I'm hoping someone else has had a problem similar or can offer me some suggestions & point me in the right direction. I realize it could be wide range of potential issues.
I'm at work right now & have not been able to troubleshoot anything yet.

I drove the 4runner the night before and parked it leaving no lights on & this morning I go to get into the truck and not even the key fob would unlock the vehicle.

I go to start the truck and absolutely nothing. No clicking sounds, turnover, chimes anything. The only signs of life were the standard lights on the dash showing & also the time display on radio, no other functions on radio would work.
The interior lights, radio & anything else electric would not function.

I tried jumping the vehicle for a good 15 mins and even then no lights would work, no clicking or turning over of the engine, no radio. Just the same lights on the dash, basically absolutely nothing.

The battery is a about 2 years old, it's a duralast platinum AGM and has not been drained or overused in anyway, no aftermarket stereo system.
This battery is supposed be there best... I don't think its the issue... The battery terminals also appear to be in great shape. Have not have any issues in the past.
It was also one of the hottest days of the year today but my GF's car with a battery on the way out worked fine.

That is as far as got before i had to head into work.
I have a multi-meter and i'll check the voltage of the battery tomorrow. I don't believe i can check the alternator without the vehicle running? But don't think these are the problem. Maybe check the starter wire output?
I'll look at the fuse box for any blown fuses.

Any advice?

Thanks.

it really seems like the battery, and spending 15 min or more to attempt a jump won't make a bit of difference if it is truly truly dead. id get the battery tested at a local auto parts store first and go from there

the only things that were working were the lowest draw lights on the LCD screen, which leads me to believe there are no volts

Hey just an update.

You were correct. I was personally shocked it was the battery and that it went from working perfect to not being able to even be jumped.

I hooked up the multi-meter and it showed only 5 volts coming from the batter, dead!
I strongly would not recommend the Duralast platinum AGM. After reading consumer reports they would agree.
Went to autozone and they could not locate these batteries anywhere, so it appears they might carry them anymore.
Went with the duralast gold with 5 year warranty. Luckily my battery was still under it's 3 years warranty.

Peace.

Good luck with your battery. I usually won't purchase the same brand if the first one didn't live up to expectations. YMMV.

Daren

I found your problem...


seriously, take the new battery back, and get a refund.
I recommend an Interstate, but there are other good batteries out there.

To jump start, I recommend the heaviest gauge jumper cables you can get, in the shortest length that's useful to you. Copper is expensive, so it can be hard to find good ones when everyone wants the lowest price.

I've also had the best success by revving the engine on the helper car slightly. Just hold it at 1500-2500 RPM, and the alternator will be able to put out more power. But apparently it can be bad for the alternator to have the good car running at all?

If the battery is dead at 5 volts, none of that might help. There might be an internal short in a few of the cells. I always keep a Digital MultiMeter in my center console for troubleshooting electrical issues.

in his case, it sounds like the battery shorted internally, so nothing would have worked.

but, I recommend doing as you suggested. run the engine at a higher rpm for a few minutes. then, when you are ready to start the dead car, turn the other engine OFF to prevent any back feed, and alternator damage.

if its going to start, it will do it even with the engine off.

It might not. There could easily be a few volts drop in the jumper cables, and if the bad battery is high resistance rather than internally shorted, the extra couple volts from having the donor engine running might make a difference. The donor car's battery should in theory soak up any voltage or current spikes.

If you use a decent set of jumper cables with the proper gauge wire you should see minimal voltage drop.

Unfortunately I wasn't offered a refund for the battery. The battery was still under warranty and I was offered a replacement. I would have taking a refund but I'm not going to go out and spend money when I can get it for free sort of speak.
This one has a 5 years warranty so if it does die, auto zone's are usually close by. Obvisously if this one craps the bed in a similiar time frame i might have to look someone else.

m85476585 all good advice, my jumper cables are of a very thick/heavy gauge, they are long though but I'm not willing to go shorter since living in a city, those extra feet help.

assuming im helping a stranger, im not willing to risk it. my vehicle gets shut off before they try to start theirs.

also this. in either case, mine will be off.

oh, I was talking about the new replacement. can it be returned? its NEW.

Ive been running Duralast batteries since I've been driving (18 years) and never had a problem. If the internals shorted that could happen to any battery. I had to go jump my girlfriends aunts Sequoia one night when her battery had issues holding a charge. It was brand new from Toyota.