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Starter motor issues

PostPosted: Thu, 23 Dec 2010 11:25 +0000
by Hilux Max
Who here has had starter motor issues?

last week, twice in one day the lux wouldnt fire up first go.....

then this morning i fired her up and heard all this squealing...thought it was the belt, so i go to switch her off and she wouldnt switch off....i quickly sussed out that the starter solenoid was stuck on and the starter was constantly cranking......i switched the key to on again and it fixed the problem.

just wondering if anyone else has had any starter gremlins.....

Re: Starter motor issues

PostPosted: Thu, 23 Dec 2010 11:32 +0000
by Bull
Sounds like it might have got wet at one stage.
Any chance that might've happened?

Re: Starter motor issues

PostPosted: Thu, 23 Dec 2010 11:36 +0000
by Skog07
I had a sticky soleniod for a while. It would drop out whilst cranking or just click. Was after a series of long water crossings. Only lasted about a week or so, its been performing fine ever since and that was over a year ago. Must have got some water in it..

Re: Starter motor issues

PostPosted: Thu, 23 Dec 2010 12:06 +0000
by gjohnson
I had to have my starter motor replaced under warranty earlier this year, battery was fine but wouldnt turn over. Started every 2nd go at first but got worse and worse over a few weeks. Sometimes taking 30 or 40 turns of the key before it would engage. Mainly only when it was cold for some reason?
Everytime I took it to Toyota to diagnose of course it wouldnt do it and would fire up first go!!!
In the end they got sick of me harrassing them and they replaced it. Been fine ever since.
Cheers Greg.

Re: Starter motor issues

PostPosted: Thu, 23 Dec 2010 12:16 +0000
by phat_allen
I had the same thing after it got a bit wet, i pulled it down and replaced the solenoid contacts and actually sealed the mechanistic completely with silastic. Never had the same prob again :D. Really cant explain why they dont come like that from the factory.

Re: Starter motor issues

PostPosted: Thu, 23 Dec 2010 2:53 +0000
by hendoshane
Had the same experience as gjohnson. Was annoying at first and then car was becoming very unreliable as never sure if it would actually catch and start. Had the starter motor reconditioned and all good. Car had approx 80 000km and had been dunked in mud and salt water.

Shane

Re: Starter motor issues

PostPosted: Fri, 24 Dec 2010 6:01 +0000
by joffaute
Yeah mine played up alot when I first got it, used to take 2-4 goes when it was cold to get the starter to engage. I just pulled it out and stripped it down and gave the contacts a good clean and greased everything back up. It still did it occasionally for a while after that but it seems to have come good eventually. It's been through water and mud.

Re: Starter motor issues

PostPosted: Fri, 24 Dec 2010 9:53 +0000
by seb
yeah mate you may have been thinking about my starter motor posts from when i flooded my old car but that wasn't as bad as what yours sounds like

there is a couple of photos on there of me ripping it out and cleaning it

you probs know how to do that anyway
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=7026

i'll change the title of the thread to cleaning starter motor as well

goodluck

Re: Starter motor issues

PostPosted: Sat, 25 Dec 2010 7:24 +0000
by shane308
I had mine replaced under Toyota extended warranty a couple monthes back, they even had the hide to try and put a non genuine one in because it was cheaper for them, so if it's under warranty make sure they don't pull fast one on ya!!

Re: Starter motor issues

PostPosted: Thu, 30 Dec 2010 5:05 +0000
by Goldminer
Mmaxx, I had the same issues with mine. I just whipped it out and had the local autosparkie strip and clean it and 50 bucks later stuck it back in. 2 years on its still going great guns. The sparkie said it was a bit corroded and just needed a clean and lube.
Cheers

Vehicle wont start, 'clicks' when turning key only

PostPosted: Sun, 20 Feb 2011 4:46 +0000
by Steve9R
Well this is a retrospective post as ive already fixed the problem but thought I'd post it up anyway as a reference for anyone that comes across the problem in the future.

Problem : Lux would only start intermittantly. some times (anytime of day or night) you'd turn the key and all you'd hear was the click of the starting relay, no engine cranking / nothing. You could try the key on and off up to 40 times somedays with no results, then suddenly it'd start.

Now my lux has done a lot of water / mud / salt submersions in its life, and moisture ingress into starter motors has always been a problem with all vehicles, the lux is no different.

So I disconnected the battery cables and cleaned terminals reattached, no difference. Changed relay, no difference, different key (i was living in hope that day), no difference. So decided I had to pull the starter motor out.

First thing to do when removing the starter is to firstly disconnect your battery(ies), this includes your aux batteries as the starter has large connecting cables to it obviously to make the vehicle start and if these short once disconnected you'll have a lot more issues... so disconnect them all and insulate them with electrical tape just to be sure.. then you can safely disconnect the cables from the starter motor..

there are only two bolts holding the starter motor in, both are accessible from underneath the passenger side of the lux and with the help of a breaker bar you can get them loose.

once you have the two cables and the two nuts off the starter you can simply maneuver it out through the bottom of the vehicle.

Once removed, we removed the small triangular stainless steel plate off the back of the starter and instantly saw the problem. Green corrosion all over the brass contact plates and contacts, which acts as a perfect insulating barrier for the electrical current. hence no go..

So we pulled the contacts and plates out and attacked them with sandpaper and a buff to clean off all the corrosion.

Once cleaned, reassemble and reinstall and test.. Problem solved..

Image

Re: Vehicle wont start, 'clicks' when turning key only

PostPosted: Sun, 20 Feb 2011 5:57 +0000
by Jcx77
Thanks, This come in handy!

Re: Vehicle wont start, 'clicks' when turning key only

PostPosted: Sun, 20 Feb 2011 8:32 +0000
by OFFTRAK
Nice work, Steve... Can I have your workbench? My old cut down kitchen table isn't cutting it. :)

Re: Starter motor issues

PostPosted: Mon, 21 Feb 2011 12:02 +0000
by Hilux Max
Well, bit of an update on this...the last two weeks the starter was beginning to give me the shits....would work fine for two days then on the third Id have to turn the key and attempt to start it 10 or so times.

I pulled the starter out friday night ( easy 10 minute job)....dropped it off to a friend who's an auto elec.

He pulled it apart, replaced the connectors inside and used marine grease on the bearings and put it back together.

$50 later, works like new. :mrgreen:

Re: Starter motor issues

PostPosted: Mon, 21 Feb 2011 12:07 +0000
by Steve9R
Topics merged..

Re: Vehicle wont start, 'clicks' when turning key only

PostPosted: Wed, 23 Feb 2011 10:51 +0000
by Skog07
Steve9R wrote:Well this is a retrospective post as ive already fixed the problem but thought I'd post it up anyway as a reference for anyone that comes across the problem in the future.

Problem : Lux would only start intermittantly. some times (anytime of day or night) you'd turn the key and all you'd hear was the click of the starting relay, no engine cranking / nothing. You could try the key on and off up to 40 times somedays with no results, then suddenly it'd start.

Now my lux has done a lot of water / mud / salt submersions in its life, and moisture ingress into starter motors has always been a problem with all vehicles, the lux is no different.

So I disconnected the battery cables and cleaned terminals reattached, no difference. Changed relay, no difference, different key (i was living in hope that day), no difference. So decided I had to pull the starter motor out.

First thing to do when removing the starter is to firstly disconnect your battery(ies), this includes your aux batteries as the starter has large connecting cables to it obviously to make the vehicle start and if these short once disconnected you'll have a lot more issues... so disconnect them all and insulate them with electrical tape just to be sure.. then you can safely disconnect the cables from the starter motor..

there are only two bolts holding the starter motor in, both are accessible from underneath the passenger side of the lux and with the help of a breaker bar you can get them loose.

once you have the two cables and the two nuts off the starter you can simply maneuver it out through the bottom of the vehicle.

Once removed, we removed the small triangular stainless steel plate off the back of the starter and instantly saw the problem. Green corrosion all over the brass contact plates and contacts, which acts as a perfect insulating barrier for the electrical current. hence no go..

So we pulled the contacts and plates out and attacked them with sandpaper and a buff to clean off all the corrosion.

Once cleaned, reassemble and reinstall and test.. Problem solved..

Image

Top post Steve.
Thanks for the tips on how to get the starter out and rectify the problems of moisture ingress. :)
Cheers
Mark

Starter motor

PostPosted: Tue, 07 Jun 2011 9:54 +0000
by wyworrie
Starter motor clutch failed at 120,000km. Toyota has agreed to pay 50% of parts and labour to repair. my 50% is about $330. Has any one else suffered this problem? Apparently no parts avail in Australia!! 3-4w ex Japan. So I was thinking either a major problem or never happened before.

Peter

Re: Starter motor

PostPosted: Wed, 08 Jun 2011 9:50 +0000
by bansheebuzz
4 liter v6? i have done alot of starter clutches on them, parts are not a problem to source

Re: Starter motor

PostPosted: Wed, 08 Jun 2011 8:06 +0000
by wyworrie
sorry guys I should have said it's a 3.0 D4D

Re: Starter motor

PostPosted: Wed, 08 Jun 2011 9:03 +0000
by Hilux Max
I too have had problems in the past with starting issues on starter motor...got a mate whos an auto elec to clean it out and rebuild it for me....I removed it (simple excercise) and dropped it off one night...picked it up the next and fitted it back in...

no more starting issues....you tend to get crap inside it and it dirties the contacts....