Camry Starter Electrical Short

Hi,

I'm driving a 1998 Toyota Camry LE 2.2 4-cylinder.

I believe there is an electrical short in my starter. Recently as I was parking it I noticed the car was smoking. The ABS and battery lights went on an off sporadically and returned to normal. I parked my vehicle and when I opened the hood I noticed smoke originating from right underneath the starter. There was a strong plastic electrical burn smell. Before that occurred whenever I tried to start the car the only result was a strong click, I had to turn the key over several times and the car would finally start.

I had this problem a couple months ago. I took the starter out and had it tested and it was fine. When I reinstalled it there were no problems at all for a couple months. Can anyone help me figure out what this issue is? Is it a wiring issue with the wires connected to the starter? A friend told me it might be the alternator.

Any help or input is great appreciated, Thanks.

The appearance of unexplained dashboard light behavior is normally a sign of alternator problem.

The periodic no start condition sounds like worn contacts inside the starter's solenoid. This is a common problem for all Denso starters. You can varify this the next time it won't start by taping on the starter's solenoid while someone holds the key in the start position. If the starter now cranks, you have varified this common worn starter solenoid contacts problem. The contacts can be replaced without replacing the entire starter.

Read the article about 1/3 of the way down in this thread titled STARTER CLICKS DOES NOT TURN ENGINE for more information:

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=424744

Mike