Engine won't crank

[great-white-lux]

Hi all

I've got a 2011 hilux "non-runner" that i bought not long ago and am trying to get it started.

So the car cranks but only once...I thought it was the starter motor because i managed to push start it once (and never again) so got a new starter motor and still same issue. Plugged in my obd scanner and got a fault code "P0047" something about the turbo motor driver. Went to the wreckers and got a replacement one. Code cleared but engine still won't crank properly (only that single crank).

The engine light is on, the timing belt light is on, the oil light is on too...

When i did manage to push start it that one time the engine was really rough, blew out a lot of black smoke and right when it was about to cut off i tried revving it to keep it going but seemed like the engine just chocked out on itself...

Air filter is clean, battery is decent, oil levels are okay.

Any tips or pointers on where i should start?

[Gipsy]

Any history on why it's a non runner? If it still only cranks once after a new starter motor and the battery is healthy, then there may be problems other than starter, such as was the engine driven through water, or worse did it have the dreaded injector failure leading to a cracked piston? If one or more cylinders has water or fuel filling it then it won't crank past tdc. Was it seized? Timing belt light??? You sure it hasn't got camshaft timing issues? Those lights should go off before cranking, just to check if the lights are ok. You can keep throwing new parts at it but unless you find what's causing the issue you could spend the rest of time trying to get it running.
Any number of things could be wrong and it's almost impossible to diagnose online and without any history.

[great-white-lux]

Thanks Gipsy.

I had a mate who is a diesel mechanic come out today to check it out. I told him about the problems and the engine light and he manually cranked the engine with a 22 socket. He said the engine is turning okay so no issues there. Put a cable directly to the starter motor and that helped it crank a few more times but didn't manage to start it. So he made us all push the car as fast as we could and he pushed started it in second gear. Car started! Engine was really smooth and he checked a few more things out while the engine was running and said everything mechanically is sound. The reason why it's not starting is because of something electrical not mechanical. The engine light and oil lights turned off too (but timing belt light is still on). Apparently the light automatically comes on after the 150k km mark and then has to be manually reset when a new one is fitted.

Anyways we left the car running for about 10min and prayed and hoped (at least I did) it would magically start after we switched it off....but it didn't. We turned the car off and same issue.

The key also manages to get stuck when taking the key out and in or turning it when trying to switch the car on. Apparently, if these get stuffed up "electrically" then it will prevent the car from starting. He reckons I should take the car to an electrician to get a proper OBDII scan and find the exact cause....

No history on why it was a non-runner. Was owned by Rio Tinto before I had it and they had daily inspection records. The only issue they noted was that the 150k service hadn't been done. So whatever happened to the car happened while they were decommissioning.

[Gipsy]

Ok keep us posted on what happens. It might help someone else. If the key gets stuck you may need a new key and lock. It might be worth getting some locksmiths graphite to squirt into the lock, it might just be dry, and try the spare key if you have one. Its possibly related to the no start as the engine immobiliser could be causing the no start. Make sure your battery terminals are clean and good contact. If you get a new key it needs to be programmed to the vehicle.

[martynvella]

When you say it only cranks once, does it crank as long as you hold the key in start, or does it stop cranking on its own while your still holding it in start?
Also how do you reset it so it only cranks once again?

[great-white-lux]

Thanks Gipsy. Will keep this post updated. I didn't know there was such a thing called locksmiths graphite. I will try and find some and spray it in there to see what happens. No spare key unfortunately.

@martynvella, it stops cranking on its own when i hold it in start. It just feels like everything is stuck. It will recrank again after a few seconds of putting the key back to the "on" position or by turning the key back to the off and then on again.

[martynvella]

If you can pm me your email address i can send yo the wiring schematic

[Gipsy]

Are you sure it's not the battery with a bad plate? That's what it sounds like. Try a different battery or jump start with another battery.

[martynvella]

One would assume he would have consitered the battery before he threw a new starter motor at it.

Its a very simple process to see if a starter is faulty or not, saves a lot of money for the sake of 5 minutes of meathodic diagnostics.

Time to take it to a professional and stop asking people on forums what part you should throw at it next. There are still thousands of dollars of parts it might be but only one of them MIGHT need replacing.

[martynvella]

If it is an x miner has it still got all the minespec crap on it or has it been removed?
There are a few different avenues it could be but you really need a schematic, the ability to understand it, and some basic test equipment to formulate a theory or two. Oh, and a little knowlege on where not to poke a test light.

If you are really unlucky it will have more than one fault, the original one and one or two that were created by idiots trying to fix it before the decision was made to flog it off rather than continuing to TRY to repair it.

[Gipsy]

One would assume he would have consitered the battery before he threw a new starter motor at it.

Its a very simple process to see if a starter is faulty or not, saves a lot of money for the sake of 5 minutes of meathodic diagnostics.

Time to take it to a professional and stop asking people on forums what part you should throw at it next. There are still thousands of dollars of parts it might be but only one of them MIGHT need replacing.

Yes martyn one would assume, but often as you know, simple issues are often the simple answer

[great-white-lux]

My dad has a newer model hilux, took his battery out and tried with that, still same issue. I got one of my other cars and tried to jump start it with the newer battery and a secondary battery connected and still same issue.

Still has all the minespec wiring inside under the dash. I removed one single cable and all the power cut out of the car so i plugged it back in and didn't touch them again. I need to get an electrician out to remove all that and check out the car.

....the weird thing now is (post starting it a few days ago), when i try and start the car it turns over two or three times and then clicks as if it has a dead battery. So if it was something electrical then why has the car decided to give me a few more turns of the engine before cutting out now?

btw i bought an aftermarket starter motor from Repco. OEX or something. Could it be that the new aftermarket starter motor isn't working either? How do i check if it's working?

[martynvella]

It is unlikley that a new starter will have the exact same fault as the old one.

You say it cranks a few more times then starts to click like a flat battery. This is the first time you described it as such, previously you said cut out.....quite a big difference.

Find the battery isolator that the mine will have fitted.
Crank it a couple of times then feel along the heavy battery cables for hot spots. See if you can take the isolator out of circuit by putting the -ve heavy cable directly to the engine block and the lighter one to the body.

To test the starter if you dont find any hot spots remove the smaller push on cable from the solenoid and feed 12 volts to the terminal you removed it from, make sure the car is in neutral first or you will hurt yourself. I doubt it will be the starter, if it still fails to crank keep looking for a bad connection in the battery cables. Also look for swelling of the cables from corrosion inside the insulation.

Will shoot you a schematic when im home.

[great-white-lux]

Hi - got the car fixed...got a retired auto sparky to come out and have a look. He took out the starter motor relay and fed power directly into where the relay went and the car started. He tested the relay itself and the relay was good too. He said the starter switch (underneath the ignition barrel) may be faulty because it seemed like it was dropping the voltage only when you crank it (he had a little light connected to the relay at the same time). He checked underneath the steering wheel and found the starter cables had been re-routed to some sort of mine spec device which he thought was faulty and preventing the car from starting. He cut the cables bypassing the device (so essentially bringing the wiring back to factory) and now the car starts perfectly.

Glad that this is now over and thank you everyone for your inputs...time to get the car on the road!

[hiluxxury]

Glad to see its all sorted - certainly an interesting problem.

[Gipsy]

Great outcome, I wonder if the re-routing of the starter/ignition cables was some kind of remote disabling system installed by the mining company? Any suggestions?

[Gipsy]

Great outcome, I wonder if the re-routing of the starter/ignition cables was some kind of remote disabling system installed by the mining company? Any suggestions?

[hiluxxury]

Great outcome, I wonder if the re-routing of the starter/ignition cables was some kind of remote disabling system installed by the mining company? Any suggestions?

I've seen a few styles but they all seem to link to an external kill switch.

[Gipsy]

There is a system which uses GPS location and tracking which has a kill switch controlled remotely.

[martynvella]

Many sites put a switch on the clutch pedal that disables crank unless the clutch is disengaged.