Starter Issues after welding frame? Oh boy...

[V8Man]

[MENTION=550155]payeentbawlur[/MENTION]

Try disconnecting both battery terminals. Then touch the two to each other for few minutes.

 

[hankd]

i'm one of the people that fried my computer on a deep water run. when the computer was damaged i didn't have any click from the starter, and also if you plug in a scan tool it won't recognize the computer. i know you've moved beyond this but thought i'd mention it anyway.

 

[MikeinNH67]

I did a little research on this and I believe I understand(ish) why: So that there is minimal chance of my body conducting the current of electricity, or some gadget completing the circuit and exploding?

And I appreciate you chiming in. I am trying to understand as best as I can and want to be safe and intelligent when working, to the best of my ability. Electricity is something that I don't fully comprehend, but I'm making progress.

Not so much your body as low voltage is not a big deal but wrenches, metal watches and such are the issue. It's just safer pulling the negative side to break the circuit.

 

[payeentbawlur]

I'd pull your battery out and take it to to an auto parts store and have them tell how much CCAs its outputing (as well as voltage). They also do charging there too (for free) but if you have a bad cell nothing will help it. Sometimes batteries can still show good voltage but struggle with cold cranking amps. Any parts store will do the test for free and be happy to tell you why you need to buy a new battery. lol

Well, you were absolutely correct.

As were most of the responses in this thread. Took the battery to Advance and they tested it: All the cells in the battery were shot, 10 volts, and literally 0 CCA. So, as you can imagine, I got a new battery. Sort of a relief to be honest, at least knowing what the issue was/is. I do feel a bit silly for going on the initial wild goose chase and talked to my Dad about it and he said he was not aware you could have a battery full of voltage but have no cranking amps. So, we both learned a little bit today.

Put the new battery in 10 minutes ago. She started up like brand new.

So thank you gentle sirs! I very much appreciate every response and wisdom this forum has offered me. I should have just posted on here in the first place!

Not so much your body as low voltage is not a big deal but wrenches, metal watches and such are the issue. It's just safer pulling the negative side to break the circuit.

Okay okay, I will definitely start practicing this. Thank you for the response, just trying to soak in as much knowledge as I can right now.

 

[MikeinNH67]

As were most of the responses in this thread. Took the battery to Advance and they tested it: All the cells in the battery were shot, 10 volts, and literally 0 CCA. So, as you can imagine, I got a new battery. Sort of a relief to be honest, at least knowing what the issue was/is. I do feel a bit silly for going on the initial wild goose chase and talked to my Dad about it and he said he was not aware you could have a battery full of voltage but have no cranking amps. So, we both learned a little bit today.

Doesn't happen often but as you can see it does happen. The headlight trick tells all for that issue. Glad to hear it's fixed.

 

[Tomm-]

Well, you were absolutely correct.

As were most of the responses in this thread. Took the battery to Advance and they tested it: All the cells in the battery were shot, 10 volts, and literally 0 CCA. So, as you can imagine, I got a new battery. Sort of a relief to be honest, at least knowing what the issue was/is. I do feel a bit silly for going on the initial wild goose chase and talked to my Dad about it and he said he was not aware you could have a battery full of voltage but have no cranking amps. So, we both learned a little bit today.

Put the new battery in 10 minutes ago. She started up like brand new.

So thank you gentle sirs! I very much appreciate every response and wisdom this forum has offered me. I should have just posted on here in the first place!

Glad you figured it out! It's not very common, but having worked at an autoparts store (and done the battery testing more times than I can count) I have seen it happen before.

 

[importman]

I did a little research on this and I believe I understand(ish) why: So that there is minimal chance of my body conducting the current of electricity, or some gadget completing the circuit and exploding?

And I appreciate you chiming in. I am trying to understand as best as I can and want to be safe and intelligent when working, to the best of my ability. Electricity is something that I don't fully comprehend, but I'm making progress.

The main reason is that if you have your wrench on the positive and it touches anything metal it will ground out and at the very least create sparks. In a worse case it could totally short out your battery and cause it to explode. On the other hand, if your wrench is on the negative terminal it can touch pretty much anything except the positive terminal, (or some random positive wire.)

 

[Captsolo]

So last weekend I did some much needed repairs on my frame on the passenger rail mainly near the transmission crossmember.

After the repairs were done the old girl started up with a little help from a jump (thanks to the battery being unplugged for long hours-days at a time) and she ran fine.

Started her up probably 3 or 4 times with no real issue. Then the last night the battery was a bit low so I trickle charged it overnight.

The next day, when trying to turn it over, all I get are hard clicks. No attempt at turning over at all.

CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK

So my Dad and I figure starter is shot, as it had been making strange noises up until that point anyways.

I get a new starter and install it.

Same problem.

CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK

So I do some research and think maybe I have a bad ground somewhere (could still be the issue I suppose) and I actually found one that looked sketchy on the frame right below the battery. I take that off and clean up everything and replace that.

Same problem.

CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK

We've tried jumping it and that doesn't change anything either.

I've checked probably a dozen threads on starter issues and mainly see people saying the battery as the culprit, but no one has had my set of symptoms. All the others have been from deep water runs.

So, does anyone have a logical next step for me to take? I don't really want to take it to my mechanic and pay for hours of bad ground searching if it can be mitigated otherwise. I'm very new to all this. But thanks to this 4runner I am learning how to fix nearly everything on a vehicle, for better or worse.

Any and all help is very appreciated. I've looked for hours on the internet with no real true direction to head next. If anything needs clearing up, please ask!

I've had to replace three starters in my 2005 4runner (150,000) miles. Two bolts to take off. Had my mechanic do it.

On mine they would just quit after 4 years. No click, no nothing. Only issue with 4runner in 15 years. OEM WP, radiator, alternator, brake MS; 1 caliper,
Starters are cheap at Amazon for the 4runner.
I have a brand new back up in the garage because I expect another failure,
It will be 4 years on the one in this car in February.
I live in the Bahamas. Lot more starts than in Miami on a car.
Drive Train is as good as new. That's what I like about 4runners.
GM's don't last.
I think I will get to 500,000 miles on my Toyota.

garaged
coolant level is always the same level in the overflow canister.
Starts up the same as 15 years ago!
burns no oil.
leaks a drop of oil a week (just leave it).
No synthetic / stick with conventional
paint is like original - no chips or fading

I wonder if your alternator isn't charging the battery adequately.
I bought a cheap $50 alternator battery tester that reads out in words if alternator or battery needs replacing.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07QYS4KRM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1