1994 v6 camry starting

[bronzemaxell]

recently, my 94 camry v6 has some starting issue, well, i am not sure if it is a problem, and didn't do that before.
when the car sit over night, or after work, i insert the key in ignition, wait a few seconds, then crank the car at once, nothing happen, not even clicking like machine gun, and the dash light are not dimming, it acts like starter relay was disabled. then i proceed to 2nd crank, and i hear the starter turns the engine, and the car starts, sometime need 3rd try, and it runs fines.

this morning, i also connected the jumper battery to the vehicle battery try to give the battery a boost, and 1st try, it cranks the engine 2 or 3 seonds, but not enough to start engine, so i proceed 2nd crank, and it started the car.

i am trying to figure out what cause this problem?
in my head,
battery weak?
starter relay going bad?
starter going bad?
throttle body need cleaning?
need new engine air filter?

any advice will be appreciated.

[Bdub215]

bad connection at the battery posts i'd bet. and by bad i mean its loose.

[LittleWhiteBubble]

Or your ignition switch is going bad.

[bronzemaxell]

Originally Posted by Bdub215

bad connection at the battery posts i'd bet. and by bad i mean its loose.

you are right
i inspected and tighten the negative post, and now start on 1st crank
thanks

[bronzemaxell]

here is an update to my 94 camry v6 starting problem

it is not the battery, not the battery cable loose
like i explained earlier, sometime it starts right away, sometime it just click once
and i've done more testing, and found once i start the car and let it warm up, then shut off engine, try to restart, and i hear one click dash light not even dimming, but once the engine started, everything seems fine,
and the starting problem getting worst each day, and one time i got fed up and have to use the steering wheel club to tap the starter a few time to start the engine.

got a used, but tested working starter from junkyard
took an hour to replace, i under estimate the job, thought might only take 10 to 15 minutes, but need to remove battery, cruise control unit, air intake filter box.
and now seem it fixed the problem.

original starter having problem, only has 170k miles.

[Mister_Perkins]

you can re-build those starters too. $80.00 to have someone else do it, cheaper if you buy the parts and do it yourself.

[bronzemaxell]

Originally Posted by Mister_Perkins

you can re-build those starters too. $80.00 to have someone else do it, cheaper if you buy the parts and do it yourself.

hmmm, my uncle work in junkyard, he gave me the starter for free.
but i will save the old one to see if all i need is just the copper contacts on the solenoid.

[korrupt1]

or as mentioned the ignition switch in the column is possibly going out...can MAYBE trying cleaning it out with some contact cleaner...keys, like money, can get incredibly dirty and grimy, that gets into the switch and can cause bad connections also....its only a possibilty, but never hurts to try.

I clean my keys regurarly(sp?) and I have never had a issue with bad contacts or connections....but I am also EXTREMELY anal about alot of things

[Mike Gerber]

"sometime it just click once"

That's the classic sign of worn out starter solenoid contacts. Save that old starter. Do a search on this forum for "starter contacts" and read up on the problem and it's cure. It's been covered here numerous times. For a few dollars you can replace the starter solenoid contacts and have a spare starter.

Mike