engine gone crazy - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

semi-charmed · 03-18-2006, 01:21 AM

sup boys...last night on the way home from st. patrick's day celebrations my 2 started doing something really weird...all of a sudden the engine light would come on and the tachometer would just start jumping all over the place...it felt like the car was gonna stall...this happened for about 5 seconds before the problem went away...then it happened again but this time the engine light didn't come on...keep in mind this is after the car is warm and i was driving for a good 20 minutes or so before it happened...i don't know where to start...anyone have any ideas? thanks in advance

***MR2Jedi*** · 03-18-2006, 12:38 PM

some kind of electrical issue...I think I would start my investigation with ground , then alternator

semi-charmed · 03-18-2006, 05:03 PM

i haven't checked my wires/plugs/rotor/cap since i bought the car last year...do you think this could be part of the problem?

***MR2Jedi*** · 03-19-2006, 12:06 AM

a real bad cap might cause your problem but I think if it was that bad, it would run bad all the time.

mechanix0889 · 03-19-2006, 09:43 AM

not neccisarly would it be bad all the time if its arking to something through the cap every now n then i had that happene and about the same situation on mine.

semi-charmed · 03-19-2006, 03:51 PM

ok the problem's gotten worse...took the car out today, came home and parked it on the driveway...when i went to start it again...it wouldn't crank...now this is the funny part...after i took the key out of the ignition it i heard a ticking noise from the engine (it kinda sounded like the starter motor trying to kick in)...this ticking noise continued for about 2 minutes...and then stopped...i also noticed smoke coming from the positive terminal of the battery...is this a grounding problem?...car won't start at all now...

***MR2Jedi*** · 03-19-2006, 11:48 PM

as I stated before, I think it's a electrical issue-not mechanical. I would look for a bad groung/bad wire.. something along those lines.But I'm no expert by any meaning of the word.if you heard a noise coming from your starter, maybe the solenoid is sticking...

semi-charmed · 03-20-2006, 09:23 AM

okay this problem just keeps getting worse...MR2BAD you were right...there was a ground lead that was left unconnected (i just had the clutch done and i guess my mechanic must have missed that)...i fixed that up...but the car still won't start...i know i'm getting enough power, because the battery has about 13 volts in it...and drops to about 7 during crank (is that right?)

this is the bad part though...i went to turn the crankshaft manually and found it was very hard to turn, and once it gets to a certain part of the rotation, it is impossible to turn by hand, but you can turn it back the other way...am i dealing with an engine seize here? someone suggested to me that the engine might have jumped the timing belt? please anyone that has had experience with anything like this i could use your help...

***MR2Jedi*** · 03-20-2006, 07:30 PM

it's very hard to turn an engine over by hand, especially approaching the compression stroke.. if you could turn it at all-it's not seized. 13 volts is getting low. a good battery is usually above 14.check your terminals/cables/clamps and make sure they are clean and have a good tight connection. charge the battery up and then try it..

dannn · 03-20-2006, 11:27 PM

a good battery is around 12.6 volts not 14. 14 would be charging voltage not static voltage.

im not sure what you mean by not starting. is the starter at least turning the engine over? or nothing at all?

you might be losing the rpm signal since a car wont start without rpm. it will also cause it to operate weird if its running. since you said the tach was operating weird before it died check the source of the rpm signal.
im guessing since both your tach and engine had problems its something in the igniter circuit.

semi-charmed · 03-21-2006, 11:10 AM

thanks for the input...when i say not starting i mean sometimes i'll hear the starter click and nothing will happen...sometimes i get maybe half a rotation of the crank or so and that's it...i took out the plugs and the crankshaft is turning fine now (phew)...i have a feeling that the starter might be bad...the ground that was left unconnected was right beside the starter...maybe that did some damage?

Gairloch · 03-21-2006, 03:21 PM

Have you swapped out the plug wires, plugs and distributor yet? Even if they aren't related making sure those are in good condition is worthwhile.

I would be tempted to change out that battery. It sounds to me like you're not getting enough juice.

FrankMeza · 03-21-2006, 05:38 PM

i had a similar problem with mine.... my rpms would drop really low and i'd stall when it was in neutral, even when i was moving. it turned out to be the seal around the vaccum boot was leaking... if thats the problem, its incredibly easy to fix.

turbo_GT · 03-21-2006, 08:54 PM

I had the exact same problem as yours..apperently..the positive cable on the battery is a bit loose..so everytime i tried to crank it..it would start a bit then whole car would shake and losen up the positive and will shut off...make sure you tighten up the cables connected to the battery..

semi-charmed · 03-21-2006, 10:20 PM

ok here's an update...i put the plugs back in today...and miraculously the engine started...it struggles hard though...the idle drops really low a couple times off and on...whenever it felt like it was gonna stall out i gave it throttle and it starts to run ok again for a while...if i leave it for a couple minutes idling without throttle it eventually stalls itself out

frank...where exactly do i find this vacuum boot...thanks for the help again guys