DIY--Replace Solenoid Contacts and Plunger on 00 Camry V6

[ddagsyn]

My wife has been complaining that the car wouldn't start for about a week. One Sunday I decided to drive it and experienced the same issue. The car would click when the ignition was turned but would not crank. I would later crank after about 4 to 5 clicks. I thinking it was the 4 year old battery decided to have it replaced. I inspected all the battery cables and everything looked fine. I have been treating the battery connectors ever since I've owned the car.
After doing some research on this incident I was convinced that it was definetely the solenoid contacts and plunger (for now).

This is what I bought

Electrical Cleaner Spray - $5.60
Hi Temp Grease - $3.99
Solenoid Plunger - $32.00
Solenoid Contacts both kits $25.00
Torque Wrench - $20.00 at Harbor freight
Light - $10.00 at Lowes

Websites that helped me

http://www.camrystuff.com/manuals/Gen4/Starting.pdf
http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTricks/Starter.shtml
http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/t27312.html

You can porbably get the kit cheaper online but I chose to go to the local Toyota dealer as I was in a hurry. Besides I am an amateur at this and wanted to be 100 % sure of the right parts. Tip - If going to a dealer make sure you take your car VIN number as they can match your equipment based on that information.

I decided to tackle this on friday and began at 2:00 pm. The whole process took me about 3 hr and that is because I am slow as hell.

These are the steps.

1. Park you car in a comfortable position for you to work. Do not start work (i.e disconnect battery) until atleast 5 min has past since you parked the car. That is because of the issues with airbags etc. Don't quote me on this but someone mentioned it online and i decided to take that advise.

2. Remove the battery terminals. Always disconnect the negative terminal. I put the battery in my trunk. I also had a zip loc bag where I put all my nuts and bolts.


3. Below the battery is the battery plate. Remove the battery plate and you will see three nuts that hold the cruise actuator in place.



4. Remove the three bolts and place cruise away so you can get to the starter. The cruise also has a electrical connector that can easily be disconnected. That electrical cable is also attached to the actuator by means of a clip which can easily be removed. The first pictures show the clip in my hand.




5. After that you should have a pretty good view of the starter. Do not unbolt the long bolts you see. Those are not the ones you need to go after.

6. Disconnect the starter connector. It is clipped on.


7. Start unbolting the starter from the engine body. You will need 14mm socket set.



8. Remove the starter and turn it over so you can remove the starter cable coming from the positive battery terminal. You will need a 12 mm to get this done and may have to turn the starter on its side.



9. Remove the starter and place on work bench. The starter has a bearing in it and i read somewhere that if it is accidentally removed from the gear slot it and not put back in its place can cause a whinning sound at start up. I did not want that to happen and therefore always kept the starter horizontal.


10. My Solenoid Contacts did not look so bad but my plunger was in pretty bad shape and definitely needed to be replaced.



11. Remove the three bolts (7mm) that hold the plunger and house the contacts. and you will see the plunger pop out. There is also a connection between the two starter compartments. Peel off the rubber boot to see and disconnect the connection.

12. I replaced one contact at at time and cleaned the inside with a little electrical cleaner. I also used some Hi Temp grease on the spring and on the gear. Basically you will put together the contacts the same way as you take them out. One tip I found usefuly was that I connect the electrical cable between the starter compartement after I put three bolts that hold the plunger compartment in place.



14. You perform the steps in reverse to get it back on.

15. I connected the starter wire from the positive terminal of the battery before I attached the starter to the engine body. Don't forget to put the boot back on.

16. Also, don't forget to connect the starter connector and the cruise control wire.

16. Also, I inspected all parts including the connectors and the boots and found little or no wear. I sprayed electrical cleaner on all the connectors.

17. Connect the negative terminal of the batter first and then the positive.

18. After I did that the car cranked immediately. It also sounded much more powerful on startup.

The dealer had quoted me $650.00 to do this job. I am glad to have saved that money. The torque wrench was used only on one bolt. I could use it on the other as there was too much of inteference. Also, now I have a whole can of Hi Temp grease. Let me know where else i can put some grease on the car.

[haux]

Did you mean to post the same picture of the starter twice?

EDIT: Looks like it's been fixed now.

[peshwa]

Thanks for your great DIY article. I have lost a lot of money and drive a 95 Camry DX (2.2L I4) now. Last month it would go "CLICK" and quiet when I attempted to start. Sometimes if I was lucky it would turn over in next 3-5 CLICKs.
Changed the battery (a costly affair) last month and no issues for past 3 weeks and it was like 50 degrees weather during this period. Yesterday outside was 32 Degrees F and it wouldnt start even after 10-15 CLICKS. I was mad as hell. Then I started reading up on the probable causes.Have read at least 25 posts online with similar symptoms as mine all of them were resolved by replacing the Starter Solenoid contacts!!
I am pretty confident I am in the same boat.
I live in Fremont,CA and dealership here quoted me $23.00 for +VE and $25.00 for -VE.

Does that sound correct?
Do they always sell separately?
I have found a Starter Repair Kit for my model on Amazon for $25.00+shipping. Should I go for it?
Also I have the option of exchanging the starter with a reman from Kragen for $100.00. But thats just too much for me.
I can wait till next wednesday or so for starter contact repair kit so I guess I should order online. Am I correct?
Also at which shop in Bay Area CA can I walk and get a Starter Contact repair kit for my model? I have called Pep Boys,Kragen,Autozone etc but all are hell bent of $elling me their $tarter.
Can someone please help me?

[ddagsyn]

hi
I am a newbie to doing work on my car never even changed my own oil. Therefore I decided to go the expensive route and buy the parts from the dealer just to be double sure. Besides I had no time to wait for the parts to come. The car had to be working. It is my wife's.

The terminal contacts was $9 + $15 = $25 approx and the solenoid plunger was $31.00. Therefore I spent a totat of approx $60.00 on parts.

From what I read in the forums these were that these parts were almost the cause of the issue (that is after you have checked your battery cables and battery). Even the dealer part store sales person told me that he recommended that I first replace it before replacing the entire unit. Yes, it was a gamble but it paid off as I don't have the issue anymore.
Also, when i removed the unit i found that the contacts were in pretty good shape but the plunger looked pretty bad. Instead of cleaning it, I replaced it along with the contacts. Make sure you buy the Solenoid Plunger. My Plunger looked exactly like the picture in the first link. It was pretty bad.
The dealership buy my house quoted me $650.00 to replace the entire starter and the auto zones wanted about $120.00 for a rebuilt starter.

Good luck.

http://www.team-integra.net/forum/di...TopicID=123037
This is one of the sites that may give you a better price
http://www.nationsautoelectric.com/densoparts.html

[hill8570]

Originally Posted by peshwa

Thanks for your great DIY article. I have lost a lot of money and drive a 95 Camry DX (2.2L I4) now. Last month it would go "CLICK" and quiet when I attempted to start. Sometimes if I was lucky it would turn over in next 3-5 CLICKs.
Changed the battery (a costly affair) last month and no issues for past 3 weeks and it was like 50 degrees weather during this period. Yesterday outside was 32 Degrees F and it wouldnt start even after 10-15 CLICKS. I was mad as hell. Then I started reading up on the probable causes.Have read at least 25 posts online with similar symptoms as mine all of them were resolved by replacing the Starter Solenoid contacts!!
I am pretty confident I am in the same boat.
I live in Fremont,CA and dealership here quoted me $23.00 for +VE and $25.00 for -VE.

Does that sound correct?
Do they always sell separately?
I have found a Starter Repair Kit for my model on Amazon for $25.00+shipping. Should I go for it?
Also I have the option of exchanging the starter with a reman from Kragen for $100.00. But thats just too much for me.
I can wait till next wednesday or so for starter contact repair kit so I guess I should order online. Am I correct?
Also at which shop in Bay Area CA can I walk and get a Starter Contact repair kit for my model? I have called Pep Boys,Kragen,Autozone etc but all are hell bent of me their .
Can someone please help me?

Just find the cheapest set of contacts that will work for a Denso starter. If the guys on fleabay say it will work for your starter, it probably will -- all they are are a couple of chunks of copper of the right shape. Heck I see Denso contacts on fleabay for like $8 + shipping. Sometimes it makes since to buy the expensive stuff, but there's nothing magical about the contacts...one contact just erodes away faster than the other side, and eventually the one side will make contact with the plunger and the other won't. Just replace the contacts and maybe take a bit of sandpaper to the pitted part of the plunger, although the plunger isn't nearly as important as having contacts that are the same thickness.

[peshwa]

Thanks for the quick response. I have to waste this weekend twiddling my thumbs :-(...Today morning I was overconfident that this little "Starter Contact Kit" will be easily available at Kragen/Autozone etc. By evening I had called at least 25 shops and only the Toyota Dealerships seemed to have these parts in stock. But $23.00 for a copper part seems to be a plain simple ripoff! Maybe CA is the costliest state (and the most bankrupt) to live in and it shows up at the $tealership easily.
Anyway I was wondering why exactly does this clicking happen? For me it started to manifest at the onset of winter. Surprising thing was in the nights and early morning when it was very cold it would never turn over easily. All that happens is CLICK...Buzz...But in the noon time it would be CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CRANK.Atleast the car would start.
Is that something to do with "METALS EXPAND WHEN HEATED" theory? In normal days the plunger is able to make connection with both the contacts without any issues as they are still hot i.e. expanded a little. Come cold and 30 Deg F weather it CLICKs.
For above analysis I am assuming that my solenoid contacts do have wear on them.
Can someone validate above theory?

[hill8570]

Originally Posted by peshwa

Thanks for the quick response. I have to waste this weekend twiddling my thumbs :-(...Today morning I was overconfident that this little "Starter Contact Kit" will be easily available at Kragen/Autozone etc. By evening I had called at least 25 shops and only the Toyota Dealerships seemed to have these parts in stock. But $23.00 for a copper part seems to be a plain simple ripoff! Maybe CA is the costliest state (and the most bankrupt) to live in and it shows up at the easily.
Anyway I was wondering why exactly does this clicking happen? For me it started to manifest at the onset of winter. Surprising thing was in the nights and early morning when it was very cold it would never turn over easily. All that happens is CLICK...Buzz...But in the noon time it would be CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CRANK.Atleast the car would start.
Is that something to do with "METALS EXPAND WHEN HEATED" theory? In normal days the plunger is able to make connection with both the contacts without any issues as they are still hot i.e. expanded a little. Come cold and 30 Deg F weather it CLICKs.
For above analysis I am assuming that my solenoid contacts do have wear on them.
Can someone validate above theory?

Click-bzzzz sounds more like a borderline battery. Was it doing this after you replaced the battery? CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-start is classic worn contacts. If you don't want to twiddle thumbs, you can yank the starter, pull the contacts, and put the ends next to each other -- worn contacts look like a stairstep, with the eroded part lower than the rest of the contact. If you carefully file down the higher eroded contact so that it matches the height of the lower eroded contact (just the eroded area, not the entire contact), you can eke a bit more time out of those contacts. Not something I recommend long-term, but it's an option. While you've got them out, take a picture of the contacts (different Denso starters have different contacts) and write down the part number of the starter. You might be able to call around to electric motor repair places (or, even better, a place that specializes in starter repair), and score a couple of contacts from there.

[peshwa]

This CLICK...BUZZY SILENCE happened EVEN AFTER I put in a new battery.
I suspected a bad battery initially,pulled it out and got load tested from Walmart from where I bought it. The battery came out pretty good with a CCA of 696 for a battery rated 700 CCA.
My Dash clock,cabin lights and headlights dim slightly when I turn the key to ignition. Which I hear is normal.When the car is standing still and I try to run the windshield wipers they run a little slowly. But that could be coz of dirt on the windshield obstructing them. Whats baffling me is that car didnt have this issue on a new battery and just after 15 days it will go CLICK...buzzz....back to its old ways. It happens at random but it does happen with a certainty on cold days.
I think I will pull out the starter in a while. Take pictures of it and post them here.
Please review them and help me guys. Thanks for your help hill8570 and ddagsyn till now.

[ddagsyn]

I had the same issue. Thought it was my battery - had it replaced and problem was still there- checked my cables there were fine and thus suspected the starter. Yes, sometimes it would start on first try and other times on the 5th or 6th.

Originally Posted by peshwa

This CLICK...BUZZY SILENCE happened EVEN AFTER I put in a new battery.
I suspected a bad battery initially,pulled it out and got load tested from Walmart from where I bought it. The battery came out pretty good with a CCA of 696 for a battery rated 700 CCA.
My Dash clock,cabin lights and headlights dim slightly when I turn the key to ignition. Which I hear is normal.When the car is standing still and I try to run the windshield wipers they run a little slowly. But that could be coz of dirt on the windshield obstructing them. Whats baffling me is that car didnt have this issue on a new battery and just after 15 days it will go CLICK...buzzz....back to its old ways. It happens at random but it does happen with a certainty on cold days.
I think I will pull out the starter in a while. Take pictures of it and post them here.
Please review them and help me guys. Thanks for your help hill8570 and ddagsyn till now.

[Dick Tuck]

I admire you guys fixing this problem by changing the parts because that is the
way things used to be done before everything got to be throwaway, and you learn something to boot.
However, I found a NEW Chinese starter on the net for less that 60 bucks, and while it makes slightly more noise it cranks better than the almost new starter in my year NEWER "other camry". That starter goes in a lot of different Toyota products and I suspect the makers wanted to be sure it had enough torque to handle all applications. This was two New England winters ago and it is still going strong. I bet if I take the old one apart, though, I will find just what you did, bad contacts or plunger. BTW your problem is common, BOTH my Gen 4 I4s developed it at about the same mileage.

[peshwa]

Originally Posted by ddagsyn

I had the same issue. Thought it was my battery - had it replaced and problem was still there- checked my cables there were fine and thus suspected the starter. Yes, sometimes it would start on first try and other times on the 5th or 6th.

Update on my starter problems:
-Car is starting up in the mornings but after 4-5 attempts very weakly.
-First time car startup ALWAYS has a problem of the CLICK sound and nothing happens.

A workaround till my solenoid repair kit arrives from Amazon is:
-Turn keys rapidly from START-IGNITION 4-5 times and it does crank up the engine! This has worked for me twice a day for past week or so.
My question:
Is it a reliable way to start the car?
Will it have any impact on the engine?
Is it a reliable technique for 10-15 days?
Have you ever tried to workaround your starter motor problem in some way?

[haux]

Originally Posted by peshwa

Update on my starter problems:
-Car is starting up in the mornings but after 4-5 attempts very weakly.
-First time car startup ALWAYS has a problem of the CLICK sound and nothing happens.

A workaround till my solenoid repair kit arrives from Amazon is:
-Turn keys rapidly from START-IGNITION 4-5 times and it does crank up the engine! This has worked for me twice a day for past week or so.
My question:
Is it a reliable way to start the car?
Will it have any impact on the engine?
Is it a reliable technique for 10-15 days?
Have you ever tried to workaround your starter motor problem in some way?

I take it you've already ordered the new kit?

If not, I will send you my old contacts for free. I replaced them several days ago not because of any bad symptoms, but as part of preventative maintenance. I have never had any issues with my starter. So, the offer is on the table unless you've already ordered.

[peshwa]

Thanks so much haux! Really appreciate it.
I ordered a kit from Amazon ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...ss_T15_product) week ago. Its been charged to my account but no parts yet. Holidays I guess!

Its a bit pricey but I ordered it anyway as I didnt know what exactly has failed/will fail.Contacts or the plunger? If nothing works out I will let you know.
Thanks again!!

[hill8570]

Originally Posted by peshwa

Update on my starter problems:
-Car is starting up in the mornings but after 4-5 attempts very weakly.
-First time car startup ALWAYS has a problem of the CLICK sound and nothing happens.

A workaround till my solenoid repair kit arrives from Amazon is:
-Turn keys rapidly from START-IGNITION 4-5 times and it does crank up the engine! This has worked for me twice a day for past week or so.
My question:
Is it a reliable way to start the car?
Will it have any impact on the engine?
Is it a reliable technique for 10-15 days?
Have you ever tried to workaround your starter motor problem in some way?

Your workaround will work until you get the parts to rebuild the starter -- a few years back I had a Toyota Tacoma where I spent the entire winter starting using that technique until the weather warmed up enough for me to rebuild the starter (it was a pain to remove the starter on that rig, so it was easier to lay on my back and rebuild the starter "in place"). The parts kit you ordered looks good -- replacing the plunger usually isn't necessary, but I tend to replace both the contacts and plunger, since I hate to revisit a repair.

[peshwa]

PHEW! So finally after nearly 3 months of CLICK-hell I finally replaced my starter solenoid contacts. The car started at the first turn of the key and very strong start too!
Thanks to ddagsyn for this DIY and hill8750 for his insights on here. Keeping my fingers crossed...hope I dont have this issue till I keep the car :-)