Have had a couple of weird things with my 94. One day driver window wouldn't work, next day fine. Two days later, car won't start. Checked battery, it's good, cleaned up terminals, just single click under hood. Did lextreme starter test http://www.lextreme.com/dx-starter.html
Relay good. Did the jump wire to starter and only single click at starter. Was resigned to junk car thinking its starter.
Here are the other two wierd things that make me wonder. I can't get the security light to blink. Have tried resetting system by turning key in door, had battery disconnected. Nothing.
Also trunk now won't open. Never worked with key, but now I can't get it to open with latch under steering wheel.
Any thing else I should try before I junk it or am I definitely looking at a starter issue?
Thanks,
Brett

 

with all of these other strange electrical issues, the chances of a bad ground, bad battery, or other bad connection are more likely than the starter at this point

have you replaced the positive battery terminal with the specially designed one from the dealership? - these are a known problem area

PS - you can save some money getting it online or from any Toyota dealership

also check ground straps, such as the one that terminates at the A/C compressor, sometime they get loose

 

U can disable the security system by grounding a green wire on the left kick panel...before u do u need to research exactly which wire as i cant remember which one..it may be green with a certain color stripe on it. also if it ends up being the starter...get a denso..nothing else. also replace the 2 knock sensors which are located on each head as well as the knock sensor connectors...thos should be from the dealership...knock sensors are very touchy and need to be handled with care and also torqued to specs

 

I'm more inclined to believe its a grounding problem from what he's describing. Does the car have the right battery for the car. I would take it to Autozone and have them test the starter, alternator, battery, etc. The alternator may not be putting enough juice in the battery also. I added a extra heavy duty battery cable I had from the negative battery post to a motor area bolt. It seemed to help my car. I have a '92 LS400. It also appears that the initial strain you put on the car when trying to start it has bled over into effecting other electrical related items. AT this point, I would NOT consider junking the car.

 

Agreed!


used to Agree, now Disagree

I used to think this way, but these cars are getting old and not worth as much, so I can no longer recommend buying an extra $600 in parts to proactively replace these sensors that rarely, if ever, go bad!

 

lol..mine went out soon after I replaced the starter...not too concerned with what ur recommending, the cost of this job is well worth the insurance of some extra money and its not 600 dollars

 

Let me rephrase a little. I'm certain there is an electrical issue. Does anyone know how foolproof this lextreme starter test is?
http://www.lextreme.com/dx-starter.html

I ran a jump wire to the specified plug and only got a single click out of the starter. I was in the middle of selling the car when this happened and it makes no sense for me to replace parts if that test is relatively certain there is a starter issue.
Thanks

 

you need to check the main +12V supply line going into the starter, if there is substantial current, then the starter and/or solenoid is the problem (normally it is the contacts & plunger that fail, rather than the starter motor itself)

in your case though, you are far from ruling out electrical issues at this point, so better chance than not that it is not the starter.

 

[QUOTE=LScowboyLS;8151396]you need to check the main +12V supply line going into the starter, if there is substantial current, then the starter and/or solenoid is the problem


Cool. Where do I hook the multimeter and am I looking at dcvolts? (Hate to assume)

 

You use DC amps (since you are measuring current), and you hook the meter in series with the circuit - not to be mean, but the nature of your question tells me that your electrical engineer buddy needs to be doing this check, rather than you doing it - if you screw around with the electrical system, you can create more problems than you solve.

at a minimum, take some online electronics courses first!

 

Sounds like first hand experience. I know when I was young, and inexperienced, I used to mess up a few things. In life, you learn from your mistakes. But..... you dont want to learn electronics by messing up. Way too much damage can occur. Then you're really up *****s creek.

 

No offense taken. And frankly, I'm junking it tomorrow if I can't rule out the starter. It's OEM and at 243000. The car is nice, but its not worth nickel and diming and taking a bunch of time I don't have at this point. Was selling it anyway. Already ran a jump wire to the bottom side of the hood fuse box where the starter relay is. Starter clicked once, but wouldn't turn. Seems like any issues would have to be between the box and starter If electrical.

 

Yea, sometimes ya just gotta throw in the towel. I dont blame you, especially if you have another car. I've thrown away other cars for alot less problems. And then a couple I've thrown so much money and time into them and never found the problems. If I was closer I'd buy it and do a starter.