loses electrical power after one crank - need help

My Tundra (2008 5.7l with almost 300k miles) suddenly won't start after being parked for about 48 hours. Parked it Friday night after work. Won't start Sunday night. This is usual routine of how I use the truck. I don't normally use it during the weekend and leave it parked over the weekend. The starter was recently replaced earlier this year in February.

It seems to be totally disconnected from electrical power. Door lock button doesn't work. No dash light when I turn the key. Headlight doesn't work. Horn doesn't work. I measured the voltage of the battery, normal (12V). I tried jumping it with my other vehicle, won't start. I disconnected and reconnected the battery, nothing. I tried to crank the ignition multiple times over the course of the last couple of days. One time it did have power and tried to start but then died right back again. The battery is only 1.5 to 2 years old. It's an Interstate brand car battery from Costco. So I doubt it's a problem with the battery.

I checked the fuses that are 30 amps and higher, all seem to be fine. I checked battery grounding, that seems fine too.

While checking various things, I discovered that opening and closing the hood restores electrical power, then I get one try at ignition. I try it turning the key, then it tries to start, but won't. I can reopen and close the hood again to get power back, but attempt to start the car would just fail again.

I saw this thread https://www.tundras.com/threads/turn-the-key-and-nothing.125540/ where someone ran into similar symptoms. Their resolution was to replace the alternator and said the root cause was that the old alternator was overcharging. For my 2nd gen tundra, replacing the alternator seems like giant PITA and I can't be sure that the alternator is the problem in my case.

I kinda suspect that the mechanic didn't do something right when they replaced the starter earlier this year. But the truck being this old, it's possible and likely the problem is totally different this time.

I would like to get some general advice about what else to test and see before I get it towed it to a shop and pay someone to fix it.

 

I had bad batteries from Costco before. Just saying. Died on me after 12 months.

 

My guess is a bad battery/bad cell. If you have a multimeter, you can test it pretty easily. The battery should read over 12.5v while resting, 13.x-14.x volts while the engine is running, and shouldn’t drop below 11v while cranking. Hold the multimeter probes on the battery while somebody cranks it over and see how low it drops. A faulty cell usually reads below 9v when cranking.

 

I would agree with the battery. 2 Interstate batteries I got at Costco died on 2 different cars over the last 1 year. Also had faith in the Optimas but I've killed plenty of those to go back for less than 3 years of service.

 

While resting, the battery is 12.2v.

While being jumped with the jumping cables connected to another running car, the battery is 13.5v.

I haven't measured the voltage while cranking while being jumped. I basically just get 1 try at starting, it would fail to start, then I would have to disconnect jumping cable, close the hood, re-open the hood just so the truck have any power at all.

So a bad battery can result in not being able to get jump started? Also, the whole hood close then re-open to regain power just makes me feel like it doesn't have anything to do with the battery.

But getting the battery tested should be free at autozone, and it's easy enough to take the battery out. The Costco warranty should be good for 3 years. So I've got that going for me.

 

Also, before I bring the battery to autozone, I guess I can try trickle charging it overnight and put it back in the truck just to see if that works. I feel like there is a good chance that this might work, and after a few weeks the problem would come up if the battery is bad.

Before bringing the battery to autozone for testing, should I have the battery fully charged via a charger or not bother with that?

 

don't bother. bring it like that

 

Had battery tested and all the tests passed.

 

Did you clean your battery posts and clamps?
Sounds simple but that my issue on my 2005 years ago..

 

I just installed the battery back onto the truck, and cleaned both the post as well as the clamps that go on the posts.

Same problem - 1 crank and truck loses all power.

 

It seems like a very unique symptom that opening and closing the hood causes the truck to regain power. It doesn't seem like it's coincidental due to the vibration caused by the hood, since this procedure works every time rather than some of the times.

Does this ring a bell to anyone or maybe it's a red herring?

 

safety or alarm/kill switch linked to hood opening ?

 

This was resolved. The link between the battery terminal and the cable was loose. I replaced it. It seems to be made of lead and the bottom is mush not even holding onto the bolts anymore.

 

Damn, I was close..
Glad you got it figured out...

 

Glad you got it sorted OP, once again, this is cables and terminals to blame. Take note future searchers.