AndyFromWI
New member
I wanted to do a quick post about a problem that had plagued me for the past year.
For the last year I had an issue where my 1997 Toyota 4runner limited would intermittently have a hard time starting.
Solution: Problem was a faulty Engine Coolant Temperature Sensor.
History, for the past year.
The engine would crank great, but not start. For a month or two I would just wait 10 minutes and try again.
After a month of where I would have this issue maybe once or twice a week, the problem got worse.
Then I decided to just keep cranking (up to about 10 seconds), and see if it would start. Cranking for a longer time worked, the engine would catch, run roughly, but start. Cranking for longer times always worked, but I hated not knowing if I might get stuck every time I stopped the engine.
For trouble shooting I tried:
Fuel injector cleaner.
Testing spark when cranking (I always had spark)
Rigging up a push button switch to force the fuel pump to run, so I could ensure I was getting fuel pressure.
Spaying some starter fluid in the intake (above the Mass Air Flow sensor, so I would not damage the MAF).
Then I happen to see a video suggesting read your live data with an OBD2 tool and see if you noticing anything out of the ordinary.
Reading the data, my Engine Coolant Temperature Sensor (ECT) was reading -2 degrees, when it was 60 degrees outside. Then it would fluctuate between -2 and the correct temp, at the same time when it would read -2 the idle would speed up to about 3K rpm..
Replacing the ECT solved the problem.
It has been 10 days since I have replaced the ECT and I have NOT had the long crank time problem, every start has been between 1-2 seconds.
Link to my Video explaining the issue:
Solved: 1997 Toyota 4Runner Long Crank Time, High Idle - YouTube
Link to Sensor on Amazon:
Amazon.com...
Link to change the sensor:
Youtube How to replace the ECT Sensor...
Note: you will need new crush gaskets for the sensor and the Y shaped fuel rail.
I hope this helps.
-andy
For the last year I had an issue where my 1997 Toyota 4runner limited would intermittently have a hard time starting.
Solution: Problem was a faulty Engine Coolant Temperature Sensor.
History, for the past year.
The engine would crank great, but not start. For a month or two I would just wait 10 minutes and try again.
After a month of where I would have this issue maybe once or twice a week, the problem got worse.
Then I decided to just keep cranking (up to about 10 seconds), and see if it would start. Cranking for a longer time worked, the engine would catch, run roughly, but start. Cranking for longer times always worked, but I hated not knowing if I might get stuck every time I stopped the engine.
For trouble shooting I tried:
Fuel injector cleaner.
Testing spark when cranking (I always had spark)
Rigging up a push button switch to force the fuel pump to run, so I could ensure I was getting fuel pressure.
Spaying some starter fluid in the intake (above the Mass Air Flow sensor, so I would not damage the MAF).
Then I happen to see a video suggesting read your live data with an OBD2 tool and see if you noticing anything out of the ordinary.
Reading the data, my Engine Coolant Temperature Sensor (ECT) was reading -2 degrees, when it was 60 degrees outside. Then it would fluctuate between -2 and the correct temp, at the same time when it would read -2 the idle would speed up to about 3K rpm..
Replacing the ECT solved the problem.
It has been 10 days since I have replaced the ECT and I have NOT had the long crank time problem, every start has been between 1-2 seconds.
Link to my Video explaining the issue:
Solved: 1997 Toyota 4Runner Long Crank Time, High Idle - YouTube
Link to Sensor on Amazon:
Amazon.com...
Link to change the sensor:
Youtube How to replace the ECT Sensor...
Note: you will need new crush gaskets for the sensor and the Y shaped fuel rail.
I hope this helps.
-andy
Last edited:
