My Car Won't Start!!! Strange Problem Plz Help!!

[Tarzan]

Hey guys, I need help!

I have a 1994 Toyota Camry with starting problems. I am sure that the battery is good and pretty sure the starter is good as well. It clicks and tried to start and then lose all power to everything. Then it would gain power again as I noticed the door ajar light on. Then it would start after a few trys. I suspect it is the postive battery cable. I have installed Piaa 1400 fog lights and its connected to my battery terminals. Upon inspection, I noticed that the pastic housing around the positive battery cable seems to be melted. There are 2 spots melting, 1 near the starter and another where the positive battery cable connects to a pasitc housing under the airfilter. I was wondering if the fog lights are drawing too much power causing the positive battery cable to overheat? I leave the fog lights on most of the time.

Thanks for any comments or suggestions.

[Tarzan]

Bump!

Someone please comment....

[em_]

when you try to start a car and it just does click it means it's the starter, next time it happends just kick the starter a couple of times and try again , or even better have it changed

[Glen Seeber]

My problem was with an '84 Toyota pickup, manual transmission. You had to have the clutch pedal all the way down to trigger a button that allowed the starter to turn over. The button started acting up, and I had to get it replaced.

My '93 Camry appears to have the same type of button, since I have to have the clutch pedal pressed at a certain level before it will allow me to start it up. At least, that's what I'm thinkin'.

I don't know if your '94 is manual or automatic. Just thought I'd share my experience. Either it helps or it doesn't. Good luck!

[Tarzan]

when you try to start a car and it just does click it means it's the starter, next time it happends just kick the starter a couple of times and try again , or even better have it changed

Thanks but I don't think it is the starter because after clicking once and failing to start, the power would go out. I mean even the dome light would go out. Total power loss. Then I wait like 2 mins and it gets power back somehow. Then the process starts over again. Try to start, 1 click, power gone, wait 2 more mins, etc. After the 3rd or 4th attempt, it starts.

Mines an auto.

[en1gma]

Usually I would say it's your battery, but if you've recently installed fog lights it would definately be worth checking for a bad earth somewhere in that wiring. As far as the cables causing plastic to melt, make sure you overkill on the fuses to those fogs because I've seen peoples cars go up in smoke without them.

[Dainfamusgc]

Originally Posted by Tarzan

Thanks but I don't think it is the starter because after clicking once and failing to start, the power would go out. I mean even the dome light would go out. Total power loss. Then I wait like 2 mins and it gets power back somehow. Then the process starts over again. Try to start, 1 click, power gone, wait 2 more mins, etc. After the 3rd or 4th attempt, it starts.

Mines an auto.

I know you said you dont think its your starter, but i had this problem last week, and I got my starter changed and everything works fine now, the only thing is i didnt get the loss of power, but it would not start until 4th or 5th attempt, turns out it was an OC on the solenoid of the starter, my guess would be its the starter

[Knailgun]

it IS the contacts on the starter...100% positive.....those are the symptoms when they go

[eyeball96]

My Gen3.5 has had the same symptoms before, My battery cables needed cleaning and tighting up.......simple fix!

When my contacts in the starter went bad the car didn't do anything when you turned the key, after turning it on and off a couple of times then it would start!

I understand starters for camrys are expensive!

[Eye8Pussies]

Originally Posted by eyeball96

My Gen3.5 has had the same symptoms before, My battery cables needed cleaning and tighting up.......simple fix!

When my contacts in the starter went bad the car didn't do anything when you turned the key, after turning it on and off a couple of times then it would start!

I understand starters for camrys are expensive!

nope. he says that the starter clicks, which means that the solenoid is activated.

I'd say it's time to replace the starter, with possible battery problems, but starter for sure.

[riteshjain]

What a coincidence! I faced the same problem yesterday and was about to post a new message here when I saw this thread.
I have a 98 Camry LE 2.2L. Yesterday, when I tried to turn on the ignition, the whole battery went dead. I opened the hood thinking that it must be a loose connection. Visible inspection didn't show any and so I just moved the battery a little and everything came back to life. I turned the ignition again and there was this weird click and everything went dead again. I did this a few times. Then I hit the plastic cover of the +ve terminal hard and then everything was ok. This happened 2-3 times yesterday but this morning everything was ok.
So, how can I inspect the starter and the battery to see which one is giving me problems? I don't suspect there's a loose connection here because everything looked just fine.
Thanks.

[Knailgun]

Thanks Eye8......I knew I was right.....the battery MAY be helping this problem...but it isn't the ONLY thing

[Tarzan]

it IS the contacts on the starter...100% positive.....those are the symptoms when they go

So is it the starter or the contacts?

Yesterday, when I tried to turn on the ignition, the whole battery went dead. I opened the hood thinking that it must be a loose connection. Visible inspection didn't show any and so I just moved the battery a little and everything came back to life. I turned the ignition again and there was this weird click and everything went dead again. I did this a few times. Then I hit the plastic cover of the +ve terminal hard and then everything was ok. This happened 2-3 times yesterday but this morning everything was ok.

WOW that explains my situation exactly! I don't see loose connections or corriosion. I just hit the plastic cover of the positive battery cable and it would gain power again. Today the car starts up fine. But I'm sure it will go out again.

Thanks for your comments guys! So do you think it is the starter? I think it is the positive battery cable since the plastic/rubber housing for it has melted in some spots. Perhaps the foglights are putting on too heavy of a load causing the postive battery cable to overheat. I think I can only get the postive cable with a new starter as I don't see anyone selling it, only the negative.

[88 LE]

Originally Posted by Tarzan

So is it the starter or the contacts?

The contacts are within the starter. So I guess you can say its both.

You can replace the contacts or replace the entire starter.


Heres a how to:

Repair your own STARTER


And heres some pictures of the starter contacts that I replaced on a 95 Corolla:

http://www.imagestation.com/album/pi...?id=4289640479

[Mike Gerber]

If you hit the plastic cover of the + battery terminal and your car started, then most likely it is a problem with the connection(s) at the battery posts/terminals. "Looking clean" isn't good enough. These connections can develope an oxidation that looks clean to the naked eye but still be present and still cause problems. Purchase one of those battery posts/terminal cleaning tools that scrape both the posts on the battery and the inside of the terminals to clean them. You will notice how shinny things look after you use this. It's a cheap tool and it's a good thing to have for periodic upkeep. Just remember to remove the negative (-) battery cable first and put it back on last. Do this before spending any money on anything else.

Incidently, to check for bad starter contacts, when the car doesn't start, have a second person hold the key to the start positon while you go under the hood and tap the starter with a hammer or a decent size wrench. Don't try to break the thing but do give it a good tap. If the starter now turns, the contacts inside the starter are bad. Then follow 88 LE's instructions on replacing the starter contacts.

Good luck with the problem.

Mike