3rd & 4th Generation (1992–1996 & 1997–2001)Toyota Camry Discussion for years: 1992-1996 & 1997-2001
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My '94 Camry won't start on its own. When I turn the ignition there is a lot of clicking but the car doesn't start. I jumped it fine this morning and the battery read 14.4 V so I think the alternator is okay. When the car is off it is reading ~12.5 V so I think battery is okay. What else can I do at home to test which component may be the problem?
Double check your alternator by turning on your car and unplugging your battery and turn on your lights if the car doesnt turn off then your alternator is fine if that works then clean out your battery terminals
don't! unplug the battery while the car is on u can fry the ecu if ur unlucky.
check the grounds(negative cables) for everything your can. fog lights, speakers and amp grounds, even the battery ground. make sure its connected to something metal... if there is paint try to remove some of it.
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Best way to find out what's wrong is to take it to Autozone, or any autoparts store that can test your battery and alternator while the car is running. They usually do this for free.
I had a similar problem when the battery was drained. Overnight deep cycle recharged and standing voltage was fine, but the cranking amps was gone and it didn't have the power to start. Easiest solution was to replace the battery.
Also happened with my dad's 1992 truck. Voltage checked out good and all, but the crank amps was gone and didn't have the power to start. Replaced the 8 year old battery and started right up no problems.
"don't! unplug the battery while the car is on u can fry the ecu if ur unlucky."
Agreed. Don't ever do this. You can fry more than just the ECU. This was once a valid test. I did it myself back in the 60's and 70's, but would never do it to today's modern cars. They just have too many sophisticated electronic devices in the cars, which do not take kindly to the voltage spikes caused by this test. You need to test the charging system with the right equipment today.
its the battery... if the volt meter reads 14.4 while running, the alt is good... the voltage on the battery doesnt mean anything... two lantern batteries will give you 12 volts.. but it wont start a car... AMPS of current will start a car.. its like if you had two 12 gallon tanks and the drain hole on one was small and the other one was big... the amount of flow is what you care about when considering starting a car...
take it to autozone or advance auto or pep boys or whatever... they will test the battery right in the car... its probably your battery
I have done it plenty of times i have never heard of that burning your ecu or anything cuz once the car is on the battery doesnt matter anymore its just getting charged
I think I had a similar problem where the car would start but once I drove somewhere it would not start again, and only a lot of clicking. It turned out that the positive cable was not tight enough so it was a poor connection to the battery, once I fixed that by jamming a nail in between the connector and battery (haha probably not too brilliant), I havent had a problem since. It also worked everytime I jumped it too, probably because the jumper cables had a good connection. So just tighten the battery cables, hope this helps
90% of the time, this is just corrosion between the positive battery cable and the battery terminal. That corrosion causes a high resistance connection, so when you try to start the car, the voltage reaching the solenoid isn't high enough to activate the solenoid to spin the starter.
If that isn't the problem, then it is one of three things:
1. faulty starter/solenoid
2. Corroded cables between your battery and the starter solenoid, or corroded wire between your key and the solenoid.
3. weak/dead cell in your battery (which is why I resurrected this thread, cause this is what I have).
You can check the battery by buying a $5 battery electrolyte checker. Looks like an eyedropper; suck a little electrolyte out of the battey, and make sure the balls are all floating for every cell. On my battery, one of the cells causes ALL the balls to drop like rocks. It still reads 12.6V with the key off, but the battery drops to about 9V as soon as the solenoid starts drawing current, which means not enough voltage to shift the solenoid.
I have been living with thei for a week; it takes anywere from 3-8 tries to get the solenoid to shift. Off to teh battery store I go...
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