3rd gen won’t start. No noise. Has charge.

P

powersandlorimer

New member
Hi,

My 97 4Runner won’t start. There is no noise when I turn the key. I checked the battery with a multimeter and got a reading of 14, so I don’t think that’s the issue.

Before this every once in a while it wouldn’t quite start, but I’d pump the gas a couple times and it would start. Not sure what’s going on. Would love some advice and to avoid a tow.

Thanks so much!
 
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You gotta give a little more information I think.

When you say no noise, you mean no turn over. Do you hear the starter solenoid click? Faint clicking from the lower engine or truly nothing?

What's happening with dash and dome light while this is happening? Do they dim or shut off when you try to start it? 14 V on the battery is kind of high unless you had just shut the truck off or had it running. Resting battery would be more like 12.6 to 12.8v.

Pumping the gas and slow to start is likely a seperate issue.
 
Bad Luck said:
How would that cause the vehicle to not turn over or even click?
Click to expand...


I guess I focused on the one part saying that it only started when you gave it gas. The post is somewhat confusing because you say you have 14V at the battery which implies that the truck is running.

No start no click most likely would be the starter. Less likely a relay.
 
Classic starter contact failure. I think at least 1/4 of us on here have encountered it, it's a very common part to fail. The starter is located on the passenger's side of the engine, opposite to where the oil filter is on the driver's side. Get yourself a rod or long screwdriver and tap it with a hammer to jolt the starter. If it cranks, your contacts are worn down and won't carry a current anymore. There's some video tutorials on how to replace the contacts. It's a $30 repair but can take several hours depending on how hard it is to remove the starter from the engine bay (or not at all in my case!)
 
It doesn’t click, or turn over, it’s just completely silent. The whole electrical system seems fine.

It sat for a week before it wouldn’t start. It sat for a week a few weeks before that and I got the same result, but then I pumped the gas and tried again and it fired up.

I tried the same thing this time but I get nothing. I’m interested in giving the started a knock. Is that a two person job? Does one person need to be knocking it while the key is turned?
 
If your starter is bad, tapping on it will probably not help but it is worth a shot. It's a one man job. Use something non metallic if you tap on your starter so that you don't accidentally cause a short. Pumping the gas was probably coincidental. Is this auto or manual? Do your battery connections look good and clean? Do you have lights on the dash with keys in the ignition? Explain what you mean when you say that the whole electrical system seems fine.
 
Once you know you've got power through the fuse and relay make sure it's actually getting to the starter, there's a 4 pin connector on the bottom of the fuse box where the harness for starter and alternator plugs in.

Sent from my JSN-L23 using Tapatalk
 
Sparky 97Runner said:
If your starter is bad, tapping on it will probably not help but it is worth a shot. It's a one man job. Use something non metallic if you tap on your starter so that you don't accidentally cause a short. Pumping the gas was probably coincidental. Is this auto or manual? Do your battery connections look good and clean? Do you have lights on the dash with keys in the ignition? Explain what you mean when you say that the whole electrical system seems fine.
Click to expand...

It’s manual. Battery connection at the posts look good. Yes, I have lights on dash, headlights, dome lights, windows, everything works + a good multimeter reading. I can take some pictures or video tomorrow...just not sure what there is to see
 
powersandlorimer said:
It’s manual. Battery connection at the posts look good. Yes, I have lights on dash, headlights, dome lights, windows, everything works + a good multimeter reading. I can take some pictures or video tomorrow...just not sure what there is to see
Click to expand...

It's a manual. Good info to have in your signature so we can help you.

Could your clutch switch be acting up? At the best we have to get the clutch right in the carpet to start the truck. Next time it does it, try the clutch cancel switch and see if anything improves. Not having the clutch switch working would absolutely result in silence.
 
I'd focus on these three things:
Try starting with clutch cancel switch
Be sure the battery terminals connections are clean inside and out.
Lastly, the starter contacts are a likely problem but they usually give some warning (intermittent cranking when you turn the key).

I found removing the starter quite easy on my '97 5-speed when I replaced the contacts. Might have been attributed to the 1" BL though. I also have a scissor lift in my garage.
 
powersandlorimer said:
It doesn’t click, or turn over, it’s just completely silent. The whole electrical system seems fine.

It sat for a week before it wouldn’t start (145,000 miles).. It sat for a week a few weeks before that and I got the same result, but then I pumped the gas and tried again and it fired up.

I tried the same thing this time but I get nothing. I’m interested in giving the started a knock. Is that a two person job? Does one person need to be knocking it while the key is turned?
Click to expand...

I have replaced 4 starters in my 2005 V6 SR5. The OEM failed after 4 years. I had it rebuilt and that failed after 1 year.

I brought the rebuild shop an AM starter instead of taking their offer to rebuild the OEM again. The new AM starter lasted 4 years, and when it failed after 4 years (again), I replaced it with a Quality Built with a lifetime warrantee ($120 at Amazon), and that's been in the 4runner for 2 years.

I also purchased a backup starter from Amazon.com for $75 - for when the Quality Built fails and I send it back for a new one (kept the receipts, the nice box and called the company). https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007XUICXW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 :clap2:

All 4 failures were identical. You turned the key and nothing. No click. No crank. Nothing.

I'm in the Bahamas. Starter from the dealer installed was over $600. There's a 65% custom's duty on importing your parts in this country.

You can usually light tap a starter that fails once or twice to get it to crank, but in my experience it is best to just replace.
 
Last edited:
wow ...4 starters in your ownership...reminds me of the crap used to get from autozone for my chevy work truck....life time warranty....yep they replaced it multiple times..but not the labor to do it
 
powersandlorimer said:
It doesn’t click, or turn over, it’s just completely silent. The whole electrical system seems fine.

It sat for a week before it wouldn’t start. It sat for a week a few weeks before that and I got the same result, but then I pumped the gas and tried again and it fired up.

I tried the same thing this time but I get nothing. I’m interested in giving the started a knock. Is that a two person job? Does one person need to be knocking it while the key is turned?
Click to expand...

No, just get a pole/rod and tap the case with it. Use a hammer if you can reach it, but it's tucked in there good. Then go back in the 4Runner and see if it starts. If it does, it's the starter contacts. The jolt will shift the position enough that it carries a current.

Also, try just turning it over and over and over again (like 20 times). Once again, if it's the contacts it will randomly start once it finds a good spot.
 
If you are certain that the starter is good. Your clutch cancel start is good. Your clutch switch is good. All related fuses are good. You dont have a factory alarm system or immobilizer etc in the system.

Don't overlook the ignition contacts in the back of the key. These contacts wear out and I had fail in the 98 Tetanus 1. I even swapped the starter thinking it was it and all it was was worn out contacts. ;)




Sent from my SM-J337V using Tapatalk
 
Man there is alot of random information being called out.


Listen to the people who know what they are talking about.

Check the clutch switch, battery posts(remove and clean if needed) and grab hammer and smack that starter(starters fail). The issues with taking a few tries to start point toward the starter or battery posts. The battery post can look perfect but still have issues.

You said 14v is your battery on a charger? it wont be 14 with the car off.

After those you can start worrying about the other stuff.
 
[MENTION=68424]calimobber[/MENTION] we just had a baby so was away from the vehicle for a bit, just got back to the car and tried the Clutch Start Cancel button and it started right up. So now I suppose I need a new clutch switch? Is that a difficult fix or should I bring to a garage to do? I’m not the greatest mechanic
 
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