car does not crank

[dorifuto.boi]

hey guys,

real quick. when i turn my key to start, it does not crank and turnover. it makes one click sound. is the starter motor broken ? no i havent tried jumping the car (all the electronucs still work). is that something i should try or is it pretty sure that its the motor thats gone ?

thanks a lot,
d

[fenixus]

have you checked all fuses and knocked on relays? I assume the battery connections are solid as all electronics work fine, correct?

[dorifuto.boi]

i will check fuses.
what do u mean by knock on relay

[fenixus]

Originally Posted by dorifuto.boi

what do u mean by knock on relay

when they get old they get sticky and stuck eventually

when you knock on them (just like you would knock on the door ) you may sometimes release the inside "latch" (the thing that moves from open to close position) and make it briefly work correctly again (not for long though or only while knocking).

[Nervous]

You need to knock on starter's solenoid, actually, not relay. According to problem's description, relay is fine (it "clicks").
Just use a piece of wood and rubber mallet and hit slightly the starter.
If doesn't help - you probably would need to rebuild the starter's solenoid. There is a DIY in FAQ section.

[bronzemaxell]

my old car had the one click during crank, all electronic still works, dash light not even dimming during cranking process, sometime take 2nd crank, sometime 4 or 5 time of cranking, something it won't start. turn out it was a starter motor malfunction, replaced the motor starter, and works like new now. i did research, they said probably the starter solenoid contact worn, but i replaced the whole starter fixed my problem

[dorifuto.boi]

hey guys, thanks for all the replies.

heres what ended up happening.

a breif history of cranking my car: my car always cranks normal except rare instances where the engine won't crank the first time but it always cranks the second time.

today: what i described earlier. there was one click and won't crank no matter how many times i try to start it. all fuses were ok. i exchanged the efi replay with the mag clutch relay then the engine cranked and turned over. then i drove to my friends house, turn off car. a few min later, i got back in my car. it turned on first try, then i went to autozone. a few min later after im done shopping, i twisted my key to start and again. nothing happened. however cranked just fine on second try. i come home. an hour later, i got in my car to go to subway. no crank. second try no crank. third try no crank. fourth try no crank. fifth try cranked just fine and turned over right away.

so it seems like according to your responses, it is the starter solenoid ?

thanks a lot,
d

[fenixus]

yep sounds like it.

does it behave almost exactly same way with new relay (one click and nothing) ?

last thing to check is the ground points this circuit uses (on 1mz-fe). manual says:
a) "IG" ground and it's located in cabin (Instrument Panel Brace LH)
b) "ED" ground and it is located in engine bay (Rear Side of the Surge Tank / Intake Manifold)
c) ground strap/cable on starter module.

if all good (clean and tight), yeah i think the starter's solenoid is going bad (based on fact that all fuses check out and problem is intermittent and ignition switch problems are rare).

one last thing, do you have an immobilizer? there is a chance that your security device has intermittent problem with recognizing the ignition key transponder (it could cut off the starter or ignition/EFI circuit then).