3rd & 4th Generation (19921996 & 19972001)Toyota Camry Discussion for years: 1992-1996 & 1997-2001
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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!!!!!!!
yea...check the starter....i was having the same problem, turned out that my starter had water in it....idk how...but got it replaced, have not had a problem since.
You say that the lights just all went off. That's got to be your big clue. I can't see that being related to the starter.
Verify that the new terminal connectors are still tight and have a good connection to the wires. If the terminal connectors were bad then maybe the battery wires were bad as well. Strip off a little of the neg wire insulation past the new terminal. If it is all corroded then change out the wire. Another quick check is to run a jumper cable from the neg post to the neg connection of the starter motor. You can do the same for the pos cable but be real careful that you don't short it out to ground somewhere.
Kep
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Often, it's the loose screw between the steering wheel and the driver's seat that needs to be fixed first!
I think you have the common starter solenoid worn contacts problem. The 1 click is the clue. It's the current flowing through the starter relay and usually on to the starter. The starter is not engaging. It can also be the wiring to the starter, but that is pretty rare. The lights dimming when the starter or it's relay is trying to engage sounds normal to me. It takes a lot of amps to turn or try to turn the starter. Do a search for "starter contacts" on this forum and read up on the problem and it's repair. You can varify this problem and probably get your car started by tapping on the starter with a wrench or a small hammer. Give it a good tap, but don't try to crack the starter's case. Then try to start it. If the car starts up, you have varified the starter solenoid worn contact problem.
Thanks for all the help guys, I spent about 20 minutes jumping the car and was ready to call the tow truck, I pulled the other car away and was ready to go back into the house to call the tow truck, but I decided to give it one last try. I put the key in, turn it to start it gave a few quick clicks the dash lights got really dim and then the car started right up! I drove it to mechanic, and it started for him as well, he checked the charging system and said the alternator and battery are in great shape. On a side note, it was above freezing today, so maybe that has something to do with it starting? just a thought. My mechanic said it might be the starter but he wont know until the car has problems starting for him. Another side note, my power steering pump bit the dust this afternoon too and sprayed fluid all over, gotta get that fixed ASAP...
Also does anybody know how I can check how many amps the alt is putting out with a multi-meter?
There is a special measuring device called a DC Shunt .... You have to hook it up in series with one of the battery cables ... or alternator wire, then you set your multimeter to mv range, and read the mv, which is scaled to give you the DC amperes .... saw one of these on Ebay last week .... 100A range, $10 or so.... if you can wait for delivery.
my multi-meter has an ampere setting on it already, do i still need this shunt?
My multimeter has a 10A fuse for the high DC amps range... requires plugging the leads into special jacks .... and will blow the fuse over that level ... Some multimeters can measure up to 20 DC amps.
If the alternator is putting out a lot of amps to charge the battery, it could do something to your meter.
At one time, I had a small ammeter that was just held onto the battery or alternator cable... inductive pickup .... The meter needle swung one way or the other depending on the direction and magnitude of the DC current ....I don't know if those are still available or not.... It gave a ballpark indication of the DC current flow... Very inexpensive. ... Might try a parts store.
Saw this set of inductive meters ... much more expensive than mine, but also probably more accurate ... one range for starter motor, one range for alternator: http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item....re&dir=catalog
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98 Camry LE, 2.2L, automatic
50k miles, drop in K&N A/F recent timing belt, water pump
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