Starter

[ROXDUB]

Hello everyone.
I bought a 96 4runner last night and drove it 3 hours home with no issues. Went to start it this mornign and it sounds like the starter is spinning but it is not turrning the motor over. The car had been in storage for years so i am wondering if it is just a bad starter or something worse.

 

[quicksilvr]

Hello everyone.
I bought a 96 4runner last night and drove it 3 hours home with no issues. Went to start it this mornign and it sounds like the starter is spinning but it is not turrning the motor over. The car had been in storage for years so i am wondering if it is just a bad starter or something worse.

Dead battery?

 

[lucky'99]

Does it start when you get a jump? Did you get any past maintenance records with your new purchase?

I was also thinking dead battery, but you said it's trying to start but nothing is happening? Check the battery and the starter and (from way out in left field) your alternator.

Is the oil good? Fresh radiator fluid? Maybe bad fuse(s)?


Just throwing out as may options as possible...

 

[theizzardking]

most times if you knock or tap the starter with a dead blow you can get a little more life out of it, give that a shot, if it was the alt. i'm pretty sure the battery would have gone dead after about an hour of driving tops esp if you haven't done the DRL mod yet, most likely it's just the battery and your simply not pulling enough amps to get the starter to kick over all the way.

another thing it may be is bad gas if it was stored for too long this can happen you may have to drain the gas tank replace fuel filters and top it off with some new stuff, this is alot of work compared to swapping out a starter or battery and may be a pita i have no idea personally as i've never done that on this vehicle, talk to others and see where the fuel filters are and if
they are the sort you can pull out and have a look to see if they are clear.

like other have said though if it's not the starter,battery or alt. you may have some bigger issues but personally i see that as being pretty unlikely

when trying to diagnose this sort of thing just remember that you must always have 4 basic things fuel&air,spark,compression,and timing every engine in the world needs these things to operate and run (for the most part) so if the battery is good and the starter is good start looking at the problem that way. doubt you may need that but it's a good general thing everyone should know
when trying to figure out engine issues.

here's a article i found that helps explain things better then i ever could, didn;t read all of it but seems to have the basics down pretty well.

Diagnose Engine No Start or Run

 

[notrayray]

The car had been in storage for years so i am wondering if it is just a bad starter or something worse.

Dead battery?

I thinking buddy probably jumped it, just to sell it and it's got a dead battery......
Did you witness him start it, or was it running when you got there?

Either way sounds like your battery is probably dead.

 

[TheDurk]

My suggestions:
1) Load-test battery. Make sure it has full charge if it passes.
2) Clean both battery terminals, both posts and all accessible grounds and the spot where they hit the frame.
3) Inspect cables carefully--any signs of corrosion under insulation or bolt-on repair-type terminals means time for new cables. If they are just old and ugly get new cables. Get them good and tight and put Vaseline on the posts when you put battery back.

Then report back--really need to have good starting current available to do any intelligent troubleshooting. 50/50 chance or better report will be "It starts!"

 

[fightman80]

If it's not the battery, then it's the starter, and if it's the starter, don't pay to get a new one! I'm told that the only thing to go wrong with these starters, is the contacts......$10.00 from a auto parts supplier!

Here's one of the threads on how to do it:
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/63228-another-starter-contacts-removal-thread.html

 

[LakeRunr]

Went to start it this mornign and it sounds like the starter is spinning but it is not turrning the motor over.

Guys, this is the key part of his problem description. If the battery were dead, the starter wouldn't "spin". You would just get the "click, click, click" as the starter's solenoid tries to push a non-spinning starter gear into the flywheel.

In the OP's case, the starter is spinning, but the solenoid isn't pushing the gears into the flywheel. So, the starter's solenoid is bad. It's a 96, so it's about time for this kind of failure.

Remove the starter and take it to a Starter & Alternator shop to have it rebuilt. All you really need is a new solenoid right now, but as long as you have it out of the truck, you might as well have the whole thing rebuilt ('cause the big part of the starter is next to fail).

And fightman80 is right, the brushes are usually the part of an alternator or starter that wears out. A Starter & Alternator shop can replace those for cheap too. But oil contamination, rust, etc. can also make these electric-motor devices fail.

 

[TheDurk]

Guys, this is the key part of his problem description. If the battery were dead, the starter wouldn't "spin". You would just get the "click, click, click" as the starter's solenoid tries to push a non-spinning starter gear into the flywheel.

In the OP's case, the starter is spinning, but the solenoid isn't pushing the gears into the flywheel. So, the starter's solenoid is bad. It's a 96, so it's about time for this kind of failure.

Remove the starter and take it to a Starter & Alternator shop to have it rebuilt. All you really need is a new solenoid right now, but as long as you have it out of the truck, you might as well have the whole thing rebuilt ('cause the big part of the starter is next to fail).

And fightman80 is right, the brushes are usually the part of an alternator or starter that wears out. A Starter & Alternator shop can replace those for cheap too. But oil contamination, rust, etc. can also make these electric-motor devices fail.

You are right, if it is dead. But if it is marginal or your connections are only somewhat messed up all kinds of weird noises can happen. I'd load test it immediately and never be in doubt, but I bought a load tester 20 years ago and use it all the time. You can waste a lot of time assuming your battery and cables are good on older car. I ALWAYS start there first, and half the time that's all I have to do.

Fightman80 is talking about the solenoid contacts, not the starter brushes. Those are a very common problem on these cars. But both are possible and much cheaper than a new starter.