Electrical problems, truck won’t start

I have had my 07 Tundra for 5 years and it has been a great truck. However I have been having problems with it lately. I have replaced the battery, alternator and starter and it still won’t start. My mechanic is stumped. He has checked all of the grounds. When it started having problems I had the battery and alternator checked and the battery was still good but the alternator was going bad so I had it replaced. I had to drive 5 hours the next day and stayed there for a week with no problems. On my way home I was going about 70 & set the cruise control and suddenly my whole instrument panel went crazy and the cruise control kicked off. I bought a new battery and drove home with no more problems. Not long after being home it would just not start sometimes but if I left it awhile and then tried it would start again. Eventually it just stopped working altogether. The mechanic said he thought it was the starter so we let him replace it, we haven’t gotten the bill yet :-( but that didn’t fix it either. Have any of you experienced this? When you turn the key it just clicks but everything that runs off the battery is fine. Thanks

 

starter solenoid or bad starter perhaps, they can be bad even brand new since you said it was replaced. Click like that is a bad starter usually. Starting a vehicle takes a ton more power than running accessories, so check for full power on the new battery as well. Either part, just been replaced and new, can be bad.

Guessing you checked and all battery cables and grounds are solid and have no corrosion? Also check ignition start switch, ignition lock cylinder

 

Electrical problems are my weakest point of knowledge, but having your electronics shut down while driving sure sounds like something is shorting out.

 

A digital multimeter hooked up to the battery can really help checking for voltage.

I would do these things in this order:
1) Check the voltage of the battery. It should be at least 12 volts all the time. (If it is below this and the truck is just "clicking" when you try to start your battery is dead)
2) If you can get the truck started, check the voltage on the battery post while it is running. You want to see 13.5-14 volts to show your alternator is working properly.

Having a good solid power supply (battery) that is recharging is the first key.

Make very sure all the connections are clean on the power and ground wires. A bad or loose ground wire will cause crazy things to happen.

The fact you bought a brand new battery and had no trouble for several hours leads me to think you might still have an alternator or recharging issue. Make sure and check all your fuses just to be safe. I have seen dirty fuses on make partial contact sometimes and cause weird power problems.

In a weird way this almost makes me think your truck is having issues with the security system and wireless key fob. I kind of doubt it because it should still turn over just no spark if the engine immobilizer is on.

 

So, who put the alternator on? Where did the alternator come from?

 

A official welcome to the tundra forum

 

Thank you everyone for your help. My mechanic found a bad wire under the fuse box when checking out the fuse for the starter. He said that the fuse was okay but he went ahead and replaced it along with fixing the wire. It starts and runs great now. It’s great having my truck back. I sure missed it.

 

By the way, I had found a u tube video that I sent to my mechanic that he found useful in finding the problem. I will attach the link in case anyone wants to see it.

 

https://youtu.be/gAgiLouV_00

 

Welcome from LA (Lower Alabama)! And great find on the video!