3rd & 4th Generation (1992–1996 & 1997–2001)Toyota Camry Discussion for years: 1992-1996 & 1997-2001
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Hi guys I'm new to the forums here. I currently own a 1998 Camry LE 4cyl.
The car has been wonderful to me til late. I got home tonight and parked my car. I tried shutting my car out, took the keys out of the ignition, but the car was not turned off at all. It was idling roughly. So I put the keys back in and put it in the "on mode" and the car went back up to idle, but still was making strange noises. Then I tried taking the keys out again and did the same thing.
A minute later the engine bay started smoking profusely. I thought it caught on fire, so I grabbed everything and stepped out. A minute or two later the smoke started to die down. So I popped the hood to check it out. I saw some smoke coming out of the starter. I didn't try to start it after that, and tried locking my doors but the automatic switches weren't working either. So I manually closed all the doors and went home to do some research.
I haven't found anything, and I stumbled into this forum hoping you guys can point me in the right directions. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time.
PS: Also just to make a note, I've had some issues starting the car in the past couple of weeks, where my car wouldn't start unless I yanked at the wheel hard to the left and then turned the keys. I don't know if this has something to do with it as well.
Sort of sounds like the contacts in the starter solenoid welded down, leaving your starter continuously "on", and then probably one of the fusable links blew, which left a good chunk of your electrical system without power. My guess that enough magic smoke escaped from the starter that it's not worth trying to just replace the starter contacts / plunger and you're looking at a new (or at least junkyard) replacement. Will need to trace down the blown fusable link, too, but I'd pull the starter before trying to do that.
If you want to DIY (as opposed to letting a mechanic do the deed), let me know and I'll hunt down the instructions -- replacing a starter is pretty easy.
Sort of sounds like the contacts in the starter solenoid welded down, leaving your starter continuously "on", and then probably one of the fusable links blew, which left a good chunk of your electrical system without power. My guess that enough magic smoke escaped from the starter that it's not worth trying to just replace the starter contacts / plunger and you're looking at a new (or at least junkyard) replacement. Will need to trace down the blown fusable link, too, but I'd pull the starter before trying to do that.
If you want to DIY (as opposed to letting a mechanic do the deed), let me know and I'll hunt down the instructions -- replacing a starter is pretty easy.
Thanks for the response guys! I'll try to work on it tomorrow. If you can hunt me those instructions would be a life saver! Thank you very much!
Everyone already said exactly what I was going to! The exact same thing happened to me and I had to replace the starter and the entire negative battery terminal wire.
I had no idea how to do it either but I had my haynes manual and it made everything very simplistic!
"PS: Also just to make a note, I've had some issues starting the car in the past couple of weeks, where my car wouldn't start unless I yanked at the wheel hard to the left and then turned the keys. I don't know if this has something to do with it as well."
when you say "the car wouldn't start unless you yanked at the wheel hard". did you mean you weren't able to turn the key there? if so, thats something else than the starter problem you already have.
In addition to the Autozone reference, you can take a look at the Factory Service Manual (FSM) at www.camrystuff.com , Generation 4, "Starting" for instructions. Frankly, the Autozone reference is much better if you've never done a starter removal before -- the FSM is most useful if you're rebuilding a starter, which you probably won't be doing this go-round.
If you buy a rebuilt or new starter, I'd recommend going with a Denso brand -- they make the starters for Toyota, and tend to be decent quality. Lots of shitty rebuilt starters out there, most with "lifetime" warranties. I consider a lifetime warranty to usually be a red flag for crappy quality -- they're just banking that you're going to get tired of bringing a cratered starter back to them every six months. Heck, I'd rather take a chance with a junkyard pull before I'd trust most rebuilds.
"PS: Also just to make a note, I've had some issues starting the car in the past couple of weeks, where my car wouldn't start unless I yanked at the wheel hard to the left and then turned the keys. I don't know if this has something to do with it as well."
when you say "the car wouldn't start unless you yanked at the wheel hard". did you mean you weren't able to turn the key there? if so, thats something else than the starter problem you already have.
I was able to turn the key. But the car wouldn't start unless I yanked the wheel to the left while turning the key. I accidentally found this out a few weeks ago.
In addition to the Autozone reference, you can take a look at the Factory Service Manual (FSM) at www.camrystuff.com , Generation 4, "Starting" for instructions. Frankly, the Autozone reference is much better if you've never done a starter removal before -- the FSM is most useful if you're rebuilding a starter, which you probably won't be doing this go-round.
If you buy a rebuilt or new starter, I'd recommend going with a Denso brand -- they make the starters for Toyota, and tend to be decent quality. Lots of shitty rebuilt starters out there, most with "lifetime" warranties. I consider a lifetime warranty to usually be a red flag for crappy quality -- they're just banking that you're going to get tired of bringing a cratered starter back to them every six months. Heck, I'd rather take a chance with a junkyard pull before I'd trust most rebuilds.
Thank you very much! I'm gonna get the starter out tomorrow morning. I looked at it today, and it still smells in there. Also the little sticker that had the parts number I believe was melted.... I'll try to take a picture of it tomorrow.
I replaced the starter. Tried starting the car, but it completely shut down. Looks like I blew a fuse. Which leads me to believe theres a problem with a wire. Anyone know what I should do next? I have a feeling it might be something in the ignition itself.
Yes, I wonder if it's with the key cylinder/ignition switch? Especially if you have to turn the steering wheel. You'll have to take the ignition switch out and test it with an ohmmeter per manual.
Among the many things, I guess you'll have to remove the battery, and then with an ohmmeter measure the path segment by segment from battery to starter (since relays won't energize), and see if you have leakage to ground (chassis) that's causing the fuse to blow.
Sort of sounds like the contacts in the starter solenoid welded down, leaving your starter continuously "on", and then probably one of the fusable links blew, which left a good chunk of your electrical system without power. My guess that enough magic smoke escaped from the starter that it's not worth trying to just replace the starter contacts / plunger and you're looking at a new (or at least junkyard) replacement. Will need to trace down the blown fusable link, too, but I'd pull the starter before trying to do that.
If you want to DIY (as opposed to letting a mechanic do the deed), let me know and I'll hunt down the instructions -- replacing a starter is pretty easy.
Sorry guys just got back from vacation. I was wondering where are these fusable links and how can I test them.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JCamry94
Everyone already said exactly what I was going to! The exact same thing happened to me and I had to replace the starter and the entire negative battery terminal wire.
I had no idea how to do it either but I had my haynes manual and it made everything very simplistic!
Good luck
How do I test that cable. Anyway you can give me a step by step of this process. Thanks for all the input in this guys.
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I'll try to take a picture of it tomorrow. 
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