ignition problems

[tchuyi]

i have a 2000 2wd access cab. It has about 65000 miles on it now and i am having this ignition problem. In the morning, and sometimes during the day the truck will not start and only makes the "click, click sound. Other times it will work just fine. Do anyone have had a similar problem? battery is new. Could the problem be electrical?

tchuyi

[Don H]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but if your battery is good then you probably have a sticky starter solenoid. I'm not familer with the Tundra starter setup but if it's the same as my wife's Corolla the solenoid is mounded on the side of the starter. The bad news the intake manifold has to be removed to get to the starter. Big $$$. I hope I'm proven wrong and it is electrical.

[TampaBayTundra]

Originally posted by Don H
The bad news the intake manifold has to be removed to get to the starter. Big $$$. I hope I'm proven wrong and it is electrical.

Why would the intake have to be taken off to get to the starter? Every car I ever worked on has the starter on the bottom of the block where it can make contact with the flywheel.

[tchuyi]

thank you for the help, it so kind to get answer so fast. I do think the sticky solenoid is the problem. For some reason on the tundra the starter sit like a chick under the hen. You can see it, but i am afraid the long intake manifold must be removed, yuck.

thank again everyone

tchuyi

[TampaBayTundra]

Originally posted by tchuyi
For some reason on the tundra the starter sit like a chick under the hen. You can see it, but i am afraid the long intake manifold must be removed, yuck.

LOL you guys are scaring me.

[arkie6]

Originally posted by tchuyi
i have a 2000 2wd access cab. It has about 65000 miles on it now and i am having this ignition problem. In the morning, and sometimes during the day the truck will not start and only makes the "click, click sound. Other times it will work just fine. Do anyone have had a similar problem? battery is new. Could the problem be electrical?

tchuyi

A clicking starter solenoid is most often caused by a low voltage condition at the starter solenoid. This would most likely be due to a faulty battery or poor battery terminal connections. Toyota starters (made by Denso) are notoriously reliable (200,000+ miles on my original '84 Supra starter, which is not at all uncommon).

The Tundra V8 starter is located under the intake manifold near the back of the engine (just take a look, you can easily see it there). Removing the intake manifold is not that big of a deal, you will just need to get some new gaskets. But I would definitely focus on other parts of your starter system first. Few if any Tundra starters have been reported here as being faulty. Numerous batteries have been reported as failing prematurely though. My battery was replaced under warranty a couple of months ago (2000 Tundra w/36,000 miles).

What is the condition of your battery? That is a likely cause for your problem, especially considering the age of your truck, and it is easy to check. Static voltage on the battery (engine not running) should be greater than 12.5 VDC. Voltage across the battery terminals should be greater than 13.5 VDC with the engine running (if not, then you likely have an alternator or voltage regulator problem). If all of this checks out ok, then take your truck to any place that sells batteries (Wal-Mart, AutoZone, etc.), tell them your symptoms, and ask them to load test your battery (they all do it for free). They will put the battery under load to see if it may have a dead cell or internal short. If the voltage drops too low under load, then you will need a new battery.

A poor electrial connection could also be a source of the problem. Is there any corrosion (whitish fluffy stuff) around your battery terminals? If so, remove them and scrub clean (an old toothbrush works good) with a baking soda / water mixture to neutralize the acid. Rinse with clear water. Use a battery terminal cleaner wire brush to clean the posts and terminals. Apply grease to bare metal terminals and posts to minimize corrosion and reinstall.

Let us know what you find.

[tchuyi]

thanks for all the tips arkie6. I got the intake manifold out and it wasn't that bad. the starter itself was a little tricky. the solenoid contact inside were pretty worn out, so i will try to find some tomorrow at a specialty electrical store. the mileage on the truck does not tell the truth. it is a farm vehicle and must at least get around 25 startups a day ever since july 2000. It is on its third set of brake pads. my 96 integra gsr has about the same amount of miles and is not even half way through the original pads. Tundra are decent truck. i wish the door hindges were metal and not cheap plastic, as they cannot hold the doors on my driveway.

anyway i will order the gaskets from the dealer tomorrow and try to repair one of the connector i accidentaly damaged I hope i put ALL the bolts back on and in the right places

i'll let you all know if the truck start on friday

tchuyi

[Don H]

I wish I had said what arkie6 said, good explanation.

As to your doors. I think you are refering to the door checks. There is a TSB on the 2000 Tundra door checks. It can found at Tundra Solutions under Service Bulletins. It's TSB NV017-00. Print it out to show the service writer, saves a lot of time trying to explain it to the person. Gee, I had a hard time not saying something nasty about service writers just then. It made a big difference on my truck.

BTW
If your truck is not under warranty, I've been told that forcing a firm piece of rubber into the pinch point (gap) of the door check will accomplish the same thing. It's really all that Toyota has done to the new ones.

[tchuyi]

the tundra started just fine today. Surprisinly every single nuts and bolts went back to where they are supposed to go. It was much easier to put everything back then taking it all off. I got both the starter contacts for $2.00. this one shop wanted $1000 for the job and they've never done it.

thank you Don for the tips on the doors checks. I will try to fix this ongoing problem. Everyone in the family hates it.

tchuyi

[Don H]

$1000 is not surprising. Awhile back, someone on this site said it would cost $1500 to have the starter replaced at a Toyota dealership.
Glad to hear the job was pretty much staight forward. How long would you say it took?
You know I went up 21 years when I bought my truck, had my 79 Olds wagon since it was new, and I'm afraid I suffered from "tech shock". The only thing I could recognize under the hood was the fan. I thought there would be nothing I could fix and I would have to retire my hammer and screwdriver. Once again, thanks Tundra Solutions and for all the input and information it contains.
The war is not as bad when you have fellow soldiers in the foxhole with you.

[tchuyi]

to take off the throtle body(4 clips on the air filter, pull three air tubes, the front intake and the two bolts and nuts of the body) = 5 min.

there are 6 bolts and 4 nuts (all 12mm) that hold the entire intake manifold to the block. A magnetic screwdriver is recommended to get the nuts and bolts out once loosened up. About 30 min

now the manifold will come out, but you must take all the other hoses out from the manifold and label them with a piece of tape.

i left one of the hose attached to the fuel rail on the driver side. It didn;t look like it will come out. once everything is off, very carefully lift the manifold with someone's help, it's heavy and very fragile since it is aluminum. put a towel on the oil cap, lift and tilt the manifold so that the second intake port on the driver side rest on the cap. then use a wire to suspend the manifold. That will give you plenty of room to work on the starter. remove the fuel injectors and coil connectors at least on the passenger side carefully. About 30 min

the starter is the hardest part. there are three bolts that must be removed on the back. They cannot be seen easily (two 14mm holding the starter to the block and a 12mm holding the + to the starter.) it would be easier if you also removed the three 10mm bolts holding this one thick bundle of wire running on top and along the starter. i could not put the darn socket into the 14mm bolt so i used a 15mm and it worked. There just isn't much room.
About 30 min

disconnect the plastic cap covering the + wire to the starter (12mm). This cover did not want to open up so i cracked it open.
I also accidentally pulled one of the two sensors wire sitting on the inside of the V engine. i just later wielded back together.

i rebuilt the starter with a type A and B or C contact (http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/maintenance/starter/)

clean the lower intake gasket, and i put everything back = 30 min

With some direction and help the entire job can be done in one afternoon. If anyone need specific please email me at tchuyit@hotmail.com. Hope i was able to help others with this project


tchuyi

[tchuyi]

by the way total cost:

$2 for the contacts
$20 for the trottle body gasket
$20 for the book
$1.75 for the trottle body cleaner
one afternoon of research and another afternoon of implemention.

wish i had a job

tchuyi A+, Net+, MCP, CCNA

[mustang67408]

Originally posted by Don H
I hate to be the bearer of bad news but if your battery is good then you probably have a sticky starter solenoid. I'm not familer with the Tundra starter setup but if it's the same as my wife's Corolla the solenoid is mounded on the side of the starter. The bad news the intake manifold has to be removed to get to the starter. Big $$$. I hope I'm proven wrong and it is electrical.

He is right on the money!

[foxstar]

I printed off your how to (bible) and it took 2.5 hours to pull the manifold and starter out. The next day I ordered the parts, then next day I picked up the parts. The 4th day was a Sat. and it took 3 hours to fix the starter and put it all back together.
Cost of parts from Toyota
28226-54412 Kit, repaich 6.63
28226-72010 Starter KI117C 12.46
17171-50020 Gastet INCH 24.32 X 2 = about $73

Thanks I would not have done it with out your writeup!
This was the first repair of any kind done on this truck.

2000 Tundra, 80K and going...