es250 won't start - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

tronic · 03-17-2006, 03:20 PM

About a month ago my ES just died on my while going home, turns out the alternator was bad. Replaced the alternator and the battery (which was old and completely drained). Today, I drove to a friends house picked up some stuff and went back to leave. I had turned the car off for 5 mins went inside and when I came back out it won't start. I thought it was the battery but when I checked, it's completely full and the cranking amps are normal.

Here's what happens when I turn the key: nothing. No clicks, no whinning. Interior and exterior lights work up until I try starting, afterwards no power anywhere. I just checked the interior fuses by the driver side foot panel and they're all fine.

What else should I check? Any help would be great.

islandboy57 · 03-17-2006, 04:00 PM

Sure sounds like the battery is dead, even though I know you just changed it. If everything electrical will stay on until you try to start it - then that's usually the battery. That's just my educated guess

tronic · 03-17-2006, 05:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by islandboy57

Sure sounds like the battery is dead, even though I know you just changed it. If everything electrical will stay on until you try to start it - then that's usually the battery. That's just my educated guess

When it initially died on me that was my thought too. I took it back to where I bought it in order to get a free replacement (it was still under the warranty) and they tested it for me and it came back with a full amp and voltage rating. Feeling a little embarassed, I asked the guy behind the counter what my prblem could be and he told me to check my fuses. All of them are fine.

Mike Gerber · 03-17-2006, 11:03 PM

It could be a starter problem. You may be getting 1 click and not hearing it. I didn't when it happened to my wife's 98. It is common for Toyota starters to have the starter solenoid contacts wear out and you get this no start condition. You can easily test this. Locate the starter. Have someone turn the key to the start position while you tap the starter's solenoid with a small hammer or a wrench. Don't try to break it, just tap it a bit. If the starter now engages, you have found your problem. If this is the case, do a serach on this forum for "starter solenoid contacts" or "starter contacts" and read up. You can remove the starter yourself and either replace it with a rebuilt one, remove and replace just the starter solenoid contacts (available at the dealer for around $20, or have your OEM starter professionally rebuilt at an auto electrical rebuilder. I opted for the last alternative.

Mike

tronic · 03-18-2006, 05:08 PM

Here's an update:

While I was away, my friend decided to jump start my car (He wants it off his driveway ASAP) and it started fine. Problem is, after a minute of running it died again. When he tried to restart without a jump, he heard clicking and then the power slowly drained away to where we were in the beginning--once again, there is nothing happening when trying to start. Now I'm completely confused.

Mike Gerber · 03-19-2006, 05:07 PM

If he heard multiple clicking, then it's a drained battery. Since you had the battery checked and it checked out OK (they probably recharged it from an external source before checking it) and it started with a jump from another car, then the most likely cause is a defective alternator not recharging the battery. Either that or the alternator belt is slipping. First check the tension on the belt. If that feels OK, then check the battery yourself with a DVM (digital volt/ohmeter). A fully charged battery should register above 12 volts. Reguardless of the reading you get, jumpstart the car and then check the reading again. A properly functioning alternator should read around 14-1/4 to 14.6 volts when it is charging your battery. If it is less than that you have a defective alternator. I know it is only a month old, but it is probably a rebuilt unit. I have seen rebuilt units fail right out of the box.

If all that checks out OK, then the next most likely cause is an excessive "dark current" draw on the battery. This is the current that the car uses to maintain certain things in memory like the radio presets and the ECU's memory when the engine is off. You can use the DVM again to check for this. Put the meter on a miliamp scale. Then disconnect the negative battery cable and place one lead on the battery post and the other lead on the battery cable. You will now be reading the car's "dark current". Most cars have a dark current draw of 20 miliamps or less. If your reading is in access of that, then you have a problem. To check for the excessive draw, pull the fuses one at a time and recheck the reading. If the reading stays the same replace that fuse and move on to the next fuse. When your reading drops to normal, you have isolated the excessive dark current draw to one of the circuits protected by that fuse. Now you must check all the wiring on the items protected by that fuse. Many times when I have seen an excessive dark current draw, it can be traced back to a faulty aftermarket alarm system. If you have an aftermarket alarm, I would begin by pulling the alarm's main fuse and then recheck the dark current draw.

Good luck.

Mike

tronic · 03-23-2006, 06:56 PM

Here's another update...my car finally starts! It turns out it IS just a defective battery. I went back and physically inspected everything and didn't see why my battery would drain, but I guess that's just what the problem was; the battery isn't holding any power. (Anyone with a logical explantion for this is welcome to explain). It's been very frustrating to find out that that was the cause all along, and it's been right in front of my face. When all else fails, check everything again. Thanks guys!

Toyota_Rep · 03-23-2006, 07:09 PM

Check your starter solenoid, that could be the problem, get electrical tester