starter

[bad_religion_au]

well after a little mud driving, turn the key and get nothin, not even a click.

just jumped the big terminal on the starter to the small one and it cranks strongly, so where do i look from here?

[Spike_Sierra]

make sure all the wires are on, like the positive from battery to the big terminal, and the wire coming from the ignition to the small one

[bad_religion_au]

the wires are on.

ok i followed most of the article in the FAQ thingy at the top. symptom is, i turn the key to the start position and get nothing. the headlights are bright and don't dim.

[quote]On a bench test, the negative battery jumper cable goes to the vice that is holding the starter by the frame. The Positive goes to the "big terminal" on the solenoid. Jump from the big terminal to one of the smaller ones with a jumper wire or a screwdriver blade to actuate the solenoid. It should click and the starter should whirrrrr. [quote]

done this and it does indeed click and whirrr. in fact i can start it like this.

so where do i look next?

[RoldIT]

Sounds like a prob with you switch circuit. Fuse maybe?

[bad_religion_au]

checked all the fuses... is there any problem as a temporary solution to run a wire from battery to push button (fused) then to small terminal, so i get a Bling starter button like a new GT

[mickyd555]

are you getting 12V to the starter moter? if so its on the control circuit. check your ignition barell and then follow it from there

[45punkbus]

message from bad_r

"checked the circuit on the ignition barrel, when key turned voltage slowly ramps up to 12 volts, and there is no current measured."

cheers

[mickyd555]

yeh, sound like the solinoid might be sticky........hit it with a hammer and it might get it going. but you may have to do that every time.


failing that, make sure you have 12V on the starter moter itself. i had this prob only last week and had to run a new cable from the battery to the starter...........

[45punkbus]

message from bad_r

"when it managers to get 12V to the starter it works fine, but the ignition barrel circuit is the only one showing any perculiar behaviour

re: post above"

cheers

[mickyd555]

message from bad_r

"when it managers to get 12V to the starter it works fine, but the ignition barrel circuit is the only one showing any perculiar behaviour

re: post above"

cheers

so ya get 12 V on the solenoid, but it is slowly getting to 12 V.........i get ya now. thats wierd, does it use a relay, maybe the relay could do with replacing........other than that i got nothing, sorry dude

[45punkbus]

this is his bro, he was saying something about the relay being fine, he tested it,

he was relaying the messages over the phone coz he doesnt have net atm,

cheers

[bad_religion_au]

ok, as deep as i've dug.

there is a relay on the firewall, one power wire straight from the battery, one going from the relay to the starter. throw a multimeter in between the relay and the starter wire, twist the key and it will slowly build to 10 volts and it won't start. if i pull the power wire and the wire going relay - starter and arc em together, it'll crank. so the wires can carry enough current, and the battery wire is supplying juice. i tried with 3 relays, one drivelight one i know works on drivelights, the original, and a brand newy... same story, voltage gets to 10 volts, starter don't crank.

to prevent confusion... this following bit is on the key circuit now, i'e. power from somewhere, through key switch (when it's cranked to start) through firewall, to relay, through relay to earth.

multimeter is stuck into wire coming from key switch, then to -ve terminal on battery, it'll slowly build (i.e. 0 - 4 -8-11 volts, about 1/2 a second between each increment). same pattern if i put the multimeter between the key wire, to the ground for the relay...

so i'm stumped... thinking about putting in push button, or burning it

what voltage should a good toyota fj40 starter solenoid take to switch?

[chimpboy]

ok, as deep as i've dug.

there is a relay on the firewall, one power wire straight from the battery, one going from the relay to the starter. throw a multimeter in between the relay and the starter wire, twist the key and it will slowly build to 10 volts and it won't start. if i pull the power wire and the wire going relay - starter and arc em together, it'll crank. so the wires can carry enough current, and the battery wire is supplying juice. i tried with 3 relays, one drivelight one i know works on drivelights, the original, and a brand newy... same story, voltage gets to 10 volts, starter don't crank.

to prevent confusion... this following bit is on the key circuit now, i'e. power from somewhere, through key switch (when it's cranked to start) through firewall, to relay, through relay to earth.

multimeter is stuck into wire coming from key switch, then to -ve terminal on battery, it'll slowly build (i.e. 0 - 4 -8-11 volts, about 1/2 a second between each increment). same pattern if i put the multimeter between the key wire, to the ground for the relay...

so i'm stumped... thinking about putting in push button, or burning it

what voltage should a good toyota fj40 starter solenoid take to switch?

I am not sure if I fully follow what you've written but it sounds like the starter motor works fine if you eliminate the relay from the equation by applying 12V directly to the wire that goes from the relay to the starter. Right?

But you've also tried a relay that you know is good and it doesn't help.

Another thing you could try is manually tripping the relay ie applying +ve and -ve to the two triggering terminals on the relay, while the other two wires are still hooked up to it. This will tell you if the trigger wires going to the relay are the problem. It sounds like this is what it might be, possibly a bad ground connection resulting from the mud.

Jason

[bad_religion_au]

yeah you got what i was saying.

just thought about trying to trip the relay by other means but i'm at work.

so it'l bug me all day.

i thought that a relay would either be open or closed at a particular voltage, none of this half half stuff...

hang on.

what would the readings on a digital multimeter look like if the switch was going on off on off on off really quickly (i.e. intermittant fault?)

so maybe my readings aren't showing a very quick succession of ons and offs, and that's why the starter won't trigger?

anyone know the answer to this?

[-Scott-]

If the switch is cycling quickly you should be able to measure significant AC voltage on the line - anything more than a few millivolts AC could indicate something like that.

It sounds like there's a problem with the +12V feed from the starter switch to the relay - possibly a defective joint? Have you tried bypassing the starter switch, and connecting the relevant relay coil terminal direct to the battery?

Good luck,

Scott

[bad_religion_au]

second go at replying

i removed the switch circuit, and wired the switch terminals on hte relay to the battery. nothing... but the relay clicked loudly.

then tried again for some reason and the starter cranked.

but then wouldn't crank this way anymore

it still cranks when i give it direct feed from the battery straight to the starter

i tested the switch circuit (key switch).

DCVolts i get 11.something volts.

ACVolts, the multimeter set on 200, i get a reading of 2.2, i assume this is 220 volts.

DC current read 0's

[bad_religion_au]

bypassed it all and ran a wire through a pushbutton switch to the solenoid to get it moving for the weekend, anyone got any ideas... let me know

thanks