Starter Not Engaging?

[TheWalk]

Starter Not Engaging Video

Hi all, I've been stumped on this and parts cannoning since I did a frame swap on my 3rd gen T4R.

During the frame swap, while I had the body off, I figured I'd go ahead and replace the starter (220k miles) and bought a Denso reman unit from RockAuto. The first crank after rebuilding it, it did this. Sometimes it'll take 10 tries, others it engages and cranks up the first time. I thought it might be the old battery that came with my car going out, so I replaced it with an X2Power 840 CCA battery, and the same thing kept happening. Then I replaced the starter relay, no changes. Then I installed a Big7Kit, and still no changes. I got a warranty replacement for the starter from RockAuto, and with no change, I sent both of them back and got a Toyota 28100-62050-84 starter from my local Toyota dealership and still no changes! I was really thinking it was a grounding problem, but at this point I've replaced all the ground wires in the engine bay with the Big7 Kit. I'm not sure what the problem could be at this point.

Any advice is greatly appreciated. And for the record, my starter didn't do this before I took the car apart for the frame swap. Is there something I'm missing here?

 

[AuSeeker]

Starter Not Engaging Video

Hi all, I've been stumped on this and parts cannoning since I did a frame swap on my 3rd gen T4R.

During the frame swap, while I had the body off, I figured I'd go ahead and replace the starter (220k miles) and bought a Denso reman unit from RockAuto. The first crank after rebuilding it, it did this. Sometimes it'll take 10 tries, others it engages and cranks up the first time. I thought it might be the old battery that came with my car going out, so I replaced it with an X2Power 840 CCA battery, and the same thing kept happening. Then I replaced the starter relay, no changes. Then I installed a Big7Kit, and still no changes. I got a warranty replacement for the starter from RockAuto, and with no change, I sent both of them back and got a Toyota 28100-62050-84 starter from my local Toyota dealership and still no changes! I was really thinking it was a grounding problem, but at this point I've replaced all the ground wires in the engine bay with the Big7 Kit. I'm not sure what the problem could be at this point.

Any advice is greatly appreciated. And for the record, my starter didn't do this before I took the car apart for the frame swap. Is there something I'm missing here?

Maybe the issue is in the ignition switch, or possibly a corroded/bad connection ignition fuse.

 

[TheDurk]

With electrical, you need to troubleshoot, and not just swap parts. It's a recipe for wasting a lot of money and time. Your problem is that all the parts are good, and the problem is in the wiring or maybe the key switch or the 7.5 amp STA starter fuse, so swapping all those parts was always going to be futile. There is no substitute in electric for analyzing and isolating the problem. Start at the relay. Pull the relay. Make sure you have good incoming power for both coil (when key is turned to start) and contact (ignition on). Verify good ground. Then manually short the contact pins and see if it cranks. That will tell you what to do next. Or report back and I will tell you.

Read this: Starter Relay: The Ultimate Guide - T&X

That will tell you how to figure out which pin does what so you can test.

Did you do the frame swap yourself? If so, my sincere congratulations. We are members of a small elite club. (See my sig)

 

[TheDurk]

Maybe the issue is in the ignition switch, or possibly a corroded/bad connection ignition fuse.

Not the ignition fuse, that does not affect the starter motor. Could be the 7.5 amp STA (Starter) fuse.