fuse box clicking

[NorcalChris]

So yesterday i noticed my wifes 2001 limited was making a clicking sound from under the hood. i opened it up, and it was coming from the fuse box behind the battery, and the 'head' fuse was making an internal clicking sound.

so, at this point, the battery was pretty much dead and the car wouldnt turn over. i disconnected the leads from the battery and the noise obviously stopped. my wifes uncle came over to check it out, he looked inside the car and said the headlights were left on. (though my wife swears she didnt turn the lights on.. oh i know honey, i must have, huh...) i charged the battery overnight and connected it back up. theres is no clicking sound now. does anyone know if this sound is typical when the battery drains from the lights being left on? or is the fuse toast, or is it something with the headlight system? any and all input is appreciated, thanks ahead of time.

 

[cordrayj1]

i think they call that a relay.


look at the diagram on it.

 

[Nelsonmd]

Was it clicking when you were trying to start it, or was it just clicking on it's own (key in, key out?)? A nearly dead battery will click when you turn the key, but won't turn over the engine.

 

[cordrayj1]

Was it clicking when you were trying to start it, or was it just clicking on it's own (key in, key out?)? A nearly dead battery will click when you turn the key, but won't turn over the engine.

oh. yeah. that. too.

 

[NorcalChris]

Was it clicking when you were trying to start it, or was it just clicking on it's own (key in, key out?)? A nearly dead battery will click when you turn the key, but won't turn over the engine.

no, the clicking was happening independent of me trying to start the car. the key was out of ignition, and the click was coming from the fuse (or relay) itself. i put my finger on it and could feel it from inside.

 

[HiluxHunter]

So yesterday i noticed my wifes 2001 limited was making a clicking sound from under the hood. i opened it up, and it was coming from the fuse box behind the battery, and the 'head' fuse was making an internal clicking sound.

so, at this point, the battery was pretty much dead and the car wouldnt turn over. i disconnected the leads from the battery and the noise obviously stopped. my wifes uncle came over to check it out, he looked inside the car and said the headlights were left on. (though my wife swears she didnt turn the lights on.. oh i know honey, i must have, huh...) i charged the battery overnight and connected it back up. theres is no clicking sound now. does anyone know if this sound is typical when the battery drains from the lights being left on? or is the fuse toast, or is it something with the headlight system? any and all input is appreciated, thanks ahead of time.

Was the clicking happening when the power was on but not while you were trying to turn the engine over?

If the battery is too dead to turn the engine over but not totally flat, when you turn the key to start there will be a fast clicking instead of engine turn over; this is the starter solenoid. This is not a problem as when the battery is charged the solenoid will engage and presto... you are good to go.

If the clicking is happening when the power is engaged but not when you are trying to turn over the engine, then I am guessing that is a relay that is trying to engage but does not have enough power to hold the contacts. It is the same principal as the starter solenoid.

Not knowing anything about your vehicle... I would take a guess, Day time running lights? When you turn the key to engage power, but not start the engine, DRL will turn on, or at least try to... or it could just be regular lights that are still turned to the on position.

Anyhow... not a big deal as long as everything is now working properly.

 

[cordrayj1]

mos definitely sounds like a relay. i really dont think there is anything to worry about. relays make noise. and you can feel them open and close if you touch them.

 

[cordrayj1]

could the relay maybe be damaged, left open, therefore draining batt?

 

[HiluxHunter]

no, the clicking was happening independent of me trying to start the car. the key was out of ignition, and the click was coming from the fuse (or relay) itself. i put my finger on it and could feel it from inside.

In this case there must have been something that was trying to engage through a relay... I.e. the lights were left on until the battery didn't have enough power to engage the relay that turns the lights on.

But if the lights were on the "off" position and there was still clicking happening from the relay box, you can always take the lid off the box and there should be a diagram of what the relays are; the way to find exactly what relay it is would be to touch each one and you will be able to feel it. Then change that relay.

 

[Nelsonmd]

In this case there must have been something that was trying to engage through a relay... I.e. the lights were left on until the battery didn't have enough power to engage the relay that turns the lights on.

But if the lights were on the "off" position and there was still clicking happening from the relay box, you can always take the lid off the box and there should be a diagram of what the relays are; the way to find exactly what relay it is would be to touch each one and you will be able to feel it. Then change that relay.

If it is clicking, I would think the relay is fine. You can always test it by swapping for an identical relay (there are usually more than one of each in the box). That way you don't have to buy a new one until you are sure there's a problem with it.

 

[NorcalChris]

ok... sounds like it may be a relay thing. heres a link to youtube, and a video of it. the vids like a minute, only really need to watch 20-30 seconds of it................

‪2011 07 27 17 11 52‬‏ - YouTube

thanks for the help. off to work, i will try and check in soon.

 

[HiluxHunter]

If it is clicking, I would think the relay is fine. You can always test it by swapping for an identical relay (there are usually more than one of each in the box). That way you don't have to buy a new one until you are sure there's a problem with it.

I've seen much stranger things than a relay that is clicking... but NOT working properly.

 

[tguillo]

fix for limited

Hey did you ever get a fix for this problem. on 3 seperate occasions over about 6 weeks, my tundra limited does something very similar. When I go outside to the parking lot in afternoon from work, I hear a very distinct clicking noise from about 15-20 feet away. Key is in my pocket, battery is almost dead, not enough juice to unlock doors with remote.

When I raise the hood, I once heard the noise from around the starter relay, but the second time I noticed it was actually coming from the horn, like the alarm had gone off, and sounded until the battery was dead, the plus kept hitting the horn just enough to make the clicking noise.

Both times, I boosted it drove off and it was fine for a few weeks. The third time it happened, the noise stopped after I unlocked all the doors with the key and put the key in the ignition. Battery still dead.

Two guesses. Either the starter relay is sticking until it kill the battery or the alarm is going off until it kills the battery. Why would the alarm not reset in a minute???

Any Idea's... The problem does not seem to be going away.

tg.

So yesterday i noticed my wifes 2001 limited was making a clicking sound from under the hood. i opened it up, and it was coming from the fuse box behind the battery, and the 'head' fuse was making an internal clicking sound.

so, at this point, the battery was pretty much dead and the car wouldnt turn over. i disconnected the leads from the battery and the noise obviously stopped. my wifes uncle came over to check it out, he looked inside the car and said the headlights were left on. (though my wife swears she didnt turn the lights on.. oh i know honey, i must have, huh...) i charged the battery overnight and connected it back up. theres is no clicking sound now. does anyone know if this sound is typical when the battery drains from the lights being left on? or is the fuse toast, or is it something with the headlight system? any and all input is appreciated, thanks ahead of time.

 

[cordrayj1]

def sounds like a relay is shot

 

[FredCrewDaddy01]

Fast Clicking Relay under hood

I know this is a rather old post, however, should someone come across this thread again, here's a possible solution. Toyota automobiles use a key sensing ignition switch, the purpose of which is to inform things like the radio, climate control or ECU that a key has been detected and that they need to prepare for coming on line as the driver is about to start the automobile.
However, from time to time this key sensing switch can fail and falsely command on certain relays, head and ECU to name a few. As their respective systems are not powered or grounded, the relay cannot stay powered before it becomes too warm and is kicked off line and this cycle is rapidly repeated.
This will happen intermittently at first and will eventually become more prevalent as the switch becomes more worn. This can most certainly run the battery down over time. It is important to note that this switch is not the same as the ignition switch which actually starts the car and is in no way related to proper starter motor function.
To test for this condition, when the clicking sound is heard, place the key in the ignition and the noise should immediately stop. This part will have to be ordered from a specialty parts store or from the dealer directly.

 

[Eugene13]

I am having similar problem on my 1984 4runner. When I put my key in the "run" position, all the dash lights are dim and I hear a clicking coming from the fuse box and from what I believe is the "CMH FUEL HEATER" relay. This clicking gets faster and faster when the key is in the run position. And when I try to start it, nothing, no power on the dash light, no clicks from the starter, nothing. I have cleaned the battery terminals, which were highly corroded, but the battery smells like rotten eggs. I have cleaned the contacts on the starter, still nothing. I have checked the connections to the fuse box and those seem ok. I also tried jump starting the truck (using another car and jumper cables and a separate wall battery charger) all to no success. Any help? thanks.

 

[I_bRAD]

I am having similar problem on my 1984 4runner. When I put my key in the "run" position, all the dash lights are dim and I hear a clicking coming from the fuse box and from what I believe is the "CMH FUEL HEATER" relay. This clicking gets faster and faster when the key is in the run position. And when I try to start it, nothing, no power on the dash light, no clicks from the starter, nothing. I have cleaned the battery terminals, which were highly corroded, but the battery smells like rotten eggs. I have cleaned the contacts on the starter, still nothing. I have checked the connections to the fuse box and those seem ok. I also tried jump starting the truck (using another car and jumper cables and a separate wall battery charger) all to no success. Any help? thanks.

Sounds like a bad battery. Also, if it smells like sulfur be careful trying to boost it! The battery is likely dead but I bet the acid inside is just fine.

 

[Eugene13]

Sounds like a bad battery. Also, if it smells like sulfur be careful trying to boost it! The battery is likely dead but I bet the acid inside is just fine.

Thanks for the tip! Would anything specific cause the battery to go bad suddenly? it was working fine yesterday.

 

[I_bRAD]

Thanks for the tip! Would anything specific cause the battery to go bad suddenly? it was working fine yesterday.

That's odd. Around here the first cold day is when you find out how good your battery is, but you likely don't have that problem in LA!

 

[Eugene13]

That's odd. Around here the first cold day is when you find out how good your battery is, but you likely don't have that problem in LA!

It got kind of cold last night, (for LA), around 38 degrees. Could that be why? or does it have to be much colder than that?