Camry Won't Start Barely Any Power Inside Car

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I have a 1990 Toyota Camry LE 4 cylinder with 230,000 miles. The other day my car left me stranded 160 miles from home. When I got to my destination everything was fine, I parked the car over night and the next afternoon when I tried and start it, it started a little strange. It took two or three cranks and started right up but the starter kept cranking for a few seconds even after I let off the key. Something was wrong so I turned it off and let it sit for another hour. When I came back to try and start it, there was no crank not even a click. I suspected that the battery was dead because the dashboard lights were dim so I took it to autozone and they said it was a good battery and just needed a charge. I got the battery back a few hours later and put it back into the car. I turn the key to "ON" and usual lights such as check engine, brake, charge, and taillights came on but as soon as I turn it to "START" everything went dead. On the fourth try the only light that came on was the door light on the dashboard (door was open) and the warning noise that comes on when you leave your keys in the ignition. The headlights, radio, power windows, power locks, and horn are all dead. If I try and turn the headlights on there is a continuous clicking noise from the taillight relay down by the driverside kickpannel so I know it's still getting some power but it just won't turn on. Also if I press the horn I can hear a click from under the hood. I replaced the taillight relay but that didn't help. There are no signs of corrosion on battery cables and I double check the battery cables to make sure they were on tight and also check the battery ground. I also tried looking for a positive cable that might have been grounded on the engine block but couldn't find anything. All the fuses checked out fine. I disconnected the battery and came home. I called a tow truck and got it towed home today. I reconnected the battery cables and the car started right up with no hesitation at all. I have run out of ideas as to why my car didn't start and I don't want to risk getting stranded again. Sorry for the long story but I just didn't want to miss any of the symptoms. Any help or ideas would be greatly appreciated.

[white90dx]

It sounds like there is something wrong in the starter, though there may also be an issue with one or more relays.

The battery draining quickly points to a short/problem in the starter, based on the first problem that showed itself. It may be a sticking starter solenoid, or some other sticking relay.

The drive back on the tow truck may have unstuck the relay for a while, until it happens again, so you are right to be worried about it.

I don't have access to the wiring diagrams at the moment, so I can't be more helpful. Good luck.

-Charlie

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Thanks charlie, turns out that it was a short in the starter. The Starter started up everytime with no hesitation so there was no signs of it going bad. My new starter takes 1 or 2 cranks more than the old one but at least the car is running normal again. The new starter also fixed a idling problem thats been bugging me for 2 months now. Basically the engine would idle up and down in park or neutral, I checked all the vaccum lines and gave up on it but now its fixed

[Mike Gerber]

"My new starter takes 1 or 2 cranks more than the old one but at least the car is running normal again."

That is not a sign of a starter problem, but rather somewhere else in the engine. The starter is an electric motor whose job is to crank (spin) over engine until the engine runs on it's own. If this happened after the new starter was installed, I would look elsewhere for the problem. I would start by checking vaccum lines again to see if any where knocked off during the installation of the new starter.

Mike