Another Gen 2 starting question.

[Coctailer]

I can drive my truck all day and it starts perfectly, however the last 2 days, I would go out to start ot in the morning, and I just get a single click.
After 2 more trys with a single click, then it fires right up.
Then I will drive it all day, with 2-3 hour rests between starts, with absolutely no sign of a problem.

My buddy who is a Toyota tech, said it's probably......the.....the.....

I forgot. I want to say "points" in the solenoid? He said it's about $12....

 

[KidVermicious]

There are contacts in the solenoid, and that could easily be your problem. There's a lot of other things it could be too - I'd check out 4crawlers starter repair page and do some testing to narrow it down before I spent a lot of time and money replacing parts that might not be bad.

 

[Coctailer]

There are contacts in the solenoid, and that could easily be your problem. There's a lot of other things it could be too - I'd check out 4crawlers starter repair page and do some testing to narrow it down before I spent a lot of time and money replacing parts that might not be bad.

Thanks.
I'll do some reading.
it went away for a f days, then yesterday, it wouldn't start after sitting all day.
It took 5-6 tries with the key before it fired up. It would click, and some time try to turn the motor.......a single "RUR" sound.

I should replace the battery anyway after I figure this out. It's kinda old, but I'm sure it's not a battery issue.....

 

[Coctailer]

If I just give up and replace the starter(sometimes time is more valuable than money) is it wise to buy a factory Toyota starter, or one of the aftermarket "lifetime warranty" jobbers?

 

[Joshv4runner]

get a reman starter

 

[KidVermicious]

Thanks.
I'll do some reading.
it went away for a f days, then yesterday, it wouldn't start after sitting all day.
It took 5-6 tries with the key before it fired up. It would click, and some time try to turn the motor.......a single "RUR" sound.

I should replace the battery anyway after I figure this out. It's kinda old, but I'm sure it's not a battery issue.....

The clicking is probably the starter relay energizing, but could be the starter solenoid trying to get the starter going - one a definite click, the other is more of a clunk. The "rur" sound - is it a whirring or does it sound more like the motor trying and failing to turn over? One would mean the starter is spinning but not engaging the engine, the other would mean the starter is engaging but doesn't have the oomph to turn the engine.

You could have a bad starter, or you could have a wiring problem, or you could have a bad starter and some bad wiring somewhere. How's that for narrowing it down?

If I just give up and replace the starter(sometimes time is more valuable than money) is it wise to buy a factory Toyota starter, or one of the aftermarket "lifetime warranty" jobbers?

Never ever ever buy a remanned starter, unless you enjoy swapping starters out and want to do it again. Starters are notorious for intermittent problems just like yours, and if the shop that took the core can't reproduce the trouble in a 10 second bench test, they clean it up and sell those intermittent problems to you. If you're sure you've got a bad starter, and it sounds like you might, get it professionally rebuilt at a reputable shop or buy a factory new starter. I don't know if you can get OEM new anymore.

 

[Coctailer]

It sounds like its clicking to engage, and the "RUR" is an attempt at turning the engine over.

It didnt happen yesterday or this morning.

I was worried Sunday afternoon though after several tries before it fired up.

 

[KidVermicious]

It sounds like its clicking to engage, and the "RUR" is an attempt at turning the engine over.

It didnt happen yesterday or this morning.

I was worried Sunday afternoon though after several tries before it fired up.

Ok, could be a wiring thing then. Make yourself a jumper out of some wire, 14ga or so, and then next time it won't start, turn the key to "on" and jump the positive battery post straight to the terminal on the starter solenoid. If that starts it every time, then you know you've got a wiring problem between your key and the starter. The 4crawler page you checked out earlier has oodles of tests to try and track that down.

If it doesn't reliably start when you jump the battery straight to the solenoid, you've ruled out the wiring and can confidently take your starter in for a rebuild, knowing it's the problem.

 

[Coctailer]

Ha,
My step-son's father dropped him off today. And his 1990 T4R wouldnt start.
He said sometimes it just won't start, so I went to get the jumper cables, and he tried it one more time, and it fired right up.


Exact same thing my Runner is doing. He said it will go days without a problem.....