Starts by itself with no key in

M

maddss

Member
99 Limited with 270k. 4R had been sitting for a few day, then all of sudden what my kids say is that the alarm? never used it, started to go off, lights started blinking then everything turned off.

The battery was dead, so I charged it and as soon as I reconnected the battery terminals the wants to start with no key in the ignition.

I pulled the starter relay and it stopped. Put the relay back in starter engages (No key in the igntion) and motor is trying to turn over. I can turned the key and it starts and runs, but with what sounds like the starter is engaged. I can put it in drive and the starter disengages. Put it back in Park or N and starter reengages.

ANY Help would be great.
 
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maddss said:
99 Limited with 270k. 4R had been sitting for a few day, then all of sudden what my kids say is that the alarm? never used it, started to go off, lights started blinking then everything turned off.

The battery was dead, so I charged it and as soon as I reconnected the battery terminals the wants to start with no key in the ignition.

I pulled the starter relay and it stopped. Put the relay back in starter engages (No key in the igntion) and motor is trying to turn over. I can turned the key and it starts and runs, but with what sounds like the starter is engaged. I can put it in drive and the starter disengages. Put it back in Park or N and starter reengages.

ANY Help would be great.
Click to expand...

Sounds like you have a stuck starter relay or a short to power to me. Try changing out the starter relay and see what happens. Here's a 2000 electrical wiring diagram dropbox. It's not for your year, but it's pretty close for most things. Dropbox - 2000 4Runner Electrical Wiring Diagram (EWD383U) - Printable - Simplify your life
 
I switched out the starter relay with another one. And it still does the same exact thing

Any idea on the short, where I should start looking
 
Excellent thought on the starter relay...
Great thought on crewed wire as well.

[1]your starter solenoid plunger solenoid maybe stuck.. Tap that starter with a hammer and see if if that plunger is stuck in the start position.


[2] What happens if you put a key in the ignition and cycle it through? as its sounding like the ignition contacts in the back of the key or the ignition wire from that contact has 12 volt on it.....
 
Does the truck have a remote start, either factory or aftermarket? It can fail in the 'start' mode. My son bought a used Corolla and we discovered on our own that it had an aftermarket remote start that caused several problems. Removing the two 30A fuses for that was all I needed to do to fix it.
 
Anyone stop to consider this is just the start, Maximum Overdrive..... !!
Any giant meteors passing close to earth???
 
I’ll check for critters chewing on the wire.

I’ll also check the starter plunger And I’ll have to check the ignition switch

No remote starter.

And I hope the meteors aren’t coming
 
I had the same symptoms. I replaced the starter relay and also the starter itself with a new denso starter.
 
Is the ignition in off position. Cycle the key a couple of times after putting in the relay and see what it does. Also check the grounds Bad or dirty grounds do some finicky things.
 
brillo_76 said:
Excellent thought on the starter relay...
Great thought on crewed wire as well.

[1]your starter solenoid plunger solenoid maybe stuck.. Tap that starter with a hammer and see if if that plunger is stuck in the start position.


[2] What happens if you put a key in the ignition and cycle it through? as its sounding like the ignition contacts in the back of the key or the ignition wire from that contact has 12 volt on it.....
Click to expand...


agree with this one, had a starter stick on me, and and had to smack with a hammer to get it to stop. Replaced starter, fixed issue on this 4r.
However.......
For me it has normally been the opeosite, hit with a hammer to get to work.I did have a cheby, that to get it to start , had to smack starter with hammer, till I replaced that one, and a friend had a 4runner that was the same, had to hit it to get it to work to get out of the woods and back to town.
 
3bears said:
agree with this one, had a starter stick on me, and and had to smack with a hammer to get it to stop. Replaced starter, fixed issue on this 4r.
However.......
For me it has normally been the opeosite, hit with a hammer to get to work.I did have a cheby, that to get it to start , had to smack starter with hammer, till I replaced that one, and a friend had a 4runner that was the same, had to hit it to get it to work to get out of the woods and back to town.
Click to expand...

I have used the hammer tap to fix a starter and an alt. Basically they just help in diagnosing the issue. So you pinpoint it down.. :D
 
This still sounds more like a wiring issue (alarm or remote start) than a starter issue, since the starter stops when in gear. That hints that the starter relay is getting the 'start' signal, not that the relay or starter has failed.

So, get under the dash and start looking for aftermarket wiring! Rip out and repair what you find.

-Charlie
 
phattyduck said:
This still sounds more like a wiring issue (alarm or remote start) than a starter issue, since the starter stops when in gear. That hints that the starter relay is getting the 'start' signal, not that the relay or starter has failed.

So, get under the dash and start looking for aftermarket wiring! Rip out and repair what you find.

-Charlie
Click to expand...

Ah good catch. I missed the part about the starter stopping once in gear.
 
Still no solution. I have bang the starter with no luck. As I stated before the starter will engage with no key in the ignition. I spoke with my mechanic and he advise I check the Ignition switch, (not the key cylinder).

I have looked for a remote starter or alarm again and still not finding any signs of either.
[MENTION=139000]phattyduck[/MENTION] starter relay is getting the 'start' signal. Dont think replacing the starter would help. How do I track this down

New problem I got CEL P0340 and when I get the 4R started and put it in neutral it shuts off.
 
maddss said:
99 Limited with 270k. 4R had been sitting for a few day, then all of sudden what my kids say is that the alarm? never used it, started to go off, lights started blinking then everything turned off.

The battery was dead, so I charged it and as soon as I reconnected the battery terminals the wants to start with no key in the ignition.

I pulled the starter relay and it stopped. Put the relay back in starter engages (No key in the igntion) and motor is trying to turn over. I can turned the key and it starts and runs, but with what sounds like the starter is engaged. I can put it in drive and the starter disengages. Put it back in Park or N and starter reengages.

ANY Help would be great.
Click to expand...


maddss said:
I have looked for a remote starter or alarm again and still not finding any signs of either.

[MENTION=139000]phattyduck[/MENTION] starter relay is getting the 'start' signal. Dont think replacing the starter would help. How do I track this down

New problem I got CEL P0340 and when I get the 4R started and put it in neutral it shuts off.
Click to expand...
Your first post said you heard some sort of alarm with lights flashing and now you say there is no alarm... what's up with that? Have you pulled off the lower dash panel and looked for any aftermarket wiring under there?

Since the starter disengages when you put it in gear, the neutral safety switch is doing its job and cutting off the signal to the starter - which also means that wire is getting 12V "before" it gets to that point.

So, your mechanic is on the right path here. The problem is somewhere between the ignition switch and the neutral safety switch... Now you just have to track it down.

The Green-Black wire coming out of the ignition switch goes to the 7.5A STA fuse, changes to a Black wire to the neutral safety switch, and goes on to the starter relay from there.

Check if removing the 7.5A "STA" fuse stops the starter - if so, the problem is on the Green-Black wire between the ignition switch and that fuse. That is the most likely location for some installer to tap for a starter signal (to disable for an alarm or supply 12V for a remote start).

-Charlie
 
phattyduck said:
Your first post said you heard some sort of alarm with lights flashing and now you say there is no alarm... what's up with that? Have you pulled off the lower dash panel and looked for any aftermarket wiring under there?

Since the starter disengages when you put it in gear, the neutral safety switch is doing its job and cutting off the signal to the starter - which also means that wire is getting 12V "before" it gets to that point.

So, your mechanic is on the right path here. The problem is somewhere between the ignition switch and the neutral safety switch... Now you just have to track it down.

The Green-Black wire coming out of the ignition switch goes to the 7.5A STA fuse, changes to a Black wire to the neutral safety switch, and goes on to the starter relay from there.

Check if removing the 7.5A "STA" fuse stops the starter - if so, the problem is on the Green-Black wire between the ignition switch and that fuse. That is the most likely location for some installer to tap for a starter signal (to disable for an alarm or supply 12V for a remote start).

-Charlie
Click to expand...
Just two more cents. In the case of my son’s Corolla, the remote start fuses were inside the steering column cover. It was easy enough to pop that off and look. And his car did try to start while I was diagnosing.
 
Update. No sure what change, but the only thing I did was remove the 7.5a starter fuse and put it back in. Well the 4R does not start on its own or any other problem. Mechanic stated that something my have been wet causing all the problems.
[MENTION=139000]phattyduck[/MENTION] Thanks for all you help and everyone else.
 
New Update to the update

Well its back again. Now when I put the battery charger on, the charger peg's and reset it self. Going to pull the battery and get it checked for a short.

When i put the charger on the headlights and horn go off and the door locks start going off.

I do not see any additional box (alarm) under the seat or any other place

I'm starting to think its the keys
 
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