Intermittent complete electrical system unresponsiveness

F

flipty

New member
OK this is one I haven't seen before. It's happened to me twice in the last few weeks.

Get in the cab, put the key in, and it literally does...NOTHING. No dash lights (ABS, oil, etc) no starter, nothing. The vehicle acts as though the key isn't in the ignition at all. No dash clock, no nothing. However the temp gauge will move slightly, and the airbag alert light will come on very faintly and turn off.

Both times this has happened I have popped the hood to take a look. Opened up the fuse cover, and just looked at and literally tapped/thwacked the fuses..... then both times I've gotten back into the car and it behaves as though everything is fine. Put in key, lights up, starts like nothing happened.

Info/symptoms:

While "dead" I definitely still have power from the battery. My stereo will turn on (it's wired to run directly off the battery)

Battery is less than a year old, and tested to be just fine.

I replaced the starter several weeks ago, which coincides roughly with the first time this happened.

I do have the valve cover gasket oil leak and it's definitely leaked onto/possibly into the alternator.

Any ideas, suggestions, etc? I already plan on doing the valve cover gasket job asap.
 
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If literally NOTHING happens when you turn the key to ignition (not start) no interior lights, etc. then look at the ignition switch wiring under the dash. Is there an anti theft system installed? If no anti theft and all looks intact/connected, continue.

If you are sure your battery is good (test it in another car/multimeter/etc then check the leads off the positive battery terminal: the big one runs to the starter and the smaller one runs to the fuse box behind the battery. The alternator also runs directly to the fuse box. Make sure those, and all grounds (engine block, fender, etc) you can get to are all clean and tight. Look at the large positive connection on the starter, make sure it is clean and tight too.

NOTE
Disconnect the battery for 15 mins (or overnight) while checking and cleaning connections

Next I'd look at all the fuses in the engine bay, specifically ignition, ECM and the starter relay. Make sure none of those are stuck or blown. Check all fuses and the ones inside the cab too.

I'm leaning towards an interior wiring/switch issue but rule out all your major connections and components first. You might want to disco the radio/radio circuit (hopefully fused) while troubleshooting.
 
flipty said:
OK this is one I haven't seen before. It's happened to me twice in the last few weeks.

Get in the cab, put the key in, and it literally does...NOTHING. No dash lights (ABS, oil, etc) no starter, nothing. The vehicle acts as though the key isn't in the ignition at all. No dash clock, no nothing. However the temp gauge will move slightly, and the airbag alert light will come on very faintly and turn off.

Both times this has happened I have popped the hood to take a look. Opened up the fuse cover, and just looked at and literally tapped/thwacked the fuses..... then both times I've gotten back into the car and it behaves as though everything is fine. Put in key, lights up, starts like nothing happened.

Info/symptoms:

While "dead" I definitely still have power from the battery. My stereo will turn on (it's wired to run directly off the battery)

Battery is less than a year old, and tested to be just fine.

I replaced the starter several weeks ago, which coincides roughly with the first time this happened.

I do have the valve cover gasket oil leak and it's definitely leaked onto/possibly into the alternator.

Any ideas, suggestions, etc? I already plan on doing the valve cover gasket job asap.
Click to expand...

Haha, I love the term unresponsiveness. Are you an EMT by any chance?

So this is easy, REAL easy. 99.999999% chance you have a bad connection in the battery vicinity. Since your noise maker(stereo) is connected directly, this is most likely the WHITE cable going to the fuse block. EVERYTHING is fed by that except the Starter motor. Since your direct connection works, most likely it is not a ground issue. Look very carefully at the positive terminal, and both the wires attached to it. You may also have to look at the Fuse block itself because the WHITE wire could be bad or lose there too.
:couch2:
 
As others have stated, check ALL of your connections at/near the battery including the various grounds. Poor grounds are often overlooked and can cause some really funky, inconsistent electrical issues.
 
thegipper said:
As others have stated, check ALL of your connections at/near the battery including the various grounds. Poor grounds are often overlooked and can cause some really funky, inconsistent electrical issues.
Click to expand...

The car I literally traded for this 4Runner (title swap) was an 88 VW Cabriolet (mk1 VW). If anyone has dealt with grounds as almost the main issue in ANY car problem it's this guy :D I'll be checking those out for sure.
 
IBallEngineer said:
Haha, I love the term unresponsiveness. Are you an EMT by any chance?

So this is easy, REAL easy. 99.999999% chance you have a bad connection in the battery vicinity. Since your noise maker(stereo) is connected directly, this is most likely the WHITE cable going to the fuse block. EVERYTHING is fed by that except the Starter motor. Since your direct connection works, most likely it is not a ground issue. Look very carefully at the positive terminal, and both the wires attached to it. You may also have to look at the Fuse block itself because the WHITE wire could be bad or lose there too.
:couch2:
Click to expand...

Ding ding ding! It's the white wire. All I have to do is touch it and it springs to life. I'm going to be reseating it at the battery terminal, but where does it connect to the fuse box, underneath?
 
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