Battery Drain

[zcostilla]

My son has a ‘97 4Runner Limited and just had the starter replaced last week. Battery was replaced a year ago. Now he has developed a new voltage drain and needs to jump it every morning to get it started. Autozone tested the battery twice, and alternator and they test good. He is in Brooklyn, NY for an internship for the summer and I’m not able to help him work on it. I did tell him to take it back to the mechanic that did the starter, but I don't know how reputable they are.

If anyone has any ideas I can pass along to him, it would be greatly appreciated.

 

[pokeyman]

It could be a short in the starter since it was just changed and it happened after the starter was installed.

 

[LittleCaesar]

Check all the electrical connectors, especially the battery cables.

 

[Toy2play]

My son has a ‘97 4Runner Limited and just had the starter replaced last week. Battery was replaced a year ago. Now he has developed a new voltage drain and needs to jump it every morning to get it started. Autozone tested the battery twice, and alternator and they test good. He is in Brooklyn, NY for an internship for the summer and I’m not able to help him work on it. I did tell him to take it back to the mechanic that did the starter, but I don't know how reputable they are.

If anyone has any ideas I can pass along to him, it would be greatly appreciated.

I just ran a parasitic draw test to find out if I was having similar issues. Learned a lot from it. You could try it to make sure it's in fact the starter. Get yourself a multimeter and turn it to DC Amp, either the 10 or 20 amp setting. Take the negative battery cable off the battery terminal. Take one of your multimeter probes and connect it to your negative battery cable, take your other probe and put it on the negative battery terminal. Now wait a few minutes while they are connected and if your reading is more than 50mA(.05 amps) then you have a parasitic draw. If you suspect the starter, pull the starter fuse and see if your reading drops on the multimeter. If it does drop then you know it's the starter. If it doesn't drop then something else is causing the issue then you can start pulling fuses and watching which fuse will drop the draw then you know it's on that circuit. Make sure when you run this test to make sure all doors are closed or you'll get a false reading. If you reading 0 then you are getting an incorrect reading and could be a blown fuse in the multimeter. This test wont work. Please read below a few comments for a better explanation by another member You need to make sure that you leave the probes on for a few minutes before you get a correct reading. Some cars can take 45 minutes before everything goes back to sleep after you have connected the probes. Make sure you have a fully charged battery when you run the test.

As an example, my 97 SR5 would read 60-70mA when I connected the probes, but then drop to a steady 20mA a couple minutes later. The limited edition may have more features and draw a tiny bit more power than the SR5. From my research, 20-40mA seems to be the norm for these 4runners.

 

[brillo_76]

I just ran a parasitic draw test to find out if I was having similar issues. Learned a lot from it. You could try it to make sure it's in fact the starter. Get yourself a multimeter and turn it to DC Amp, either the 10 or 20 amp setting. Take the negative battery cable off the battery terminal. Take one of your multimeter probes and connect it to your negative battery cable, take your other probe and put it on the negative battery terminal. Now wait a few minutes while they are connected and if your reading is more than 50mA(.05 amps) then you have a parasitic draw. If you suspect the starter, pull the starter fuse and see if your reading drops on the multimeter. If it does drop then you know it's the starter. If it doesn't drop then something else is causing the issue then you can start pulling fuses and watching which fuse will drop the draw then you know it's on that circuit. Make sure when you run this test to make sure all doors are closed or you'll get a false reading. If you reading 0 then you are getting an incorrect reading and could be a blown fuse in the multimeter. You need to make sure that you leave the probes on for a few minutes before you get a correct reading. Some cars can take 45 minutes before everything goes back to sleep after you have connected the probes. Make sure you have a fully charged battery when you run the test.

As an example, my 97 SR5 would read 60-70mA when I connected the probes, but then drop to a steady 20mA a couple minutes later. The limited edition may have more features and draw a tiny bit more power than the SR5. From my research, 20-40mA seems to be the norm for these 4runners.

Toy is correct... That is how I test for shorts. Always best to use an amp meter and pull each fuse individually and watch for the current to drop. If the current stays constant then its not the fuse or that circuit. How much of a current draw do you have on this drain??

 

[TheDurk]

I just ran a parasitic draw test to find out if I was having similar issues. Learned a lot from it. You could try it to make sure it's in fact the starter. Get yourself a multimeter and turn it to DC Amp, either the 10 or 20 amp setting. Take the negative battery cable off the battery terminal. Take one of your multimeter probes and connect it to your negative battery cable, take your other probe and put it on the negative battery terminal. Now wait a few minutes while they are connected and if your reading is more than 50mA(.05 amps) then you have a parasitic draw. If you suspect the starter, pull the starter fuse and see if your reading drops on the multimeter. If it does drop then you know it's the starter. If it doesn't drop then something else is causing the issue then you can start pulling fuses and watching which fuse will drop the draw then you know it's on that circuit. Make sure when you run this test to make sure all doors are closed or you'll get a false reading. If you reading 0 then you are getting an incorrect reading and could be a blown fuse in the multimeter. You need to make sure that you leave the probes on for a few minutes before you get a correct reading. Some cars can take 45 minutes before everything goes back to sleep after you have connected the probes. Make sure you have a fully charged battery when you run the test.

As an example, my 97 SR5 would read 60-70mA when I connected the probes, but then drop to a steady 20mA a couple minutes later. The limited edition may have more features and draw a tiny bit more power than the SR5. From my research, 20-40mA seems to be the norm for these 4runners.

You were doing fine until you got to the bold. Thing is, the main starter power on our trucks, like most all vehicles, has no fuse. The fused circuit, to the solenoid, is only energized when the key is turned. The only key-off drain possible in that circuit is from the relay itself, so the way to test that is pull the relay. If the relay is working properly, no current can pass it unless the key is turned to the START position, so no current drain can occur when the car is off.

In general, a parasitic drain through the starter itself would be a very big surprise. If it ever happened, I doubt it would last long, as the tendency would be to lock up with the starter always running or lock up so that it would not run at all. The main current is just too large to enable a stable parasitic drain. If you can't find the leak through the fuse testing described, the alternator is the likely suspect.

Circuit diagram follows:

http://www.teamtoyota4x4.org/archivio/1996%20to%202002%20Toyota%204Runner%20Repair%20and%20Wiring%20Manuals/techinfo.toyota.com/ileaf/ewdtmc2/ewdtmpdf/ewdsourc/2002/024runne/systemci/013sis.pdf

It's for 2002, but the relevant parts are similar for all years.

 

[Toy2play]

You were doing fine until you got to the bold. Thing is, the main starter power on our trucks, like most all vehicles, has no fuse. The fused circuit, to the solenoid, is only energized when the key is turned. The only key-off drain possible in that circuit is from the relay itself, so the way to test that is pull the relay. If the relay is working properly, no current can pass it unless the key is turned to the START position, so no current drain can occur when the car is off.

In general, a parasitic drain through the starter itself would be a very big surprise. If it ever happened, I doubt it would last long, as the tendency would be to lock up with the starter always running or lock up so that it would not run at all. The main current is just too large to enable a stable parasitic drain. If you can't find the leak through the fuse testing described, the alternator is the likely suspect.

Circuit diagram follows:

http://www.teamtoyota4x4.org/archivio/1996%20to%202002%20Toyota%204Runner%20Repair%20and%20Wiring%20Manuals/techinfo.toyota.com/ileaf/ewdtmc2/ewdtmpdf/ewdsourc/2002/024runne/systemci/013sis.pdf

It's for 2002, but the relevant parts are similar for all years.

Gotcha, thank you for the correction. Good to know, your explanation makes sense. I'll edit my original post.

 

[BamaDrewski]

My son has a ‘97 4Runner Limited and just had the starter replaced last week. Battery was replaced a year ago. Now he has developed a new voltage drain and needs to jump it every morning to get it started. Autozone tested the battery twice, and alternator and they test good. He is in Brooklyn, NY for an internship for the summer and I’m not able to help him work on it. I did tell him to take it back to the mechanic that did the starter, but I don't know how reputable they are.

If anyone has any ideas I can pass along to him, it would be greatly appreciated.

I had the same issue. It turned out to be the Daytime Running Lights (DRL). I disconnected them and no problem since.