I was having trouble last week getting my car to start, I'd turn the key and hear only a click. I thought it was my battery or alternator, and after i jump started it, it was OK. Took took the car to the mechanic and he tested the battery and alternator, everything checked out OK, plus the alternator and battery are only 1 yr old. The only thing he found was the negative terminal was loose so, he replaced the OE Toyota one with a nice brass one, and all was good for a week. All of a sudden tonight I get into the car, the interior lights are on and look strong, I turn the key, i hear one click and everything is dead, all the lights go off. I jumped it, all the lights turn on, but still the nothing, won't crank, just a faint click. All the dash lights were on, the stereo would turn on but no crank. I tried again without the jumper cables hooked up and again heard a click and all the interior lights went off, like the battery lost all its power in a second. I have a feeling it might be the starter solenoid but, i'm not sure. Sorry for the long post, but it's a very odd problem...i'm probably gonna have to have it towed as it won't start. Any help would be appeciated!!!!!!!
Toyota Avalon No Crank
- Thread starter parimento1
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That click you're hearing is the electric solenoid in the stater engaging the bendix drive gear with the teeth on the flywheel; this is normal, but it's not getting enough current flow to energize the windings and start turning the bendix drive gear.
You're getting a current draw from somewhere that's depleting your battery.
You're getting a current draw from somewhere that's depleting your battery.
The thing that doesn't make sense is even with the car hooked to another car, with the car running, it still wouldn't start, it would just make one click.
Check all of your cables and cable terminals.
Here's a typical starter circuit. The small wire from the ignition switch sends current to energize the solenoid; once that happens, then the battery sends all of the current to the starter windings and starts turning the starter:
I checked the terminals and as far as I can see the cables are in good shape, the insulation is all intact,no corrosion on the terminals either and both are tight.
thanks for the diagram by the way
You might read this:
"If the starter or solenoid clicks but nothing else happens when you attempt to start the engine, there may not be enough amps to spin the starter. Or the starter may be bad. A poor battery cable, solenoid or ground connection, or high resistance in the solenoid itself may be the problem. A voltage check at the solenoid will reveal if battery voltage is passing through the ignition switch circuit. If the solenoid or relay is receiving battery voltage but is not closing or passing enough amps from the battery to spin the starter motor, the solenoid ground may be bad or the contacts in the solenoid may be worn, pitted or corroded. If the starter cranks when the solenoid is bypassed, a new solenoid is needed, not a starter."
http://www.aa1car.com/library/us1296.htm
"If the starter or solenoid clicks but nothing else happens when you attempt to start the engine, there may not be enough amps to spin the starter. Or the starter may be bad. A poor battery cable, solenoid or ground connection, or high resistance in the solenoid itself may be the problem. A voltage check at the solenoid will reveal if battery voltage is passing through the ignition switch circuit. If the solenoid or relay is receiving battery voltage but is not closing or passing enough amps from the battery to spin the starter motor, the solenoid ground may be bad or the contacts in the solenoid may be worn, pitted or corroded. If the starter cranks when the solenoid is bypassed, a new solenoid is needed, not a starter."
http://www.aa1car.com/library/us1296.htm
I had a situation one time with a vintage Mercury Cougar. The battery cable was grounding itself to the exhaust manifold. How? The insulation melted off where it made contact with the exhaust manifold. I didn't discover that until AFTER I disconnected the cable. The new cable got routed away from the exhaust manifold.
Your contacts are worn out. On some Toyotas you can just get new ones and rebuild. I realize the link I'll send you isn't your vehicle, but it may be of some help in diagnosing? If you are handy you may want to read the link as it appears like a straightforward, cheap fix.
http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/maintenance/starter/
http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/maintenance/starter/
yea i think you are right, I was jumping the car today for like 10 minutes before I gave up. The battery was at 14.4 volts from the car I was jumping it with but it wouldn't crank, just a click. I disconnected the car that was jumping it and was ready to go inside to call the tow truck, but I decided to try and start it one last time. I slammed the hood, turned the key, it clicked a few times and started right up. I think slamming the hood moved the starter around enough to make contact. drove it to my mechanic,gave me the OK on the charging system being good and said its probably the starter. It started for him just fine so, he doesn't know exactly until it just doesn't start for him. I think H2GURU is right about the contacts and I am gonna go ahead and replace those tomorrow, as the car has left me stranded 4 times in the last 2 weeks! On a side note as I was driving back from the mechanic's I my power steering pump went out and sprayed fluid all over. Must not be my lucky day....
Originally Posted By: parimento1
All of a sudden tonight I get into the car, the interior lights are on and look strong, I turn the key, i hear one click and everything is dead, all the lights go off. I jumped it, all the lights turn on, but still the nothing, won't crank, just a faint click.
Your interior lights are the key. When you say they go off, I assume they go off and stay off even when your not turning the key?
There is no way the starter or solenoid can cause that. Its either a bad battery or cable or cable connection. If it happens again try jumping from the negative of your battery to ground and see if anything happens. Some battery cables look good but have corrosion under the insulation. Loose battery post?
I would load test the battery to 1/2 CCA for 15 seconds, do not go on voltage alone. Pull the vehicle ends of battery cables and wire brush and re-install.
Get your DVM, when it happens again take voltage readings, across the battery posts, across the battery cables, at solenoid to ground.
This will be a lot easier to find than the defective fuel sender in the shuttle.
All of a sudden tonight I get into the car, the interior lights are on and look strong, I turn the key, i hear one click and everything is dead, all the lights go off. I jumped it, all the lights turn on, but still the nothing, won't crank, just a faint click.
Your interior lights are the key. When you say they go off, I assume they go off and stay off even when your not turning the key?
There is no way the starter or solenoid can cause that. Its either a bad battery or cable or cable connection. If it happens again try jumping from the negative of your battery to ground and see if anything happens. Some battery cables look good but have corrosion under the insulation. Loose battery post?
I would load test the battery to 1/2 CCA for 15 seconds, do not go on voltage alone. Pull the vehicle ends of battery cables and wire brush and re-install.
Get your DVM, when it happens again take voltage readings, across the battery posts, across the battery cables, at solenoid to ground.
This will be a lot easier to find than the defective fuel sender in the shuttle.
how do I load test the battery? I did pull the ends of the batt cables already and cleaned them w/a scouring pad. Also, where is the solenoid? I checked the relay with DVM it is functioning fine.
When you talked about the interior lights going off, you are correct all lights went out and did not come back on. Do you think this could be caused by the extreme current draw thatr it takes to try and turn a stuck starter, or do you suspect a bad ground somewhere? I REALLY hate electrical problems, last year around the same time I was having similar issues, ended up being a bad alt.
Sorry for the triple post but how would I check the amps that the alternator is putting out? I am not very familiar with electrical related things. My multi-meter has amps, ohms and volts
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Also, where is the solenoid?
It's piggy-backed onto the starter motor - see drawing.
Have you checked all of the connections?
-Positive cable to battery / Positive cable to starter solenoid
-Negative cable to battery / Negative cable to ground
-Ignition wire to stater solenoid
Also, where is the solenoid?
It's piggy-backed onto the starter motor - see drawing.
Have you checked all of the connections?
-Positive cable to battery / Positive cable to starter solenoid
-Negative cable to battery / Negative cable to ground
-Ignition wire to stater solenoid
To load test a battery you need a load tester. Autozone will use one for you, but its probably only a 50 or 100 amp load tester, to really load test it you need a load tester you can vary the current draw up to 1/2 CCA.
I would not worry about output of alternator until you have found the problem causing interior lights to go out. If you really wanted to test output in amps of alternator you need a clamp-on DC ampmeter and clamp it around output wire of alternator. But you also need to create a load so alternator will put out a charge for you to measure. However a basic test of alternator is to see if voltage across battery is around 14V with engine running and 12.5V with engine off.
I would not worry about output of alternator until you have found the problem causing interior lights to go out. If you really wanted to test output in amps of alternator you need a clamp-on DC ampmeter and clamp it around output wire of alternator. But you also need to create a load so alternator will put out a charge for you to measure. However a basic test of alternator is to see if voltage across battery is around 14V with engine running and 12.5V with engine off.
Sounds like a bad starter/solenoid to me. Possible ignition switch with the lights going out but I doubt it. Might be just a loose/dirty connection at the starter.
Replaced the starter, and the power steering pump today b/c it was leaking. I'll let u guys know how it goes. THANKS FOR ALL YOUR HELP!
it was your starter solenoid. i replaced them on my (at the time) avalon in 2 hours (including the time spent removing the starter)
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