4 Runner Died Yesterday

W

Willy Whalen

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Have a 2001 4 Runner SR5 which died yesterday. Nothing happens when ignition key is turned. No dashboard lights, nothing. Has a new battery. Checked battery terminals. They look good. Vehicle was running just fine, but when I made a quick stop to pick up some groceries, the vehicle would not start. Doubt if it's the battery. Would it be the alternator or the starter?
Help would be really appreciated.
Willy
 
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Willy Whalen said:
Have a 2001 4 Runner SR5 which died yesterday. Nothing happens when ignition key is turned. No dashboard lights, nothing. Has a new battery. Checked battery terminals. They look good. Vehicle was running just fine, but when I made a quick stop to pick up some groceries, the vehicle would not start. Doubt if it's the battery. Would it be the alternator or the starter?
Help would be really appreciated.
Willy
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If you have no lights at all then its not the starter. Check all the cables coming from the battery to the fuse box make sure there isnt a broken wire. This happened to my 2nd gen but it was in the middle of a hill out on a trail. It can also be the alternator. If it wasnt charging then the car would have drained the battery. Start with charging the battery and seeing if it starts. If it does start then pull the negative battery cable while its running. If you runner dies then its a good chance that its the alternator
 
A funky possibility...it could be electrical burn residue on your battery terminals.

i have a 2003 F150, and every 12-15 months or so, i get so much build up of dried residue on the terminals, that a good connection isnt there anymore, and the truck comes up dead. removal of the posts, taking a wire brush to them, and reconnecting them to the battery brings it back to life quick-fast.

it doesnt take much, its not covered with snow levels of white dust...and usually its not even visible from the top of the battery posts. but as soon as i remove the connection, there it is...what was once silver is now a powerdered donut-white.
 
BigRyan1986 said:
If you have no lights at all then its not the starter. Check all the cables coming from the battery to the fuse box make sure there isnt a broken wire. This happened to my 2nd gen but it was in the middle of a hill out on a trail. It can also be the alternator. If it wasnt charging then the car would have drained the battery. Start with charging the battery and seeing if it starts. If it does start then pull the negative battery cable while its running. If you runner dies then its a good chance that its the alternator
Click to expand...

You sure it's the negative?

I've always heard if it's the positive and the truck dies, then the alternator is bad.

From my understanding, the alternator is what really provides power to the truck, and the battery is a charging/starting/back-up/get safe system should the alternator go bad.

That's what I usually do if someone has starting issues that has replaced the battery, and it's works well.
 
Doc2012 said:
You sure it's the negative?

I've always heard if it's the positive and the truck dies, then the alternator is bad.

From my understanding, the alternator is what really provides power to the truck, and the battery is a charging/starting/back-up/get safe system should the alternator go bad.

That's what I usually do if someone has starting issues that has replaced the battery, and it's works well.
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Can't guarantee. That's just what i always do. Either way if you remove one cable then it breaks the circuit and removes the battery from the system. So id imagine that either one would work. I do know that every time you mess with something electrical everything tells you to remove the negative cable. Like i said I'd imagine that either one would do the same thing
 
Doc2012 said:
Touche. Very good.

I guess I do have a little "Hey ya'll watch this" in me......

:/
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Lol. I have a lot of that too. Problem is i have even more "you wont" in me then "hey yall watch this". the Wife is slowly but surely trying to rid me of such things. Good thing is it saves me money from breaking stuff do to being stupid. God I love her.
 
Symptoms sound like an ignition switch to me. I've not had this issue with a 4R, but have had 2 ignition switches fry on my VW. Exact same thing happened to me -- my car was all good, I was getting ready for a road trip and had to make a quick pit stop at my parents house. No bueno when I tried to start it back up.
 
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