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2002 Lost Power

Discussion in '1st Gen Tundras (2000-2006)' started by Johnny Rotten, Jan 23, 2022.

  1. Jan 23, 2022 at 9:31 AM
    #1
    Johnny Rotten

    Johnny Rotten [OP] New Member

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    My Truck was having intermittent starting issues. Every once in a while, the starter sounded like it was dragging. Just barley able to start the truck.
    It was fine, then one day, I went to the gas station and I had no power.
    It won't even lock the doors with the fob anymore.
     
  2. Jan 23, 2022 at 9:54 AM
    #2
    chunk

    chunk New Member

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    110 miles north of Los Angeles, Ca.
    Vehicle:
    2001 SR5 Tundra, 2WD
    Bone stock, original owner
    Have you checked the battery state of charge, battery connections, and the battery cables themselves for corrosion? Zero voltage points to these possibilities. Once ruled out, a fully charged battery and then check alternator output. How old is the battery? Mine was dying a slow death at just over 7 years.
     
    dinosaur likes this.
  3. Jan 23, 2022 at 2:17 PM
    #3
    Aerindel

    Aerindel New Member

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    2000 Tundra AC, SR5, 4.7 V8 4WD, 325,00ish miles.
    Almost certainly your Battery cables/terminals.

    Start by cleaning the connections and go from there.
     
    shifty` likes this.
  4. Jan 23, 2022 at 5:12 PM
    #4
    shifty`

    shifty` Waving My Dick In The Wind

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    '06 AC Limited V8/4WD
    (see signature for truck info)
    Here's what I'll say.

    Only 1 in 10 people who come here with starting issues find it's actually the starter. And they go through a painful amount of work to have this shitty realization.

    Another 8 in 10 typically find it's either their battery (which any auto parts store will test for free), or its cables (which you can easily test resistance on with a DMM). And of the cables that are bad, it's usually either (a) hidden corrosion inside the plastic of the cable for power or ground, (b) a bad or loose ground cable from the battery to the chassis, you can run a temporary ground jumper to the engine hoist hook to test that side at least, or (c) the thinner but super critical wire that goes from the top of the positive cable to the fuse/relay box next to the battery is flaky, shot, frayed, or (d) one of the other main power cables to/from the battery is cut, sliced, loose, has several strands broke, or otherwise compromised.

    The last 1 in 10 either had some bizarre shit causing it nobody in a million year swould've guessed, or they didn't bother to update us.

    I agree with Aerindel, I'd be highly suspicious of the main cables attaching to the battery, though I'd carry the battery to the local auto parts store and have them put it on a tester to confirm it's OK. A car battery is more than just a voltage source, it's voltage and amperage, one is for continuous power, the other for bursts of output like when turning the engine over, either one of these two can fail on a battery! If you can, have someone test turning the truck over while you jiggle the cables, especially that little skinnier cable from the battery to the fuse/relay box. And of course, get a flashlight and check the relays and fuses in that engine bay fuse/relay box too.

    However, I also wouldn't be surprised to learn it was the battery. Remember, again, a battery is both a voltage source (power in volts) and an amperage source (output in amps, cold cranking amps/CCA). A lot of times when a battery is on its way out, CCA will plummet, vehicle it'll flake out when turning over.

    There's also a remote possibility your alternator is/was failing too, and having a hard time keeping the battery charged, but ... I'm skeptical.
     
    Last edited: Jan 24, 2022
    KNABORES, bmf4069, tvpierce and 2 others like this.
  5. Jan 26, 2022 at 4:55 PM
    #5
    Johnny Rotten

    Johnny Rotten [OP] New Member

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    Well, It started again like nothing was ever wrong. The positive cable was a little loose.
    I think what freaked me out was, the starting issue. Once when it was dead, I was able to get it into neutral and it started.
    I'm a little embarrassed, but I wanted to say thanks for responding.
     
    Aerindel, bmf4069 and shifty` like this.

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