No crank, no start, and definitely not my Battery!

My 2001 tundra just wouldn’t start all the sudden one day. All I get is a click. After reading a bunch it sounded like the unfortunate news that I needed a starter. So it was the biggest job I’ve done before but it wasn’t to hard just time consuming and it’s getting cold outside here in Wisconsin. So new starter and all I get is a click! I have two batteries and they are both one year old and in perfect condition with immaculate terminals. I have an aftermarket stereo hence the second battery so I make sure connections are clean and nice. Checked the relay tried to bypass with a wire and still just click. Is it the computer maybe? I am stumped. I spent my last 150 bucks on that starter that I am pretty sure now I probably didn’t need.

 

Dang man, that sucks! You got a voltmeter? Sounds like a dead battery to me.

 

verify that you have a clean connection at both ends of all the engine grounds, make sure each has full voltage at both ends, and then check your fuses.

 

Turn the power on and shift the through the gears and back to park. Now try to start in P and in N. Perhaps a bad connection in the neutral safety circuit between column and trans. You are in saltland so I would check how corroded the trans wiring is underneath make sure no wires are broken. Do some homework and find the NSS on your year/model. Make sure that is clean and connected.

Get to work, grounds/fuses/column position/ NSS wiring underneath would be where I looked if I felt my Batt/starter were good.

 

Hate to say this but if you used a remanufactured starter it could have been bad out of the box, wouldn't be the first time. If you bypassed the relay and it still just clicked it's either a bad starter or low power.

Quick and dirty throw a meter on the battery and check the voltage while turning the key, if it drops below 12 your battery is shit doesn't matter how old they are.

 

I know for a 100 percent certain fact my batteries both of them hold above 12.75 volts and the starter is hours old. My truck has only been here in salt central for two winters, originally it was a Seattle Washington vehicle and I have been vigilant keeping rust and corrosion at bay because I know what it can do to a Toyota. So there’s zero deterioration of any wires or bolts or anything underneath the vehicle. I’ve tried starting from different positions neutral park in gear you name it. I’ve jumped the relay and everything still get click. With my key in the on position my engine is making a semi loud buzzing weird whining noise. It’s weird. Can’t explain it. But I am gonna take my multimeter and test all my engine grounds. I don’t want to take it to a damn rip off mechanic but I may be forced to tow it in eventually and get it looked at. This is a nightmare with the damn police extorting me. Alternate side parking means I have to move my truck to a different side of the street every day and with parking tickets going up to 80 bucks each day they will just take my truck in less than a week if I don’t pay them. I hate this town. Don’t ever move to lacrosse Wisconsin they are crazy thieves.

 

I got plenty of power with both batteries I have over 1300 cold cranking amps. So son of a bitch it’s a bad starter out of the box. Oh my god I have to take my intake manifold back off son of a poopy turd man. Well it should be a little easier this time.

 

You need to check your batteries under a load. I've had batteries test at 12.5 but drop to 8 under a load. Don't start pulling anything apart until you do that. Like I said hook the meter up on the main battery and turn the key.

 

Are the battery cables corroded?

If you're getting a click from the starter solenoid, your ign sw, neutral safety all work fine. It's either battery, cables (corrosion will cause high resistance and lack of amperage necessary to spin the starter motor) or the starter itself.

 

This is great advice. Should take you a couple of minutes to run this test. If you rule this out, then there are lots of good suggestions above.

 

i’ve seen many threads here with you same problem and many are either the battery cables are bad and broken hidden by the loom just at the clamps. another is junk aftermarket starters.

a trick i learned here from someone is that you can buy a oem starter in the heavy duty version from toyota for less than the regular duty version and it has more kw power. something like 1.4kW vs 2.1kW which is a big difference and it costs less for the heavy duty a winner all a round.

 

I've replaced a starter before and it turned out to be a seized A/C compressor (not on a tundra though). Could take your belt off and try and crank just to verify.

 

Jump the starter relay.... paperclip, flathead screwdrivers crossed or a jump wire... put the key in the 'ON' position before though....
see if that works...

 

One thing to try, just to be sure, is put a wrench on the crank pulley and make sure the engine can be turned over by hand just in case its stuck in someway. Not likely, but do it just to rule it out.

Also, I always bench test starters before installing since its so easy to just hook them up with jumper cables and make sure they spin before you put them in.

 

Ive had the safety switch cause this problem in a f150, figured it out after replacing the starter a few times for nothing. My tundra had a corroded starter from sitting a few years when i first got it and it tok me a while to figure out where it even was

 

Make damn sure it is in park before you jump across ignition, mistakes have killed people.

 

I am collecting nickels for this statement in all public citizen diagnostic forums. Please pay promptly.

 

Your 100% certainty already cost you a starter/gaskets/days labor. You aren't the first nor will you be the last to load the parts cannon at the cost of time and money. Verify diagnosis, before purchase, dissasembly and reassembly. Your wallet will thank you later.

 

Could be the infamous Tundra click of death. The starter motors are bulletproof but the copper contacts burn and eventually don’t flow enough current. Parts are cheap but labor is crazy because some idiot decided to put the starter in the valley. Took me 4 hrs to repair. Got the plunger and contacts from an old school auto electric shop that still rebuilds starters and generators

 

That would make a great "how to" post!

 

My original contacts failed at 115k miles or so. I replaced the contacts and have 265k or so miles with no issues.

Cliff's notes:

Remove the intake.
Remove the starter.
Remove the cap off the back of the starter.
Unbolt the two copper contacts, bolt in the new ones.
Reinstall starter and intake (with new intake gaskets).

I think the OP's problem sounds more current related. Battery and starter are good things to start with, but those have been moderately ruled out. Salt belt is the clue that makes me think this is ground / connection of some kind related. I would check all of the ground points and ground cables.

 

How is your #2 battery wired? Does it have a cutout like the oem battery?

How far above 12.75? At what voltage do your cutouts energize? Are you running 50-1300 amps backward from your battery to your alternator and its ground, then to the block? Sounds like you also have some owner add ons to consider?

 

disconnect the add on battery circuit (ALL of it) from the oem battery, and pull the terminals off the add on battery. Does the engine still buzz? Where? Does the truck start with the add on electrical severed from oem?

 

If something under the hood is buzzing ( receiving 12 volts) while the alternator is not spinning, there is voltage jumping the cutouts through a failed relay,overvolt of cutout , a broken hot wire, or similar.
EDIT: Theoritically I mean, depending on the source of the abnormal buzz. Find out the source, and determine if it should be energized during Key on engine off.

 

can someone source these contacts that are to be replaced on the starter?.

 

Automotive Duty Starter Parts - LarryB's (fostertruck.com)

 

Speaking of which: where ARE the How To posts anymore?

 

youtube killed the how to posts.. nothing like a good thread of pix and informative writing. vidz help but sometimes they can’t connect dots like a good foto explanation even if it was from 2004..

 

I'm retired and don't work, so there is no way in hell I will move to Wisconsin, it gets cold there and I could not use my 5W30 oil.

Someone suggested you get a volt meter and you need one to check all terminals to determine if voltage is good but from your description I'm thinking your solenoid is defective. It's a device that has a closing coil and hold in coil that when closing the contact plate will make contact with battery terminal side to starter side that will power the starter. The clicking is that plate making contact and trying to power starter motor but corrosion, burnt spot on plate, burnt contacts is preventing current from going thru and why the voltage meter to test the starter side of solenoid to determine if voltage is going thru. If it is not, you have found problem. If it is check wire and contact connection from there to starter. Good luck,

 

So this isn’t hard to diagnose. Your relay has high current in (big conductor from battery). High current out (big conductor from relay to starter, a low current from your key and a ground maybe. If you jumper the two large contacts and nothing happens your starter is bad. You’re taking everything else out of the equation.