Unusual Ignition Problems

[Poser]

Hey gentlemen (& women) I am having difficulties with my 99 Camry 2.2 efi 4 cylinder, I will try to be as detailed as possible (I am just becoming familiar with automotives)

-About 10days ago my camry wouldn't start. I would turn the ignition and here a click (what I now believe to be the solenoid closing) a slight whurring noise and then nothing.

-I went on-line read through many articles, (includuing a bunch of excellent suggestions here), went out and bought a Haynes guide...and pulled out the starter.

-upon the suggestion of some of the posts here, the first thing I checked were the contact points inside the housing. Sure enough they were worn incredibly thin. I went to the local dealership, bought new contacts and replaced the old ones. Presto...ignition

-However, two days later...I was having the same problem again. I tried bumping the starter (by grounding the positive contact to the engine block/starter housing) thinking maybe that do the trick...no dice

- I have a good friend that works at an advance auto parts...and he was able to get me a brand new starter...so I installed that, and presto...all was good again

-Now, again after two days, I am experiencing the same problem. Turn the ignition, solenoid closes and....nothing. I called the local toyota service department...but they were as perplexed as I am. I am wondering, could I have a short in my positive battery cables? Is it possibly a bad relay? Should I try bumping the starter with the positive terminal disconected? Could it be the ignition switch?

I wish I could be more detail specific, but again, I am just learning about my automobile (as I was tired of paying others exorbitant amounts of money to fix problems or perform maintanance that I could do with a little patience and reading).

Any suggestions, or troubleshooting tips would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[dc_98_cam]

Have you removed the cable clamp connections from the battery terminals, cleaned them with a wire brush, and reassembled them?

[Poser]

Originally Posted by dc_98_cam

Have you removed the cable clamp connections from the battery terminals, cleaned them with a wire brush, and reassembled them?

No I have not...I will do so when I get home later (should I use any cleaning agents i.e. baking soda???) - so you are thinking that I am not getting an pull from the positive terminal...no juice = no start (and wouldnt be able to bump the starter either, because bypassing the ignition switch still requires juice from the battery, right?)

Also, if I did have a bad connection...wouldn't that effect other power systems (radio, headlamps etc...even though they pull lower amperage than the starter)?

Thanks...

...if that doesnt help, what would you suggest next?

[OSUpeterson09]

I had this problem on my 99 4cyl as well a month ago. I had to take the positve clamp off, disconnect the wires from it, and put on a new one. You can get a new clamp from autozone for like less than 10 bucks.

Ever since then, It has worked fine. I live in oklahoma and we have had more rain this year than I can remember so my battery clamp got crapped out from flood water and just water splash getting up into the engine bay. So if you live in a wet area that may have been what caused it.

[Poser]

Originally Posted by OSUpeterson09

I had this problem on my 99 4cyl as well a month ago. I had to take the positve clamp off, disconnect the wires from it, and put on a new one. You can get a new clamp from autozone for like less than 10 bucks.

Ever since then, It has worked fine. I live in oklahoma and we have had more rain this year than I can remember so my battery clamp got crapped out from flood water and just water splash getting up into the engine bay. So if you live in a wet area that may have been what caused it.

Although it has been a dry year so far...Tampa does two thing real well, lightning and rain...so could be. I will definitely service the clamps today. Also, I have looked for positve battery cables online (just in case its not the the clamp, but the cable) but have not found any links...suggestions.

Thanks a ton guys...this is really helping!

[Mike Gerber]

Although cleaning the battery terminals certainly can't hurt anything, when there is a weak battery connection you usually get multiple rapid clicks when attempting to start. You described 1 click. You may still be having problems with the starter. I have seen rebuilt starters where the solenoid contacts are still defective. One way you can check for this is to hold the key in the start position and have someone give the starter a few good raps with a small hammer or a wrench. Don't try to crack or break anything, but do give it a couple of good taps. If the starter now turns (cranks) the engine you have varified you still have a bad starter, or rather bad starter solenoid contacts. If neither of these 2 things helps the situation, I would next check the wiring and the igniton switch.

Also, don't forget there is a generation 4 Toyota factory service manual stickied at the top of the General Camry Discussion forum that is available for free downloading. Download it and follow the no start test procedures under "starting system".

Mike

[OSUpeterson09]

No to be an ass, But i know exactly what he is talking about. All you should need to do i clean the terminals and replace one or both of the clamps. You can start your car by having someone turn the car one while you mess with the terminals ( holding the cord and not both at the same time of course). I dealt with that problem for about a month. It sucked.

[Poser]

@ Mike - Thanks, I have definitely tried the balpeen hammer to the housing trick to no avail. However, I completely missed the sticky at the top of the page (actually, I just didnt realize that the 96 was gen 4). Will definitely use that resource in the future

@OSU & DC98- Changed the termincal clamps and cleaned the cables with a wire-brush and some 2000grit sandpaper...she started up just fine. THANKS!!!!

[thisisntjoew]

Did you have the battery tested? This seems like the most obvious solution to me. Just take it to Autozone or Advance and they will do a "load test" for free. It is also a good idea to clean your terminals like everone else is stating. Goodluck!

[OSUpeterson09]

Oh btw, 96 is gen 3 not gen 4

[Mike Gerber]

"I am having difficulties with my 99 Camry 2.2 efi 4 cylinder,"

"However, I completely missed the sticky at the top of the page (actually, I just didnt realize that the 96 was gen 4). "

Now I am confused. Is your car a 99 as stated in your original post or a 96 as stated in your last post? The 99 would be a generation 4 while the 96 would be a generation 3.

Electrical problems can sometimes be quite strange. Your's is the first one I have heard of where you were getting 1 click and cleaning the battery terminals and the cable clamp ends solved the problem. 1 click usually indicates that power is getting to the starter, but the starter is not engaging. Live and learn. OSU was correct. Either way I'm glad that your problem seems to be solved.

Mike

[Maim Menu]

I had that problem when I changed my battery last winter, whenever there was a big snowstorm the car wouldn't start because of a bad contact, then after some fiddling it would be fine until the next snowstorm. The battery was fine and everything else, I replaced one of my battery clamps with an aftermarket one to remedy the situation.

The car would click, then nothing. I was lucky I cheked out my battery first cause I knew I changed it like the day before, otherwise I wouldnt've known what the hell was going on. I checked out under the hood while starting the car with my remote, I immediately noticed funny sparking around the battery poles then nothing it was done I had to fiddle around with the clamps to get it started again. There was power inside the car too, dome light, radio, etc were all working.

really wierd problem.