cold weather starting problems for 1989 Camry with3s-fe .

[JOET/CAMRY]

Hello,

I have a 1989 Camry 4 cylinder with around 257,000 miles on it. Been having a problem starting it up when the weather and engine is cold. I turn the key and only hear the clicking of some relays. I think they are located near the kick panels and maybe behind the glovebox. This has been happening off and on since the cold winter weather has arrived. (I live in MA.)

How I eventually get the car to start is to leave the key in the on position and dissconnect the small wire from the starter. Then I use a jumper wire and touch it to the starter contact (where the small wire plugs into) to the positive battery terminal. The engine starts right up when I do this. I rebuilt the starter a few months ago with a kit that contained new contacts and plunger. I'm sure the starter is fine. I tried jiggling the shifter and putting the car in neutral while holding the key in the start position and it didn't make a difference. I'm not sure if the neutral saftey switch is bad. I would like some advice as to what to do about this. It really sucks upening the hood and jumping the starter to get this car to start especially when their is a foot of snow on it. Thanks.

JOET/CAMRY

[NYDINO]

Originally Posted by JOET/CAMRY

Hello,

I have a 1989 Camry 4 cylinder with around 257,000 miles on it. Been having a problem starting it up when the weather and engine is cold. I turn the key and only hear the clicking of some relays. I think they are located near the kick panels and maybe behind the glovebox. This has been happening off and on since the cold winter weather has arrived. (I live in MA.)

How I eventually get the car to start is to leave the key in the on position and dissconnect the small wire from the starter. Then I use a jumper wire and touch it to the starter contact (where the small wire plugs into) to the positive battery terminal. The engine starts right up when I do this. I rebuilt the starter a few months ago with a kit that contained new contacts and plunger. I'm sure the starter is fine. I tried jiggling the shifter and putting the car in neutral while holding the key in the start position and it didn't make a difference. I'm not sure if the neutral saftey switch is bad. I would like some advice as to what to do about this. It really sucks upening the hood and jumping the starter to get this car to start especially when their is a foot of snow on it. Thanks.

JOET/CAMRY

Hey Bro I have an 89 camry also and have had my share of electrical issues. Through this forum I fixed a problem that drove me crazy in cold weather. The cold start thermal switch I replaced that and never had another cold start problem. As far as the clicking goes I was always dicking with my cables and jiggling this and that to get it started. I would even carry around a battery jumper because this car loved to do it at the worse time. Finally I replaced the battery with a top of the line battery and replaced the terminal clamps with brass marine ones and as long as I get out there every three months and clean all the connection it has never given me another problem. Good luck let us know how it goes.

[JOET/CAMRY]

Originally Posted by JOET/CAMRY

Hello,

I have a 1989 Camry 4 cylinder with around 257,000 miles on it. Been having a problem starting it up when the weather and engine is cold. I turn the key and only hear the clicking of some relays. I think they are located near the kick panels and maybe behind the glovebox. This has been happening off and on since the cold winter weather has arrived. (I live in MA.)

How I eventually get the car to start is to leave the key in the on position and dissconnect the small wire from the starter. Then I use a jumper wire and touch it to the starter contact (where the small wire plugs into) to the positive battery terminal. The engine starts right up when I do this. I rebuilt the starter a few months ago with a kit that contained new contacts and plunger. I'm sure the starter is fine. I tried jiggling the shifter and putting the car in neutral while holding the key in the start position and it didn't make a difference. I'm not sure if the neutral saftey switch is bad. I would like some advice as to what to do about this. It really sucks upening the hood and jumping the starter to get this car to start especially when their is a foot of snow on it. Thanks.

JOET/CAMRY

Update,

I removed the small wire that plugs into the starter solenoid and with my digital volt meter tested the voltage that it has when the key is turned in the start position. It had a reading of 11.4 volts. Apparently it was enough voltage to operate the starter in the warm weather but not in the real cold weather.

I found out from Toyota Nation that there is a work around for this. Adding a relay to the starter will fix the problem. Ordered one on Ebay for $12.00. Hopefully this will fix the problem.

JOET/CAMRY

[JOET/CAMRY]

Originally Posted by JOET/CAMRY

Update,

I removed the small wire that plugs into the starter solenoid and with my digital volt meter tested the voltage that it has when the key is turned in the start position. It had a reading of 11.4 volts. Apparently it was enough voltage to operate the starter in the warm weather but not in the real cold weather.

I found out from Toyota Nation that there is a work around for this. Adding a relay to the starter will fix the problem. Ordered one on Ebay for $12.00. Hopefully this will fix the problem.

JOET/CAMRY

Second update,

I installed the relay I ordered from a seller on ebay and the installation went smoothly. I bought the wire and all the connectors from radio shack. It has been a week since I installed the relay and no more cold start problems for my camry. The small wire going to starter now puts out 12.5 volts.

Here are a few pics of what I did.







If anyone wants any info. on this relay mod. you can do a Google search using the words" Toyota Nation Dr. J starter relay". Should be the first link on the page.

JOET/CAMRY