Too cold for my 4runner?

[DeclansDaddy]

Hey guys, so this morning I go out to warm up my truck and to my surprise she turn and turns but wont start. It's probably the coldest morning we've had yet this year (20*F). I had to go to work so I was forced to take the wife's minivan (5th gen). At about. 10:3 I had my wife run out and try to start it, it was probably 40*F and sure enough she fired right up. I turned it over for a good 5 minutes(not all at once) and had no luck, she turns it and it fired in less than a second. Now I'm sure some of you may be thinking she has the magic touch but I'm more of a, it's a mechanical issue, guy. Anyone ever seen this? Think the cold had something frozen? One problem I've had was my parking light relay coming on itself and sticking. After some investigation I found that after a good rain my fuse block on the DS kick is dripping wet and that's when the light come on but I've never had a problem with it not starting. Think these two issues could be linked? I'm assuming my windshield is leaking or water is running in from my cowl somehow. Only 2 places I can think of. It hasn't rained here since Monday so I'm thinking the fuse box shouldn't of been wet this morning. Any ideas?

 

[sam24th]

I dont really think the 2 issues are related. My old carby 84 would get hard to start in the cold but thats a totally different animal than the 3.0. Does your engine idle up int he cold? My 89 3.0 4runner idles up to about 1100 in the cold when first starting and then gradually lowers once warmed up.

EDIT: Sorry I misread your post initially. Not sure but if it turns over fine and wont fire, it possibly may be the crankshaft position sensor. Never have dealt with this personally on a toyota, but have on a few other vehicles that had this issue when it was dirty or cold.

 

[nevada]

how old is the battery?

it might not have quite enough juice to kick it over FAST enough when its that cold.

 

[541joseph]

Ya is think you need a new battery or you have bad contacts on your battery and/or starter

 

[77'911]

I would check the following:
1) with a volt meter, check the draw at the battery when your attempting to start it
2) check the power at the starter
3) clean ground straps around engine bay
4) if you have 12v at the starter, check the contacts in the starter (behind metal panel)
Best of luck with it.
regards

 

[DeclansDaddy]

The battery probably could be replaced but it seemed to turn fast. All of the turning did eventually start draining it so I hooked it up to my wife's truck with a decent set of cables and it spun fast again but still no fire. Gonna be cold again tonight so I guess I'll see what happens in the morning. Just a b$*%# at 4:30 in the morning having car troubles. But maybe I'll stop and get a new battery after work tomorrow anyways just for the heck of it.

 

[wallytoo]

from what you describe, i don't know that i'd be in a big hurry to buy a battery. i don't know what is causing your no-start, but it doesn't sound like the battery.

you need to do some testing to find out what isn't functioning correctly.

 

[DeclansDaddy]

Well I actually just picked up a suburban that needs a battery so I'm thinking I'll buy a new one for the 4 runner and just throw the old one in the Chevy to get it sold. Another question while I got you guys here, is it possible for water to run down the side kick panels from a problem in the cowl? Or is the windshield most likely my source. I was going to pull the trim off and try to silicone around the glass good but I'm afraid of damaging the trim. Not real sure how to get it off safely.

 

[92-SR5]

I think chevys use the screw in style terminals while toyotas use posts.

 

[fourwd1]

Well I actually just picked up a suburban that needs a battery so I'm thinking I'll buy a new one for the 4 runner and just throw the old one in the Chevy to get it sold. Another question while I got you guys here, is it possible for water to run down the side kick panels from a problem in the cowl? Or is the windshield most likely my source. I was going to pull the trim off and try to silicone around the glass good but I'm afraid of damaging the trim. Not real sure how to get it off safely.

Windshield leak is very common, check the padding under the carpet driver and pass side, if it's wet you'll know for sure.

Your cold start problem could be a problem with the cold start injector circuit.
But hard start in real cold is common on lots of older vehicles.

 

[DeclansDaddy]

Well went out this morning and it fired right up. Maybe it was just a freak thing. I know something is leaking but could it be possible it's coming in through the duct work from the cowl? If I could ever find time I guess I could just run the water hose in them for a while and see if anything gets wet. Windshield is good with no crack but maybe a glass place can pull it and reset it??

 

[wallytoo]

Windshield is good with no crack but maybe a glass place can pull it and reset it??

good luck with that.

i'd do just what you stated prior - run a hose to find the source, and then deal with it.

 

[airdreams1]

damn, your lucky.... it hit -5 here (-23 with the wind chill)... LOL

 

[DeclansDaddy]

damn, your lucky.... it hit -5 here (-23 with the wind chill)... LOL

Yea here in eastern Va. we might get a single digit wind chill once a year