Wont Crank Sometimes

[decoder]

Sometimes takes about 2-4 times to start to turn over. Just makes one tick sound. When it does turn over, the car starts and runs smooth with no hesitation and no problems. Just bought a new battery. Where do I need to look & check?


94 4cyl camry
about 220k miles

[bigbird]

sounds like the starter, either solinoid or motor. i point my finger at the solinoid. replacement is pretty easy.

[hill8570]

Originally Posted by bigbird

sounds like the starter, either solinoid or motor. i point my finger at the solinoid. replacement is pretty easy.

What he said. Dollars to donuts it's the contacts in the starter solenoid -- classic symptoms. Just have to pull the starter (easy), open up the solenoid (which is on the starter), and replace the contacts. If you can change your own oil, you can do this job...it's that easy.

If you need more detail, let us know, but if you google "Denso starter contacts" you'll find a zillion references to the procedure and sources for the parts.

[rodman2008]

Going to attack the cables, and then the solenoid contacts. My battery is 4 yrs old, but voltage looks OK.

1996 camry dx 4cyl manual 177K mi

[flyeri]

Can also be the starter motor brushes. They sometimes get a bad spot and don't make good contact with the armature. After several bumps, clicks, they start justa as you described. I just had this problem and decided to just replace starter and solenoid both. $150 later it was working flawlessly. If it had been my car, rather than my daughters, I may have tried the solenoid contacts only. I did not want to chance that she would have a starting problem at an inconvenient time.

[bdy0003]

Got any good places to buy the solenoid contacts and plunger besides amazon? Kragen apparently doesnt sell them.

[73sport]

I'd say you can gain some trouble shooting details by doing this.

1) a test lamp
2) a jumper wire
3) fingers

Granted a high mileage starter is a weak link it could be the cables, connectors, ignition switch or the wire from the I/S to the starter.

OK - test one, any large cable ground or hot (+12v) can be tested for heat. Bad connections have high resistance and get hot. Sometimes you can feel a cable or junction get real warm after trying to start it. Run your hand over them. Never know what you might find. If you can pull it off, thats bad! its broke. Pull it. If you break, well better it broke in the driveway.

Test lamp. Connect a 12v test lamp to the starter solenoid ignition wire. With a helper turn the key and watch the lamp. It should glow bright just as if on the battery directly.
OR - you can jumper the solenoid direct from the battery to confirm the starter itself works and eliminate the ignition switch. Does it work everytime? If so, it may not be the starter.

Batteries: Sometimes batteries open up. They'll read 12v with a meter and maybe power the head lamps but fail the current test. Does jumping it help?
Do the headlight glow bright when the engine is off?

Also a local battery/tire shop will likley load test your battery for free.

Just a few extra things to consider along the way. . .

[rodman2008]

I was all set to attack the solenoid contacts. Car has been sitting outside freezing for a few days.

20F outside today. Put the voltmeter on the battery, and it only had 3-4V. So had to go get a new battery, and that started it right up.

I was kind of looking forward to taking the solenoid apart, and learning how to do this for myself. Since I also have an 01AvalonXLS and an 07CamryXLE. And a few yrs back, I had my mechanic do the starter problem on this 96camryDX, before I knew anything about Denso contacts.

I kind of like somebody's post about filing the contacts down to the same thickness, and how only the battery side gets worn down. Rod