Starting problems - please help ASAP!

[Brandy240z]

Hi All - My '94 4Runner, SR5, 4WD daily driver (150 miles at least), just passed the 200K mark, and outside of the need for new seals, has been driving like a dream.

About 3-4 months ago, I replaced the battery which was only a year old, but had completely discharged. This morning, after not starting it up at all over the weekend, also would not start. At first, I got no clicking, then just clicking, but no turnover. All the lights work, but as soon as I turn the ignition key, the voltmeter drops to zero. All the doors were shut, no light left on, etc.

I took out the battery from my husband's car (jumper cables were too short otherwise), and when I used the battery to jumpstart the 4Runner, it started immediately, and I was able to drive to my office without a problem. The charge remained at 16 the entire way. BUT when I stopped the 4Runner, she again wouldn't start, going from just clicking to dead silence to clicking (thank goodness I decided to place the spare battery in the rear).

To be honest, I know very little about the engine interior of this vehicle, as it has never really caused me any problems. I can assume that due to the mileage (I've had it about a year and a half, putting in over 60K highway miles in very high heat (south TX), that the starter has finally gone.

How can I tell, and will a major automotive chain (pep boys, etc), or the dealerships be the way to go for repairs, and what can I expect pricewise for either a rebuilt starter or a new one? So far the mechanics I've been using can barely handle a radiator flush, so I'm willing to pay a little more for at least a guarantee.

Any ideas, pointers, diagrams, etc., all would be greatly appreciated.

[Brian R.]

If you jumped the truck by connecting one cable to the positive battery terminals and the other cable to one negative terminal (the jumper battery) and the engine block (the correct way to jump a car), you bypassed the ground connection to the engine whn you jumped it. Check the ground connection on your engine block from the battery negative terminal.

[Yalipito]

Toyota sells a rebuild kit for the starter, just did it to mine, much cheaper than a new starter my

[Brian R.]

If a jump always works, it's not the starter.

[surfacerider]

Taking the mystery out of electrical..............

One golden rule...it works or it dosen't anything else is a resistance problem.

Check your connections,posative and grounds with a test light.
place the ground clamp of the light on the battery ground post not the terminal,have someone hold it for you.Start on the posative post while cranking touch the posative post,then the posative terminal then the posative battery terminal of the starter.All should have power,if the lite does not lite at a certain point your problem is between the last place it lit and where it didnt.

if it lights all the way,continue to the engine block,if it still lights your problem is on the gound side.Repeat the same procedure for the negative(ground)....one commonly overlook spot on molded cables is the area between the cable and end terminals,they can corrode inside and cause your symptoms.

surfacerider

[Tomsriv]

Check the battery and the battery terminals first. They are the cheapest to fix.

It could be a bad starter. Even if it still starts with a jump, it might be drawing to much current due to high internal resistance. A new or rebuilt starter will not need as many amps to turn the engine over.

Your battery may also be weak from a voltage leak. If the battery looses its charge when it has been sitting for a few days then their is some electrical component that is continously drawing current. With the engine off connect a volt meter to the ground on the battery and the ground on the engine. It should read less than 0.5 volts. This tells you the voltage draw of the entire vehicle. If it reads higher than 0.5 you have a shorted component that is drawing to much current. To help you isolate which component is bad you can pull fuses until the voltage drop is normal. Then you will know which circuit has the bad component.

You can buy a Digital volt/ohm meter for $15 at Sears. It is a necessary tool for fixing modern cars.

[Brian R.]

Good ideas