he was able to boost it sucessfully that I missed? Bugsy, are you able to jump start it? Or does it still just click?

Did not jump start it. Battery is 6 months old. I thought I might have left an interior light on as well but double checked and that is not the case. I'm not sure how long it would take to run the battery down if the alternator was shot but I would think it would be more than a half hour no radio and no A/C running.

Try jumpstarting it, or swapping the battery with a known good one. If it does the same thing, you can rule out battery/charging system.