Need help with major electrical short.

[rjdelapp]

Just joined the forum to help my next door neighbor. She tried to start the 4 runner, 99 year model, this morning and battery was dead. This evening tried to charge the battery and pulled over 30 amps from charger and charger cables started smoking. Checked across battery with cables connected and showed direct short on meter. Disconnceted cables and still reading shorted on cables but not the battery. Thought alternator diode may be shorted so started to remove it but checked for short after is was disconnected and still showing shorted across battery cables, even with alternator disconnected. Any ideas or has this problem showed up before? ECM?? Help please. Thanks for listening to a newbee.

 

[Nelsonmd]

Trace the large wires through the harnesses and look for a place where it shorts to the body or another component. If you were pulling 30A, then that is not a small or intermittent short. And drawing that through the ECM would straight up set it on fire, so if it isn't melted to hell, I'd say that isn't the problem.

 

[rjdelapp]

Thanks for the reply. Will trace the hot wire first thing in the morning. Will let you know what I find. What you said makes good sense because it was starting to smoke the wire from my charger.

 

[Tomsriv]

I agree, its not something small. My guess is its probably something to do with the starter wire. Something moved or got chafed. Sometimes a starter wire can turn on the solenoid and touch ground causing a huge power draw.

 

[rjdelapp]

Found the problem. It was the starter - solenoid contacts welded together and starter windings shorted to ground. Took out the battery too when it happened. Thanks to all for the help finding the problem.

 

[Nelsonmd]

Nice. Good find.