Having trouble getting the 4runner to start, it's been a while

JohnBill53

JohnBill53

New member
been a while since I've posted. Moved to telluride, co after graduation to...apparently start my career as a ski lift mechanic.

The road hasn't been easy, had to replace a fuel pump in a gas station parking lot with the help of some good ole boys with a rig in Kansas on my way out from Oklahoma

now that im all settled in, I went into town to the grocery store yesterday, everything kosher. Get back to the truck, and noones home. I do have an interlock by the way.

So, Battery is fine according to voltmeter checked all fuses, disconnected battery, reconnected the battery, still nothing when i turn the key. No click, nothing, radio and power locks work so its not a battery issue I don't think.


Get the truck to the shop yesterday via tow from a buddy. For shits and gigs thismorning I go to start the truck and it starts up just fine. Of course when I get off work I was not so lucky. Having the same issues.

Any Ideas? The truck is at the shop so I wont have an opportunity to check out the starter connection till tomorrow but short of that the starter itself should be fine I assume.
 
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When you turn the key - Do you get a click then nothing or just nothing? If it at least clicks it may just be the starter solenoid contacts. Lots of write-ups on the site for changing that - very inexpensive as well.

That would work sometimes and other times not.
 
smyrna4run said:
When you turn the key - Do you get a click then nothing or just nothing? If it at least clicks it may just be the starter solenoid contacts. Lots of write-ups on the site for changing that - very inexpensive as well.

That would work sometimes and other times not.
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no clicks and the connection is fine.

UPDATE: started up after work today and drove it home. Parked it, immediately cut the ignition, went to start again and no luck. I'm dumbfounded.

[MENTION=76419]Doc2012[/MENTION] [MENTION=82211]TCMach[/MENTION]

help
 
same thing happened to me like 3 months ago. my battery was kinda giving me problems, like sometimes it would start right up other times I just needed a jump, simple things like that, anyways, onetime the truck was dead. no power to anything, no clicks, no lights, and a weird thing was that I couldnt shift into any gears, not even neutral, like it was locked. The shifter button wouldnt compress or anything. someone came to give me a jump and that didnt do anything at all. after just checking fuses and such, (which were all ok), i just tried one more time to start it and Bam! it starts right up like nothing was ever wrong with it. To this day I still have no clue what it could have been since it never happened again. I did run out and get a new battery the day after all this happened so maybe it could have been the battery?
 
Automatic trans? Might try shifting it to neutral and seeing if that makes a difference. If it's a manual, might try bypassing the clutch switch (or pressing that dash switch).

When it's not working, get a long wire and try jumpering 12V straight to the starter's small terminal, to see if it's the starter or the rest of the wiring between the ignition and there.
 
RedSled said:
I did read the post, i think it's the battery.
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Well, unless the rocky mountain high has really gotten to me I'm pretty sure I read the voltmeter correctly. Please do elaborate on why you think it could be a battery issue. I don't see how that could be with all other electronics working fine
 
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JohnMc said:
Automatic trans? Might try shifting it to neutral and seeing if that makes a difference. If it's a manual, might try bypassing the clutch switch (or pressing that dash switch).

When it's not working, get a long wire and try jumpering 12V straight to the starter's small terminal, to see if it's the starter or the rest of the wiring between the ignition and there.
Click to expand...

Auto transmission, will have to try the manual start tomorrow morning.
 
I'm leaning toward a bad neutral starter switch, or ignition lock cylinder.

Use your key in the morning and put the truck in neutral, and try to replicate the occurrence.

If it doesn't happen, most likely neutral safety switch.

If it does happen, ignition lock cylinder. The little tabs in there can get worn down, or gummed up and not move right when you out the key in, causing it to turn, but not engage.
 
Tried bumping the starter when you turn it over (might need a friend)? It's your starter.

BTW I'm having a similar issue at the moment and guess what? It's my battery, it sometimes has enough juice but sits for a while and loses it. Had a bit of corrosion on the outside when I got it so I knew it wasn't in the best of shape. Checked for draws while it's off and there's none.

Do you have any aftermarket parts, winches, amps, subwoofers, etc. that would be draining your battery?
 
Battery voltage and amperage are two separate things. Your battery could read 13volts and be totally dead. I personally think your problem is in your starting circuit, but you have not ruled out the battery by checking the voltage. If your voltmeter reads amperage, check the batteries amperage and look up what your batteries amperage is supposed to be. If it does not and most of the cheap ones don't, you can go to a bigger parts store and they can check it. My father had a trick of holding a low gauge wire( insulated! ) on one terminal and flicking it across the other. If you got a loud snap the amperage was good.
 
St Runner said:
My father had a trick of holding a low gauge wire( insulated! ) on one terminal and flicking it across the other. If you got a loud snap the amperage was good.
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And if the battery explodes you know it wasn't! Now that's real acid, so I want to see goggles, people!
 
My father was old school did what he could with what he had. Which was not a lot in practically a third world country. I am not recommending for anyone to do it this way, but for no money and 15 seconds it worked. I watched him do it many times without blowing anything up.
 
Hey, I'm not knocking your dad- just wanted to throw that out there for folks that didn't know the dangers involved!
 
I had this happen in another vehicle. It was an intermittent ground that would sometimes ground and start and other times leave me without power. Check grounds going to starter/battery.
 
offroadxplr said:
I had this happen in another vehicle. It was an intermittent ground that would sometimes ground and start and other times leave me without power. Check grounds going to starter/battery.
Click to expand...

I had a similar issue with an old explorer - BUT - whenever that happened ALL power would be gone from the vehicle. Easy fix was to twist the cables on the battery. If the car still has power when this happens I still vote for the starter contacts. Give it a light tap with a hammer when it happens until you have time to change the contacts.
 
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