Long crank may related to starter relay

[nissanh]

I've been experiencing long cranks on my 4runner for years and I think I found the issue!

How I came to assume it is the carbon built relay contact points.

History:
My 92 corolla even after new starter contacts and plunger showed symptoms of a worn contacts "clicks" but no engine turn over.

Starter solenoid needs a significant amount of currant to induce a strong magnetic field to pull the plunger to make a good contact to pass current to the brushes in starter. A poor connection at the contact and plunger supplies less current to the brushes, hence, the click and no crank.

What causes a poor connection at the plunger? A weak induced magnetic field. What powers the magnetic field? THE RELAY!

I pulled the car's starter relay and gave a good clean to its contact points by using a sand paper. I also cleaned the connector pins and installed all together and since then I DID NOT experienced the click in my corolla.

Now to 4RUNNER: (images are from 4runner: 2nd image use a pick to move the tab to pull the relay out)
I pulled and cleaned the contact points in STARTER, EFI and HEADLIGHT relays and their connector pins.

Results: No more long cranking!

This might work for you, try it as it costs nothing.
My 4runner has all factory parts.

 

[fourfive]

What did you use to clean the contacts?

 

[nissanh]

^^ sand paper soft 600 grit

 

[BoomerBob]

Both of mine crank a turn or two longer than I'd like. I'll give this a try at the first opportunity.

Note: I just looked up this relay on Amazon. $70 each! Yikes!

 

[toyotaspeed90]

This makes no sense....

The starter relay simply provides a low draw value to the starter, which has a built in solenoid. Amperage is drawn through the heavy gauge wiring that should be direct to the battery.

Long cranking (starter turning but the engine not starting, or "turning on") would be more indicative of another electronic system having a problem - such as the cold start relay not locking on the fuel pump, or fuel pressure dropping in the rail between starts (and needing to build pressure back up).

On your 1992 corolla it would most likely be a cold start injector or the thermal switch that is wired to the CSI, but the 5vz doesnt handle added fuel this way (it's done programatically and increases injector time open ).

 

[HiLife]

Thanks for putting this out there, I'll try it.
I was stoked, was expecting the crank time to lessen with a new denso fuel pump in there.
Crank time is still the same.

 

[phattyduck]

As far as I can remember, my 4Runner has always had 'long' crank times (2-ish seconds, compared to well under 1 second for my Camry, etc.). It has been in the family since new...

As another poster said, if the starter is spinning fast, then the starter relay isn't the problem.

-Charlie

 

[Riceye]

I pulled and cleaned the contact points in STARTER, EFI and HEADLIGHT relays and their connector pins.

Results: No more long cranking!

I'm no wizard, but I would guess the EFI relay would have a greater impact on cranking time than anything else you've done, provided the starter is spinning strong.

My $0.02

 

[brillo_76]

I will pay attention more. However, I believe my 98 is about 2 seconds before it fires up.



Sent from my SM-J337V using Tapatalk

 

[19963.4lsr5]

My Ex complained about long crank time and every time I went and listened to it, it sounded normal to me.

Two seconds or so


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[negusm]

My '02 4runner, bought new, has cranked for about 2 seconds before firing up. Never has changed that in the 17 years I have had it...except when it wouldn't and that was a rotten negative battery cable/terminal.

I will say that I think you are masking a bigger problem with your fix. Don't get me wrong...I hope you fixed it...but like was said above, it doesn't make all that much sense.

The starting system can be funny though. It can work perfectly one day and be a pita the next. A little fix here or there can keep it going.

-Mike

 

[brillo_76]

I will pay attention more. However, I believe my 98 is about 2 seconds before it fires up.



Sent from my SM-J337V using Tapatalk

Mine is close to 2 seconds when dead cold. Maybe a 1/2 to a 1/4 faster when the engine is warm. So I would say this would be normal for the 3rd gen 4runner V6. As we all have very similar start times.

Sent from my SM-J337V using Tapatalk

 

[brillo_76]

Mine is close to 2 seconds when dead cold. Maybe a 1/2 to a 1/4 faster when the engine is warm. So I would say this would be normal for the 3rd gen 4runner V6. As we all have very similar start times.

Sent from my SM-J337V using Tapatalk

I paid real close attention today. My 98 takes 2 seconds from complete cold start. However, if the engine is warm etc. I start in 1 second. I just wanted to report the findings

Sent from my SM-J337V using Tapatalk

 

[BoomerBob]

Looks like the common consensus is these 3rd gens have an average of 2 seconds crank time. Just for fun I was able to get an ACdelco starter relay off Amazon so I tried it today and it was the same 3-4 revolutions of the engine (about 2 seconds).

Looks like OP did something right but unfortunately the relay, which did look like it needed attention, was not the cause for improvement this time.

Both of mine have the same crank revolutions before starting. The colder weather does seem to affect it a little more with an occasional extra revolution.

 

[TheDurk]

Looks like the common consensus is these 3rd gens have an average of 2 seconds crank time. Just for fun I was able to get an ACdelco starter relay off Amazon so I tried it today and it was the same 3-4 revolutions of the engine (about 2 seconds).

Looks like OP did something right but unfortunately the relay, which did look like it needed attention, was not the cause for improvement this time.

Both of mine have the same crank revolutions before starting. The colder weather does seem to affect it a little more with an occasional extra revolution.

Well, I hate to brag, but my '99 5 speed has always been a quick catch since Day 1 in 1999. Today, at 29°F, stone cold engine, I got to One banan...and it was running. Less than a second.

Five speeds might be faster, especially in the cold. Only thing to spin is the flywheel and no fluid resistance. That's why we have a smaller starter motor on the same battery.